shadowing for extended hours

[Retimo]

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Hey guys, for anyone out there with lots of hours racked up shadowing dentists, could you help explain how you got so much experience, what you were doing, number of dentists, etc? I've got the gist of how to get shadowing appointments and contacting docs, but what you do for 40+ hours is what I don't understand.

I've very recently switched from premed to predent (don't hate). Last week I shadowed a dentist for 8 hours. I loved the experience! But I can't imagine anyone doing it for nearly 100 hours, or even 30! I think it would get old if I was the dentist or the patient. I just stood at the foot or the arm rest of the chair, peering over the doc's shoulder. Did some of you offer to file paperwork for part of the day? Did you do your time with one doc or several? If more than one, did you seek LORs from multiple, or does a solid LOR from one doc suffice? And did they really not mind that you were just hanging over their shoulder for 40+ hours?

After my 8 hour experience, I'm thinking about contacting this doc again for some more time. (I would do it in an instant if it wasn't so awkward, ha! Maybe I'm a little more concerned with privacy and confidentiality given my work experience in a hospital). Plus, this doc is alumni at my top choice school and I'd probably ask for an LOR in the future. I'm also thinking of contacting a local clinic to gain shadowing experience. I like the contrast of seeing an upper-end family practice and an inner city clinic. Am I on the right track?

I understand I'm asking a ton of questions, but my question is really supposed to be as simple as, "for those who shadowed a lot of hours, what were your expereinces like?" Sorry if some of this info could've been found in other posts. Finally, HUGE shout outs to some of the regulars who post frequently. You're all a tremendous help for a noob.

 

[OhioStBuckteeth]

I got my hours all from one doc. Both docs in that office seemed more than happy to let me look over their shoulder as much as I needed. I'm sure most like to see someone enthusiastic about the field and interested in what they're talking about. It's probably because they don't get a heck of a whole lot of people in their office that interested in the details of dentistry.

 

[RMPredent2009]

I started out in a hospital's dental clinic for about 40 hours. Yeah it may seem to get repetitive or awkward peering over the doctors shoulder but you really learn a lot especially if the doctor is willing to teach you and talk you through procedures. After a few weeks of that I also started observing at a general dentist where I could see some cosmetic and restorative procedures and did about 20 hours there. I racked up quite a few hours of dental experience at NJDS gateway to dentistry program. Apply to that if you're on the east coast...you'll learn a TON about dental school and dentistry in general. Then I applied to an internship program through my school and did 120 hours at a general practice assisting which is amazing hands on experience and I got college credit. I got lucky enough that they hired me after I was done interning and now I have a job as an assistant through the end of the summer!

Bottom line...you NEED to do more than 8 hours to know this is for you. I loved observing but I wasn't REALLY 100% until I started working with patients in a dental setting. I think everyone needs that experience.

 

[Orgodox]

Hey so some people work at clinics where they can follow a few different doctors around so they keep it interesting. I guess it partially depends on who you work for. If you feel comfortable with the doctor and if the doctor is just doing you a favor and he thinks its annoying or if he likes having you around caze then he can share his passion for his work with you. Yes your feet might start hurting and your back from bending over and it can get boring at times if its a slow day and your waiting around between patients or if you cant see much on a particular procedure but hey its what you gotta do and you really learn a lot about patient interaction and the different procedures from seeing them over and over. Hopefully you can work for a person who is very helpful and wants to teach you stuff to make your time enjoyable and educational. Personally I think if you can find a great person to work for its better to spend more time there caze you get a real feel for the office.
I spent about 15-20 hours a week for 6 weeks. I didnt go everyday but I went for about 3 hours a day on average some more some less and I would watch a few procedures and then go to class and after a while the hours added up!
But the most important thing is having a dentist who wants you there and is willing to teach you

 

[PreDent2009]

Yeah, I would think it would be a bit awkward just standing up behind the doctor observing. I did that my first day at the office and after the day was over my dentist sat down with me and told me the only way that I was going to learn anything and be able to see was to actually be in the chair assisting him. From the next day on out he let me do all the assisting everyday I went in to shadow. I worked Friday's as a volunteer assistant for over a year and now just sparatically go in and assist when I have free time. That is how I ended up with over 500 hours shadowing. I guess I justt got lucky with the dentist I chose to shadow the first time out. All the other dentists I shadowed were just for full days and they were my family friends', so I was able to feel comfortable and not awkward about standing over them. Also, I shadowed the dental GPR residents at the hospital by my house in Charlotte. That was more just observing as well, especially in the dental clinic setting, but I also got to go on rounds with the dental residents and conduct consults and clearance appointments with patients receiving radiation and chemo-treatment.

