For the second time in her life, Michelle Blake has left her home country of Jamaica in order to pursue – as she puts it – her “love for dentistry.”

The first occasion occurred approximately 15 years ago, when there were no dental schools in Jamaica. So, Blake moved to Brazil, spent a year learning to speak Portuguese, and then earned both her dental degree and a master’s.

By the time Blake returned to her home country, the University of the West Indies in Kingston had recently established the Mona School of Dentistry. Blake obtained a position there as a lecturer and researcher focused on oral-health issues, and helped contribute to the growth and development of the new school.

Now Blake is seeking the opportunity to expand her dental horizons even further. In January, she will be one of the 24 students starting at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry as part of the International Dental Program, which offers non-U.S. trained dentists the opportunity to earn a D.M.D. degree.

“I learned that UAB serves a large and diverse community in terms of age and ethnicity, and students receive a lot of clinical experience working with those populations,” says Blake, who continues to offer online lectures for students at the Mona SOD. “That is important if you’re a foreign-trained dentist, because you want to study somewhere that is going to give you as much experience as possible working with the people there.”

Interest in the UAB IDP program has increased significantly in recent years, according to SOD professor and IDP director Stephen Mitchell, DMD, MS. Mitchell says there were more than 600 applications for the 24 slots this year, up from approximately 450 applications just two years ago.

“That’s enabled us to bring in some highly qualified applicants,” Mitchell says. “As a result, the traditional UAB students have an opportunity to be exposed to fellow students who have more experience treating patients, and who also have the broad life experience of a different culture.

“To go into another country and learn how to bridge divides and relate to different people in different ways is a powerful skillset. So, the traditional students at UAB have an awesome opportunity to learn from these more experienced folks who are their classmates.”

Blake’s interest in dentistry began while she was still a child, when she had to receive a filling for a sore tooth. Blake says she was amazed not only at how easily the process took place, but how it immediately solved the problem.

“I remember going to the dentist and observing everything he was doing very closely,” Blake says. “I was intrigued with how he could fix it so quickly, and the difference it made in such a short time. Being able to restore health quickly like that appealed to me at a young age.”

It took a multi-year detour to Brazil before Blake received her own dental degree. Now she is at UAB, where her husband, Kurt Blake M.D., recently completed a residency in rheumatology and then accepted a position at Cullman Regional Medical Group. The couple has a 4-year-old daughter named Emma.

“I was looking at different options (for dental school), but I admire how much UAB works towards increasing access to health care for different populations,” Blake says. “That’s an aspect that is in line with my professional interests. I hope one day to work in a capacity of providing care for underserved communities and play my part in increasing equitable access to oral health care.”