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Vanessa Dairo-Singerr (DDS4) has known since November 2025 what her first step after graduation will be: a General Practice Residency (GPR) at Western University.

The appeal of this program is that it will enable her to gain more experience in hospital-based dentistry and the management of medically compromised patients. These include patients receiving chemo or radiation therapy for cancer, and patients with other uncontrolled conditions, such as hypertension or diabetes. A rotation at a long-term care facility is also part of the program.

"These patients often can’t receive care in a traditional dental office because their conditions can cause them to deteriorate very quickly," she explains. These are the patients Dairo-Singerr is especially passionate about helping.

An early love of dentistry
Dairo-Singerr was born in Nigeria, and shortly after moved to Ireland with her parents and four siblings, where she lived for 12 years. She then moved Fredericton, NB, when she was in middle school.  "Education about, and access to, oral health where her parents grew up in Nigeria was minimal," she says. The first time she and her family went to a dentist was in Ireland when she was six or seven.

During middle school in Fredericton, however, there were numerous visits to the dentist and orthodontist to get Dairo-Singerr’s teeth aligned. "Extractions were needed and it wasn’t always pleasant," she admits, "but for some reason I just loved it."

Fascination with her dental treatments was one reason that drew Dairo-Singerr to the profession. But her family’s lack of dental care early in their lives was another. "I hope to increase access to dental care because of our past experiences," she says.

At the University of New Brunswick, Dairo-Singerr studied for and received an Honours BSc in Medicinal Chemistry and assembled the prerequisites she needed for dental school at Dalhousie. She was accepted on her first application and began the program in 2022.

Awards and inspiration
During her four years of dental school, Dairo-Singerr was presented with an East Coast Dental Group Scholarship, which is awarded to a Maritime student for high academic achievement.

She was also "ecstatic" to receive two QEII Foundation Diversity in Health Care bursaries. These bursaries support students who are generally under-represented in health care fields. As a recipient, Dairo-Singerr hopes that she can "inspire others who come from similar backgrounds and have faced challenges to believe that they, too, can also pursue a career in health care."

As a student in the Dental Public Health Elective at Dal, Dairo-Singerr spent two weeks providing dental treatment to newcomers to Canada – most of them from Somalia – at a public health clinic in Prince Edward Island.

She also volunteered at the Special Smiles event with the Canadian Society for Disability and Oral Health for three years. "It’s been so rewarding having the opportunity to teach athletes with special needs about the importance of oral health and get to know them."

As a member of the Faculty of Dentistry’s EDIA committee over the past four years, Dairo-Singerr also had the opportunity to volunteer at camps for African Nova Scotian high school students, working on oral health-related activities and giving them an insight into what it is like to be a dental student.

Looking ahead
These experiences have strengthened Dairo-Singerr’s resolve to provide help to those who most need it. Now she’s looking forward to starting her GPR and widening her range of experience, which she feels will be valuable when she begins working in the future.

After her year at Western, Dairo-Singerr is unsure of her next step. Wherever she lands, she feels her blend of skills will be valuable in a future practice, enabling her to provide care to a broader range of patients.

"It’s all up in the air right now," she says, "I feel like I could be anywhere when I finish the program." Her great hope, however, is that what she learns will enable her to serve another subset of patients who need extra help with their oral health care. "I can see everything I’ve worked toward in my life coming to fruition, which is extremely rewarding."