Hey guys, for anyone out there with lots of hours racked up shadowing dentists, could you help explain how you got so much experience, what you were doing, number of dentists, etc? I've got the gist of how to get shadowing appointments and contacting docs, but what you do for 40+ hours is what I don't understand.

I've very recently switched from premed to predent (don't hate). Last week I shadowed a dentist for 8 hours. I loved the experience! But I can't imagine anyone doing it for nearly 100 hours, or even 30! I think it would get old if I was the dentist or the patient. I just stood at the foot or the arm rest of the chair, peering over the doc's shoulder. Did some of you offer to file paperwork for part of the day? Did you do your time with one doc or several? If more than one, did you seek LORs from multiple, or does a solid LOR from one doc suffice? And did they really not mind that you were just hanging over their shoulder for 40+ hours?

After my 8 hour experience, I'm thinking about contacting this doc again for some more time. (I would do it in an instant if it wasn't so awkward, ha! Maybe I'm a little more concerned with privacy and confidentiality given my work experience in a hospital). Plus, this doc is alumni at my top choice school and I'd probably ask for an LOR in the future. I'm also thinking of contacting a local clinic to gain shadowing experience. I like the contrast of seeing an upper-end family practice and an inner city clinic. Am I on the right track?

I understand I'm asking a ton of questions, but my question is really supposed to be as simple as, "for those who shadowed a lot of hours, what were your expereinces like?" Sorry if some of this info could've been found in other posts. Finally, HUGE shout outs to some of the regulars who post frequently. You're all a tremendous help for a noob.

 

[Neuro178]

I shadowed a dentist that was one mile from my house (made the daily trips easy) for 60 hours over the course of 3 weeks. I simply called up the office, asked if I could shadow and told him I needed to shadow 60 hours, and we decided that 3 weeks would be good (20 hrs/week). I was there every day (4 days a week) but I usually left early. By the third week, everyone at the office loved me - I tried to bring in flowers and desserts as much as I could 🙂. On my last day, I even made chocolate covered strawberries! But anyways, yeah it did get boring after a while, 😴, but it's worth the experience. Just tell a dentist it is basically a requirement to have x hours of shadowing, and he'll probably be cool with it.

Good luck!

 

[doc toothache]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=527523

 

[amalgamgrillz]

Hey guys, for anyone out there with lots of hours racked up shadowing dentists, could you help explain how you got so much experience, what you were doing, number of dentists, etc? I've got the gist of how to get shadowing appointments and contacting docs, but what you do for 40+ hours is what I don't understand.

I worked in a general office for 3 years (3 doctors)..and this is my 4th summer working in an Orthodontic office (2 doctors)..doing all the out-of-the-mouth-stuff (instrument sterilization, impression pour ups, initial examinations/recalls, chair side assisting, X-Ray Prep etc.)..and really, you can take away a good amount of information from everything you do..like sterilizing seems pretty basic and can get very boring, but from that you learn the names of the tools, function of each instrument and how to use it..IMO, i think shadowing is a huge waste of time unless your dentist is actually going through each procedure step by step and explaining his/her approach to difference cases...I mean, you can watch them coat root canal hand files in RC Prep all you want, but if you dont know what RC Prep is or does to the canals, what are you actually learning? If you can, try and do some chair side assisting..I found this to be alot more informative/interesting..you get to know each procedure really well, and anticipating which instrument they'll need next becomes second nature.

 

[ChrisM07]

Last summer I shadowed a general dentist for 70 hours over the course of the month of July. I got to see everything from veneers, crowns, filled cavities, tooth construction over an implant, and whitening (this dentist specializes in the cosmetic procedures). His friend is an oral surgeon across the street, so, this summer I spent time with the oral surgeon. So far, I have racked up 115 hours over the course of the month. I have seen everything from, wisdom tooth extraction, placing of an implant, apicoectomy, routine extraction, brackets, biopsy, and supernumerary tooth extractions. In the beginning he basically told me "look, you're welcome to stay the whole month, or come and go as you want". I have gone almost every day since July 8th, minus three Mondays and three day's in between.

