Modeling Lab as Topic in Dental School?

[acoburn73]

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15 years ago I applied and interviewed for dental school, was wait-listed and then withdrew due to a change in personal plans. This year I'm taking the appropriate steps to switch from a 13-year Bioengineering career to dentistry - hoping to land as a non-trad student in 2014.

During my tours and interviews at a few schools in 1998, many of them said the toughest class they had was the dental modeling lab - some giving stories of having to stay up hours late into the night to have a crown hand-carved and ready for critique on Monday morning, only to find that they failed.

Fast-forward to 2013 and SDN. Many current dental students and even dentists have occasionally shared their class topic agendas for each semester and year, but I have yet to see a class schedule that specifically calls for any modeling requirement, nor have I seen anyone mention this type of class or it being extremely challenging. Perhaps it's buried in another "lab" or "clinic" topic on these schedules, or has it pretty much fallen off of most dental college's requirement list? If it has been removed, is this due to the prevalence of contracted, off-site dental labs that are capable of supplying higher quality and speedier work?

Thanks in advance!

 

[mid]

It's generally called (for crowns) something like "fixed prosthodontics"

 

[dantemac]

Some schools have labs to do some work for you. Most schools have dental students going the labwork. Get ready to obsess into the late hours of the night.

 

[acoburn73]

Some schools have labs to do some work for you. Most schools have dental students going the labwork. Get ready to obsess into the late hours of the night.

Sounds good! I actually enjoy this type of thing, but I just wanted to try and capture everything I would be faced with so that I can mentally prepare!