I am a second year dental student at the moment and I feel like I’m barely scraping by ( not due to laziness). My habits are not the best but, I do try to study when I can and I don’t have a problem learning when I study enough. In my perspective it seems as if time is never on my side yet somehow my classmates manage. I am so tired most of the time and getting frustrated. My gpa at the moment is a 3.0 I believe. Don’t really know if I’m looking for advice or words of encouragement tbh. I just need people who are going through or have been through dental school to say something, anything about this.
Dental School not going well
- Thread starter Penguin7
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As I've said many times in many different posts, what matters in the end is just to pass and don't fail out. A DDS/DMD is a DDS/DMD, and the dental school grading scale means almost nothing in the real world of dentistry. 2nd year is probably the most intense out of all the years, it'll be smooth sailing afterwards. 3.0 is not barely scraping by UNLESS your school requires at least a 3.0 to remain in the program, then I'd be afraid. Shoot, if our school had grades back in the old days, I'd be happy with a 2.0 as long as I graduated. We had something called Marginal Pass, and we would high five each other if we got an MP and it was a class that we hoped never to see again.
You just need to keep your eyes on the prize and take this more seriously. During finals week, I would cram 23 hours a day for a week (and study between exams), but I knew what was on the line. If I fail, I have debt but no means to make the money back. However, this was my fault because I wouldn't look at the material until the week before finals. Whatever sets your motivation and gets you on fire to do well. It's exhausting, it's traumatizing to the brain, and it's all part of the dental school hazing process.
You know what you need. If you're frustrated that you're not doing well, just think of this way: none of this matters. Just like the DAT doesn't matter, neither does your board scores or grades. Just do well enough to pass. Unless you want to specialize. If you want words of encouragement, think of this way, you're halfway through and going through the worst part. It's gonna be smooth after 2nd year. As I alluded to in the previous paragraph, if you are on the brink of failing, you need to create a better buffer if you have to maintain a 3.0 or above. Otherwise, if failing out is considered below 2.0 (and/or failing a class), then you got plenty of buffer.
What I can tell you is that you are not alone. I frequently feel the same way as you, all of this is temporary pain, it shall pass , and it will, sooner than you ever think.
I pray for you to have peace of mind because I totally understand what are you experiencing and for me I think that physical pain is a lot better that this mental stress and pain which is catastrophizing.
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totally feel you. lots, if not most of d school is irrelevant BS. As tanman said, if you are passing try not to worry about stuff.
D1 year everyone was supposedly specializing and 'killing it'. Now in my D4 year very few people have the passion and energy to keep going in school. You get beat down and have the life slowly sucked out of you. just graduate and leave behind the toxic wasteland of dental school
follow @dentalschoolprobz on insta for some laughs.
totally feel you. lots, if not most of d school is irrelevant BS. As tanman said, if you are passing try not to worry about stuff.
D1 year everyone was supposedly specializing and 'killing it'. Now in my D4 year very few people have the passion and energy to keep going in school. You get beat down and have the life slowly sucked out of you. just graduate and leave behind the toxic wasteland of dental school
follow @dentalschoolprobz on insta for some laughs.
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there’s some point that I let go of whatever the expectation I had and all of a sudden how well I was doing in dental school became irrelevant and I became much happier...you are not dental school so don’t let it consume you
You're a second year and that's the hardest time. You get hit educationally, financially, emotionally, physically, spiritually... the list goes on. Get through this year and you'll realize the sun is shining, the air is clear, and everything is manageable. You'll still hate year 3 and 4, but the stress is different and easier to handle.
Indeed, D2 is the toughest year, although they are all hard in their own way. It's good that you are reaching out on here, but don't be afraid to talk to somebody in administration. This isn't their first rodeo and you aren't the first student to feel overwhelmed, stressed, etc. Even if they didn't care about you as a person, they definitely have a financial incentive to keep students in the school. Talk to them. They probably have a slew of resources available for you.
I agree with all of the above posters and would just add that life is so much easier after dental school. The struggles afterward are different (dealing with loans, taxes, the rest of life), but virtually nothing compares to the intensity of dental school. If you choose to do a residency, that can also be difficult, but in a different way that is still easier. And if you’re hoping to specialize, don’t worry, you can still do it even with a 3.0 (it may just take some extra effort later on). There is a light at the end of the tunnel.
With a 3.0 you can still specialize in less popular specialties such as Pros... Peds, not so much nowadays.
Another conversation for another thread, but I strongly disagree. There are always ways to compensate for a gpa. Might not get in right after graduation, but do a gpr/Aegd/internship or kill some standardized exam and any specialty is still within reach if you want it enough (maybe not every school, but every specialty).
agreed. may take a few years, or couple app cycles but can be done.
That being said, I feel like many DS believe being a specialist is the definition of success as a dentist - that is not at all the case.
LOL, yeah. That was a very common feeling in our school. Not for me though - whoever makes the most money wins.
I appreciate your sentiment TanMan but for me its not just about the numbers. I think at the end of the day for me quality of life is the most important. I want to make the most money while simultaneously having the most positive impact on my pt's lives with the least hassle and stress on my body and my personal life (prolly true of most people lol).
e.g. the more complicated procedures you do, the more complicated post-ops and stuff can happens. you might be leaving some money on the table but at some point the stress isn't worth it - beauty is you can decide as a GP exactly which stresses you want to eliminate clinic wise. If I were to practice as a GP, single tooth dentistry just like you all day long. no FMR, no all-on-x and minimal veneers/esthetic stuff that have psycho pts.
also the older I get, more I want to just spend time with my family esp w/younger kids and volunteer in the community for the less fortunate - lots and lots of need out there. having solid financial footing can you give the freedom to do just that.
Very true, my practice style gives me the best of both worlds. Mostly single tooth / same day dentistry. I don't take anything home. Patients love it when you get them out of pain and the hourly is pretty high with minimal postops / followup. Dentistry should be a means to an end to do whatever you want. Unfortunately, a lot of people are wage slaves in this profession.
Steve Jobs is a good example of how I teach my kids about money. He has more money than he knew what to do with but has no family life and poor health ultimately passing away. My father is that way with poor health and fragile family relations. Money cannot cure terminal illness (it may prolong it or manage it). You can use money to rent a family like in Japan . My father is always trying to impress others with his wealth and income (not all that impressive but more so in a small middle of nowhere poor town). He did that at the expense of his health and family. When I was in 8th grade, he got sued as a solo practice OBGyn and came home and beat the crap out of me. It is still fresh on my mind along with many other family dysfunctions as I tend to his declining health and mental capacity out of state during Covid threats with my siblings. As stated before in my other posts, trying to impress others only provides a temporary thrill, but at the end of the day, those you try to impress will forget about you as they go back to their families. It will be hard to go back to your own family if you destroy it.
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@Penguin7 are you trying to specialize or keep doors open? then find a way to study "smarter". There are things that is going to be tested and things that they just throw to annoy the students. Gotta find the pattern ASAP.
If you are not thinking of specializing, relax. If I knew I was going to stick to being a GP, if I went back in time, I would definitely stress less and only study what is important for clinical dentistry.
If you are not thinking of specializing, relax. If I knew I was going to stick to being a GP, if I went back in time, I would definitely stress less and only study what is important for clinical dentistry.
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