I wanted to get the most of it so that's why I went so often. Plus, I think it's really cool what he does and I get to see a variety of interesting procedures. I didn't find it awkward since he told me to come as much as I wanted. I did try however to do some office work, but the assistants told me that it wasn't fair since I wasn't getting paid. Oh well. Total, I have shadowed 185 some hours. I don't know if all this shadowing is necessary, or at what point it gets redundant (for my application that is), but I wanted to get as much in as I can. Next summer, I want to get in with an orthodontist or something.

I think before you know it, you have a solid amount of hours accumulated.

 

[206127]

I have been a dental assistant for quite some time now and i think i have about 3200+ hours under my belt... I have seen many people in your shoes and seriously the best advice anyone can give you is to get in there and "get your hands dirty"... most dentists will let you suction for them as you shadow.. they are used to having someone help them out all day but they aren't used to an extra person hanging over their shoulder.... I say get a job as a dental assistant and learn things as you work, you'd be surprised how much you can learn and how fast those hours will rack up... A day at a dental office goes by slow if you dont know whats going on but goes by really fast if you do... good luck..

 

[Gbrando2]

How do all you guys get assistant jobs without having previous experience? It seems like everywhere only wants assistants with a minimum 2 years experience

 

[ChrisM07]

A day at a dental office goes by slow if you dont know whats going on but goes by really fast if you do... good luck..

I can follow along with the procedure very well now, but it still goes by kinda slow for me. I guess standing on your feet for 9 hours will do that to ya (I thought all dentists sat in chairs. Wrong.) 🙂.

 

[whoispittsnogle]

these clowns with 1000 hours of shadowing will be condescending to you cuz they've suctioned and you haven't. remember, your gpa and dat gets you into dental schools, NOT the three awesome recommendation letters from your dentists and orthodontists who raved about your dexterity to perform impeccable suctioning and the supreme hand eye coordination to relay that bracket with quickness. they should've spent the 900 hours of those studying and raising that sorry ass gpa and dat scores. just try to get around 100 hours of shadowing, just familiarize yourself with the field that's all you need to do. GET YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT.

 

[whoispittsnogle]

oh my god please don't listen to this suggestion of getting a job as a dental assistant. this is almost as bad as becoming emt certified and working in the ER to increase your chances at med school admissions. dental schools are NOT gonna admit you cuz you have experience as a friggin dental assistant. please do yourself a favor, get 100 hours of shadowing, and GO STUDY.

 

[OLDwood]

Without a doubt, I agree that GPA and DAT scores are what dental schools used to filter applicants etc....but experience in dentistry (on top of all the required stuff) will obviously make one ahead of the game.



then again....that's my opinion......

peace everyone...

 

[rose786]

...

 

[prydA]

i have over a 1000 hours, but i was lucky enough to find a dentist who was extremely chill. we became more like friends rather than mentor-mentee, and so i actually enjoyed going in. he gladly narrated the procedures he was doing to me and taught me all the basics of assisting. him, nor his patients, ever cared that i was there looking over his shoulder. sometimes, i would look absolutely clueless when he'd tell me to do something, but being put on the spot is how you learn.

sadly, he makes fun of me a lot. he'd always say something like.. "hey see how quick and well i can shave this tooth down? well you will NEVER be able to do that"..or.. "wow how did you get a 25? i always thought you were the dumbest intern i've had" hahaha good times.

 

[whoispittsnogle]

Your english skills are impressive. 🙄

Let me ask you this: if 2 applicants have similar gpa/dat scores, what do you think will be the deciding factor in who will get an interview and who won't? You better believe it's the person with more experience and exposure to the field.

Shadowing gave me an inclination that this is the right field for me, but after assisting, I know it is.

of course in the case of two identical, not similar, applicants (what are the odds), the one with more shadowing hours will get selected. but no one can say with absolute certainty, how much of an edge that is. i'm willing to bet that the marginal benefit of 1,000 hours compare to 100 hours of shadowing is very minimal and those extra 900 hours will be MUCH better spent on improving MUCH more important facets of your application like your gpa and dat.

i'm glad being a dental assistant gave you some kind of oh my god dentistry is my calling moment. but i experienced a similar epiphany when i read about all the positives of the field even before my first day of shadowing.

