"Minnesota. Forever."

I’m doctor Majid Fehresti. I was born in Shriaz, Iran in 1963.

The Change of Plan

From the primary school, I always liked to be a den—uh, doctor. Not a dentist. When I went to the exams to get admission for the university in my home town, it’s a huge, difficult exam, it’s almost one million students same time. SAME TIME! They would take the same test at the same time. Four hours exam in the morning and four hours in the afternoon and you got your score and rank. Your rank, not score actually, suppose to tell you that you are 26,000-something out of one million. When I was graduated from high school, unfortunately it was war between Iran and Iraq and I couldn’t get to the university because they closed universities for three years. So I had two options, to go to continue education in another path, not in university because university was closed or I had to go to be as a soldier, two years being soldier is mandated in Iran. I applied for, you know, teachers training college. I went there two years to be a teacher instead of going two years and be a soldier, and go to war, and there’s a good chance they kill me. After two years I get Associates Degree and I became a teacher for primary and middle school. I had to work five years as teacher to be ok to not to go to the army. When I was in the second year of being teacher, university opened again. So two times I applied but I couldn’t get a good rank. I could get a good enough rank but not for medical school. I think it was the third time I took the test and I got the rank, 414 out of that huge number; I could choose 14 universities with any field that I wanted. So, I chose all 14 as medical school. But before I submit that, my dad said it was better to have consult with his cousin, a big cardiologist in Iran. When I was talking to him, he told me that, “Have you ever thought about dental school?” I said, “No, why?” He said that, “To me, I think that with dental school you have life and you are a dentist so you have a good life, lifestyle, you make good money, good lifestyle, and less pressure, less stress, and you are more free than me, look at me, I don’t have day or night there’s no difference for me, they will call me at two a.m. from hospital and one of my patients need this or I have to go there.” So, he was the person that encouraged me to choose just one dental school, and I chose one of the best dental schools, Shiraz University Dental School, in my hometown. So, actually he was the person that pushed me to go to dental school.

(Left) Dr. Majid Fehresti photographed at the entrance of Shiraz University Dental School in 2014 during a class reunion. (photographed June 2014)













(Right/Top) Shiraz University Dental School photographed located in Shiraz, Iran.
(photographed June 2014)


(Right/Bottom) Shiraz University Dental School's graduating class of 1988. Some members of the class of '88 attended a class reunion held at their alma mater in June 2014.
(photographed June 2014)

Iran to US

I wanted to move from my country and to go to another country (1) to have more freedom and better future for my kids, not for me because I had everything in my hometown and I didn’t—I didn’t have to move immigration and go to to another country but I left everything and I got out because I had two girls—actually I had one at that time. (2) So I wanted to have better future for my daughter because in those countries, girls has not the right, the way, and the same as men and it’s a little difficult for me and for most educated people to accept those rules, so I moved to Canada and I started to pass all the exams and do everything I needed to do to get the license in Canada. But at the same time, I knew that I like to move to United States because this is the land of opportunity. And it is completely different than Canada. I was taking the test and pass the exams, to be accepted as a dentist because they recognized us as “foreign trained dentists” (3) they didn’t accept our degrees. I tried to take both tests—Canada and the United States—to see which one I can get to the point faster.

(Above) Fehresti photographed 

with his wife, Fariba, 

and two daughters, Saghar (right) 

and Sara (seated)

(photographed July 2015)

