good questions to ask during shadowing!

[Smooth Operater]

I will be shadowing a dentist this summer. The staffs there welcome me to drop by and shadow any time. But I was a bit intimidate by the dentist. He didn't talk to me that much. I spent most of time talking with the dental hygenist. I guess maybe the dentist was busy. I am going down there sometimes this week, so I am in the process coming up with questions to ask during shadowing. I have few in my mind right now. But if you guys have any "good" questions that you suggest me to ask, please list them! Thanks so much! 👍

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Comet208]

try to make it as casual as you can but act like a professinal (if it makes any sense). since you will be mostly observing the dentist (and not the hygienist) try to befriend the dentist as he will serve as your mentor and mostly likely write you a LOR. Try meeting him in advance (in his office) or arrive early that day to just chat and try to make a good impression. he is doing you a favor afterall. always be thankful and try satying out of everyone's way. when i shadowed my dentist friend, he just went over the problem with me; explained what was wrong, pointing to the x-ray and said what he will do (most of this was also in the conversation form directed to the patient). often he elaborated on certain things too, especially when the patient was gone and he couldnt say those in front of the patinet or wanted to justify his rational for saying/doing something instead of something else. so a good relationship with the dentist can make a world of difference. If i were you, i'd ask the dentist to point out things that you might not fully appreciate while observing. I am sure he wont mind showing off some knowledge. You are there NOT to learn detistry but to get a feel of the profession as in what sort of stuff they have to deal with; managing a business, working in a team, dealing with uncompliant patinets, being a professional, and rendering treatment is only ONE of the things he will be doing. so try to look at the the bigger picture. i also talked a lot to the assistant while they were setting up/cleaning the rooms.. they tought me a lot about all the little tools and their uses. be inquisitive and you will be just fine.

best of luck to you.

 

[asalazar]

try to make it as casual as you can but act like a professinal (if it makes any sense). since you will be mostly observing the dentist (and not the hygienist) try to befriend the dentist as he will serve as your mentor and mostly likely write you a LOR. Try meeting him in advance (in his office) or arrive early that day to just chat and try to make a good impression. he is doing you a favor afterall. always be thankful and try satying out of everyone's way. when i shadowed my dentist friend, he just went over the problem with me; explained what was wrong, pointing to the x-ray and said what he will do (most of this was also in the conversation form directed to the patient). often he elaborated on certain things too, especially when the patient was gone and he couldnt say those in front of the patinet or wanted to justify his rational for saying/doing something instead of something else. so a good relationship with the dentist can make a world of difference. If i were you, i'd ask the dentist to point out things that you might not fully appreciate while observing. I am sure he wont mind showing off some knowledge. You are there NOT to learn detistry but to get a feel of the profession as in what sort of stuff they have to deal with; managing a business, working in a team, dealing with uncompliant patinets, being a professional, and rendering treatment is only ONE of the things he will be doing. so try to look at the the bigger picture. i also talked a lot to the assistant while they were setting up/cleaning the rooms.. they tought me a lot about all the little tools and their uses. be inquisitive and you will be just fine.

best of luck to you.

It's very important to act like a prof.
In the office I'm working in this summer, a lot of the staff and the dentist have a problem with an individual who works there bc they are not prof. enough. Most of my time is spent with his staff but I always make sure to go into the rooms to watch him talk to the patients, and see the surgeries. If an area gets crowded, I move out of everyone's way because the last thing I want them to say is that they don't want me around because I take up too much space. I always say thank you before I leave the office. At the beg. of the day, the whole practice gets together to go over all the cases that we are going to see throughout the day. The doctor doesn't really explain much to me because really there isn't much to explain, unless he wanted to sit down and literally teach me dentistry. One thing he did tell me, is to no ask questions in front of the patient because that will make the patient uneasy ... nobody wants a 19 year old asking "So why did you cut her gums open so much?" I've learned a lot from working at this office. I clean and set up rooms now, know the names for things, and clean and sterilize instruments. But the dentist has "big" plans for me, he wants me to learn how to do xrays, and grind down the impressions.

 

[mvs04]

I will be shadowing a dentist this summer. The staffs there welcome me to drop by and shadow any time. But I was a bit intimidate by the dentist. He didn't talk to me that much. I spent most of time talking with the dental hygenist. I guess maybe the dentist was busy. I am going down there sometimes this week, so I am in the process coming up with questions to ask during shadowing. I have few in my mind right now. But if you guys have any "good" questions that you suggest me to ask, please list them! Thanks so much! 👍

SP, knowing your proclivity towards random questions, I'm sure you will ask:

"Hey, have you ever thought about how you would fare if your hands randomly fell off?"

