I love the school and I Am 99% sure that I want to go there, but I am not %100 sold on the idea of rotation between clinics during D4! Would you please or any current students explain the advantage of this over for other schools' in-house training? How are you granted to received the best training from a Dentist in a clinic?
I'm not a student, but I'll comment from my experience mingled with my opinion. I think leaving the clinic is a good way to spread your wings a little. You're removed from the academic setting and in a real-world functioning clinic. The rotation sites all have an adjunct faculty member on site. They come to ASDOH once a year to be calibrated with regards to the students who come to their clinics. So you're not totally on your own. But for the most part, you're treated as another dentist on the staff - not a student.
Keep in mind, you're not just thrown out there unprepared. The curriculum is designed to get the didactic work done early and then you start to get your hands dirty. It is my understanding, that a lot of the 3rd year is similar to what you'd be doing in your 4th year in other programs. So by the time the 4th year comes around, the rotations (which are only half of the year while the other half being in the campus clinic) are a good time to really get your speed and confidence up.
I've seen a few 4th-year students on rotation at places I've volunteered. They come in a for a few weeks and are on the schedule like the rest of the staff and have ample patients. Not just 1 or 2 for the day. They take a full load. The only difference I saw was that they had to inform the patient they are a student (and get something signed I believe) and a staff dentist would do a quick check on some procedures (before and after). Some students get some crazy amounts of extractions, restorations, etc form these rotations.
Another benefit I see, is that if you choose, you can expose yourself to different regions of the country and in different types of clinics. If you're even into public health, this gives you a feel for what it's like working with IHS on a remote reservation compared to a clinic in the middle of a city, for example. Some clinics are new and fancy, while others are run-down. I think it's good to be exposed to not only the different environments, but to different people. It makes you a little more culturally-aware. And that never hurts in this profession.
Rotations aren't just an ASDOH thing. Several programs have similar rotation programs, but ASDOH's seems a little more prominent and refined. The newer dental programs seem to be adopting this as well.