My name is Karolina Rokita and I’m a specialist orthodontist.

My mom and grandmother are dentists, dad was a doctor. Our house has always been full of medical magazines, books and slides. It was my world, so I couldn’t imagine myself in any other profession than a doctor or a dentist. During my studies I was thinking about becoming a periodontist — a dentist who deals with gum and periodontium diseases, but during my post-graduate internship, the thought of learning more and more about orthodontics was more and more frequent. During my studies, since orthodontics was discussed in a very limited area, to me it seemed to be difficult, but interesting. I signed up for my first orthodontic course and… I already knew what I was going to do!

I constantly wanted to know more and more

Unfortunately, the courses do not include clinical classes, there are no patients in their course. The amount of learning, hard work, the number of courses completed and the number of patients treated — these are the differences between one paid course, where you can learn how to place brackets on a model, and a specialization program. I wanted to become a specialist. In the meantime, I was looking for a place where I could learn some practical know-how. This way I got to the Jaw Orthopaedics and Orthodontics Department at the Institute of Mother and Child — it was bullseye! Apart from orthodontics, I love children, and here specialists comprehensively treat small patients with malformations from all over Poland. I don’t think one could imagine a richer and more interesting place to start your orthodontic adventure:) I had the opportunity to see and assist patients in live surgery. It was a very valuable experience — now I know why the bite develops in a certain way in operated children. Sometimes I remember my first day at the Institute and the situation when the head of the department was taking a dental impression of a baby’s jaw with cleft palate. It impressed me and I thought then: “Wow, I want to be like her!”

After a few months of volunteering, it turned out that I became popular with small patients. It was nice and motivating. I also made sure I was going in the right direction. I started studying intensively for the Medical Final Examination — getting a good result gives a chance to get into a specialization. When it comes to orthodontics, there are very few open positions, often only a few for the whole country in a given recruitment.

I demand a lot from myself

Specialist training in orthodontics is demanding. Meeting a large number of patients and the obligatory participation in 14 courses (which involves traveling around the country) are only part of this undertaking. Add to that the afternoon work in the office (to learn more), learning theory night after night (when the child finally goes to bed;)) and finally passing the specialization exam! I did it. I became an orthodontist.

I just love what I do

I base my treatment only on EBM (evidence based medicine). This is why I treat each patient very individually and do not forcefully treat cases that cannot be cured. You could say I was very lucky with people. I have learned from the greatest authorities in the field and I am very grateful to them for their knowledge. Now I want to share my experience, knowledge and fight against the myths that have been created around tooth straightening. If this topic touches upon you or someone close to you, I encourage you to make yourself comfortable, read, watch and comment.

Right now, my favorite area of orthodontics is treating the patients with aligners.