"Do you think if I masturbate more I can improve my grip and handling techniques?"

 

[Comet208]

SP, knowing your proclivity towards random questions, I'm sure you will ask:

"Hey, have you ever thought about how you would fare if your hands randomly fell off?"

"Do you think if I masturbate more I can improve my grip and handling techniques?"

what are you on man??? i need that stuff to relax after my last final.

 

[cowsgomoo]

I will be shadowing a dentist this summer. The staffs there welcome me to drop by and shadow any time. But I was a bit intimidate by the dentist. He didn't talk to me that much. I spent most of time talking with the dental hygenist. I guess maybe the dentist was busy. I am going down there sometimes this week, so I am in the process coming up with questions to ask during shadowing. I have few in my mind right now. But if you guys have any "good" questions that you suggest me to ask, please list them! Thanks so much! 👍

"Soooo... can you write me a prescription for medicinal marijuana?"

 

[ISU_Steve]

"So where do you keep the narcotics?"

"Say....is that nitrous?"

 

[45540]

I'd ask questions more on the management aspect of his office since you'll learn the clinical aspect in dental school and you're not going to understand it now.

 

[Smooth Operater]

I followed the dentist for few min. when I first visited him. It felt really werid b/c I couldn't say anything since he is always busy with the patients. I didn't want to be there to cause more trouble to him. Did you guys feel the same thing when you first shadow ur dentist?

 

[clam chowder]

...I didn't want to be there to cause more trouble to him. ...

...

 

[45540]

sounds asian?

 

[ISU_Steve]

sounds asian?

I was wondering the same thing CJ.

 

[Gulch]

come on clammy, where's the asian love?

For operater: I don't know if you've interviewed yet or not, but it is always interesting to ask interview questions from the int'vw feedback boards to real dentists. I did this before some of my interviews and it helped out a lot. For instance, I asked my one of the dentists I shadowed, "What is the greatest challenge facing dentistry?" Some other questions might be, "how different is real practice from what you were taught in school," "if you were all powerful what would you change about the profession or invent...whatever."

They say you can spot an intelligent person by the questions he/she asks. So, no pressure or anything. J/K

 

[mccarth2]

Don't be discouraged. if he IS busy with patients, still continue to follow him around, jot down notes and ask him questions later when you're both free.

You mentioned about taking notes. I had never done this when I shadowed my dentist. I was wondering how many people actually do this and if they think it is helpful because I'm going to shadow a periodontist on Fri. I think his office is less laid back than my GP, also he has had students shadow him before. I just don't want to go in there looking like an idiot. To answer the original question, I was pretty nervous shadowing my own dentist originally, but after going a few times I felt more comfortable. I think its more about getting adjusted to a professional environment when we are used to the laid back setting of classes.

 

[divertete]

You mentioned about taking notes. I had never done this when I shadowed my dentist. I was wondering how many people actually do this and if they think it is helpful...

I would recommend taking notes at the end of the day. It's kind of awkward to carry a pad around with you, and especially not around patients. I think you'll have more time to collect your thoughts and reflect a little after you get home -- just spend 5-10 minutes typing a few notes about what you saw, some interesting patient or conversation with the dentist. When I look back over my notes, I find that I remember the experiences very well, much better than if I was just trying to recall everything from memory.

 

[Comet208]

I took a clipboard and few sheets of paper with me and took note of anything that was interesting as well as any questions that i did not want to ask in front of the patient. I was trying to observe a dentist in a professional environment... how he treats different patinets (young, old, man, woman, with ADD, HIV+, etc) and the rest of the staff (even the doorman), how he offers treatments, the language, how they changed from patient to patient, how to shut up a noncompliant patient, etc. I was lucky that my friend was in a group practice and he was a true professional, so i learned a lot. there was one dentist that the rest of the staff didnt like and kept talking behind him... i shadowed him couple times to find out why. I even followed the assistants, hygienists, and the front desk staff to see what they really do behind the scenes (i was surprised!!).
I also kept a log of what type of patient came in and what type of procedures were done. after few sessions you start seeing a pattern and some differences. I still have my notes and look back at them from time to time. good times!!

this is a great thread btw.

 

[october]

I've been shadowing for some time now. I take a clipboard as well. In the beginning, the dentist taught me how the teeth are numbered and named. He would also explain what he was doing, what he was using and why he was using it. He also would let me develop x-rays and then explain the situation using the x-rays.

Overall, a very good experience. He would even test me at times.

If you don't know how the teeth are numbered, you can ask him about that. You can also ask about teeth surfaces.