The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the most challenging times I have faced. Being isolated and joining classes that were 100% virtual was a big challenge for me. I started my first year of dental school entirely online without knowing any of my classmates or anything about the school. …
As the pandemic continues to affect all of us and our lifestyles, the usage of teledentistry (TD) has increased. Compared to the beginning of the pandemic, when many dentists in private practice closed offices out of necessity, now more practitioners are offering the service as an adjunct to in-office visits.
Since day one in dental school, I knew I wanted to be a member of ASDA. I had heard so much about how it advocates for students, helps mold leadership skills and provides a community of students going through the same challenges you are going through who help each other. Being part of the University of Puerto Rico’s ASDA chapter, I felt a sense of belonging and community from the start.
As discussed in a blog post earlier this week, 2020 grads faced challenges obtaining their dental licensure until ASDA stepped in to assist with this effort. Elizabeth Stapleton, a 2020 graduate in Virginia, shared, “The original plan for my licensure included a manikin exam with ADEX for prosthodontics and endodontics, and a live-patient exam for restorative and periodontics.”
In March 2020, many dental schools shut classroom and clinic doors. A deadly virus was circulating the globe, known as SARS-CoV-2, or more commonly referred to as COVID-19. With many clinics and testing centers closed, students were prevented from taking licensing exams. Additional barriers stood in the way of students in states that required a live-patient exam, or a live-patient component of the exam, that could not be fulfilled under a state of emergency.
ASDA’s Annual Session in 2020 inspired me to take a more active interest in advocacy. At Annual Session, I saw students legislating and taking action that would directly impact thousands of dental students. This proved the significant impact we as students could have, and I hoped that I could use my experiences to create new events for Houston ASDA’s members that would inspire them as well.
After returning home to New York from Philadelphia at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we were acutely aware of the damage caused by this debilitating virus, given that New York was widely regarded as the “epicenter” of the American coronavirus outbreak.