 

[whoispittsnogle]

sadly, he makes fun of me a lot. he'd always say something like.. "hey see how quick and well i can shave this tooth down? well you will NEVER be able to do that"..or.. "wow how did you get a 25? i always thought you were the dumbest intern i've had" hahaha good times.

does he ever dig DEEP and say something like "nice you have a 3.3? my dental hygienist had a 3.3 undergrad i think..."

 

[prydA]

does he ever dig DEEP and say something like "nice you have a 3.3? my dental hygienist had a 3.3 undergrad i think..."

nah, he also said i was set, sup?

 

[doc toothache]

Your english skills are impressive. 🙄
Let me ask you this: if 2 applicants have similar gpa/dat scores, what do you think will be the deciding factor in who will get an interview and who won't? You better believe it's the person with more experience and exposure to the field.
Shadowing gave me an inclination that this is the right field for me, but after assisting, I know it is.

In the event of a tie with two applicants with similar gpa/dat scores but with different shadowing numbers, the one more likely to get an interview is the one who spent 900 hours backpacking in Southern Patagonia instead of shadowing.

 

[amalgamgrillz]

these clowns with 1000 hours of shadowing will be condescending to you cuz they've suctioned and you haven't. remember, your gpa and dat gets you into dental schools, NOT the three awesome recommendation letters from your dentists and orthodontists who raved about your dexterity to perform impeccable suctioning and the supreme hand eye coordination to relay that bracket with quickness. they should've spent the 900 hours of those studying and raising that sorry ass gpa and dat scores. just try to get around 100 hours of shadowing, just familiarize yourself with the field that's all you need to do. GET YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT.

lol, "these clowns." How has anyone been condescending towards the OP? Nothing bad can come of having thorough dental experience - it just shows that you'd rather spend 1000 hours in a dental setting than do 1000 at McDonalds. You just sound really bitter at the moment.

Get your priorities straight: when you're not studying "for 900 hours," get some dental experience under your belt, because the recommendation letters from a Dentist/Orthodontist is a lot more credible than your supervisor at McDonalds.

 

[Contach]

i'm glad being a dental assistant gave you some kind of oh my god dentistry is my calling moment. but i experienced a similar epiphany when i read about all the positives of the field even before my first day of shadowing.

man. you are a hater.

and wow. 2 threads were about you bitching about how unsure you were about being a dentist instead of a physician and how you can justify your choice to adcoms.. which I truly think is you trying to justify your life path to YOURSELF instead. so really, I ask myself: have you had the epiphany you speak of? I don't think so. Maybe you need to shadow more.

At the moment I only have about 30 shadowing hours with 3 dentists. I hope to get around 40 more with 2 of those 3 dentists. For me I feel that will be enough. Then starting september I am going to try and find a OMFS and perio/endo to shadow in a hospital. But we'll see how successful I am with that.. haha :'(

I think shadowing is an invaluable experience.

 

[Retimo]

First off, HUGE thanks to everyone contributing. I hope there are some other newbs reading this and learning as much as I am from the various perspectives out there. I understand there is NO correct answer, but I'm enjoying the variety of views. I'm a nontraditional 26 yo premed recently turned predent afterall! .. I understand there is more than one way to get into med and dent school. So yea, thanks
(especially things like "you're more likely to get an interview with 900 hours of experience backpacking in peru" or whatever was said. Booyah, that's right on, and I never considered it... different perspective)

Alright, with all that said, as the OP I hope I have some authority to ask that we keep any addition posts constructive and informative.

Dude, no offense to you, but you raise negative comments and raise the tension EVERY place you post. You know who I'm talking about. I've been reading your other stuff. No offense, but represent us premed-predents right...

 

[whoispittsnogle]

First off, HUGE thanks to everyone contributing. I hope there are some other newbs reading this and learning as much as I am from the various perspectives out there. I understand there is NO correct answer, but I'm enjoying the variety of views. I'm a nontraditional 26 yo premed recently turned predent afterall! .. I understand there is more than one way to get into med and dent school. So yea, thanks
(especially things like "you're more likely to get an interview with 900 hours of experience backpacking in peru" or whatever was said. Booyah, that's right on, and I never considered it... different perspective)

Alright, with all that said, as the OP I hope I have some authority to ask that we keep any addition posts constructive and informative.

Dude, no offense to you, but you raise negative comments and raise the tension EVERY place you post. You know who I'm talking about. I've been reading your other stuff. No offense, but represent us premed-predents right...

so true...you know who you are, KNOCK it off.

