Art of dentistry
By Luiza Moczarski, BFA'00
Standing alone in the gallery, surrounded by her favourite artist’s vibrant and larger-than-life paintings, Caroline Alpert felt a little like Alice in Wonderland. Even as a self-taught artist, she could identify the influence of Picasso’s compositions and Matisse’s use of bright colours in the anthropomorphic creatures and cubic forms in each of the compositions.
As she stood there soaking up the warmth and optimism of each work, the artist himself Romero Britto, walked in.
It’s a day this young dental student will never forget.
“It was an incredible experience to meet one of my favourite artists,” she recalls. “His use of the bright colours and bold black outlines have greatly influenced my artistic style.”
By age four, Alpert had a full sketchbook of drawings and paintings, and she continued to express her feelings on canvas and with clay and wireworks throughout high school.
Despite her innate artistic abilities and passion for painting and sculpture, Alpert chose a different academic path. She graduated with an honours degree in kinesiology and health sciences before starting her studies at Schulich Dentistry.
For Alpert, dentistry is unique, in that it encompasses her combined interests of art, science and health care, and gives her the ability to use all of her skills to make a difference.
“I always wanted to do more than create art,” she said. “I want to be able to help other people, and that’s why I love dentistry. I’m able to use my artistic skills to do that.”
Alpert’s strong academic background has given her the knowledge she needs to succeed in the classroom and she has found that her imagination and familiarity with a wide range of materials and tools has come in very handy.
“The fact that I’m comfortable with my hands and have experimented with sculpting and wire works has been helpful during my hands-on classes,” she said. “There is comfort in the familiarity of feeling the materials. I find it relaxing and fun.”
A true team player, Alpert shares her artistic skills to assist her classmates, when they are working in the lab with molds and other materials.
The demanding program continues to challenge Alpert to keep an open mind, as she delves into her studies in oral diseases and dental anatomy. She is also grateful for newly acquired communication skills which have been indispensable when communicating effectively with her peers, faculty and patients and during her volunteer sessions with the Dental Outreach Community Service program.
“As a dentistry student and future dentist, I believe it’s important to understand people’s backgrounds, where they’re coming from, their goals and their financial situations. As a professional, you need to explain the complex treatments, but also you need to be able to relate to the individual,” said Alpert.
Like her favourite artist Britto, she believes art is too important not to share, which is why she has donated her paintings to a number of charitable organizations. This year she submitted her artwork to the School’s Commitment to the Community pictorial calendar. Her oil on canvas painting, “Let your inner beauty shine,” is featured in the month of December.
When not studying or painting, Alpert can be found playing tennis. She is a member of Western University’s varsity tennis team. This year, the team won the Ontario University Championships and is going to play at the Rogers Cup in the summer of 2019.
Art and athletics will always play an important role in Alpert’s life, but she says she has found her home in dentistry.
“Similar to art, people always ask me why I have not pursued a professional tennis career,” she said. “I love tennis but there was always something more that I wanted and I found it when I came here.”
For more information on how you can make a donation to support dental entrance bursaries please contact Kayla Kalijarvi at 519-661-2111 ext. 82637 or make a gift online.
