How to use social media to network at ASDA meetings

GCA networkingAnnual Session 2016 in Dallas, Texas was an incredible success. Nearly 600 dental students from every dental school in the U.S. attended. Meetings like this can be a great opportunity to meet new people and practice your networking skills. Social media outlets are can be used to connect you with other dental student attendees.

2016 nominees for best articles and blog post

writingEach year, ASDA members publish more than 100 articles in ASDA News, more than 50 articles in Mouth and at least 156 posts to this blog. That’s a lot of content. Behind the scenes of these publications is ASDA’s Editorial Board–eight dental students who dedicate their time to planning, writing and editing your ASDA publications. It’s thanks to them that you read about millennials, creative diagnosis, and lasers this past year. They are also the folks that bring you Life Hacks Week and “just for fun” posts here on the blog.

ASDA’s Editorial Board sifted through all the articles and blog posts of 2015 to narrow down nominees for three Gold Crown Awards: Best News Article, Best Feature Article and Best Blog Post. Criteria included relevance, originality, research and presentation. For blog posts, number of visits, social shares and Facebook likes were also weighed in the decision. Here are the nominees for the 2016 Gold Crown Awards for best articles and blog post…

#WhatShouldWeCallDental shows we’re all in this together

woman using laptopEvery dental student knows that the four years of dental school are difficult and demanding. From testing schedules to clinical requirements, it is hard to find time to relax and unwind. Fortunately, a fellow classmate introduced me to a Tumblr page that kept me cracking up and helped me understand that dental students really are all going through the same thing.

The Tumblr page #whatshouldwecalldental provides an endless supply of gifs that explain exactly what it’s like to be a dental student. The videos contain snippets from TV shows, movies, or other content that has been posted to the Internet. Along with the gif, there is a description of how that video relates to a situation you might experience when in dental school or interacting with patients. Here are some of my favorites…

Instagram for dental practice advertising and branding

instaInstagram is an engaging way to capture moments and instantly share them through social media. Most people have a personal Instagram account to display their daily activities and likes. However, the social media platform is quickly becoming a branding and advertising tool for dental offices. The photo-sharing application can help dentists educate and entertain their patients, even when they are not in the office.

Dentistry is more than dentistry

food bankA dentist has many responsibilities. They provide dental treatment. They offer care to under-served areas. They may owe on loans and must support the salary of the team they employ. They are active in organized dentistry to protect their profession and to stay current on evidence-based dentistry. Finally, they abide by our code of ethics, which are the essential pieces to our profession. But dentistry is more than dentistry.

To me, being a leader within our community is one of our greatest responsibilities. It’s also a chance to do something else that we are passionate about. We owe ourselves time away from dentistry to de-stress. As a dental student, you can pursue these interests now.

The dentist as a motivational speaker

speakingAs dental professionals, many of us act as motivational speakers. We influence and educate our office staff and fellow students. We reduce patient anxiety and explain why treatment is recommended. We even inspire ourselves to take continuing education and learn about new dental technologies. This type of communication can be used to stimulate change or simply encourage others. Motivational speaking is a skill that anyone can improve with practice and guidance. In her article “The Key Components of a Motivational Speech,” Laura Woods describes four basic techniques to engage your listeners.