 

[whoispittsnogle]

Get your priorities straight: when you're not studying "for 900 hours," get some dental experience under your belt, because the recommendation letters from a Dentist/Orthodontist is a lot more credible than your supervisor at McDonalds.

or you could just study for those 900 hours...like i suggested earlier...and why are you telling me to go work at mcdonalds like it's such a bad thing? don't a lot of alums from your podunk college somewhere in canada work there?

and seriously, if i could, i would put 900hrs working at mcdonalds and a poorly written letter from the supervisor for my application. combining that minimum wage work experience with my stellar credentials including 100 hours of shadowing will surely make me a more unique standout candidate than if i had 1000 hours of shadowing. 👍

 

[amalgamgrillz]

or you could just study for those 900 hours...like i suggested earlier...and why are you telling me to go work at mcdonalds like it's such a bad thing? don't a lot of alums from your podunk college somewhere in canada work there?

and seriously, if i could, i would put 900hrs working at mcdonalds and a poorly written letter from the supervisor for my application. combining that minimum wage work experience with my stellar credentials including 100 hours of shadowing will surely make me a more unique standout candidate than if i had 1000 hours of shadowing. 👍

Easy there with the negativity lol. Note to you: your pessimism is making people dislike you - might want to brush up on those personality skills before your interviews👍. And just for the record, i'm pretty sure there are more applicants with GPAs of 3.6+ than there are with 2000+ Hours of dental experience, so I don't really know what you mean about being a "standout candidate." Stop trying to justify application by bashing people that have the things you lack....lol..

Who said working at McDonalds is a bad thing? It was a general, non-dental job that I happend to pick for contrast. A lot of our alums probably do work for McDonalds.....as upper management, but that's beside the point. My point was: why would you work at a non-dental related job (when you're not studying) as opposed to a dental-related job? You get paid as well, you get dental experience, and you get a pretty stellar reference letter. Just because some of us are actually SURE of what we want to do with the rest of our lives, doesn't mean you have to take it out on us. Next thing you know, you'll switch to Pre-Nursing and bash people on their forums.

But hey, I really couldn't care less if you don't want to get some dental experience. The tooth fairy doesn't show up in many people's dreams to deliever some sort of "come to dentistry" revelation, so maybe if you worked in a dental setting, you'd be more sure of your decision to punk out of pre-med..

 

[whoispittsnogle]

oh, i didn't know you could get into decent dental schools with a 3.6...but hey i guess we all have different standards

 

[amalgamgrillz]

oh, i didn't know you could get into decent dental schools with a 3.6...but hey i guess we all have different standards

Yep, it's funny how adcoms work. You could have a very low GPA and get in based on personality/experiences..but even with a perfect 4.0 GPA, you won't stand a chance being accepted with a personality of a rock. I guess its better to be a more well-rounded applicant. 🙂

 

[Avery07]

oh, i didn't know you could get into decent dental schools with a 3.6...but hey i guess we all have different standards

You know, I'd be willing to put money on the fact that this kid's GPA is a low 3.0... Way to take it out on us. I guess I should consider going into business. After all, my subprime 3.5 will leave me with no other options. 🙄

 

[amalgamgrillz]

You know, I'd be willing to put money on the fact that this kid's GPA is a low 3.0... Way to take it out on us. I guess I should consider going into business. After all, my subprime 3.5 will leave me with no other options. 🙄

LOL..i don't think so. I really think its like some ridiculously high 4.0 GPA, that's why he/she keeps playing up the holiness of high grades, downplaying anything below a 99% average, and hating on anyone that values something he/she might not have (ie. dental experience, extra curriculars other than Chess Club, personality, social skills etc.)

 

[queencrown]

Retimo,
Shadowing is an important experience as a pre-dent student. I've shadowed at a public hospital dental clinic and different private offices. I think that shadowing a general dentist is a good experience because you get to see different procedures (compare to an orthodontist). Also, if they do the lab work at the office that is a really good thing to learn. I used to shadow three times a week in the afternoons. After some time I got a job with the dentist I was shadowing, and he also recommended me with another dentist where I got another part time job doing lab work. As many people said, you really have to try to do hands-on stuff…I started helping with suction, setting up chairs in between patients, autoclaving instruments, then I learned how to take x-rays and assist and now I am a dental assistant just form what I learned shadowing. Another good thing is that you familiarize yourself with the instruments, materials, procedures and terms used in dentistry…once you are actually doing hands-on stuff the day will go really fast!!

