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Patrick "Paddy" Snow. (Danny Abriel Photo)

Both Patrick 鈥淧addy鈥� Snow鈥檚 parents 鈥� Robert Snow and Patricia Forbes鈥� are dentists. He never thought he鈥檇 be one.

鈥淚t always seemed when I was younger, looking in people鈥檚 mouths all day, it鈥檚 not something that interests me, or most people,鈥� he says, 鈥渂ut once I finished my undergrad degree, it seemed like a good idea.鈥�

He spent time with his father, Robert Snow (DDS, 1980), in his dental practice. He saw the community service that he performs. That social connection appealed to him. So the second oldest from a family of nine kids in Newfoundland, decided to come to his parent鈥檚 alma mater to be a dentist as well.

This summer, Mr. Snow is returning to St. John鈥檚 to work for his father. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a joke in the class, you know, 鈥榓m I going to get minimum wage?鈥�, or 鈥榓m I going to be working for an allowance?鈥欌�� he laughs.

He enjoys working with his hands and encountering the daily challenges and ethical and social dimensions of the profession.

鈥淚 think you have to be more than just a dentist. Not to be known as 鈥榡ust a dentist,鈥� but to be known, whether it be a basketball coach, or a volunteer, or as a community leader in some other way,鈥� Mr. Snow says.

With Dr. Mary McNally, he did research comparing the costs of private dentistry versus the budgetary limits low income families contend with. 鈥淚t was startling. Certain groups and families have zero money left over for a healthy diet and dental care.鈥�

Trying to figure out how to balance the high costs of running a private practice with the desire to help people who can鈥檛 afford health services can be discouraging, but Mr. Snow feels that鈥檚 a problem dentists, as private health care professionals, ought to pay more attention to.

Dalhousie programs like Operation Outreach, which offers free dental care to refugees in Canada, help plant the seeds of community service and volunteerism. 鈥淗opefully, this encourages students to think, yeah, this is something I can do in private practice.鈥