Collecting Teeth

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Toothfairy

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I just received a letter from UIC basically giving me my first assignment...to collect a ton of extracted teeth! Just wondering if anyone else has received a letter similar to this or if you have any input on this matter. I think I will plan on going to some oral surgeons to get the teeth, but what do you think they should be collected in? Any comments would be nice. Thanks! 🙂
 
Toothfairy,

I've heard that a lot of dental schools do request that for their incoming freshman as their first assignment!! The dentist or dental specialist that you will collect teeth from will advice you on how to collect them. I say you just take them all bloody and put them in your pockets!! YUM!!! <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" />
 
Toothfairy,

I have the same assignment for USC. I need 300 teeth and they asked that they are collected in a plastic/glass container with 1 part household bleach and 9 parts water. I got my first 3 teeth today 😀 My sister got her wisdom teeth removed. Good luck collecting!!
 
ewwwww....what a strange assignment!!! Plus it sounds hard too, 300 teeth!! I would be going insane! And what are they going to do with them, I am really inrigued, but i hope my school doesn't ask me to do this.....
<img border="0" alt="[Wowie]" title="" src="graemlins/wowie.gif" />
 
Dental schools usually have you use these teeth to do dental work on them as practice (drilling, filling, wax-up crowns, carving samples, and many other things)!! I started my collection as well!! 😎
 
I know UCLA sent me a letter requesting teeth collection too. They provided specific details on what solution to use, how to label it, etc. UNC, however, has no such requirement. Maybe it's a generalization, but I think the schools with larger patient populations (i.e., the ones with a large surplus and long waiting lists) don't require you to do these kind of things...
 
Waiting,

I don't know how true that last statement is b/c I know that USC does have a large patient pool.
 
I haven;t got the tooth collecting assignment from IU yet. But last week my former boss (a northwestern grad) told me to start collecting as many teeth as I can get. I haven't put much thought into it until your post. 300 teeth isn't too many, its just 10 full sets!
 
We adults have 32 teeth total including our 3rd molars (wisdom teeth) not extracted! 300 teeth will then be just a little over 9 full set of teeth!! I am not sure if you thought we only have 30 teeth total or you're just simply stating that once you have 10 full sets you'll get at least 300 teeth? Either way, I get what you're trying to say!! 😎
 
I did not received the tooth collecting assignment until after I completed my first year in dental school. The teeth collected were used in our Endodontics course to practice root canals. We were told to store them in a 50% solution of mouthwash and then we autoclaved them at school. But I think you should call the school to find out what its storage instructions are.

Had I known, I would have collected teeth prior to starting dental school because they would have helped me out on Dental Anatomy practicals (there were real teeth on these exams!) It would have been a great way to test my tooth id skills rather than depending on my classmates who might have had extracted teeth or the one set of anatomically perfect plastic teeth I had.

Toothfairy - I would also ask general dentists about collecting teeth from them because oral surgeons may give you a large number of third molars compared to the other teeth you get. Make sure you go to several - I left one of my jars at an oral surgeon's for five months and returned to find two teeth in it (I think they forgot...)

waiting - I would have to disagree since we have a large patient population and still have to collect teeth. There is something about learning with the tooth in your hand that you just can't do when it's in the patient's mouth!
 
Yes Steiner19er,

Much better!! It's nice to see that you can punch the correct number of teeth into a calculator!! 😎
 
Steiner,
I was wondering what you knew of IU's PBL curriculum. Which classes are PBL and which aren't and how much of the curriculum would you say is PBL based? I know I was complaining about their interview day a while back, but after talking to a few people I think it was just me. I am now thinking of IU as a strong possibility and was curious if you've heard anything about how tough it is to deal with. Any info would be appreciated.
 
Have fun collecting!
Toothfairy, I thought that you have been collecting all along ever since......once upon a time.....Uh, and what is the prize for one tooth now? It used to be one whole dollar for me!!!!!!!!!!
Has anyone watched "Return to Neverland"?
T
 
griffin,

thanks for pointing out that some schools may require you to collect the teeth later; guess I should get a collection started just in case! And my bad, I guess my speculation that maybe the schools w/smaller patient populations are the ones that require collection is wrong, there doesn't seem to be any such positive correlation
 
Yah-ZZZ,
Thanks for the wonderful advice! I can't believe that I never thought about collecting those bloody teeth in my pockets! Ha, ha. Thanks for adding the humor and saracasm to the thread. <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" />

Griffin04,
Thanks for pointing out the fact that oral surgeons would probably only have wisdom teeth. That's very true!

tinker bell,
Its ten dollars a tooth now! And yes,I actually have been collecting teeth, but I swear I saw this little fairy float off with them. Just kidding! Your reply was really clever!
 