 

[whoispittsnogle]

LOL..i don't think so. I really think its like some ridiculously high 4.0 GPA, that's why he/she keeps playing up the holiness of high grades, downplaying anything below a 99% average, and hating on anyone that values something he/she might not have (ie. dental experience, extra curriculars other than Chess Club, personality, social skills etc.)

ur right i mean pre-meds don't need good character, people skills, or extracurriculars they just need high gpa and test scores. 👎
the only thing that separates a good pre-med candidate and a good pre-dental candidate is the physician/surgeon shadowing hours vs. dentist shadowing hours. you act like you took some special pre-dental science courses or studied the pre-dental version of biology/chemistry/organic chemistry that i don't understand🙄. we took the same classes, studied the same subject that would be on our respective tests, worked at the same research lab, and did the same volunteering to show compassion. and please this ain't high school anymore where you would've found 4.0s and 1600s with nothing else. the baller college students who have sick gpa and test scores have even sicker extracurriculars, research, volunteering, and shadowing.

i've accrued 150 hours of dental shadowing on top of my pre-med shadowing. i was a good pre-med candidate before and now i will be a good pre-dental candidate. it's as simple as that. unless you think the schools will value your vice-president position of pre-dental honors club or be fascinated with your earnest dream of being a dentist since the age of 12, you have nothing that a converted pre-med doesn't have.

i just know that gpa and test scores come before shadowing, research, volunteering, or other extracurriculars. of course those things count for admissions. i'm not saying you should neglect it, but they should not be your priority. op would be wise to worry about his gpa and performing like yours truly on the dat before getting 1,000 hours of shadowing, 900 of which would be the very definition of law of diminishing returns.

 

[murff05]

pittsnogle, so your a pre-med reject? or dropout? that explains a lot now. and i guess my low GPA will never get me into any school.👎

 

[amalgamgrillz]

ur right i mean pre-meds don't need good character, people skills, or extracurriculars they just need high gpa and test scores. 👎
the only thing that separates a good pre-med candidate and a good pre-dental candidate is the physician/surgeon shadowing hours vs. dentist shadowing hours. you act like you took some special pre-dental science courses or studied the pre-dental version of biology/chemistry/organic chemistry that i don't understand🙄. we took the same classes, studied the same subject that would be on our respective tests, worked at the same research lab, and did the same volunteering to show compassion. and please this ain't high school anymore where you would've found 4.0s and 1600s with nothing else. the baller college students who have sick gpa and test scores have even sicker extracurriculars, research, volunteering, and shadowing.

i've accrued 150 hours of dental shadowing on top of my pre-med shadowing. i was a good pre-med candidate before and now i will be a good pre-dental candidate. it's as simple as that. unless you think the schools will value your vice-president position of pre-dental honors club or be fascinated with your earnest dream of being a dentist since the age of 12, you have nothing that a converted pre-med doesn't have.

i just know that gpa and test scores come before shadowing, research, volunteering, or other extracurriculars. of course those things count for admissions. i'm not saying you should neglect it, but they should not be your priority. op would be wise to worry about his gpa and performing like yours truly on the dat before getting 1,000 hours of shadowing, 900 of which would be the very definition of law of diminishing returns.

I don't think you understand what I was trying to imply.. I wasn't comparing myself to you, so i don't know why you're going off about taking the same classes and doing the same research..
Annnnnyways, I was merely trying to point out reasons for your lack of compassion (or *ssholeness tendancies) towards candidates with potentially lower GPAs.

I agree that pre-meds need all those things I listed, just as much as pre-dental kids do; however, just because you were pre-med/are pre-dental, doesn't mean you have those things. I'm not an adcom, so you can stop trying to prove yourself worthy.

Whatever you think YOU need to do to get YOURSELF into dental school, by all means, share it with the world. But don't argue against other people's opinions on the matter. My opinion, along with many others that seem to agree, is that if you DON'T have a stellar GPA, then getting thorough dental experience can help your application. For many people, it would be alot easier to rack up alot of quality dental experience than to do a 2-year Masters, or locking themselves in their rooms studying useless organic chem rxns to boost their GPA. It's not that simple for alot of people, and you need to realize that.

