Dental Assistant

[Rezillo]

---

Members don't see this ad.

What gives the best impression on dental school admissions: shadowing a dentist or being a dental assistant?

 

[dentaldawg32]

Neither will give you any significant advantage. The admissions committee just wants to see that you have had sufficient exposure to the field in order to figure out that dentistry is what you want to do with you life.

 

[GonnaDoIt]

Assisting will absolutely look better than shadowing for lots of reasons: you experience the pressure of patient treatment first hand, you really get to learn procedures well because you have to know them almost as well as the dentist, and adcoms who know anything know it is not a glamorous job and they will know you are interested in dentistry. It is definitely a more intense involvement than shadowing. The downside is that it is a job and takes a lot more time than shadowing. I was a dental assistant while I did my post-bacc work and it was a good way to make some money and also get experience in a dental office. I think a lot of dental school applicants do the bare minimum in shadowing, which doesn't set them apart in the eyes of dental adcoms. Behind GPA and DAT scores, experience is the best way to set yourself apart from other applicants.

 

[dentaldawg32]

Assisting will absolutely look better than shadowing for lots of reasons: you experience the pressure of patient treatment first hand, you really get to learn procedures well because you have to know them almost as well as the dentist, and adcoms who know anything know it is not a glamorous job and they will know you are interested in dentistry. It is definitely a more intense involvement than shadowing. The downside is that it is a job and takes a lot more time than shadowing. I was a dental assistant while I did my post-bacc work and it was a good way to make some money and also get experience in a dental office. I think a lot of dental school applicants do the bare minimum in shadowing, which doesn't set them apart in the eyes of dental adcoms. Behind GPA and DAT scores, experience is the best way to set yourself apart from other applicants.

Do you have any evidence to support this? I have talked to dental school adcoms and they say there is no significant advantage of doing one over the other. As long as you are gaining exposure to the field, that's all that really matters.

 

[pacific2013]

What gives the best impression on dental school admissions: shadowing a dentist or being a dental assistant?

4.0GPA and 22TS with minimal shadowing >>> 3.0GPA and 20TS with 1000+hours of assisting.

 

[erk005]

I agree. I didn't get in and have over 1500 hrs experience in dental practices. I do not think dental assisting will set me in front of an applicant with higher GPA and DAT scores, but it will set me apart from an applicant with similar stats.

As far as being in dental school: what I have learned assisting will help tremendously in dental school >>>shadowing

 

[dentalWorks]

4.0GPA and 22TS with minimal shadowing >>> 3.0GPA and 20TS with 1000+hours of assisting.

taken straight out of the holy bible

 

[baseballjunkie]

I felt it was easier to write my personal statement to use examples of personal experience assisting. The assisting experience is great in interviews, because nearly every school that I interviewed at (8 interviews) asked, "what have you done to make sure that you know dentistry is the right profession for you"

 

[Rezillo]

thanks guys. 🙂

 

[GonnaDoIt]

Do you have any evidence to support this?

I think we can all agree (like the above poster stated) that EC's matter little if there is a large descrepancy between the GPA and DAT's of two separate applicants. But the OP asked about the impression in admissions committees.

As for evidence, I have no more evidence than just my own experience and what many people have told me. I was told by my interviewer that she was impressed with my experience and that she thought it showed my dedication to pursuing a career in dentistry. I have heard others with similar experience say the same about their interview. I do not remember anyone reporting that their interviewer thought their minimal shadowing experience was impressive.

Again this is anecdotal, but each of the handful of former dental assistants in my class went into their interviews with tons of confidence and got accepted, despite a few of us having lower numbers. Just by simple math we know that we took the spots of some applicants who had higher numbers, and the only reason for this I can think of would be either experience or the confidence it gave us for the interview.

Beyond the application process, the hands-on experience of assisting has helped me tons in dental school, especially now that we are up on clinic. Taking radiographs and impressions, placing rubber dams, gentle handling of soft tissues, and interacting with patients all come pretty easy to me. Often I am done with work before my classmates. Also, your first year professors are less likely to talk to you like a child if you appear like you know what you are talking about.

Bottom line (for me): Students graduating from dental school will all pretty much be on the same level, but I feel dental school has been easier and I have done MUCH better than I would have if I had only shadowed.

 

[dentaldawg32]

I think we can all agree (like the above poster stated) that EC's matter little if there is a large descrepancy between the GPA and DAT's of two separate applicants. But the OP asked about the impression in admissions committees.

As for evidence, I have no more evidence than just my own experience and what many people have told me. I was told by my interviewer that she was impressed with my experience and that she thought it showed my dedication to pursuing a career in dentistry. I have heard others with similar experience say the same about their interview. I do not remember anyone reporting that their interviewer thought their minimal shadowing experience was impressive.

Again this is anecdotal, but each of the handful of former dental assistants in my class went into their interviews with tons of confidence and got accepted, despite a few of us having lower numbers. Just by simple math we know that we took the spots of some applicants who had higher numbers, and the only reason for this I can think of would be either experience or the confidence it gave us for the interview.

Beyond the application process, the hands-on experience of assisting has helped me tons in dental school, especially now that we are up on clinic. Taking radiographs and impressions, placing rubber dams, gentle handling of soft tissues, and interacting with patients all come pretty easy to me. Often I am done with work before my classmates. Also, your first year professors are less likely to talk to you like a child if you appear like you know what you are talking about.