Hey guys....

I hope soon I will be collecting teeth too! But so far, I haven't received any letters to that effect. But for all ya'll that have to... check out e-bay--

<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=701270483" target="_blank">http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=701270483</a>

-4.oo

🙄 😀 :clap: <img border="0" alt="[Wowie]" title="" src="graemlins/wowie.gif" />
 
4.0,

I checked that out on Ebay!! That is hilarious!! Looks like someone is definitely interested in purchasing those teeth!! Maybe the buyer is a future dental student!! I soon may obtain many 3rds!!

😎
 
Will it be kinda strange if I just walk into a dental clinic or a hospital and ask for teeth? I don't know, I didn't know we had to do that for dental school.
 
Thanks for shining a light on the tooth collection issue. A while back I was considering joining one of those national dental/pre-dental societies. i forget which one it was. i dont think it was ASDA. i think it was a specific pre-dental society i found on the internet somewhere. anyway, part of their welcome to the society package: a tooth collecting kit. i was clueless.
 
Yu3Er2 - Ask your school if they have a letter explaining the tooth collecting process that you could give to the clinics to make it look "official." If they don't, then just go prepared with a jar filled with whatever solution the school recommends and clearly labeled with your name, phone number, school, contents - extracted teeth, etc. Also, you could give them a letter from you describing who you are and why you want the teeth (I am a dental student at .... and I am trying to get my tooth collection started for pre-clinical classes such as ... and would appreciated if you would help in my education....). Get the idea? Just be professional about it.

ehop24 - I don't know what society you ended up joining, but part of the welcome package as an ASDA member includes the tooth collecting kit.
 
Is it every school that requires their students to colect teeth, or is it the other way. I would appreciate if somebody would let me know that if Tufts students are required to do this.
Thanx
 
Don't worry too much about collecting the teeth. I never collected mine. I just used some of the teeth my classmates collected. You will not need 300. The best place is s general dentists office cuz if you go to an oral surgeon you will get almost 100% 3rd molars. You want some premolars and incisors if you can get 'em.
 
Thanks people.

HEHE, UIC is slow about sending anything. I still don't have my "official" acceptance package from UIC dental yet!
 
Can anyone tell me if NYU or BU requires you to collect teeth as some of the other schools? thanks yall
 
Toan,

I do not think that either BU or NYU requires teeth collection. At least the assignment does not come with the acceptance letters and I am assuming that if it is a requirement, they would have to tell you as early as possible.
 
I just got the tooth collecting assignment from Indiana U. Its a mere 2 upper incisors, 4 premolars, 2 molars. Thats it, just 10.
 
Does anyone know if Penn requires collecting teeth?

Oh, steiner even though they only want ten try to get more because the ones you have may not be ideal for the procedures they want you to practice.
 
Sorry to bring this thread back up but..I'm just starting to collect teeth, and I have filled 4 jars half full with the buffered formulin solution, and plan to take it to 4 diff dentists. Any advice on if this is enough collecting locations, and how you go about asking the dentist to do this for you?? Any info would be appreciated!
 
How many teeth do you need to collect? I need 300 altogether, and I left jars at 5 oral surgeons and 4 general dentists offices. I called the offices and asked them first. If the people at the desk were not sure if they could do it, they took my name and number and called me back once they spoke to the dentist. Most dentists will comply, because they've had to do the same thing and/or they know it is for a good purpose. It may be a good idea to call first for the following reasons:
1) Most of the general dentists I called do not do extractions
2) Some of the oral surgeons would not collect for me because they are collecting for others
3) Some refused to give teeth because it is against OSHA regualations
I think that you may save time and gas by calling first. Good luck!!
 
sorry but if it's against regulations then how does the dental schools expect us to collect teeths?

good thing we don't have to at columbia <img border="0" alt="[Lovey]" title="" src="graemlins/lovey.gif" />
 
hey thanks for the info, yea i tried calling a couple dentists and either they didn't return my call or they said they they don't do extractions, sheesh! I'm not really sure how many teeth UCLA wants us to collect, I think its 100 or so. Now I'm thinking I should have more than 4 collecting sites!
 
This thread makes me laugh. I'm getting my wisdom teeth out this summer....any takers? <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" />
 
The following is a statement out of an article our professor gave us to give to dentists who had issues with infection control when collecting teeth. I think the artcle is out of a 2001 issue of the Dental Society of the State of New York Journal (DSSNY).

