Class of 1983
School of Dentistry
Program/Major: Doctor of Dental Surgery
M. Ray Scott Jr., DDS
What year did you graduate from UT Health San Antonio?
1983
What degree do you have?
Doctor of Dental Surgery
What is your specialty?
General Dentistry
What was the most valuable lesson – inside or outside the classroom – you have learned at UT Health SA?
I learned that dentistry is a relationship-people profession. People taking care of people.
What inspired you to want to become a dentist?
I grew up as a pharmacist’s kid and knew I wanted to be in health care. I made the decision way back in my sophomore year of high school that dentistry would be my chosen path. Crazy thing – I wasn’t even sure I knew what a dentist did every day.
What do you remember most vividly about your time at UT Health?
I graduated from a very rigorous program with some very talented clinicians who are superior individuals; many of whom are the leaders in dentistry today. Most importantly, I discovered that there were faculty—Drs. Marshall, Dale, Hicks, Dodge, Wellman and Leonard to name a few—who cared deeply about me and my development not just as a dentist but a person.
What was your most rewarding experience at the university?
My patients who I encountered along the way. They allowed me to care for them and to develop my skills and confidence to become an aspiring dentist.
What is your greatest professional achievement?
I really have three: 1) Graduation; 2) Returning 36 years later to deliver the commencement address to the Class of 2019; 3) Being named the Chief Dental Officer for American Dental Partners.
What is your current occupation and where? What’s a day on the job like for you?
I am the Chief Dental Officer of American Dental Partners. No two days are ever really the same, much like clinical practice. My daily focus is ensuring that our medically oriented oral health partnership continues to meet the needs preferences and values of our patients by striving for clinical excellence through professional development, quality assurance, and innovation.
What advice do you have for current students?
You have chosen a great profession; be true to it by putting the needs of the patient first, in everything you do, every single day.
Why do you give back to the university (time and/or donation)?
The answer is very easy: I wouldn’t be where I am today without the education I received at UT Health. It’s an obligation I have to give back to this great institution as it moves forward ever-evolving oral health as a mighty pillar of overall health care.