An analogy takes an unfamiliar concept in our world and compares it to something familiar. What are some ways we can use this to make dentistry more understandable for our patients? Can using analogies play an important role in achieving this goal?
Midwestern-Arizona salutes its veterans
Veterans are a special population that has unique dental care needs that are not being met. Although veterans receive free medical care for life from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), lifetime dental care is only given to those who are 100% disabled by their service, former prisoners of war or have a dental disability caused in service.
Dentistry in the Community Grant recipients share outreach successes
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To kick off ASDA’s Week of Service, we are highlighting the achievements of the 2017 Dentistry in the Community grant recipients. In February 2017, five chapters were awarded $500 each to develop and implement a program or event that focuses on the prevention of dental disease and/or the promotion of oral health for any underserved population within their community. Here, we’re highlighting each of those events.
What if a residency isn’t a good fit?
You’ve worked hard for years to get into residency. Interviews, externships, exams. You were accepted into your top choice program. Six months later, you realize you are unhappy, unsettled and dissatisfied. What do you do?
How it’s made: CAD/CAM dentistry
With more and more industries moving away from physical information, many are looking at technology as a more efficient means of capturing, translating and delivering that information. While CAD/CAM (Computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing) dentistry has been around for a few decades, the technology itself has matured to the point where it is more accessible in terms of cost and usability. Whether it’s used to digitally send an impression to a lab or to provide a patient with a same-day crown, CAD/CAM technology is quickly being integrated into the field of dentistry.
With that being said, this video is a very basic introduction to the general workflow for a CAD/CAM crown. While this video uses a specific system, the concepts discussed are general and relevant to most systems.
Should I specialize? Assess your value system
Depending on who you talk to, choosing to specialize could be either a premature decision where you miss out on the satisfaction of practicing a broad spectrum of dental procedures, or a great decision that will enable you to refine a highly-honed skillset simply by investing in a few additional years of schooling. This often means spending some time sorting through advice and anecdotes from friends, family and mentors in order to form your own decision on the matter. However, I believe that the best way to make an informed decision about specializing is to honestly assess yourself.
Making the most of my summer as an ADPAC extern
After completing my first year of dental school at Midwestern, I was thrilled that we were given a long summer break. I knew that this would be my last “true” summer vacation, so I wanted to make the most of it. I could not think of a better way to spend my summer than serving as one of two Washington D.C. ADPAC externs along with Nancy Mo (Columbia ‘19). It was an unforgettable experience. In just four short weeks, I learned more than I ever expected.
ADPAC, or the American Dental Political Action Committee, is a bipartisan organization dedicated to educating dentists on legislative issues and supporting political candidates who support issues related to dentistry. ADPAC is one of the nation’s largest medical PACs and it represents the voice of over 150,000 dentists. The main goal of ADPAC is to advance the dental profession and voice our collective concerns regarding the issues that impact our profession.