The American Dental Association's "Regulatory Compliance Manual" contains the following statement, which is also within the context of Federal EPA Regulations: 'Teeth that are not returned to the patient or donated to a dental school should be placed in a sharps container."
Marlin A. Rubin, DSSNY's Chief Dental Consultant for Legal Affairs, says "This would indicate that it is permissible to donate extracted teeth for teaching purposes."
According to the EPA, dental schools may continue to receive extracted teeth from dental offices. The agency does not view teeth as a regulated waste unless the dental office itself disposes of them.
OSHA considers natural teeth that may be used by dental students as specimens under 29CFR 1910.1030, "Occupation Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens." This regulation states "Extracted teeth which are being discarded or used as specimens are subject to the containerization and labeling provisions of the standard. However, OSHA does not issue citations to dentists and doctors for non-employee exposures."

So the offices that told you it is against OSHA policy probably just don't want to bother with the hassle of collecting.

Our professor also indicated that teeth can be mailed in a sealed container. It is recommended that they be autoclaved for 20 minutes and stored in a 50% mouthwash solution, or whatever your school recommends and you feel would be safe for mailing. Just an option since it sounds like a lot of you live in one city and going to attend school in a different city.
 
This is getting funny!
Can teeth just be autoclaved and be transferred in an unopened autoclaved container like that? It would be much easier to transfer dry teeth than teeth in 50% mouthwash solution. Especially now with all of those airline new rules.
Just imagine if our friend Regina has to fly with 300 teeth in mouthwah solution across the country. How many jars would that be? What if they leak during the flight?
T
 
I think it will be more like this: I will be driving 3000 miles with a box of 10 leaking jars of teeth belted into the passenger seat, making sure not to make any sharp turns or hit any bumps <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" />

Seriously though, how would I ship them? I guess if I fly out, I will somehow try to seal the lids so there is no chance of leakage and send them UPS??? 😕
 
Oh yeah and I forgot to mention, USC requires a bleach solution, so we have to be EXTRA careful! I already got a bleach spot on my favorite coat in this whole collection process 😡
 
Regina, I have a suggestion for u.
Collect them in bleach solution. Wash them, autoclave them dry in a well wrap aluminum foil (the thick kind that lab uses) Transfer them dry (either driving or flying). When you make it to usc, put them in bleach solution again. The school won't know if you transfer them dry, and if they knew, they probably won't kill you for that.
T
 
hey all,

this is slightly off topic, but have any of you noticed durig this whole collecting process how difficult it is to locate dental offices? I don't know if its a detroit area thing..but they are never clearly labeled and you can never see the address number from the road! 😡
 
Neeky,
I definitely agree with that! And all of the oral surgeons I have gone to have an office in some discreet building with other businesses/health professionals. And most of the general dentists offices were buried, in houses, or not clearly labled. They don't make it easy to find!

Tinker Bell,
Definitely not a bad idea, and much easier to transport! The only problem is, I don't have autoclave access.
 
On the autoclave idea...I received a letter from UIC instructing me to keep the teeth in solution to prevent cracking even after autoclaving them. You may want to check with your dental school on their collecting policy. Hope this helps! 😀
 
Do teeth crack when they are dried? I have all my baby teeth dried for years and they seem to be fine. I better go check them again.
That's interesting info.

Regina: Go to research lab, ask some graduate students or any lab tech. They would definitely help you.
T
 
i also had that same assignment (collecting teeth)

..i think..after an entire summer, my general dentist saved 3 or 4 teeth for me.

..i wouldnt worry about it.

usually they end up pooling all the teeth together so that everyone gets a complete set.. 🙂
 
hey all, its good to hear that we don't have to get too much teeth collected, since I keep procrastinating on getting my jars on to the dentists &gt;.&lt;,
i'm using plastic 500 mL jars by the way.
 
Okay, if nobody else is going to jump on that-- Doctora foxy, I'll take your 3rd molars. If it's not too far away, I'll come pick them up.

I have 60 to collect (if I haven't already posted that). I have a jar here at the pedo. practice I'm working at and one at an oral surgeon's office. 😀
 
I used old spaghetti sauce jars I had cleaned out. Other people used old peanut butter jars, the student next to me used a Snapple bottle (although I wouldn't recommend this b/c everytime he needed to retrieve a tooth, he had to dump out the entire contents of the jar on the bench top to find one tooth).
 
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