Pursuing OMFS

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You don't have to be #1 for OFMS so you'll be fine if you keep it high. Your overall grades are factored into your rank, so if you aren't doing well with your hand skills, then practice more and devote more time to those classes.
 
Hi all,

I am currently a D1 student and I have always considered pursuing OMFS. I am doing quite well in my classes and I am ranked #1 in my basic science and anatomy courses. I am also involved in research in my dental school as well as some student organizations. My only issue now is that I am not doing as well in the pre clinical courses. I do very well on the multiple choice exams but I have been doing poorly on the wax ups (failed one). I may be able to pull an A in that course, but I believe it will still affect my rank. Does my difficulty waxing imply that I will have a hard time with future pre clinical activities? Will this eventually hinder my chance at applying for OMFS?
Same situation as a D2. My waxup skills were perfect though, so I managed to remain at the top in D1.

Cavity preps though, another story. We'll see how things go from here.
 
Important thing to remember is by the time u enter 3rd yr the playing field is levelled... most of us who stunk at waxups and doing plasticine cavity preps caught up by the clinical yrs. Few blemishes on the preclin record won't hurt you. Make sure you have really good exposure to the field of OS by the time you apply. Sure, research helps... but spending time with a few programs during time off is invaluable. I think most of us who went through dental school, got into residency, finished and are currently practicing would agree those preclin yrs are forgettable and in the long run performance in those labs wasn't an indicator of jacksquat.[/QUOTE]
 
Hi all,

I am currently a D1 student and I have always considered pursuing OMFS. I am doing quite well in my classes and I am ranked #1 in my basic science and anatomy courses. I am also involved in research in my dental school as well as some student organizations. My only issue now is that I am not doing as well in the pre clinical courses. I do very well on the multiple choice exams but I have been doing poorly on the wax ups (failed one). I may be able to pull an A in that course, but I believe it will still affect my rank. Does my difficulty waxing imply that I will have a hard time with future pre clinical activities? Will this eventually hinder my chance at applying for OMFS?

Start putting in more time to practice your waxing. If you're doing tooth anatomy, there's still more to go (crowns, CDs/RPDs, etc.), so you want to start building your waxing skills now. Same goes for all your pre-clinical lab courses, if you want to keep your rank up you're going to have to invest time outside of class pumping through teeth to get your hand skills up.
 
Start putting in more time to practice your waxing. If you're doing tooth anatomy, there's still more to go (crowns, CDs/RPDs, etc.), so you want to start building your waxing skills now. Same goes for all your pre-clinical lab courses, if you want to keep your rank up you're going to have to invest time outside of class pumping through teeth to get your hand skills up.
Will do. I will admit, I neglected it in the beginning. Do you suggest buying practice teeth to work on?
 
Start putting in more time to practice your waxing. If you're doing tooth anatomy, there's still more to go (crowns, CDs/RPDs, etc.), so you want to start building your waxing skills now. Same goes for all your pre-clinical lab courses, if you want to keep your rank up you're going to have to invest time outside of class pumping through teeth to get your hand skills up.
What do you suggest for drill use?

I've practiced and practiced, and I'm reaching a point where I'm not seeing major improvements (D2). How can I change this?
 
Will do. I will admit, I neglected it in the beginning. Do you suggest buying practice teeth to work on?
For waxing, I'd use what you have now. If you're still having trouble, ask your classmates, instructors to see how they do their waxups; even Youtube is pretty useful. One change I would have made for my D1 waxing would have been to purchase an electric waxer sooner. At least for myself, I find that I'm quicker and have more consistent results.

What do you suggest for drill use?

I've practiced and practiced, and I'm reaching a point where I'm not seeing major improvements (D2). How can I change this?
What helped my operative the most was reading up on how other people like to do their preps. There's also a lot of info here on SDN if you search around. Youtube and just googling have been useful; eventually things will become more comfortable with more drill time.
 
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