Bold Journey: Meet Macy Summer Punzalan

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We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Macy Summer Punzalan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Macy Summer , you’ve got such an interesting story, but before we jump into that, let’s first talk about a topic near and dear to us – generosity. We think success, happiness and wellbeing depends on authentic generosity and empathy and so we’d love to hear about how you become such a generous person – where do you think your generosity comes from?

My family taught me what it means to give relentlessly to others. Growing up as a child of first and second-generation immigrants, it was instilled in me that everything in my life was a blessing, not to be taken for granted. That our situation in life could have been drastically different. My family often volunteered to serve at soup kitchens where we were able to build relationships with those in our community who often do not receive much care or attention. My desire to continue to uplift underserved communities stems from the generosity that my family continues to demonstrate to this day.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I am passionate about community, art, and dental public health. I have merged these passions into the Pristine Pearls Project, a non-profit organization. Pristine Pearls Project aims to increase access to quality dental care through hosting oral hygiene collection drives and fundraising for patients in need of dental care by selling pearl jewelry. The pearls represent teeth because, like your smile, they are classy and never go out of style. Each jewelry piece is thoughtfully designed to evoke timeless elegance and delicate beauty. The pieces are carefully handcrafted and consist of beading and wire bending.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Creativity, resilience, and courage are the three qualities that most impacted me in my journey. Creativity gifted me the opportunity to think outside of the box, resilience convinced me to keep going when the going got tough, and courage was needed to believe in myself and my vision for the Project.

My advice to others is to take the initiative to make the world a better place. The world needs you and the solutions that you bring to the table. I believe that creating a vision board for your project will help you always keep in perspective where you want the project to go.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

One challenge that I face is time management. As a dentist and orthodontic resident, my days are spent learning in class or taking care of patients in the clinic. Dedicated time to advancing the Pristine Pearls Project in achieving its vision is restricted and with each jewelry piece being crafted by hand, it is often time-consuming. To overcome this challenge, I set weekly goals that allow me to stay on track for what I want Pristine Pearls Project to accomplish in the long-term. I am also grateful to the Pristine Pearls Project team, each are knowledgable in their own fields and I can rely on them to improve and expand the project with me.

Crafting smiles: UNE dental student combines art and education to improve access to care

Full Article can be accessed here.

After working as a dental assistant, Macy Punzalan (D.M.D.,’ 24) decided to attend the University of New England to further her education in dental medicine. At UNE, she has been combining her past experience in medicine, love for art, and education to support individuals who have trouble accessing dental care. 

“I saw that there was a huge need for dental care,” said Punzalan, a fourth-year student in the College of Dental Medicine, reflecting on her time as a dental assistant in Williamsburg, Virginia, and her desire to pursue a dentistry degree. 

“I had gotten to know a lot of the patients and saw how far they traveled,” she said. “Some of them had held off being able to get dental work done just because it was so expensive.” 

Punzalan recognized that becoming a dentist would be difficult, but she was excited to take on that challenge to provide a greater level of care to patients. At UNE, Punzalan said she felt that same sense of calling to help people access dental care while working in UNE’s Oral Health Care Clinic, a teaching clinic that provides dental services for the community. 

“I had met a lot of patients at UNE’s clinic with health care coverage issues that prevented them from getting the health care and procedures they needed,” Punzalan explained, adding that the strong sense of community at UNE not only made her successful in the classroom but also helped her tackle dental access issues for Maine residents. 

Punzalan said that the jewelry business she started, called the Pristine Pearls Project Patient Fund, aims to alleviate the cost of dental care for individual patients who might otherwise be unable to afford care. The nonprofit got its wings in 2023, and Punzalan credits the UNE and Portland community for its success. 

“Portland has been such a welcoming community that honestly supports local artists and small businesses,” she said, adding that she’s been able to host booths at local markets, art walks, and dental events to raise funds for the project. “Through that, I’m able to fundraise (and provide) patients access that money for their care.” 

Punzalan said her love for dentistry stems from her appreciation for the artistic elements of crafting a perfect smile. 

“I chose dental medicine because I love that there’s art incorporated in taking care of patients,” she said, noting that, to her, a perfect smile is a smile her patient feels confident with. “Growing up, I’ve always been really into art and music. I’ve done painting and piano, and I just thought that dentistry was the perfect blend of everything that I loved.” 

Her particular interest lies in orthodontics, which she considers dentistry's highest form of art. 

“There’s a lot of factors that you have to take into consideration when you’re crafting a patient’s smile,” Punzalan said, adding that the complexity of a person’s mouth makes shaping a smile challenging, such as the number of teeth and the way they come together. “It makes it a fun puzzle to solve while also being artistic.” 

As she looks ahead to her future in orthodontics and her residency at Boston University, Punzalan hopes to continue making a difference in the lives of her patients through public health orthodontics and bridging the dental resource gap that rural U.S. experiences.   

“I want to come back to Maine and hopefully practice in that area and hopefully be able to see people who have trouble accessing care and help treat them,” she said.