I'm currently a junior in undergrad with a 3.63 overall and a 3.5-3.6 science (not sure exactly what it is atm). I achieved my current GPA by giving absolutely everything I've had. I'd say I'm only slightly above average when it comes to the speed at which I can understand difficult new concepts and memorize large volumes of material but I make up for it by dumping MASSIVE amounts of my time into studying and getting help. I'm concerned that when I hit the exponentially larger volume of material that I'll have to be constantly learning in dental school that my abilities just won't be strong enough to survive by using brute force effort. Are my worries silly or will it be a struggle for me to get through dental school?
Can I handle dental school?
- Thread starter Nagafoo
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Dental school is just memorizing a ton of stuff, and then dumping it. We have 2-3 exams each week.
One of the exam is basic sciences, usually 9-12 lectures with 30+ slides.
One of the exam is oral health, usually 3-5 lelctures with 30+ slides
And random case quizzes/midterms such as preventive, behavior, etc.
And that's just exams. We have daily projects due every Monday in sim clinic, such as teeth wax-ups, preps, and restorations.
It's all about time management, and how much you care about your grade. Some people kill themselves because they want to specialize, or want that A to feel good. Others chill and take things easy since they just want to pass.
If it makes you feel better, I only hear of 1 or 2 students ever dropping out of our dental school. Sure, there are 1 or 2 kids each year that fail and are held back a year, but hey, they'll still be dentists once everything is said and done.
One of the exam is basic sciences, usually 9-12 lectures with 30+ slides.
One of the exam is oral health, usually 3-5 lelctures with 30+ slides
And random case quizzes/midterms such as preventive, behavior, etc.
And that's just exams. We have daily projects due every Monday in sim clinic, such as teeth wax-ups, preps, and restorations.
It's all about time management, and how much you care about your grade. Some people kill themselves because they want to specialize, or want that A to feel good. Others chill and take things easy since they just want to pass.
If it makes you feel better, I only hear of 1 or 2 students ever dropping out of our dental school. Sure, there are 1 or 2 kids each year that fail and are held back a year, but hey, they'll still be dentists once everything is said and done.
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Seriously .... the easy part is the didactics. The stressful part is actually working with patients. Learning to give injections.
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Is that why you became an Ortho? haha
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Giving injections is very easy once you know the landmarks. We can agree to disagree. That’s why we chose different specialties.
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OP: I wouldn’t worry too much about didactics. Although the large amount of information can be overwhelming, dental schools usually are very accommodating in regards to the testing schedule. At my school, Louisville, we voted on the exam schedule to make sure we didn’t have 2 exams on the same day.
Although I studied very hard during dental school to obtain the grades to specialize, many of my classmates did just enough to pass and had time for other things in their life. Like another poster stated above, it is very rare for someone to fail out of dental school, they will do everything they can to make sure you succeed.
Although I studied very hard during dental school to obtain the grades to specialize, many of my classmates did just enough to pass and had time for other things in their life. Like another poster stated above, it is very rare for someone to fail out of dental school, they will do everything they can to make sure you succeed.
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You’ll be fine - I had this same concern and I’m surviving so far. I’m also one of the least smart kids in my class. So if I can do it, pretty much anyone can.
Just:
1) stay on top of the work
2) don’t sweat every tiny detail
3) make room for fun stuff every week so you’re mentally recharged
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I'm definitely not looking forward to when we practice giving injections on each other
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Stab lab could be one of the things I am most excited for! It's one of the skills that I will use every single day so I cannot wait to get started!
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Better pick someone who likes you xD
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Interestingly .... learning to give injections was the 1st real doctor/dentist stuff you learn at dental school. Giving an injection is when it all becomes real. You provide a painless injection utilizing the proper landmarks as PhansterZ mentioned. Your patient is calm and relaxed. You are now a HERO to that patient. Now in the Ortho world .... I'm a hero if I can correctly apply the proper sequence of colored elastics onto little Molly's braces. 😀
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Thanks for this post by the way. I think its a daunting question all pre-dents ask going through undergrad as it seems undergrad may be chaotic now, how on earth would we deal with dental school. I've always thought no matter how difficult the circumstances may be, we always somehow manage to come out on top. Quite amazing.
The didactics are easy for most. It's not much harder than under graduate for me and my friends. Try to get exercise so your mental state is fresh and you're not just studying all the time. Team sports are good for social activity as well. I like basketball but some classmates play flag football.
If you're clumsy with hand skills maybe pick up a hobby that could help. I've only waxed for the most part and picked up on it quick but some people spend way more time practicing than others to get lower grades. That's a lot less time to study and needless stress.
If you're clumsy with hand skills maybe pick up a hobby that could help. I've only waxed for the most part and picked up on it quick but some people spend way more time practicing than others to get lower grades. That's a lot less time to study and needless stress.
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The material you have to learn in dental school isn't particularly intellectually hard, but the speed that classes go by are very fast. For example, a year-long college anatomy course gets condensed into 10 weeks but that was ALL we did for those 10 weeks. The good news is, you don't have to memorize everything all the time. Important facts relevant to clinical care will eventually sinking in because you use them often.
Start developing good test taking and learning strategies. Figure out what's the best way for you to learn (it took me until 2nd year when I realized I can't learn in a group or lectures so I started hitting up the library on my own more). Figure out what's important to know (the meat) and what's fat. Most profs will point you towards what's tested.
If all else fails, consider applying to P/F schools. Those absolutely take the stress off.
Start developing good test taking and learning strategies. Figure out what's the best way for you to learn (it took me until 2nd year when I realized I can't learn in a group or lectures so I started hitting up the library on my own more). Figure out what's important to know (the meat) and what's fat. Most profs will point you towards what's tested.
If all else fails, consider applying to P/F schools. Those absolutely take the stress off.
