A Pre-Dent with Less-than-Perfect Teeth???

[trypmo]

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Well, so I'm shooting for the entering class of 2005 and, what with all the recent posts on looks and their possible correlation to offers of admission, I thought I'd toss the following topic out here for general discussion.

Can someone with imperfect teeth be a successful dental student?

Here's what I'm thinking:
a) Candidate is not, like, edentulous
b) Candidate's teeth are generally healthy
c) Candidate has, overall, a warm and pleasant smile
d) Possible: very slight misalignment of a few teeth
e) Possible: some discoloration of one or two teeth

Here's what I'm also thinking:
a) Candidate could spend the money and get it done before interviewing. That way, candidate would starve but have perfect teeth.
b) Candidate could plan to get teeth fixed as a patient in student clinic (i.e., get a friend to do it for practice in dental school (assuming competency on the part of friend)).
c) Candidate could smash head against wall, knocking out all teeth, lose consciousness for a few precious hours, and formulate new career plans thereafter.


Whaddaya think, y'all?
I might even post a poll.....

 

[blankguy]

Put it this way. You got people out there who are youth counselors who while they were young were trashed. They are know teaching kids the danger of doing drugs, guns,etc...
If this is possible so can predents with less than perfect teeth.

Being a predent with less than perfect teeth is nothing compared to this.

 

[aphistis]

I've never understood why people think having imperfect teeth is somehow an impediment to dental school admissions. What, do you suppose medical schools reject people based on childhood chickenpox, optometry schools because an applicant has glasses? The whole notion is bunk.

 

[preludexl]

Dude, you are crazyyyy. What better excuse to get into dental school than to work on YOUR own teeth b/c you cant afford it. Man, first thing I'm gonna do when I graduate is clean mah own teeth, and bleach it! That and make me a decent night guard.😀

If anything, the interviewers would get a laugh off of it and make the atmosphere easier to talk in.

They'll ask, "so why do you want to get into dental school?"
You should be like, "Dayam, LOOK at my teeth man!"
They'll reply, "Enough said, you're in."


(but I know that you posted this for fun)

 

[DrRob]

none of your choices include Yes, they can. I had a class 3 malocclusion with posterior crossbite. Now as a dentist - I am in ortho tx and have surgery planned in a couple of months. One of the percs of being a dentist is getting tx for free!

 

[OrthoFixation]

Originally posted by preludexl
Dude, you are crazyyyy. What better excuse to get into dental school than to work on YOUR own teeth b/c you cant afford it. Man, first thing I'm gonna do when I graduate is clean mah own teeth, and bleach it! That and make me a decent night guard.😀

If anything, the interviewers would get a laugh off of it and make the atmosphere easier to talk in.

They'll ask, "so why do you want to get into dental school?"
You should be like, "Dayam, LOOK at my teeth man!"
They'll reply, "Enough said, you're in."

(but I know that you posted this for fun)

I had always wondered about this issue. You have the perfect answer. I would add that a dentist with 10 years of practicing that still has the bad teeth wouldn't fly. Why do you think attorneys have leather chairs and mahoganey furniture. Because perception is a big part of the game. The same reason you wear a suit to an interview instead of sweats and sneakers.

So would aspiring dentists trade out services with aspiring med students?

 

[predentchick]

I think there is a clear difference between a dental student without perfect teeth and a "cosmetic dentist" trying to sell someone cosmetics witout perfect teeth. The latter would never fly with me. "Think how amazing you would look in these veneers. They make you look fabulous and it is a real easy procedure. I just haven't gotten around to it yet." HA!

 

[busupshot83]

Originally posted by aphistis
I've never understood why people think having imperfect teeth is somehow an impediment to dental school admissions. What, do you suppose medical schools reject people based on childhood chickenpox, optometry schools because an applicant has glasses? The whole notion is bunk.

aphi is intelligent once again

 

[RaiderNation]

Originally posted by busupshot83
aphi is intelligent once again

Actually, it's called common sense. Intelligence is an over statement.

 

[Bickle]

I think the main question is what caused the "imperfect teeth" in the first place? If its clear that someone disregards the importance of oral hygiene and has not visited a dentist in his/her life, then their brown/yellow chicklets SHOULD be held against them. If the reason is genetic, and they do take care of themselves, then no, it shouldnt be held against them.

But I highly doubt an interviewer will ask you to open wide for an improv-tu dental check up!

 

[Thaxil]

I see how people may conclude that since some has imperfect teeth thus they do not care about oral hygiene. If they do not visit the dentist, thus they do not care either. There are certainly people who would fit this category.

I have been very luck that my wife recently landed a job that paid for dental care. Only until recently, thank god before the interviews, I was able to fix my two horribly chipped upper incisors, which were a result of a childhood bike accident. For the majority of life I looked goofy as hell whenever I laid a fat grinned on people. If I when into a dental school interview with those two teeth, I would either have to appear very stern (in order not to smile) or look as though I care nothing for my dental health. It would be too complicated to explain my personal and family finances.

 

[UBTom]

Guys, realize that people most of the time have teeth problems because they didn't know any better, i.e. they didn't know to go to the dentist until it's too late-- when a tooth starts to hurt. Or when people get cavities because they didn't grow up in a place with fluoridated water. Problems with teeth due to genetics is actually pretty darn rare-- Out of a class of 80 dental students you might have three or four candidates who might undergo orthognathic surgery to correct skeletal discrepancies for example.

This is why a dental school will NOT hold it against you if you got bad teeth-- You are coming to the school to learn about the science behind dental health after all, and the people who interview you will assume that you don't know much about dentistry. Bill got it exactly right.

Once you start dental school, you will find plenty of classmates with lots of dental problems. And the nice thing about dental school is that as a dental student, you can get all these problems taken care of for free or a reduced fee!

 

[woohoo]

Can someone w/ less than perfect teeth get into dental school? I sure hope so! I myself got braces put on a little over a year ago, before I was pre-dent. Not for dental school, but for myself. I seriously doubt any adcom will care.

I know this is a little off the topic, but am I the only one who thinks braces look cool? like when the teeth start to look straight, and the light hits the metal just right, making them sparkly........ I think I'm just weird 😛

 

[blankguy]

Originally posted by woohoo
Can someone w/ less than perfect teeth get into dental school? I sure hope so! I myself got braces put on a little over a year ago, before I was pre-dent. Not for dental school, but for myself. I seriously doubt any adcom will care.

I know this is a little off the topic, but am I the only one who thinks braces look cool? like when the teeth start to look straight, and the light hits the metal just right, making them sparkly........ I think I'm just weird 😛

Yeah you're weird. Who in the world wants braces for perpetuity?

 

[arns51]

Dont know about the average person,,,,but I really check out a new dentist's teeth. Although they may be a wonderful dentist I just dont think Id have the same confidence in a dentist with bad teeth, so I do think it affects a person once they become a dentist.

I dont believe it has any affect in getting into dental school.

 

[Comet208]

I agree with arns51.

People tell me that i will have lots of patients b/c i smile a lot and they can see that i have good teeth! but they never commented that i will do good on DAT for the same reason!

Comet

 

[woohoo]

Originally posted by blankguy
Yeah you're weird. Who in the world wants braces for perpetuity?

haha, no not for perpetuity, but I stick by my orginal argument. me thinks braces are cool

 

[UBTom]

Yeesh, braces are a necessary evil.. Having braces causes all sorts of problems-- Plaque accumulation, trapped debris, irritation of the mucosa.. Most kids right after their braces come off, their mouth is a mess. 😛

I'm glad I've NEVER needed braces!