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Shadowing ranks among the top of misunderstood topics for DS admission.
Shadowing is designed to acquaint the prospective dental student with the daily life of a dentist. It is about observing the atmosphere in a dental office, the interaction between staff, practitioner and patient and, more importantly,about the procedures performed in a dental office. It is for this reason that the number of hours required/recommended for shadowing is reasonable. It should not take months or years to make a determination that dentistry is for us. Shadowing most certainly is not intended for ojt. Ideally, an applicant should shadow a gp for 4-8 hours/day for about 3-4 days. Since not all offices are created equal, whenever possible, shadowing should not be limited to a single office, especially when the practice may be limited in scope. We should observe restorative, prostho, oral surgery, perio, endo, pedo and ortho procedures. For the more demanding applicant, shadowing a specialist is recommended.
Seeking a position as a dental assistant for the sole purpose of shadowing is counterproductive and should be avoided. The time would be better spent improving the gpa and/or the dat scores.
An update version from the 2009 ADEA Official Guide to Dental School. Changes are shown in bold.
Updated 10-26-2010 from the 2010 ADEA Official Guide to DS.
Shadowing is designed to acquaint the prospective dental student with the daily life of a dentist. It is about observing the atmosphere in a dental office, the interaction between staff, practitioner and patient and, more importantly,about the procedures performed in a dental office. It is for this reason that the number of hours required/recommended for shadowing is reasonable. It should not take months or years to make a determination that dentistry is for us. Shadowing most certainly is not intended for ojt. Ideally, an applicant should shadow a gp for 4-8 hours/day for about 3-4 days. Since not all offices are created equal, whenever possible, shadowing should not be limited to a single office, especially when the practice may be limited in scope. We should observe restorative, prostho, oral surgery, perio, endo, pedo and ortho procedures. For the more demanding applicant, shadowing a specialist is recommended.
Seeking a position as a dental assistant for the sole purpose of shadowing is counterproductive and should be avoided. The time would be better spent improving the gpa and/or the dat scores.
An update version from the 2009 ADEA Official Guide to Dental School. Changes are shown in bold.
Updated 10-26-2010 from the 2010 ADEA Official Guide to DS.
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