“Most patients we see in dental schools come from underserved communities but some states don’t have dental schools,” she explained.
“Thirty-one percent of all African American dentists come from Howard and Meharry. Black dentists treat 61.8 percent of Black patients, White dentists only treat 10.5 percent, Hispanics treat 9.8 and Asian dentists only treat 11.5 percent
Out of a class of nearly 130 graduating students, Poole said she and nine other black female students helped each other through dental school. “Sticking together, we knew that we were in this together, that if there were any hardships, we were always there for each other,” she said. “When it came to studying for classes, we’d study together in the library. If it came to things outside of school that we were having hardships with, we always made sure we were there and speaking with each other.”