Only 3 root canals are required to graduate?!?!?!?

[theshiznit2222]

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I just got done talking to a D1 that I know at the University of Michigan and she said that by the time she graduates, she will probably only have done three "basic" root canals and not do any implants (only watch other people do them). With this being the case, do you think a lot of people will probably have to do GPR's/AEGD's after graduating from Michigan? I got accepted to both U of M and Detroit Mercy and am having a real hard time deciding because U of M is so much cheaper, but Detroit Mercy is awesome when it comes to graduating being ready to practice... Is this lack of clinical experience at U of M worth the $80,000 price difference over four years???

 

[hifive]

I do not envy the students that have to make decisions between UofM and UDM, that is tough stuff. I just replied to a similar post before this, so you might wanna check that one out. Cost and clinical experience are the two most important factors. Although UDM will burn almost every school in clinical experience, $80,000 is too large of difference in this case, I would personally choose UofM just because you have support like residency system to help you if you dont feel ready (you could that at Detroit if you want), and with $80,000 you will have less student debt which is huge, you can probably buy a nice car for that much, start a family, put a deposit for a house, etc. That is tough stuff, good luck, they are both great schools.

 

[Pat Kelly]

I just got done talking to a D1 that I know at the University of Michigan and she said that by the time she graduates, she will probably only have done three "basic" root canals and not do any implants (only watch other people do them). With this being the case, do you think a lot of people will probably have to do GPR's/AEGD's after graduating from Michigan? I got accepted to both U of M and Detroit Mercy and am having a real hard time deciding because U of M is so much cheaper, but Detroit Mercy is awesome when it comes to graduating being ready to practice... Is this lack of clinical experience at U of M worth the $80,000 price difference over four years???

you know how many CE courses you can take with 80000? go with the cheapest school

 

[mr24]

just cause they only require 3 doesn't necessarily mean you only get to do 3!

 

[Simiam]

Come to Temple! 🙂 I'm a Junior and I've already done 3 😛

 

[Jackson-Ave-Dental]

just cause they only require 3 doesn't necessarily mean you only get to do 3!

Pre-dents can't seem to comprehend this for some reason 😕


We can ask everyone a question here... if a dental school's minimum GPA + DAT for acceptance is X and X. Would you strive to only get X and X?


Your career is what you make it to be.
(Although if your requirements are due to the school's lack of patients, then its a different story...)

 

[theshiznit2222]

I thought the same thing... "3 is the minimum requirement, you must do more right?" The D1 that I know said that she will only do three by the time that she is out, and that they are really basic because the endo students get pretty much all of the semi-difficult ones.

What about implants too? If the school we attend doesn't let you do them, will this really hurt us coming out of dental school?

 

[DentalGunner]

I thought the same thing... "3 is the minimum requirement, you must do more right?" The D1 that I know said that she will only do three by the time that she is out, and that they are really basic because the endo students get pretty much all of the semi-difficult ones.

What about implants too? If the school we attend doesn't let you do them, will this really hurt us coming out of dental school?

I have yet to see a school that lets you place the actual implant. Everyone so far allows you to prep them, though...including Michigan.

Well, no offense to your D1 friend, she is a slacker. You can do as many as you want. You just have to take control of your own education. If you want to do more, then do more. The residents will only take the cases that you can't handle; they take the cases that you'd WANT them to take because they are way past your skill level. Also, how does your D1 friend know what she'll do by the time she graduates? She hasn't even stepped foot in clinic - it's kind of hard to predict the number of endo casess she'll see in the next 3 years. Ask a D4 at Michigan and see how many they've done.

 

[dantemac]

I have yet to see a school that lets you place the actual implant. Everyone so far allows you to prep them, though...including Michigan.

That's the truth.

Also some other highly regarded schools like Penn only make you do 2 or 3 root canals. Schools like Temple you would do 10-20. Brian said 20.

 

[doc toothache]

Well, no offense to your D1 friend, she is a slacker. You can do as many as you want. You just have to take control of your own education. If you want to do more, then do more. The residents will only take the cases that you can't handle; they take the cases that you'd WANT them to take because they are way past your skill level. Also, how does your D1 friend know what she'll do by the time she graduates? She hasn't even stepped foot in clinic - it's kind of hard to predict the number of endo casess she'll see in the next 3 years. Ask a D4 at Michigan and see how many they've done.

