Importance of technology at a school..

[pinkpari27]

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Hey guys, so it's getting closer to decide on which schools to attend, and when touring I noticed some schools are more highly advanced when it came to their facilities vs. other schools. How important do you guys think it is to go to a school that has the most advanced technology? I am not sure what type of clinic I will be working at after graduation but isn't it better to have experience with the latest technology therefore you are not behind/lost when you start working, any thoughts would be appreciated, thanks!

 

[ilovegoldens]

For sure, latest tech is always a pro!
I don't think it should be the main decisive factor but definitely something that helps in your decision.

Hey guys, so it's getting closer to decide on which schools to attend, and when touring I noticed some schools are more highly advanced when it came to their facilities vs. other schools. How important do you guys think it is to go to a school that has the most advanced technology? I am not sure what type of clinic I will be working at after graduation but isn't it better to have experience with the latest technology therefore you are not behind/lost when you start working, any thoughts would be appreciated, thanks!

 

[HupHolland]

just a heads up- even the more advanced schools are now "outdated" when comparing them to the latest and greatest private practice offices.

in addition, in school you will be using tried and true, but old school methods for getting the job done: tofflemire matrices (vs. triodent v3 matrix), rubber dams (vs. isolite), retraction cord (vs. traxodent and soft tissue lasers), etc. Why? Because they are cheap, operating a dental school is hella expensive and they're going to find every way to save a penny here n there.

with that said, there are a couple technological things I would look for when choosing a school: electric handpieces and digital radiography.

I know you've probably heard this a million times, but price trumps just about everything. Next, clinical education. Go to the school that will give you the most experience with the least hassle. Now, you can look at technology 🙂

Hup

 

[The Hammer]

A few years ago I would have agreed with Hupholland that price is the main consideration but not anymore. This is what I think you should consider when looking at a dental school in order of importance:

1. Clincal experience: What is the clinical setting? Is it bay oriented where you do most if not all of your procedures from "your chair" or do you have to travel to different departments for different procedures ( OS dept for exts, endo dept for RcTX). Once upon a time this is how all dental schools were but no more. This is an outmoded learning platform. The closer your clinical setting in dental school is to how you will be practicing in real life the better you will be prepared for dentistry after graduation.

2. Technology: There are some techniques and pieces of equipment that you should not start practice without like digital x-rays, experience with either a laser or a radiosurge, all ceramic restoration preps, posterior composites and rotary endo. Also the school should give you some training in practice management software (like Dentrix or Eagle Soft). You should understand the basic bookkeeping functions on a practice management software BEFORE you get into private practice.

3. Instructors: Who is teaching you? Are they instructors who have never worked in private practice? Are they a constantly rotating pool of part timers? The closer you can work with an instructor who has had some real world experience the more that you can learn about what you need to make it in private practice (unless the instructor is a bitter failure who resents the bright future you have in front of you, avoid these people as much as possible)

4. Cost: Unless you have a large trustfund get used to debt and learn the difference between good debt (anything that will make you money like a dental practice) and bad debt (anything that takes your money like a big ass house, expensive car or a crack habit). The cheapest dental school is not as good as a more expensive school if you are not getting the same clinical experience. Likewise the most expensive dental school is not as good as a less expensive school if the clinical experience is the same. Most students are going to dental school to become dentists in private practice, not researchers, academics or public health dentists. Whichever school best prepares you for private practice is the one that will help you hit the ground running once you graduate.

 

[HupHolland]

hammer, are you a dental student or pre-dental? just curious. i do agree with some of your points, however.....

if you're pre-dental as your status states, you will realize quickly that you're paying for a license to practice dentistry really, not some superior clinical education by attending x vs. y. the $60,000 you can save at school y, even though x may be better clinically does not justify attending x. real world experience and $50,000 of some quality CE has a higher ROI than attending x.

Hup

 

[The Hammer]

hammer, are you a dental student or pre-dental? just curious. i do agree with some of your points, however.....

if you're pre-dental as your status states, you will realize quickly that you're paying for a license to practice dentistry really, not some superior clinical education by attending x vs. y. the $60,000 you can save at school y, even though x may be better clinically does not justify attending x. real world experience and $50,000 of some quality CE has a higher ROI than attending x.

Hup

$50,000 of CE in reality will cost more like $85,000 to $100,000 if you factor in lost time and productivity. And if you have a nut to crack each month you will find it harder and harder to take that time off and spend that money. The $60,000 extra that you spend on school x over school y will more than pay for itself if it teaches you that particular bit of knowledge that you otherwise would be paying for CE to learn. Not to mention the down time you will have to spend getting over the learning curve without any supervision and training/educating your staff once you return to your practice. The better clinically trained you are as you leave dental school the quicker you will pay off any loans you have either from school or from a practice purchase and the quicker you will start to accrue money.

 

[charlestweed]

You should pick a dental school doesn't let the students use the high tech equipments. You should learn to do things the hard (the old fashioned) way while you are in dental school…ie use rubber dam when doing fillings, use hand scalers instead of cavitron, use endo files instead of rotary handpiece, use custom trays, do border molding and do face bow mounting when making dentures, do a ¾ crown (or an MOD onlay) prep instead of a full coverage PFM prep etc. Your clinical skills will be stronger when you get out. Once you master driving a car with a stick shift, it shouldn't be too difficult to switch to automatic transmission.

The owner dentists actually prefer hiring an associate dentist who doesn't demand a lot of high tech gadgets. They usually want to hire someone who is easy going and can work with things that they provide. If the owners don't have spend a lot of $$$ on high tech equipments and materials, they can afford to pay you higher salary. Low overhead is the key to a successful business.

 

[browncrack]

In this order, I suggest the following criteria; cost, board pass rate, on-time graduation rate, residency/specialization rate, percentage of full-time clinical faculty, technology. This is, of course, opinion.

 

[HupHolland]

In this order, I suggest the following criteria; cost, board pass rate, on-time graduation rate, residency/specialization rate, percentage of full-time clinical faculty, technology. This is, of course, opinion.

I like cost and on-time graduation rate. I'm not so sure about board passing rate, considering each school is 95%+.

Hup