How did you guys find a dentist to shadow?

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I'm curious how did other fellow pre-dental students find a dentist to shadow. Especially if you had no connection to dental office. For me, I did not know anyone even remotely related to healthcare so I just printed out a stack of resume and randomly stopped by at dental offices on my way driving back home from school. Anyone want to share their story?

 

[nebuchadnezzar90]

I just called all the dental offices in my area until one agreed to let me shadow. Probably called about 15 offices before someone said yes.

 

[okiedokeartichoke]

I don't have any connections either to the dental field so I had to find shadowing opportunities through my community. I reached out to 3 offices. The first one I e-mailed and I received no response. The second one I called was away on vacation and so whoever was filling in for the office said they would "pass along" my message which I don't think was the case. But luckily, the third office I called said come on in! 🙂 I then got hired and now I've been working there for a little over a year.

 

[Rand627]

Shadowed my general dentist (family has been going to him for 15+ years)
Shadowed a guy my dad plays raquetball with
Shadowed two uncles of a kid I was a TA for
and shadowed an endodontist who comes down to my school to teach!

 

[predent000]

i called so many dentists, probably almost all in my small city and it was a struggle and really frustrating when they say there's no room or they dont allow it. also, when some (maybe 1-2) agreed, their hours clashed with my classes. I asked some pre-dental students in our pre-dental society, and someone knew a dentist and she let me start at a local community clinic. so try and ask friends or officers of your society, especially juniors/seniors who probably shadowed at some point, I feel like connections are the only way sometimes

 

[Likkriue]

Cold called till one said yes.

 

[mystery84]

Cold called till one said yes.

This and be really nice to whomever picks up the phone. Also if your school has a pre health/professional office check in with them to see if they have any affiliated dentists. Look up dental clinics near you

 

[Henry Killinger]

I just called random dental offices until a couple agreed. It's no big deal, really.

You can just also send a bunch of emails if you don't feel like doing phone calls.

 

[577455]

I just called. Have something prepared so you don't sound like a clumsy idiot.
Ex: Hello, my name is XXX. I'm a XXX university student interested in pursing dentistry. I'm calling to see if I could set an appointment with Dr.XXX regarding the possibility of doing some observation and learning more about the career.... (you can finish the rest)

 

[dshen92129]

well I think in my case I am lucky.. I already work in a huge dental office.. so shadowing really isn't an issue.

 

[Nelson16]

If you're not one for cold calls I'd recommend checking out a local public hospital and seeing if they have a dental unit. Most hospitals have some type of shadowing program, if not I'd just walk in the office and ask the receptionist.

 

[DagS132]

The first office I called said yes. I was very awkward with it though but I still got it. Eventually, that office hooked me up with a specialist so I got to shadow 2 dentists just by calling one.

But there is this other place that I bothered for 2 years until they finally just said yes. But when I started shadowing, it was actually a volunteer position as dental assistant. I did it once and was guided by another assistant so it was easy. 2nd time I came in, they acted like I was a certified dental assistant and just let me hop from room to room helping other dentists. This 2nd time was sooooooooooooo bad. I can't believe they didn't just kick me out. I ended up not showing up again cause it didn't seem appropriate for me to "volunteer" there. But I learned a lot in those 2 days.

 

[BluntForceTrauma]

Cold call, ask other pre-dents in your school, ask family friends, show up at offices.

Heck, the worst they can say is no, so just go until you get a good office that you enjoy.

 

[soxinabox90]

Made a list of dentists in the area then ranked them in order of the priority that I wanted to shadow. Called each one until I got an approval. Luckily the first general dentist that I shadowed hooked me up with 4 different specialists. Each specialist was able to refer me out to another dentist. It's amazing how much each clinician can be connected to other clinicians in the area. It's a testament to how crucial networking can be in this profession.

 

[Toothout]

Emailed

 

[Frychicken]

A lot of pre-dents overthink this. Some areas are so saturated with 3-4 dentists on every block that you shouldnt have difficulty finding a dentist to shadow.

Don't be shy. You'll be working in people's mouths one day so this is rather minor in comparison.

 

[omed-hospdent]

I e-mailed my resume and a "CV" (why I want to shadow and short little intro-- mine was super informal).
I sent out close to 20 e-mails, got 18 no responses, 1 no, and 1 yes.

A lot of people say to call the offices and I tried that, but most of the receptionists told me the dentists were busy and that I should e-mail.

 

[.-.]

The area I live in might be different, but I was able to max out my AADSAS and shadow 10 dentists by cold-calling with only 3 rejections