I don't speak dentist

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Hawkeye7685

Hawkeye
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  1. Dental Student
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So I've been checking out the dentist boards a little more lately since I've decided on a school and I have a question about some of the stuff I've been reading. I am coming into dental school as the first person in my family to be a dentist and to be honest, all the lingo you guys are using like Amalgam IV (some type of filling) and all this other stuff is pretty intimidating. Does all of this stuff come prett quickly to you when you hit dental school or should I start trying to look over some stuff before I get to school. Basically don't want to walk in the first day and be ten steps behind out of the gate.
 
So I've been checking out the dentist boards a little more lately since I've decided on a school and I have a question about some of the stuff I've been reading. I am coming into dental school as the first person in my family to be a dentist and to be honest, all the lingo you guys are using like Amalgam IV (some type of filling) and all this other stuff is pretty intimidating. Does all of this stuff come prett quickly to you when you hit dental school or should I start trying to look over some stuff before I get to school. Basically don't want to walk in the first day and be ten steps behind out of the gate.

you should shadow a dentist for a little while. but thats about it. we have plenty of people in our class who came in not even knowing what mesial and distal meant. It comes at you really quickly but you take it in. Thats how ALL the info comes at you! So its not really realistic to try to accumulate a "buffer" of knowledge before school starts. that buffer will exhaust itself really quickly.

You can spend a month reading up on lingo over the summer. but it'll be taught to you in two hours in school. and thats a really bad time difference if you ask me.

Blow your cash and go on a nice summer vacation without any studying. You'll be ridiculously in debt for the foreseeable future anyway.
 
Shadowing won't help much unless the dentist wants to stop and teach you some morph lessons. You'll learn all of it in the first class or two of dental morphology / operative.
 
Agree with what's been said. You'll be using these terms all the time once you're in your preclincal classes so don't you worry. Just get into the habit when you point to something on your tooth or cavity prep you say "mesial axial wall" instead of "that thing" and you'll be fine.
 
So I've been checking out the dentist boards a little more lately since I've decided on a school and I have a question about some of the stuff I've been reading. I am coming into dental school as the first person in my family to be a dentist and to be honest, all the lingo you guys are using like Amalgam IV (some type of filling) and all this other stuff is pretty intimidating. Does all of this stuff come prett quickly to you when you hit dental school or should I start trying to look over some stuff before I get to school. Basically don't want to walk in the first day and be ten steps behind out of the gate.


don't worry about it..
 
I would take as much vacation and have as much fun as possible prior to dental school. Several trips to Vegas or Hawaii seem in order. All the terminology will start on day one, and will continue for the rest of your life. The fun may take a hiatus during school, so enjoy it while you can.
 
dental jargon is very overrated. I rarely use it at work and try to never use with a patient. The less you learn the better off you will be. Just learn the meaning of the words but do make a habit of using them.
 
So I've been checking out the dentist boards a little more lately since I've decided on a school and I have a question about some of the stuff I've been reading. I am coming into dental school as the first person in my family to be a dentist and to be honest, all the lingo you guys are using like Amalgam IV (some type of filling) and all this other stuff is pretty intimidating. Does all of this stuff come prett quickly to you when you hit dental school or should I start trying to look over some stuff before I get to school. Basically don't want to walk in the first day and be ten steps behind out of the gate.

I was in the same spot. You learn all that stuff in dental school though. They start at the beginning. You will be studying more than your dental assistant classmates, but you'll be fine.

I can say this with confidence, as it looks like you are going to be attending temple 🙂
 
Dont worry buddy - as has already been said - you'll learn all the jargon in the first week, and when you know what it means, it sticks in your head pretty easily because you use it all the time.
 
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