Need advice on how much to prepare for Anatomy

[Typo]

Hi folks! I just bumped into this forum today and have found it so far to have a wealth of information. It's great to read opinions and thoughts of those in my same boat and with my same career interests.

I'm in the process of preparing for dental school, and I'm curious about how much depth there is in the anatomy courses at dental schools. I've heard from some dentists that their anatomy courses basically ended at the waist (in other words, they had to know the gross anatomy from the waist up), and there was special emphasis on the head and neck.

How much detail do your anatomy courses go into for gross anatomy? Functional anatomy?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time!

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[Temple2007]

Hi folks! I just bumped into this forum today and have found it so far to have a wealth of information. It's great to read opinions and thoughts of those in my same boat and with my same career interests.

I'm in the process of preparing for dental school, and I'm curious about how much depth there is in the anatomy courses at dental schools. I've heard from some dentists that their anatomy courses basically ended at the waist (in other words, they had to know the gross anatomy from the waist up), and there was special emphasis on the head and neck.

How much detail do your anatomy courses go into for gross anatomy? Functional anatomy?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time!

Hey Congrats on Dental school. I would say anything that you can take in undergrad related too Anatomy and its function would help. If you take just an intro course it is probably to basic to really help. I would take the advanced anatomy courses to get a heads up for the class. At Temple we only studied the anantomy from the head to the waist. You get pounded with the head and neck anatomy. You need to learn every little vessel and nerve in this section for obvious reasons.

 

[Austin1]

Are you going to OU this summer man? I just pulled out my class roster and saw that their is someone from Provo in my class.

 

[drPheta]

REST and RELAXATION!

Dude, the amount of info you will subject yourself to in any undergrad environment will pale in comparison to what you'll get in dental school. Save your frustrations for the actual academic year in the fall.

Most of your class will have never taken gross or dental anatomy, and those who have had exposure (large or small) will tell you that the help was minimal at best. Classes that most likely will help during dental school are:
- Biochemistry
- Physiology
- Nuerosci/Neuroanatomy

That's all I can think of for now. Otherwise...

Pack your bags and enjoy the free time you have. The summers get shorter and shorter as school progresses, so why not just take advantage of the largest break you'll have until you graduate dental school? It'll feel sooooo good.

 

[DrJeff]

As was already said, just relax now, there will be enough stress soon enough.

If you really want to prepare, start picking out what pair of scrubs will be your "anatomy scrubs", and start sniffing formaldehyde so you'll get used to the smell when it's time - When I'm back at UCONN teaching and it's "anatomy season", the room that the class is held in is by the anatomy labs, and one wiff of the formaldehyde and its instant flashback to 10 years ago when I was taking anatomy. It is truely an incredible experience that you'll never forget, and after its all said and done, the vast majority of people who have taken anatomy will agree that its was overall the most incredible learning experience of their lives!

 

[Typo]

Thanks for the advice so far, guys. I actually ought to clarify that I'm not going into dental school this year - I'll be going in 2005. I've already taken the DAT, and will be taking a minimal amount of credits at college this coming year. I feel like I've got a unique opportunity to make my load a little lighter in the beginning of dental school. My main motivation is to actually be able to have a life and spend time with my wife and kid while I'm in dental school, since I'm under the impression that it's rough to even just get by at the beginning.

DrPheta, would preparing in any of the subjects you mentioned have more of an impact than studying anatomy? The amount of info in anatomy is ridiculously huge, so that makes sense.

Thanks in advance for any further suggestions!

 

[drPheta]

In short, yes.

You will most likely benefit from those courses I mentioned more than if you had taken anatomy. Simply because the material within those courses I've mentioned span across many of the didactic courses you'll be taking, even gross anatomy! Biochemistry not so much as the others, but I've seen (even in undergrad) that physiology and neuro has helped me get through many basic science courses.

Otherwise, have fun with your time off. In essence, whatever you take now will have a minimal effect on reducing your workload. Remember, exams are subjective to the professor, not necessarily the material you're learning, and dental school itself is mostly difficult time management...not difficult material.

 

[ToothMonkey]

I asked the professor of anatomy at my state dental school whether I should take undergrad anatomy this summer, and even he said to forget about it and instead just relax and enjoy those last few months of freedom.

 

[zimaad]

I'm in the boat of having taken the prereq's and a few other classes but not anatomy or phys. After talking with many current dental students they told me not to bust my butt this spring and try to bone up, but to relax and have fun. So far, I have a remodeled kitchen, newly landscaped yard, and my golf score has dropped about 6 strokes. The way I see it, I'll have to put in the time one way or another when school starts so I'm just taking a break now.

 

[Typo]

Okay, let me try rephrasing this one more time . . . I probably should have given a lot more info at the start. Sorry about the lack of clarity. I've already taken undergraduate anatomy, and I love the subject. I lecture on anatomy at a local school and have a solid foundation on the subject. I know that dental school requires much more detail, however, so I figure that while I'm preparing for my lectures I might as well go into more detail in my studies since it might help in dental school later on.

So, here's a more detailed question: How beneficial would it be to become very familiar with all of the cranial nerves? Is there an extreme emphasis on head and neck anatomy?

Again, thanks for the replies - I probably will take your advice and relax more during this year than I was planning. Much appreciated!

 

[skylite]

Just get a good vacation and relax before school started.

Good luck and congradulation

 

[gryffindor]

So, here's a more detailed question: How beneficial would it be to become very familiar with all of the cranial nerves? Is there an extreme emphasis on head and neck anatomy?

It would be very beneficial for you to know the cranial nerves, especially to know CN 5 & 7 inside out. CN 9 & 12 are pretty important too. Lots of board type questions are easily derived from those two nerves alone. Head & Neck anatomy and cranial nerves are a major focus of the Anatomy section on the National Dental Boards Part I (our exam had 2 random arm questions as well). But individual anatomy courses at different dental schools have varying levels of depth. Some focus only on head and neck, while others do every body part in excruciating detail.

 

[Dr.SpongeBobDDS]

So, here's a more detailed question: How beneficial would it be to become very familiar with all of the cranial nerves? Is there an extreme emphasis on head and neck anatomy?

Become more familiar? Dude, you are going to know the cranial nerves inside and out when d-school gets done with you. I thought I took a pretty good beating in undergrad anatomy, but Head and Neck at dental school made that seem like coloring handouts in kindergarten. You will learn everything in so much detail it will make you want to cry. Our professor actually wrote a supplemental head and neck book for us to use (~100 pgs.) because Netter's wasn't detailed enough!

To top it all off, that will be only one class of 12 and probably won't be the most difficult. Preparation is futile.

 

[Typo]

Our professor actually wrote a supplemental head and neck book for us to use (~100 pgs.) because Netter's wasn't detailed enough!

Yikes, man . . . I was thinking my Netter's would be plenty.

 

[johntran]

Yep I totally agree with what people are saying. It also depends on what school you are going to. In our school we are integrated with the medical education for the first two years. So we take essentially the exact same classes except reproduction (we have a "dental version").

Don't worry. I never took any anatomy course prior to getting into dental school...and I did better than class avg on all tests.

For anatomy I had to learn basically the whole body in detail. As in you will know, and as these guys have told you, they tell you every detail. Especially in the Head + Neck...nerves, vessels, and muscles. Even to the point where you know when such and such muscle becomes superficial to such vessel which are both pierced by such and such nerve. Oh, and don't forget about all the foramen, fossae, and sinuses of the skull....

RELAX now.... serious. <-----me when i had to learn head and neck


DDS 2006