 

[Jongho Yoon]

I just decided to ask here rather than making a new thread about my issue that only applies to few pre dents.

I job shadowed a dentist for about 40 hours in Korea while my stay in Korea during the summer and am about to get LOR from him.

Since he cannot write LOR in english, I would have to get the letter from him, translate the letter in english, and check the letter in english with the dentist after he finishes writing the LOR in Korean.

So basically, I get to look at what he wrote on the letter. Should I ask him for LOR?? I'm sure he is going to write a pretty good one for me.

Also, if I should, is it fine for me to keep the letter until next year to apply? or where should I send it to from Korea? I'm confused. I don't know what I should do since I did my shadowing in Korea. Please help. Thank you.

 

[Retimo]

I just decided to ask here rather than making a new thread about my issue that only applies to few pre dents.

I job shadowed a dentist for about 40 hours in Korea while my stay in Korea during the summer and am about to get LOR from him.

Since he cannot write LOR in english, I would have to get the letter from him, translate the letter in english, and check the letter in english with the dentist after he finishes writing the LOR in Korean.

So basically, I get to look at what he wrote on the letter. Should I ask him for LOR?? I'm sure he is going to write a pretty good one for me.

Also, if I should, is it fine for me to keep the letter until next year to apply? or where should I send it to from Korea? I'm confused. I don't know what I should do since I did my shadowing in Korea. Please help. Thank you.

hey man, I'm not super experienced with any of this, but the answers seem pretty obvious to me. Yea, definitely ask him for one, and ask him if doesn't mind that you translate it. Afterall, some profs and bosses out there will tell the students to edit their LORs - or even worse, write it themselves! This isn't too common, but my point is that it's not extremely out of the question for you to read and translate the letter. You're supposed to "waive your rights" to your LOR, but that doesn't count if your boss agrees to let you read it! (right?)

About sending it to adcoms: do you have a pre-health committee through your undergrad college that could hold the letter for you? If so, have him mail it directly to them (give him enough postage, etc, duh). If you don't have an undergrad pre-dent/pre-health organization, then just do what every other person does when applying to non-health graduate schools: have him mail the letters directly to your schools when the time comes. Or if that won't be possible in the future, your 2nd option is kindly ask that he seals 10 or 20 of the letters in envelops, signs the back (to look professional), and sends them all to you. Then next year you can send those sealed envelops to the schools you're applying to. This way you won't rely on contacting him next year.

I bet some people will get carried away telling you how important it is to do the LOR process one exact way. I'm not sure that it matters as much as people make it seem. For example, my boss faxed my LOR to my pre-health committee. I almost freaked out thinking that it wouldn't be acceptable and look like a fraud. But no one cared. 😀

 

[K90]

Wow having read some of these posts, I feel sorry for anyone who wants to be a hygienist or assistant. Must really suck to be able to do only what you're told and be paid not much more than minimum for it, as well as doing the same thing every day, unlike a dentist.

 

[206127]

these clowns with 1000 hours of shadowing will be condescending to you cuz they've suctioned and you haven't. remember, your gpa and dat gets you into dental schools, NOT the three awesome recommendation letters from your dentists and orthodontists who raved about your dexterity to perform impeccable suctioning and the supreme hand eye coordination to relay that bracket with quickness. they should've spent the 900 hours of those studying and raising that sorry ass gpa and dat scores. just try to get around 100 hours of shadowing, just familiarize yourself with the field that's all you need to do. GET YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT.

well this is kind of a late reply but oh well...
I am one of these "clowns" that you speak of. I have 4000+ hours of dental experience. It sad that you think that dental assisting is just suctioning, there is much more to it then that. A good dental assistant knows what is done during each dental procedure and does things you will learn to do your 1st and 2nd year, don't you think that might be helpful in dental school?? Additionally some people, like myself, don't have the luxury of having their mommy and daddy pay for everything and have to work to pay for tuition. Yes it would be nice to have spent at least 2000 of the 4000 hours studying, but then I wouldn't have been able to pay tuition. I'm sorry but my priorities are straight, and you're just ignorant.
Oh and by the way I have a 3.0Gpa and 18/19/21 DAT and have 3 interviews so far.... yeah you must be right the my awesome GPA and DAT score are scoring me all these interviews... I should have never got so much experience in dentistry.

 

[Simiam]

Dude I think he was banned... Kind of useless bringing this one back out 😉