You have worked your entire college career with the hopes of getting that phone call or letter in the mail that tells you those three magic words: You are in. If you are anything like I was after being accepted to dental school, you are over the moon. Here are the three things I wish I knew before starting dental school:
Whether you are a student dentist, new graduate, or experienced practitioner, we are always looking for ways to improve our clinical skills and provide the utmost quality of care to our current and future patients. According to the American Cancer Society, more than 49,000 new cases of cancer will occur in the oral cavity and oropharynx this year, with more than 9,500 deaths occurring as a result. A majority of these malignancies will be diagnosed as oral squamous cell carcinoma. As such, one of our most important duties as dentists is to conduct thorough evaluations to prevent unnecessary suffering and increase the chances of successful cancer treatment.
Explaining dental procedures in an understandable way to patients can be trying at times. During treatment planning appointments I often find myself talking to a patient that appears completely lost. I try to search Google to find the perfect image to depict what I am talking about. Many times I am unable to find that image. Searching the internet can be time-consuming and fruitless. Discussing treatment options with patients can be increasingly difficult for dental students entering the clinic. The difficulty lies in the details. As students, we spend years learning fancy vocabulary that oral health professionals understand. Simplifying treatment to aid in patient understanding can be challenging for even the most experienced dentists. However, there are resources available that can aid in conversations with patients about common dental procedures.
Originally developed in 1945, the Dental Admissions Test (DAT) was designed to measure general academic ability, comprehension of scientific information and perceptual ability of future dentists. Since then, hundreds of thousands of dentists have survived this test, and you will too! Here’s three things to keep in mind as you prepare:
As the future of dentistry and student members of the ADA, you should be proud of what we have accomplished together. Check out this video to see the ADA’s Highlights of 2016. Thanks for an incredible year.
“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” — Isaac Newton
My interest in organized dentistry began during my undergraduate years at the University of Central Florida where a local dentist, Dr. Pete Lemieux, took special interest in my pre-dental club. As a nerdy science major, that dentist was a superhero in my eyes. I remember being absolutely star-struck when he invited our club to an event to socialize with real life dentists. That night I shared a glass of wine with that dentist who spoke so openly about his journey through dental school and his trials with different associateships. I remember thinking, “Wow, I can actually do this.”
