How long do you guys stay in the dental office when shadowing?

[2ne1]

I am currently shadowing a dentist and I go to her office twice a week (they are open 4 days a week) and stay 3-4 hours each time.
I already have ~100 hrs of shadowing so I am not asking about how many hours we need to apply or anything but asking how many hours/how often other students shadow a dentist.

I am asking this because I feel like my dentist doesn't like it that I am only shadowing her 6-8 hrs a week(Seeing 1-2 patients a day and helping dental assistants like cleaning, sterlizing, develping x-rays and etc). She never expressed this to me, but it is my feeling that she doesn't think that I want to "learn." It has been about a month since I started shadowing her and during the first 2 weeks, I shadowed her about 6-8 hours (almost the whole day) and it got too tiring (since I am standing most of the time) and got jobs, so I cut down the hours.
With my other dentists, I used to shadow them once or twice a week, from anywhere 2-5 hours a day and they didn't seem to have any problem..
What do you say?
Thanks in advnace for any input!!

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[redchesus]

Ehh... shadowing is what it is.

There's really not much to do BUT watch and ask questions. There's liability issues with you actually doing stuff ('cause you're not actually their employee). One dentist I shadowed told me he had to tell a previous pre-dent to stop shadowing him because she was touching EVERYTHING, almost like she was trying to operate on the patient herself LOL (I guess she was super curious). I mean, you're supposed to be a shadow.

If the dentist is enthusiastic they'll point stuff out to you, if not... meh. Seriously, how many questions can you ask after the tenth root canal? Usually by then I'm making sideways chit chat and asking the dentist about stuff like his/her dental school experience, running business (they tend to not go into much detail with that either, but that's understandable... money can be a touchy subject), or other irrelevant topics like the weather, etc.

I only ever shadowed 2-3 hours at a time. I really couldn't take much longer than that. And I only did 15 hours at any given office. All the dentists I've shadowed have acknowledged that, unless you're actually doing it, there's only so much to be learned from watching. So I tried to see as many different types of procedures as possible, sometimes that's hard. I just hopped around different offices so that I don't end up disrupting their lives or getting on their nerves too much.

 

[2ne1]

Ehh... shadowing is what it is.

There's really not much to do BUT watch and ask questions. There's liability issues with you actually doing stuff ('cause you're not actually their employee). One dentist I shadowed told me he had to tell a previous pre-dent to stop shadowing him because she was touching EVERYTHING, almost like she was trying to operate on the patient herself LOL (I guess she was super curious). I mean, you're supposed to be a shadow.

If the dentist is enthusiastic they'll point stuff out to you, if not... meh. Seriously, how many questions can you ask after the tenth root canal? Usually by then I'm making sideways chit chat and asking the dentist about stuff like his/her dental school experience, running business (they tend to not go into much detail with that either, but that's understandable... money can be a touchy subject), or other irrelevant topics like the weather, etc.

I only ever shadowed 2-3 hours at a time. I really couldn't take much longer than that. And I only did 15 hours at any given office. All the dentists I've shadowed have acknowledged that, unless you're actually doing it, there's only so much to be learned from watching. So I tried to see as many different types of procedures as possible, sometimes that's hard. I just hopped around different offices so that I don't end up disrupting their lives or getting on their nerves too much.

Hey redchesus, thanks for your input. After I started shadowing this dentist,I realized that by just shadowing I can really be on her nerve and make her feel uncomfortable as you said.
I don't touch patients or anything (like the girl you talked about hahah), but I did feel that she was feeling kind of uncomfortable when I was shadowing, to be exact, watching her procedures. She happily accepted me to shadow her because she knew my family, but ever since I started shadowing she doesn't really talk to me. I tried to ask her a few questions and she answers, but that's it. If there is anything she wants to say to me(like she doesn't want me to do certain things), she tells her assistants to tell me. I thought shadowing at one place is better than having few hours at many practices, but I guess I shouldn't stay at her office too long since it is kind of evident that she doesn't welcome me. UGHHHHH

Your input really helped me. I guess it is true that having a shadow following you all the time can freak you out, so I better start looking for other dentists..

