Shadow a dentist OR someone who special.

[asalazar]

Does it make you chances any better or different if you shadow a dentist or someone who specialized ortho, perio, etc ...?
How many hours should I shadow, AND after how long of shadowing the doc should I ask them for a LOR?

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[Sprgrover]

I believe it is important to get in as much shadowing with a general practitioner as possible. Not only will you gain a more complete picture of what the profession entails you'll be better able to evaluate the pro's and cons, among other things, associated with it. Shadowing a specialist isn't a bad idea, but I wouldn't make it the focus of your efforts as a specialist represents a slice of a very large pie. Dental schools do look favorably upon shadowing and a few, such as OSU, do require a minimum amount of time spent shadowing. In a nutshell shadowing is one way you can demonstrate to schools that you have done some 'real' world investigative work and have arrived an informed decision about your career choice. Have fun and best of luck!

 

[toofache32]

If you shadow a specialist, make sure you don't say, "I want to be an orthodontist" during your interview. The last thing an academic person wants to hear (who makes $70-90K per year) is that you want to go to dental school so you can make big bucks. Even if you don't say it, that's what "specializing" means to them.

 

[rocknightmare]

i would def look into shadowing everything.

and don't look into one dentist either, i would do several at one time to give a different people to look at ..