Dentistry spoke to Patric Aria Saraby about why he chose a career in dentistry, his long-term goals and what excites him most about the profession
What first sparked your interest in dentistry?
When I was born, my mother was still a dental student at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. My parents were refugees from the Iran-Iraq war, and we didn’t have much since my dad was the only one working while my mum studied. Since they couldn’t always find someone to look after me, my mum would sometimes bring me along to her university lectures. She’d sit me in the corner and tell me to be quiet — so there I was, a three-year-old, listening to dental lectures in Swedish!
Of course, I didn’t understand much at the time, but those early experiences left an impression.