In the real world it not possible to "do as many as you want" simply because there aren't enough patients for the procedure. The residents will get all of the cases that the particular (endo or otherwise) instructor deems the student unable to handle a case rather than what the student may or may not be able to handle.

 

[DentalGunner]

That's the truth.

Also some other highly regarded schools like Penn only make you do 2 or 3 root canals. Schools like Temple you would do 10-20. Brian said 20.

Pretty sure we were told at Penn that you'd do 15 root canals, 3 of which must be molars.

In the real world it not possible to "do as many as you want" simply because there aren't enough patients for the procedure. The residents will get all of the cases that the particular (endo or otherwise) instructor deems the student unable to handle a case rather than what the student may or may not be able to handle.

I didn't mean you just go and do as many root canals as you want on whomever you want. I meant that if your patient needs a root canal, and you've already done 3, you're not going to be expected to turn that patient away. Three is not your absolute limit - it's your minimum.

 

[hifive]

Michigan has set a 3 root canals as a threshold for a reason, while temple has set their threshold higher for reason too. Yeah you can do more than 3 root canals, but I doubt there is a patient base for much more in AA. The minimum requirements and cmptncy exms are an indirect indication of the diversity in the patient base.

 

[UltimateHombre]

I have yet to see a school that lets you place the actual implant. Everyone so far allows you to prep them, though...including Michigan.

I know of a couple of D4s at ASDOH that have place 1 or 2 implants. It is definately not the norm, but they hung out at the Perio dept enough and in the right circumstance with the right treatment plan... it worked out and they were able to.

Also helps that ASDOH has no residency programs. So everything is done by the students.

 

[DentalGunner]

I know of a couple of D4s at ASDOH that have place 1 or 2 implants. It is definately not the norm, but they hung out at the Perio dept enough and in the right circumstance with the right treatment plan... it worked out and they were able to.

Also helps that ASDOH has no residency programs. So everything is done by the students.

Yeah, I think every school will have those select few lucky/ambitious students who will get the opportunity to place an implant or do some torquing.

Wow, so even the most complex of cases will go to students? I'd figure/hope a faculty member would step in and do the procedure.

 

[peg lateral]

San Antonio has an elective 4th year limited to 10 students (application/interview process) that allows senior students to place implants. Most of the students in the elective got to place 3-4 implants, but one student placed around 15 in my class.

 

[UltimateHombre]

Yeah, I think every school will have those select few lucky/ambitious students who will get the opportunity to place an implant or do some torquing.

Wow, so even the most complex of cases will go to students? I'd figure/hope a faculty member would step in and do the procedure.

Ya i would agree with the lucky students being at most schools.

And there are a lot of schools that don't have specialty programs or residencies, so the students do get the complex cases. And of course you have faculty dentists and specialists helping with the procedure and treatment plan.

 

[lemoncurry]

some schools that have residency programs still allow students to take more complex cases. LLU is one example.

 

[budentite]

If you are surprised by the 3 RCT requirement at UofM, you'll be shocked at Boston University's even lower "requirement".

Although they "officially" say that you need to do 2 canals of RCT, they are extremely lenient in how students satisfy this requirement, where you can simulate a RCT on an extracted tooth. I think the endo instructor got tired of her students screwing up RCTs and all the patients who complained of having bleach poured down their throats. You heard me correct, you can actually graduate from BU without ever completing a RCT on a real live person. Scary.😱

Like others have said, the requirements are minimums, not absolute limits. Lets not fool ourselves, by the time you're a D4, you only priority is fulfilling your quotas so you can graduate on time, and won't waste your efforts on "extra credit" if you're short in other procedures. But at BU, there's such a shortage of patients that it's difficult fulfilling even those minimums before graduation.

 

[duckdds]

Why does BU have a shortage of patients when Boston has a huge population and has a lot of underserved people?

 

[hmmmmm]

Why does BU have a shortage of patients when Boston has a huge population and has a lot of underserved people?

budentite has covered this extensively in his posts

i applied to bu, but i'm defo not going there

 

[persenmi]

Why does BU have a shortage of patients when Boston has a huge population and has a lot of underserved people?

Tufts and Harvard. Two top notch dental schools right in the city. Why go to BU when you have these options?

 

[budentite]

Why does BU have a shortage of patients when Boston has a huge population and has a lot of underserved people?

Answer: Price of treatment

True, Boston has a huge population of underserved people. However, our fees are close to a private practice. BU also doesn't take insurance (other than Medicaid).

It simply is unaffordable.