The American Dream. At an early age, Dr. Adil Khan, the oldest of five children born to Pakistani immigrants, was encouraged toward higher education in pursuit of that dream. Combined with his natural passion and desire to “to do life-changing work,” it is no surprise that Dr. Khan’s journey would lead him to outstanding achievement. Dr. Khan’s road to success in dentistry was not a direct path, however. He entered college with his sights set on becoming an ER doctor, but while a college sophomore, his experience as an ER medical scribe forced him to change course. “You have to be a unique individual to be successful in that environment. You see a lot of tough things. You have to be jaded.” he remembers. Dr. Khan couldn’t imagine himself becoming numb to another’s pain, so he sought out other career opportunities that would better allow him to empathize with his patients and treat each individual with care and compassion. An encounter with an oral surgeon shifted Dr. Khan’s medical focus to dentistry. ” Medicine is just treating disease. It’s very rare that you cure anything.” he says. With dentistry, on the other hand, ” you’re able to take something that’s broken and fix it.” This seemed a natural fit for Dr. Khan. Having grown up in his father’s auto body shop, he is no stranger to fixing things. Dentistry seemed to have the familiar artistry and precision of his upbringing in mechanics.