Maryse Manasse, DMD New Jersey Dental School Postgraduate Student, Prosthodontics

17 April 2008

Maryse Manasse, DMD, loves making people smile. That’s why she is earning a postgraduate degree in Prosthodontics, or restorative dentistry.

“I want to work especially with oncology patients,” says the 2006 New Jersey Dental School (NJDS) graduate. “It’s rewarding to restore people’s oral functions and help them feel good about themselves again.”

A native of Newark, New Jersey, Manasse always wanted a career in healthcare. During her undergraduate years as a chemistry major, at the College of St. Elizabeth, in New Jersey, she shadowed an NJDS graduate who is now a general dentist.

“I would walk to her office after chemistry lab, and watch whatever she happened to be doing that day,” Manasse recalls. “I learned a great deal from her. Besides some of the basics of dentistry, she taught me how to manage my time. She was extremely helpful.”    

To further prepare for a healthcare career, Manasse attended the Summer Medical and Dental Education Program (SMDEP) at NJDS. The six-week, national program is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and designed for students who are from underrepresented minorities, rural areas, those who historically receive substandard healthcare and are economically and/or educationally disadvantaged. The program offers freshman and sophomore college students intensive and personalized dental school preparation. It includes academic enhancement in the basic sciences, emphasis on learning skills, information on applying to dental school and some clinical experience.  

During college, Manasse also spent time at NJDS talking with the faculty and advisors. Because the profession of dentistry is very conducive to family life—which is very important to her—and it combines her love of art and science, Manasse knew it was the profession for her. She had a great deal of encouragement from professors at NJDS and her parents.

“My parents are from Haiti and did not have the opportunity to pursue higher educations,” she says. “They made sure that we had every possible educational advantage.”

Manasse says her dental school years have been both challenging and rewarding. She participated in educational experiences beyond the classroom and continues to be very active in the school’s effort to recruit minority students. As a former SMDEP student, Manasse now serves as a mentor for the program. She encourages interested college students to pursue a dental career, relating her past and present experiences in the dental program. She also invites them to shadow her in the open clinic, while she treats patients and performs various laboratory tasks.

“Students often ask me questions that demonstrate their eagerness to enter the profession,” she says. “Some also express concern about not knowing what paths to take to achieve their goals. Often the students I talk to enter one of the pipeline programs that NJDS provides.” Being an ambassador is very gratifying, Manasse says, because she helps disadvantaged students realize that dentistry is both stimulating and possible.

After completing the postgraduate Prosthodontics program at NJDS, Manasse plans to open a private practice and would like to get a faculty appointment at a dental school. And, she plans to give back to her community.

“I want to do things for others, especially since so many people helped me get to where I am today,” she says. “I’d like to do missionary trips to impoverished countries, and I plan to help disadvantaged patients right here at home.”