THE PIVOTAL POINT, says Dr. Lores, was an art class in high school. That’s when he decided working with clay to form a human skull reminded him of dental casts he had seen his mother, uncle, and grandfather create. With so many family members in the field, he says, “Dentistry was in my blood.” Yet, he was still considering which kinds of jobs would enable him to work with people, use his hands, and make him think—until that project.
The school was not in Peru, but in Princeton, N.J., where he was visiting an aunt for several months. He was 16 and only two years away from choosing a dental career. “In Peru,” he explains, “you’re quite young, 17 or 18, when you make the decision and spend five years to earn a bachelor’s degree and a DMD at the same time.”
He earned his degrees and finished an oral and maxillofacial residency program. Next, he hoped to come to the U.S. for another residency program. Surprisingly, he waited much longer than expected—20 years.
Instead, his career evolved at home, beginning with a research scholarship that took him to Japan for a year and a half. “When I finished,” he says, “I thought I should work a bit before continuing with academics. I did take the dental boards and passed so I’d be ready to apply to U.S. schools. But I started working in Peru, really enjoyed it, and eventually considered opening a practice with my wife. And then the political and social situation in Peru deteriorated.”
Looking at options, Lores and his wife decided to relocate to the U.S. Philadelphia, especially, seemed perfect because his sister as well as his aunt live here. “I wanted to take advantage of passing my dental boards earlier,” he notes, “and Temple Dental was right where we wanted to be. It was my number one pick.”
A student again
Even though he had been an oral surgeon for two decades, he emphasizes that going back to school was challenging at times. “People were saying, ‘You have so many years of experience. This is going to be so easy for you. You’ll do the restorations, crowns, and bridges in no time.’ But I hadn’t done those things in 20 years, and I was terrified.”
In fact, he says, “I hadn’t done a lot of general dentistry, and some of what I had studied so long ago, I had forgotten. I also had those moments of ‘that’s what they meant.’ And then for some things I needed to update myself. Yet, it all made me a better dentist and surgeon. Because when you specialize, you can lose sight of the integral health of the whole mouth.”
What he wasn’t expecting but still values is learning about the business side of dentistry. “It’s much different in the U.S. than in Peru,” he says. “There, it can be very simple. You can have a dental office with a receptionist and one assistant. That’s all you need. Of course, you can grow as much as you want. But here, for instance, I had to learn know how to deal with insurance and understand what a treatment manager is.”
He also wasn’t expecting the completely different patient experience. “We had the idea when I was in school in Peru that you don’t get that many patients in the U.S. But there are so many more here, who are also more diverse. And you have many more requirements as well.”
Appreciative of the advantages of a Temple Dental education, Lores has additional reasons to recall the program with fondness. “When you’re in dental school, you’re busy, but not as busy as when you’re working. While at Temple Dental, I was able to spend a lot of time with my son during his first three years. That was so important. And now my wife is about to take her dental boards to apply for dental school. So being here has worked out pretty well.”
“I wanted to take advantage of passing my dental boards earlier,” he notes, “and Temple Dental was right where we wanted to be. It was my number one pick.”