Dental graduate finds balance with academics, advocacy

Some say they want to help people, but don’t do anything about it. Class of 2017 graduate Ronnetta Sartor, DMD, takes action and has a record of getting things done.

Sartor is among 73 students from MUSC’s James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine who will receive their dental degrees today.

In addition to staying busy with student dental organization activities and interprofessional programs, Sartor was a strong advocate for LGBT rights while serving as co-president of the MUSC Alliance for Equality. She’s among a group that helped push education and training, advocated for the approval of non-discriminatory policy changes for MUSC students and employees and established safe zones and other resources that help people feel supported, affirmed and valued — not judged.

She wants to be a bridge in empowering students to have a voice at the table regardless of their race, religion, age, sex, as well as their sexual identity and gender orientation.

Sartor grew up in small-town Eutawville, South Carolina, just 50 miles northwest of Charleston in Orangeburg County. As the oldest child of Ronnie and Patricia Sartor, she was first in her family to graduate and earn an advanced degree. She attended Lake Marion High School and recalls the first time she considered dentistry as a career.

Sartor was in a college prep class that required students to shadow mentors in the community and internships. Eutawville, population 344, did not have any dentists in the town so residents had to travel to other small towns to receive dental care. A good student, especially in math and science, Sartor said she was considering a career in medicine when a cousin challenged her to look into dentistry. While attending school at USC Upstate in Spartanburg, she volunteered at the Miracle Hill Rescue Mission Free Dental Clinic with her mentor, Duncan Shirley, DDS. She fell in love with dentistry and graduated with honors with a degree in biology from USC Upstate in 2012.

Sartor also participated in several pipeline programs at MUSC as a pre-dental student such as the College of Dental Medicine’s Dental Day and Impressions Day events and the South Carolina AHEC’s Summer Careers Academy. It was at the weeklong academy where she met MUSC alumna and CDM director of diversity, Gwendolyn B. Brown, DMD. Brown became an early mentor to Sartor and was the first black woman dentist she had ever met.

“Dr. Brown helped me in so many ways from offering advice on the DAT (dental admissions test) to improving my interviewing skills,” said Sartor.

Brown, who works at the Coastal Regional Center in Ladson, SC was impressed by Sartor’s commitment, energy and work ethic throughout her four years at MUSC. “Ronnetta is tireless in her commitments. She’s one who always stays positive and ready. She’ll make a great dentist,” she said with a smile.

From her first week setting foot on campus, Sartor thrived at MUSC. She worked hard to maintain her academics and found time to achieve a work-life balance that suited her. “Volunteering with different groups kept me on a schedule that fit around my study time and other activities,” she said.

In addition to her involvement with the Alliance for Equality, Sartor was very active in the Dr. Raymond S. Greenberg Presidential Scholars Program, the Student National Dental Association and the American Student Dental Association. She was an oral health screening volunteer at Charleston Pride and provided dental care for patients at Our Lady of Mercy’s Emergency Dental Clinic, South Carolina Dental Association’s Dental Access Day, and in Treasure Island, Jamaica with the Christian Dental Society and fellow dental students. 

She is particularly proud of her work with ASDA where she held several positions within the chapter — vice president, lunch-and-learn coordinator and a member of the legislative committee for many years. She also served on the district level, worked with many students and traveled to Columbia and Washington D.C. to speak with legislators, lobbyists and elected officials to advocate for issues affecting dental students, practitioners and patients.

“I didn’t used to be very involved in politics, but through ASDA, I’ve become more aware of policies that may affect the dental profession. Through ASDA I have found my voice and feel comfortable giving my perspective on policies that will affect dentistry. If it wasn’t for ASDA and the opportunities that it presented to allow me to attend meetings and speak to different people, I would not have realized how much an impact our voices can make,” Sartor said.

Fellow dental graduate and ASDA Chapter Immediate Past President Chris Conzett, DMD, served with Sartor on the executive committee where they rallied student support for advocacy efforts and planned social events for dental students.

“Ronnetta’s a hard worker,” said Conzett. “She’s loyal, trustworthy, eager and resilient. With her academic success and involvement in universitywide and professional student organizations and activities, Ronnetta has achieved a well-rounded educational experience at MUSC.”

When asked what she’ll remember most about her dental school experience at MUSC, Sartor beamed and said,

“The people — the faculty, staff and students. MUSC is family to me, and  that’s what made my experience so special. I couldn’t imagine experiencing dental school anywhere else.”

Next up for the compassionate and fun-loving 26-year-old is a one-year general practice dental residency at Palmetto Health/Richland Hospital in Columbia, where she will expand her skills in various surgical procedures, sedation techniques and dental implants. Sartor is eager to serve her community and plans to continue her dental career in the Palmetto State.

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Editor's Note: MUSC is celebrating its 2017 graduates. 

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