Dental school and specializing

[deleted678432]

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Does your dental school need a ___ program to specialize in ___? So if I want to specialize in say omfs or pedo, does my dental school need a program in this field so I can get exposure to it during school?


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[BellaNella]

No, your dental school does not need to have a specific program for you to specialize in it. It will make it easier to get exposure to a specialty when you are in school but there are also externship opportunities so that you can get exposure to programs that you are interested in. If you do well and play your cards right, you can specialize from pretty much any program.
If you want to get exposure to a specialty during the semester you can always find a specialist who practices in the area and shadow in private practice aside from going on externships.

 

[deleted678432]

So would I get the LOR from these externships? And would I still be able to do research in this field?


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[MattBiggar80]

why do you want to specialize? and how do you know that you will have the grades to specialize? i tried to send you a PM but didn't succeed. u can try me mattbiggar80 @ gmail dot com

 

[BellaNella]

So would I get the LOR from these externships? And would I still be able to do research in this field?


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Even if your school does not offer that residency program, there should be specialists you have as faculty to teach those courses. We have pre-doctorate as well as post-doctorate faculty for OS, Endo, Pros, Ortho, etc. Our pre-doc and post-doc faculty tend to be independent. So you could get an LOR from a specialist that is pre-doc faculty. Externships would help so that the programs you are applying have an idea of who you are.

 

[Frychicken]

It can also benefit you if your school does not have a residency program in the specialty you're interested in. All those cases will go to students instead of residents which can mean more hands-on experience.

 

[deleted678432]

Even if your school does not offer that residency program, there should be specialists you have as faculty to teach those courses. We have pre-doctorate as well as post-doctorate faculty for OS, Endo, Pros, Ortho, etc. Our pre-doc and post-doc faculty tend to be independent. So you could get an LOR from a specialist that is pre-doc faculty. Externships would help so that the programs you are applying have an idea of who you are.

It can also benefit you if your school does not have a residency program in the specialty you're interested in. All those cases will go to students instead of residents which can mean more hands-on experience.

Thank you both for the advice! It clears up a lot. Do you find that a school that has a residency program in a certain field better prepares students in that certain field if chosen? Also, do they generally have an affinity towards pushing students that way? I.e., a school that has a great ortho program putting a low-key emphasis on going into ortho residency?

And just an unrelated question, does the faculty generally know who is interested in what by year four by word of mouth? Does that have an impact on their opinion on you and make them treat you any different, for better or worse? I read a book of a med student who had his work checked over and over behind his back during rounds, because his instructor thought he cared less about internal medicine (or whatever it was) due to him being basically guaranteed acceptance into a surgery program at that point in his career. Is this same type of thing true in dentistry?


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[BellaNella]

Thank you both for the advice! It clears up a lot. Do you find that a school that has a residency program in a certain field better prepares students in that certain field if chosen? Also, do they generally have an affinity towards pushing students that way? I.e., a school that has a great ortho program putting a low-key emphasis on going into ortho residency?

And just an unrelated question, does the faculty generally know who is interested in what by year four by word of mouth? Does that have an impact on their opinion on you and make them treat you any different, for better or worse? I read a book of a med student who had his work checked over and over behind his back during rounds, because his instructor thought he cared less about internal medicine (or whatever it was) due to him being basically guaranteed acceptance into a surgery program at that point in his career. Is this same type of thing true in dentistry?


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I don't believe that a school with a residency program in that field necessarily prepares a student more for that field or pushes students toward that field. It really is on a case by case basis. At my school there are specialties that are more open to allowing you to shadow than others. So even within the same institution it is a case by case basis. And just because a school has a strong post-doc program, doesn't mean the same subject is strong on the pre-doc level if the faculty is independent like it is at my school.

To answer your second question, for the most part it depends on you. By my fourth year, the majority of my faculty knew that I was interested in Pros but I tend to be a vocal person and it was very evident that I was passionate about the field. In my experience there have been faculty that want me to be able to get more pros experience and there have been faculty that expect me to have nice lab work. I wouldn't say that they grade me harder in those areas, just that I have set my own bar at a certain level because I like lab work.

Long story short, it depended on me. My faculty knew I wanted to do pros because I made it known; and my faculty hold me to a certain standard because I set that standard for myself. Everybody is different.

 

[BellaNella]

^Also, when I say I have a certain standard, that does not mean I think I am perfect. I am FAR from perfect. I just try my best.
In the end that is what most of the faculty want out of a student. Someone who tries their best to do good work and take care of their patients.

 

[kidsaremypassion]

Personally, I found it advantageous to allow my interest in Peds to be known early on, especially since I didn't change my mind along the way.
When we took Peds related courses, I simply tried to go the extra mile, and clinically with Peds patients as well.
I'm not really sure if I was held to a higher standard, per se, but expressing my interest early on allowed me to obtain great letters of recommendation from faculty when the time came to apply through PASS.
I found that the people who didn't express interest in a particular specialty till late 3rd year or early 4th year had a much harder time getting faculty to vouch for them, if they intended on specializing right after dental school.

 

[deleted678432]

Personally, I found it advantageous to allow my interest in Peds to be known early on, especially since I didn't change my mind along the way.
When we took Peds related courses, I simply tried to go the extra mile, and clinically with Peds patients as well.
I'm not really sure if I was held to a higher standard, per se, but expressing my interest early on allowed me to obtain great letters of recommendation from faculty when the time came to apply through PASS.
I found that the people who didn't express interest in a particular specialty till late 3rd year or early 4th year had a much harder time getting faculty to vouch for them, if they intended on specializing right after dental school.

Did you know before dental school that you wanted to do pedo? And how did you let faculty know? I feel like they'd think you were premature and would lose interest in it. (Just like everybody on SDN thinks when specialty threads are posted lol)


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[Cello]

Does your dental school need a ___ program to specialize in ___? So if I want to specialize in say omfs or pedo, does my dental school need a program in this field so I can get exposure to it during school?


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Some schools do not have specialty programs at the school, but there may still be a specialty program in the same city. For example, Roseman doesn't have OMFS, but the University of Utah just up the road does have an OMFS program through which you could do an externship. MWU does not have OMFS technically (though they do work in our clinic), but Banner Health is just down the road and that is where they do their residency. UOP does not have OMFS, but UCSF is nearby. So, consider that too.

 

[kidsaremypassion]

Did you know before dental school that you wanted to do pedo? And how did you let faculty know? I feel like they'd think you were premature and would lose interest in it. (Just like everybody on SDN thinks when specialty threads are posted lol)

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Yes, I did.
I think it's all about approach. I started seeking out peds related research early on, and volunteer opportunities that were not too time consuming as well. I think that may have allowed for certain faculty to take me more seriously. Kinda like putting action to your words.
So when the time came to write a letter on my behalf, they'd known for years that I had an inclination towards the field.
Now if you're not sure and are still wavering, then maybe hold off a bit on expressing certain interest. But if you know what you want, at least expressing that interest to faculty in the field you are pursuing can help. If you can find a faculty mentor in that specialty that genuinely loves teaching and will guide you, even better.