Collecting extracted teeth for dental school

[Quick Slvr]

hi guys, I am having trouble collecting extracted teeth. I visited a few dental offices today, but they all told me to that they do very few extractation. Tufts requires different types of teeth; premolar, canine, etc. How can i get a hold of all these different types of teeth in 2 and half months? Has any body had any sucess doing this? I am going to visit a local oral surgeon tomorrow. Correct me if i am wrong, but dont they mostly extract wisdom teeth ? I am kindda stessing out about collecting all these different types of teeth in such a short time. Thanks for any input!

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[trypmo]

My advice would be to volunteer at a free or nonprofit clinic in an underserved part of town: nonstop flow of patients and (to my experience) tons of extractions.

 

[critterbug]

I am in the same boat. I did not realize I had to collect teeth until I got a letter bout 2 weeks ago informing me that I did!!

So, I'm glad you reminded me. I will get started tomorrow. I hope 2 months is enough to collect 60+ teeth. I will start by calling the dentists that I shadowed. They should be able to help me out (hopefully)

 

[critterbug]

I need some help guys:

I just called a few oral surgeons, one already had a jar of teeth for me and another asked me to bring a jar by.

Could someone please tell me what kind of jar to get and how it should be labeled. I was thinking just a regular mason jar with lid would suffice, but I thought that might be a little too ghetto Also, I was thinking of just labeling it with the sol'n inside, which will be 1:10 bleach.

Opinions please?

 

[aphistis]

Yeah, just use a normal mason jar. Just putting your name on the label should be fine, and I'd slip a thank-you note to the OS & his/her staff in there as well.

 

[ToothMonkey]

Shouldn't there be a biohazard warning sticker on the jar somewhere?

 

[3rdMolarRoller]

Shouldn't there be a biohazard warning sticker on the jar somewhere?

Yes.......

 

[critterbug]

Can someone tell me where I can pick one of those up?

 

[jjdaddy]

go to
http://www.gneil.com/product/824.asp?cat_id=421

and print you one. I received the biohazard signs from my school, but I already collected enough teeth, so I wouldn't need them. I could send them to you however, just printing the screen will be quicker for you.

 

[critterbug]

Thanks!!

I just printed out a few and glued/taped them onto the jar. I'm leaving to drop them off at the oral surgeons' office. Heres what I got:

1st label:
Sodium Hypochlorite
(1:10 dilution Bleach)

2nd label (right under first label)
-Eye irritant
-Skin irritant
-Harmful if swallowed

3rd label
My name
Address
Phone #

4th label:
Biohazard sign

 

[organic]

Is it required for your school to use Sodium hypochlorite?
What other agents could you use?

Thanks!!

I just printed out a few and glued/taped them onto the jar. I'm leaving to drop them off at the oral surgeons' office. Heres what I got:

1st label:
Sodium Hypochlorite
(1:10 dilution Bleach)

2nd label (right under first label)
-Eye irritant
-Skin irritant
-Harmful if swallowed

3rd label
My name
Address
Phone #

4th label:
Biohazard sign

 

[ecdoesit]

at ucla, we are told to use 10% formalin

 

[ToothMonkey]

Some people use Listerine. I've never heard of a school that officially recommends it, though.

 

[critterbug]

at ucla, we are told to use 10% formalin

Actually, 10% formalin was what we were *supposed* to use, but the letter said if we couldn't get access to it that we could use a 1:10 dilution of bleach (sodium hypochlorite). When we start dental school in July, we can transfer it to formalin (the school will supply it)

If someone can tell me where to get some formalin (not too expensive) I will get some and make new jars to take by. I no longer work in a lab, so I don't have free access to the stuff, and I don't even know what it costs. I just know they don't sell it at Wal-mart

Maybe I'll call one of my old profs, maybe he'll hook me up.

 

[djsux]

I dropped off multiple jars at oral surgeons to meet that 60 tooth requirement, and ended up using 6 molars throughout the whole year. I was a bit miffed about having to go to all that trouble and only use 1/10 of it. More often than not, if you drop a jar at an oral surgeon, you'll get back mostly molars. Our school's endo program want a lot of anterior teeth, so I'll have to bust out the good ole jars and start collecting to get enough of those again.

And expect to have upper classmen ask you for teeth when boards roll around since they'll need good teeth for their endo part.

GL with the tooth collectin'

 

[larryphrank]

Another idea, is contact a few orthodontists, and find out which oral surgeons they use,, They are most likely to refer out for exo's of premolars. This may be one way of finding premolars.

larry

 

[amberleigh]

Is collecting teeth is required for dental school application? huh, I never heard of that. Two weeks ago, I started my few hours observation in a general dentist office. I have to explained to the 3 dentists there why I need to do this observing stuff, because they said they never done this type of thing when they applied. And they are still young, they might have just graduated.

If that is true that I have to collect teeth, mine as well do that next time I'll go back there. They did a lot of extractions, everytime I go there, there were like 3 or 4 extractions. if I have read this forum sooner, I should have collected those teeth. I am kind of bored actually doing nothing but just watching the dentist of what he or she is doing. I wanted to do more but I can't unless I know the name of the dental instruments. I actually bought a dental assistant books to read and next time I'll be there Im gonna volunteer to assist the dentist. One of the dentist actually suggested that to me to be a dental assistant. I tried applying to different places to no avail, the reason I have no experience.

What is the purpose of teeth collection by the way? Pretty soon I will be sending in my application to AADSAS.

Have a good day everybody!

 

[claudiadent]

Yeah, I think every school requires to collect teeth. Not sure about that though. Once you have been accepted, they mail you all the info. The purpose of collecting teeth is to study the anatomy of each type, etc..

Yeah, observing could be quite boring. I did that once and then said NO WAY!!! So I went out looking for a job at a dental office, even if it meant just to do secretarial work. I figure, well, I need to learn every aspect about dentistry. I got a job as an office assistant, then while I was not busy up front, the dentist allowed me to observe procedures. Later I was moved to the back and became a dental assistant. So it may take time. Maybe you could ask to volunteer somewhere just to start?

Good luck!