Shadowing, High School, College, or Both?

[AspiringDMD]

I am interested in becoming a dentist/dentist specialist and was thinking of shadowing people in the dental field. Is this something that you would recommend that I do now (freshman in high school) or later (when i'm in college)? Thanks.

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[VneZonyDostupa]

If you have some sort of connection with a dentist, it certainly wouldn't hurt to shadow him/her, though it also wouldn't really help you beyond letting you see if the field is really what you want.

That being said, it will probably be very, very hard for you to find a dentist that will let a high school freshman shadow him/her because you think you might want to be one someday. Part of it, I would imagine, would be because you're definitely a minor, so there are legal aspects about you being able to sign HIPAA forms and such.

 

[Ischemic]

Aside from the fact that you're too young and liability/patient confidentiality issues are a big deal it's not important for you to shadow anyone right now, especially you being a freshman in HIGH SCHOOL. Also, even if you did find someone who'd be foolish enough to let you do it, you can't even list it when applying to dental/med schools. Most anything you do before college activity and grade-wise don't matter diddly to your chances at a med/dent school.

 

[GoodmanBrown]

I am interested in becoming a dentist/dentist specialist and was thinking of shadowing people in the dental field. Is this something that you would recommend that I do now (freshman in high school) or later (when i'm in college)? Thanks.

While the two med students are down on it, I say go for it. I agree with them that it will be harder since you're a bit young, but I bet with some gumption, you'd be able to find a dentist who'd let you shadow. I honestly doubt that the whole liability/confidentiality will really be a big deal. Every time I shadowed informally, I just signed like 1 sheet of paper. No ID needed, no huge legal things.

This would be doubly true for you since most dentists have their own office and as such set their own policies (within legal regs obviously).

I do counsel you to take it easy. Don't worry about doing 10 hours a week or anything. Maybe shadow for a few hours here and there. Maybe mix it up and shadow a general dentist, an orthodontist, etc. Take your time and explore.

 

[Silverman780]

Even if it won't count as "diddly" for the admissions process, I would still highly recommend doing some form of an shadowing experience. This way you can see if this is something you actually want to pursue or you can walk away from it saying "Man, what was I thinking!"

If you are having a hard time finding someone willing to do it, talk to your school's career counselor. Chances are that either they have a contact with a dentist/orthodontist or know someone who does.

Good Luck!

 

[gluglugs]

It's true, simply get a sense of what you want to do. I'm shadowing in high school but not much. I just want to get a more specific focus on which road I want to pursue.

 

[Vicviper]

I'm not sure how it is for Medicine, but for Dentistry, shadowing experience during high school does count, and you can put it on your application - I actually did the vast majority of my shadowing while in highschool, over 200 hours, and maybe only 10-20 while in college with different specialists.

And yeah, high school is a great time to start shadowing, because hell, you may turn out to hate dentistry and want to become a mechanic or something totally different. The sooner the better. Most dentists I've talked to are actually very open to students shadowing in their offices - (dentists often have a very strong sense of "passing along the trade" ) so just give your dentist a call, and tell him you're interested in dentistry, and if you could maybe stop by for an hour or so one a week or something like that. Though, as said above, some people just won't want to, and in that case, just open up the phone book or go on google and start calling dentists near you - and yes, it's a very good idea to shadow with specialists, but you'll really want to start by shadowing a general dentist.

Good luck!

 

[drashleypaige]

Vicviper is right. I shadowed my family dentist while I was in high school for almost 300 hours and those hours were put on application for dental school. My dentist has been the best mentor in the world and always welcomed any questions that I had.

I expressed my first interest in dentistry while I was in the 9th grade and approached several dentists in my hometown about shadowing. Several did turn me down but I was persistent and as stated before my family dentist was more than willing to help me. I am 24 now and when I called him a couple of months ago to let him know that I'd been accepted to dental school he was beaming just as much as my parents!

I say go for it. You'll never really know if dentistry's for you unless you're exposed to the "nitty-gritty" side of it. Good luck

 

[mintleif]

If you can't find a dentist that'll let you shadow then go to youtube and watch some vids there about dentists and precedures etc. I did that last year and it helped me cross dentistry off my list, lol.

 

[Maygyver]

I think shadowing lightly in high school is generally a pretty decent idea. Go in with an open mind and make sure it is the career you want to pursue. If you figure out yes/no in high school you won't have to make that decision in the middle of college and think "shoot, i wasted time/money with this major." I would just ask your dentist you go to if they would mind you coming in to watch some morning or afternoon. (Make sure to dress appropriately).

 

[FutureCTDoc]

I'd recommend especially if you plan to apply for BS/DMD/DDS programs. Also it will help you determine whether you love or hate dentistry.

 

[TarheelDDS]

OP, I am in high school as well. Always had dentistry in the back of my mind but got serious about it this year (senior).

I have been devoting time now to dentistry (I am right now ).
Like I said, I got serious about it this year. But only after I started researching the perks of dentistry, looking over some textbooks, and watching dental work, did I get EXCITED.


I suggest you do some of the things I talked about, and see if you get pumped too.

If you can write down those hours of watching dental work on a dschool app, that's two birds with one stone.

 

[QuizzicalApe]

The value of shadowing now would just be to find out whether or not it is the right career for you.