 

[lvtran]

The point of shadowing is to get exposure to the field. The periodontist I shadow is really helpful. She said that I should get exposed to different areas, so at her office I also shadow a prosthodontist (they work together, smart idea). I'm also shadowing a general dentist and an orthodontist, and soon an endodontist. My hours are kind of spread out but I think that's a good thing. She said it's more important to shadow the GD, though (something about learn to crawl before you walk), so I'll try to put more hours there. Some dentists have odd office hours and sometimes at more than one location, so I'd go to a different place each time and I usually stay the whole day unless something comes up. Also, don't just stalk the dentist around, ask and learn from the assistants, I guess that shows your "yearnin' for learnin'". If your dentist isn't enthusiastic, I'd politely find someone else, because you can learn more in 1 hour with a better sensei than in 100 hrs with someone who thinks you're an annoyance. There is a difference between good, mediocre, and bad dentists. Make your shadowing fun and interesting, good luck!

 

[psi169]

To OP, you should just stop shadowing her for the following reasons:

1. You have 100 hours. That's plenty.
2. You are stressing the dentist out
3. So it doesn't sound like its a positive experience for you.
4. Sounds like the dentist has been trying to shake you for a while. Take the hint.
5. Because of the dentist's stress, she probably wouldn't write you an amazing letter or rec, or even a letter at all. So why stick around MORE?

Have you done all 100 hours with this one dentist? If so, I can see that as being irritating. You are throwing her out of her routine. Like redchess said, you should only stick around one office for 10-15 hours; not much more you can see after that.

Just move on. Not that big of deal. Tell her thanks, and call up another dentist if you want more hours.

 

[izzymask08]

100 hours? what are you on, crack?

as long as you have the stats (dat, gpa and letter), the rest are all BS.

i only did the bare minimum required by the schools i was applying to and i got in.

quit wasting your time. 1000000000hrs doesnt mean you'll get anywhere if you dont have the stat and luck. I spent my time praying rather wasting additional time at the dental office.

 

[coolfez]

hey all,

So I am starting to shadow this summer, and I am unsure how many hours I should stay with each dentist?

I am starting out with a special care dentist ( she takes care of people with disabilities) She said she will introduce me to a GD and possibly other ones.

How many hours should I stay at each place? When schools require hours, are they expecting you to shadow just GD for those hours? Thanks

 

[2ne1]

100 hours? what are you on, crack?

as long as you have the stats (dat, gpa and letter), the rest are all BS.

i only did the bare minimum required by the schools i was applying to and i got in.

quit wasting your time. 1000000000hrs doesnt mean you'll get anywhere if you dont have the stat and luck. I spent my time praying rather wasting additional time at the dental office.

hahah no, i am not on crack. The 100 hrs are from two other dentists (around 40 hrs at this current office), but it was done a few years ago. So I wanted to get some more "fresh" shadowing done before I apply. I feel confident with my stats, not sure about letters since I have never seen them, but my friends who are now in dental schools had around 200 hrs of shadowing + dental experience (with good stats). So I do want to be prepared like them.
Shadowing could be boring but I realized that every dentist is different so I learn different things from how they do procedures to interactions with team members, and I really liked it. I talked with my dentist today so hopefully things turn out better!
Thanks for all the inputs though.

 

[LLU4life]

i am so glad i saw this discussion. i am so going through the same thing. with me i dont think my dentist is neccessarily annoyed with me, but i have come to a point where i'm like i think i have learnt as much as i can learn from him. and then the other day i touched something and he was quick to take it away from me, now i know why!lol. it makes sense to go to different dentists to expand your understanding of how different practices are run, and not to wear out your welcome.

 

[peerless218]

That really depends on what you're after. If you're just looing to get the bare minumum to fulfill some school's requiring hours then...2 hrs at a time should be fine. If you're really there to learn and you're truly passionate about the field, AND of course if you have the time. Then you should be there as long as possible to observe things you have not seen. I remember shadowing a dentist for 7 hours straight on a full arch implant procedure with surgical guide PLUS immediately loading. Then I stayed for another hour afterward to discuss the case with my dentist. It was an awesome experience!!

 

[reagansmash]

I stay about 2-3 hours and I go about 3 days a week. I watch everything, I watch the hygienists clean; I watch the assistants finish a patient, set up for a patient, or clean and sterilize the instruments; and of course I watch the dentists do what they do. Occasionally I'll go up to the front desk and ask about the business side of the practice.

 

[doc toothache]

This could be a case of having worn out the welcome mat.

 

[tinman831]

lvtran is right. The purpose of shadowing is to figure out whether or not dentistry suits you. It is one of the most important aspects of your application, more important for YOU than it is for the dental school. Take all the time you need at the dental office and make absolutely sure you can see yourself doing what they do. For some, it comes a lot sooner, for others it make take a bit longer to figure it out. You are about to make a lifelong committment and you need to make an educated decision.