I had problem in Canada. That’s why I moved here. I never forget that I went to University of Western, Ontario in Canada. There was a course… I think, 45 students—not students—foreign-trained dentists, like me. It was a preparing course for that exam, the final exam, to get admission to qualifying program for that university. Since I was a teacher before, I like if somebody asked me questions, I like to explain. And in that course, everyone telled me that your hand works perfect, like an artist, you know, dentistry is actually like a scientific art. So, I knew how to work and how to explain to the other people. Most of the dentists in that course, instead of going to the teachers and ask them, they used to come to me and show me and ask me about their work. I noticed that some of the instructors that were parts of that course didn’t like that. I was one of the toppest. The instructor told me your work is perfect. I was almost 100% sure I’d get into the qualifying program. I went to that exam, again I did perfect job for them, everything that they wanted, I gave them. There were 50 dentists and they wanted to get admission to, I think 10 or 11 dentist students. The day that they supposed to give the result, I was waiting and they supposed to give us call. I was sitting next to the phone. Waiting and waiting and waiting. And nobody called me. And none of our friends would like to call the others and ask, because they knew that you were waiting for a call and they didn’t want to interrupt you. So when I saw that it is almost gone, all the time time is done, I called one of my friends. And said did you get a call? Yes I got. I can promise that it was almost 50% my work was better than him. And he said that the others, this way, th-th-this dentist that one this one and that one, everybody called to each other after that they they got admission and its done. I knew that I didn’t accepted. I-I think it was supposed to give us a call until 12. After 12 I called and talked directly to Dr. X. I never can forget. When I talk to him. He said that—this is the exact word he told me—your work is unique, but you didn’t follow our instruction. I said what do you mean? What do you mean I didn’t follow your instruction. He said that suppose for couple of times, you didn’t use water when you were working on the you know, that tooth. That plastic tooth. I told him that this is a plastic tooth first of all, second, even in a live tooth, in some parts, we can stop using water and we can to see what is going on. And if you know, if you want me, I will tell you exactly where it is written in your textbook which was my textbook in Shiraz University too. He said I am sorry but your work was unique but you didn’t follow our instruction. We cannot give you admission. I said okay you are going to charge me almost $200,000 and two years training. You said that my work is unique so what do you want to teach me if you tell me that you work is unique? I know everything! I am a dentist! I am not a student! Show me and tell me what’s your instruction. What’s your way that you like and during and another thing that they told me—your position on the patient is not good. You bend too much and then you will get back pain and neck pain. I said this is my problem, this is not this is nothing that you don’t, this is not the reason that you reject a student that you tell me your work is unique. and to make the story short, they didn’t give me admission.

For the next year, I sent application again, just for fun, because I knew- I KNEW- they would not accept my application. And they reject my application! They rejected my application! And they didn’t give me admission. Th-th-they rejected my application even. Even my application they rejected. They didn’t ask me to come for that exam. Again.

At that time I told one of those instructors, when I went and saw him, I said you didn’t give me the acceptance and you are not the only university that I can go and study. I will go to United States and you have just four, five, I don’t know how many dental school here in whole Canada. In each states, in the United States, we have plenty of dental school. One day you will see my name and I will see your name too on website. Just don’t forget my name. One day search on google to see who am I and what I am doing. So that was the point that I said that I am done with Canada. Canada is not the country for me.

I started to come here and I passed all the exam with no problem, all the clinical and got the license and everything. No problem at all. At the beginning, I didn’t think actually for Minnesota. I was not focusing on any specific states. I did a little research to see which states is giving me opportunity to take the exam: Minnesota and California. In the last minutes, I got the license for Minnesota faster than California. I did a little research for myself and the number of dentists in Minnesota is a little shorter than in California, competition was a little less, and since I like to have four seasons, I preferred Minnesota. I had more opportunity to grow here rather than California. I got license for California too and till today I kept my license active. Maybe in future if I got retired, maybe I think about a couple of months when its too cold suppose January or February to go there but no, I like to stay here. In Minnesota. Forever.

(Above) Fehresti photographed with some certificates and awards at one of his private practices located in St. Anthony, Minnesota. 

(photographed October 2015)

Footnotes:

(1) Fehresti speaks of moving to another country because that was the time period following Iran's political change, formally known as "The Iranian Revolution." This revolution, in 1979, changed the nation's governing and regulations as well as citizens' rights and privileges for the following years. He relates this back to his priority, his daughters, and how he did not want them being a part of the cultural movement limiting their rights as females in the society. 

(2) Fehresti has two daughters. His first, Saghar, was born in 1997 in Shiraz, Iran. His second, Sara, was born in 2002 in Toronto, Canada.

(3) "Foreign trained dentist" is the term used for dentists whom completed their studies and degrees in other countries and are in the process of obtaining their residency for the country they currently reside in.

Story facilitators: Saige Fehresti, Blaine Colaw