Shadowing Dentists

[disruptor]

Hey guys,

I'm curious as to how many hours you or the schools think are necessary or satisfactory for shadowing, since no schools specifically list it? I got a dentist to shadow but I don't see how I can learn anymore by being there more than 10-20 hrs? Or am i wrong?

Thanks

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[wammmy]

Hey guys,
I'm curious as to how many hours you or the schools think are necessary or satisfactory for shadowing, since no schools specifically list it? I got a dentist to shadow but I don't see how I can learn anymore by being there more than 10-20 hrs? Or am i wrong?
Thanks

Very few schools actually require a set number of hours, infact off the top of my head the only school I remember is LLU and they wanted 20 hours documented. When I was asking this question a year ago people told me at least 30-40, 10 of which I did in Endo and 10 in ortho. But, your right, they don't print it anywhere, thats just what I was told.
Hope that helps.

 

[12YearOldKid]

15 or 20 hours is probably plenty unless you find a dentist who actually lets you assist. The purpose of shadowing is just to get an idea of what dentistry is all about. In medicine there is a place for just about everybody, but dentistry really requires a certain type of personality. A dental degree opens a lot of doors, but it is a unique individual who ever really wants to walk through any of them.

There are people in my class who chose dentistry for the money and lifestyle and they are hating life. They hate dentistry; they hate seeing patients, they hate lab work, they hate classes, they hate that nobody outside of school understands what it is they do, they hate getting very little respect for the effort that they put in.

I'm not trying to paint a terrible picture for you. I love dentistry; I honestly get up in the mornings and can't wait to get started when I have a fun case scheduled. I read dental material that isn't assigned because I... gasp... find it interesting. But dentistry is NOT for everyone.

And ironically, the people who are in dentistry only for the money and cushy lifestyle are the most likely to NOT reap those rewards. The people who actually enjoy the profession enough to spend time developing their skills and expanding their repertoire are the ones who become the most successful. People who hate dentistry are simply not going to put in the time needed to become excellent dentists. These people are going to coast by on the minimum, least labor intensive CE they can get away with and never progress much beyond their dental school training.

Anyway, that's probably more than you asked for. The point I was trying to get across before I got sidetracked is to spend your shadowing hours deciding if dentistry is really something you can see yourself doing for the rest of your life. Don't worry too much about figuring out why the dentist is doing what he is doing or the specifics of certain procedures; it really doesn't matter at this point. Spend as much time as it takes to decide if you are cut out to be a dentist. After you've seen enough to make a semi-informed decision there's really not much point in continuing.

 

[pbure]

solid post. good work sir

15 or 20 hours is plenty unless you find a dentist who actually lets you assist. The purpose of shadowing is just to get an idea of what dentistry is all about. In medicine there is a place for just about everybody, but dentistry really requires a certain type of personality. A dental degree opens a lot of doors, but it is a unique individual to who ever really wants to walk through any of them.

There are people in my class who chose dentistry for the money and lifestyle and they are hating life. They hate dentistry; they hate seeing patients, they hate lab work, they hate classes, they hate that nobody outside of school understands what it is they do, they hate getting very little respect for the effort that they put in.

I'm not trying to paint a terrible picture for you. I love dentistry; I honestly get up in the mornings and can't wait to get started when I have a fun case scheduled. I read dental material that isn't assigned because I... gasp... find it interesting. But dentistry is NOT for everyone.

And ironically, the people who are in dentistry only for the money and cushy lifestyle are the most likely to NOT reap those rewards. The people who actually enjoy the profession enough to spend time developing their skills and expanding their repertoire are the ones who become the most successful. People who hate dentistry are simply not going to put in the time needed to become excellent dentists. These people are going to coast by on the minimum, least labor intensive CE they can get away with and never progress much beyond their dental school training.

Anyway, that's probably more than you asked for. The point I was trying to get across before I got sidetracked is to spend your shadowing hours deciding if dentistry is really something you can see yourself doing for the rest of your life. Don't worry too much about figuring out why the dentist is doing what he is doing or the specifics of certain procedures; it really doesn't matter at this point. Spend the time deciding if you are cut out to be a dentist.

 

[vertical bite]

15 or 20 hours is probably plenty unless you find a dentist who actually lets you assist. The purpose of shadowing is just to get an idea of what dentistry is all about. In medicine there is a place for just about everybody, but dentistry really requires a certain type of personality. A dental degree opens a lot of doors, but it is a unique individual who ever really wants to walk through any of them.

There are people in my class who chose dentistry for the money and lifestyle and they are hating life. They hate dentistry; they hate seeing patients, they hate lab work, they hate classes, they hate that nobody outside of school understands what it is they do, they hate getting very little respect for the effort that they put in.

I'm not trying to paint a terrible picture for you. I love dentistry; I honestly get up in the mornings and can't wait to get started when I have a fun case scheduled. I read dental material that isn't assigned because I... gasp... find it interesting. But dentistry is NOT for everyone.

And ironically, the people who are in dentistry only for the money and cushy lifestyle are the most likely to NOT reap those rewards. The people who actually enjoy the profession enough to spend time developing their skills and expanding their repertoire are the ones who become the most successful. People who hate dentistry are simply not going to put in the time needed to become excellent dentists. These people are going to coast by on the minimum, least labor intensive CE they can get away with and never progress much beyond their dental school training.

Anyway, that's probably more than you asked for. The point I was trying to get across before I got sidetracked is to spend your shadowing hours deciding if dentistry is really something you can see yourself doing for the rest of your life. Don't worry too much about figuring out why the dentist is doing what he is doing or the specifics of certain procedures; it really doesn't matter at this point. Spend as much time as it takes to decide if you are cut out to be a dentist. After you've seen enough to make a semi-informed decision there's really not much point in continuing.

VERY GOOD INDEED !!!

MADE ME SMILE> !


Shadowing is good. There was a guy at my school who shadowed a dentist and changed his major. Said he didnt want to be so close to people. Funny huh!

 

[helix]

Hey guys, I just started shadowing a dentist and might have hardly done about 3 hrs. I was frustrated at the fact that he did not explain me anything and I was just staring clueless at what he was doing. But it did make me think of the most important question - do I wanna do this for the rest of my life? And you are right "12yearoldkid", it is not imp. that I understand the procedures, but that feeling which suddenly hits you...ahhh I found it!!
I donno if this makes sense...but I also wanted to know if the dentist whom I am shadowing needs to write up a letter or something "proving" that I was shadowing him?

 

[sidewalkman]

Straight from their web site, Tufts requires that you have 30 hours of shadowing. Few schools have a hard requirement, though.