Bottom line (for me): Students graduating from dental school will all pretty much be on the same level, but I feel dental school has been easier and I have done MUCH better than I would have if I had only shadowed.

All good points, but I really think it depends on the type of dental school the applicant is interested in. There are really two types of schools with different focuses: clinical and research. For the former, I would advise the applicant to gain a lot of clinical experience in the form of assisting/shadowing. However, in the latter case, research plays a more important role. If the applicant wants to go to Harvard, Michigan, Columbia, Penn, UCLA, UCSF (schools with a research focus) - I think his/her time would be better spent doing something far more intellectually stimulating like research rather than accruing thousands of hours suctioning and taking x-rays (assisting is a pretty menial job, IMO). You'd be amazed how interesting (and impressive in the eyes of adcom) research can be.

Regardless, OP, it doesn't matter which you do, just gain some clinical experience, whether it be assisting or shadowing. No need to go overboard with it.

 

[Oracle DMD]

shadowing is garbage. you learn nothing. you do nothing. a paid position in dentistry (lab, dental assistant, hygiene) trumps all shadowing. fact. will it help you get in? hmmmm..., well more so than shadowing, but that's where it ends.

 

[GonnaDoIt]

I think his/her time would be better spent doing something far more intellectually stimulating like research rather than accruing thousands of hours suctioning and taking x-rays (assisting is a pretty menial job, IMO).

Crushing fly heads or sawing teeth in half seem pretty menial to me. It looks like I have as little respect for being a lab grunt as dawg has being a dental assistant (I envy your future employees, BTW). Well, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. Dawg, you advocate for cleaning petri dishes all you want .

To the OP, do what you are interested in. Just know that adcoms can sift through the BS. Some research experiences will help you a lot. Some will not. The same can be said for clinical experience.

Remember though, that EVERY dental school in the country makes you see and successfully treat patients, and it is my opinion that NOTHING teaches you critical thinking in a dental environment like having done it before in a clinical setting.

 

[MatthewLeeDDS]

Between 2 applicants where everything is equal, assisting is better than shadowing. This is not only because it looks better to be 'doing' rather than just 'watching', but it will give you legitimate first-hand experience to refer to in your interviews. I assisted at a free clinic for about 50 hours before my interviews and I ended up referring to this experience a lot, especially on broad questions like "how do you know you want to be a dentist", or "what was the most important thing you've learned while shadowing/volunteering", etc. It gives you good ammo for the interviews.

 

[alexamasan]

In terms of getting into dental school, I don't think shadowing or assisting will have much significant difference. However though, many dentists I have talked said that if you have only shadowed a dentist with no hands-on experience, then the 2nd and 3rd year of dental school will be much harder for you than those who have had hands-on experience. Though if you've only shadowed, I don't think that should discourage you, you just have to work a little harder in dental school. The dentist I'm working with right now didn't have any dental experience at all (not even shadowing) when she entered dental school, seems they had much less requirements back in the day.

Though I do agree with the post above that you would be able to talk from experience about specific questions if you had hands-on experience.

 

[dentaldawg32]

Crushing fly heads or sawing teeth in half seem pretty menial to me. It looks like I have as little respect for being a lab grunt as dawg has being a dental assistant (I envy your future employees, BTW). Well, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. Dawg, you advocate for cleaning petri dishes all you want .

To the OP, do what you are interested in. Just know that adcoms can sift through the BS. Some research experiences will help you a lot. Some will not. The same can be said for clinical experience.

Remember though, that EVERY dental school in the country makes you see and successfully treat patients, and it is my opinion that NOTHING teaches you critical thinking in a dental environment like having done it before in a clinical setting.

You think this because you've never done any meaningful research. I have both assisted and done research, and can say without a doubt, that the latter is far more intellectually stimulating. To each his own, though.

 

[Nyamaluda]

4.0GPA and 22TS with minimal shadowing >>> 3.0GPA and 20TS with 1000+hours of assisting.

I don't 100% agree with that... my stats are average (3.58 and a 19) ... I interviewed at 4 schools and got accepted at all of them... during my interviews they were all interested in my hours spent in clinics... I've taken this past year off and worked as a dental assistant( for a few months in Guatemala and now in the states), and I really think it has helped me.

 

[FutureDent020]

You think this because you've never done any meaningful research. I have both assisted and done research, and can say without a doubt, that the latter is far more intellectually stimulating. To each his own, though.

The question was what looks better to dental schools, assisting or shadowing. And the answer is assisting due to the reasons people have mentioned. Assisting and research are very different experiences and both are enlightening. Yes, research is more mentally stimulating, but assisting offers hands on experience and unique patient interaction.
Now, what's more important to an adcom committee; assisting or research? Probably depends on the committee, school, and level of research.

 

[SeattleRDH]

If you plan on owning your own practice someday then the more assisting experience you get before school the better. It's much easier to manage your staff if you've actually done their job before. Learn the limitations and frustrations of the position. Also, see how you get treated by patients and staff when you're working as an assistant. It might make you think twice in the future about the way you talk to your employees.

As far as getting into school, if you have good grades and interview well then shadowing vs. assisting won't make a huge difference.