Teacher Finds Her Path to Dentistry Through Students She Served

She went from beloved science teacher to inspiring dentistry classmate, and UT Health Sciences first-year dental student Hannah Black is showing no signs of slowing down.

Hannah Black spent her first year teaching high school science without a teaching license. She had signed up to be a substitute teacher while her husband completed graduate school in Knoxville. But when the phone rang, the school district had a different proposal.

"They said, 'Hi, you have a degree in science, right? Do you want to be a full-time teacher?'" Black recalls. "I was like, 'I'm not qualified. I know biology, but I am not qualified to teach.'"

Yet the school district had an emergency and needed a science teacher immediately. Black took the position, spending her inaugural year teaching while completing her certification.

That decision would reshape her understanding of health care access, equity, and ultimately, her own career path. Today, Black is a first-year student at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Dentistry, documenting her journey on Instagram for hundreds of followers, many of whom are prospective dental students looking for guidance and representation.

Teaching Science, Learning Life

Black taught at a Title I school, where most students are from low-income families. She watched students struggle with visible dental issues they couldn't address. She talked with them about presentation, how unfair it was that appearance affected opportunity, but how pragmatically, it did.

"I would tell them, 'I know that how you dress doesn't define who you are, but if you dress for this job, they're going to be more likely to hire you,'" Black says. "I think a smile does that too, except a lot of people don't have dental insurance."

The disconnect bothered her. Not the students' intelligence or effort, but their access to care, to knowledge presented in digestible ways, to tools and resources that could change their trajectory.

"I had a kid who spoke a dialect that didn't have a written language," she says. "He was learning how to write. It's not that he doesn't care about his teeth. He just can't read the manual."

Black had entered teaching thinking she wanted something in health care but was uncertain about the specifics. Working with her students brought clarity.

Making the Switch

She had considered genetic counseling, even medical school, before landing on dentistry. The decision came down to what she describes as wanting to "get my hands in and physically manipulate the world around me to create a change for good."

Dentistry offered that, plus something else she valued from teaching. Conversation.

"You do talk a lot, and you get to teach," Black says. "I was excited about the thought of retaining that, retaining the ability to introduce people to concepts, to help people make connections between the life they're living and the health effects they're seeing."

When she and her husband decided to stay in Tennessee for graduate school as a financially strategic choice, Black applied only to UT Health Sciences' College of Dentistry for her first application cycle. It was, she says, a leap of faith.

"We said, 'We'll go all in on Tennessee for the first cycle, and then if that doesn't work out, apply to seven schools next time around.'"

She didn't need a back-up plan.

"I got to know Hannah during her first semester of dental school in the dental morphology course," says Nechama Citrin, DMD, associate professor in the College of Dentistry. "It's well-known dental school presents many challenges and not every moment brings out the best in people. Hannah's an example of someone whose humanity shines brightly during the intensity of dental school."

At UT Health Sciences, students aren't only future health care practitioners, they're whole people building lives and community, Black shared, while also preparing to serve communities in Tennessee and beyond.

Creating Community, One Post at a Time

Black's Instagram account started as a practical tool, a way to keep her extended family updated without making endless phone calls. Both her parents come from families of five siblings, making a large network of aunts, uncles, and cousins scattered across the state. However, the account evolved intentionally.

"Part of what I thought was really special about me teaching is I was in a Title I school where most of our students were not white, but most of our teachers were," Black says. "Some of it also came from that desire of just putting more brown faces on the internet, doing things that traditionally they're not as visible doing."

She wanted her former students to see her succeed. She wanted prospective dental students, especially those who might not see themselves represented in the field, to know they could follow this path.

"I really liked to be at that school and to be able to show my students: You are able to get a college degree, why would you not be able to? You are able to be in a position of power within a community, why wouldn't you be able to?"

Her content strikes a balance between educational and honest. She shares what she learns, answers questions, and doesn't shy away from the difficult moments.

"I'm in a place in my life where I can generally laugh when things go wrong," Black says, explaining how it's easy to self-impose pressure and become too stressed out. "Maybe this will help if you see somebody, who you see as your academic equal, is also having trouble, is also struggling, and is still showing up every day and smiling about it."

The archive has become valuable for her own growth too. Looking back at first-semester work, Black can see how much her skills have developed.

"I can't help but smile in her presence," Dr. Citrin says. "I'm confident her positive outlook both in-person and online benefits those around her immensely. Through her social media engagement, Hannah's impact is immeasurable. I look forward to her continued growth in all areas."

Finding an Academic Home

When she interviewed with UT Health Sciences via Zoom, something stood out. The presentation included photos of students not in scrubs, not doing schoolwork.

"That was refreshing to see,'" she says.

Black also shadowed at a clinic where two UT Health Sciences dental students were completing rotations, and they were welcoming and willing to answer questions as well as ask them. Students she met along the way shared about their friendships, their families, their families being friends, and showed up to support the transition.

"I think the community aspect was what really pulled me in."

The dental school has student-to-student mentorship with its Big-Little program, and Black deeply appreciates this support system and her mentor, Jò-Hannah Valentin.

"Hannah has been a delight to get to know and mentor," says Valentin, a second-year dental student. "She connects with everyone she meets. Her presence has truly been a wonderful addition to the College of Dentistry, especially the Student National Dental Association. Being in dental school is challenging, so being able to foster a new relationship with the Big-Little system makes our time here more enjoyable. I've been able to give her tips and tricks for our different labs, help her understand concepts of dentistry, give feedback on her hand skills, and spend time with her outside of school with other friends.

"She's such a quick learner and extremely dedicated to her studies. I don't know how she finds time to make her content, especially with how detailed it is! Somehow, while choosing my Little, I ended up finding someone who's similar to me in many ways. As her mentor and friend, I'm incredibly proud of her and what she's accomplished. I'm excited to see what other heights she can reach."

"They let let me be who I needed to be," Black says of her parents, also teachers. "They just fostered it."

Onward and Upward

The DDS-in-training plans to return to the Chattanooga area after graduation, ideally working with underserved communities. She's particularly interested in restoring dignity, both in how patients feel about themselves and how others perceive them.

Through her dental education, Black has found an approach that resonates with her teaching philosophy. She wants to meet people where they are and measure success by progress, not perfection.

"We're not looking for somebody to go from having 20 bleeding teeth to zero at the next appointment. We're just looking for less than last time. That was another thing I learned here that made me feel like, OK, these are my people. They get it."

For now, Black continues showing up with her warm energy, being herself while building a space for others to do the same.