I am currently a sophomore attending a traditional four-year college. As of now, I have a cumulative GPA of 3.4 and a science GPA of 3.0. I am hoping that by the end of this semester, I will be able to raise my GPA to a 3.5 and my science GPA to a 3.3. Having talked to my pre-health advisor, my extracurriculars and leadership are strong for now; however, my weakest points are my GPA as it is not really in the competitive range. The state that I reside in only has one dental school and has very low acceptance rates. I'm looking forward to taking the DAT after my junior year, and I know I should score relatively high to balance off my poor GPA. However, I am concerned with dental exposure/ experience. I have yet to be involved in shadowing with dentists and know this component is critical in applying to dental schools in the future. Do you know of any ways I can approach a dentist about shadowing?Thanks!
Shadowing?
- Thread starter willow123
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Honestly, I cold-called dentists out of the phone book. 5 of 6 had no problem with me coming in for a few hours. It was really good to get some exposure to the way that different dentists ran their practices, as well as to different specialties. I know lots of other people that used this method, too, so I suggest you give it a shot.
did you go to all 5 or choose one and stick with them?
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I went to all 5, but only once each for a few hours. I knew a general dentist and an oral surgeon, so I shadowed each of them multiple times because I felt more comfortable doing that. I really just wanted to get some exposure to other office settings/specialties when I went with the phone book. I really learned a lot seeing how different dentists worked, their offices, their relationships with their staff/patients, etc. I plan on doing more of it while I'm in school so I can get ideas of what I want to emulate/avoid in my own practice.
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Seeing a dentist twice a year must be a foreign concept.
Not all of us students can afford it. So we dont have a general to go to & search the books.
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your GPA isn't that bad... its your science GPA thats a little troublesome. Try to keep your overall and science hovering at 3.4-3.5, those are good ranges for when you apply.
As far as shadowing goes, talk to your undergrad pre-dental adviser, they sometimes have a list of dentists that students can talk to and get some shadowing hours with..... If your adviser doesn't have this, call up some random dental offices in your area, and ask them. Most times, they'll let you do some shadowing for a few hours. The dentists whom do agree to let you shadow, ask them what they prefer you to wear when you show up (usually its scrubs, but you never know)
Good luck
Cold calling. Or find someone who knows someone.
Cold calling did not work for me at all. Granted, I could've called more dentists (I think I called maybe 15-20 dentists, which I thought would be enough to find at least one, but apparently not...). Some people have better luck though.
I was lucky and two people in my family were able to hook me up with two separate dentists and a dental student to shadow. Those dentists also were kind enough to offer to set me up with other dentists but I wasn't able to follow through due to personal reasons.
My personal dentist told me the office was too small and she also couldn't let me shadow for confidentiality reasons. But your dentist might let you shadow. Some people will say that you should switch dentists if your current dentist is not nice enough to let you shadow. I don't necessarily agree or disagree, but I thought I'd just mention it because I wouldn't be surprised if someone else didn't eventually say that.
So ask your dentist. Look up dentists in your areas online and start calling. And let everyone know that you're looking for dentists to shadow. Maybe a family member or friend will even be able to help set you up if they know someone. Good luck!
Cold calling did not work for me at all. Granted, I could've called more dentists (I think I called maybe 15-20 dentists, which I thought would be enough to find at least one, but apparently not...). Some people have better luck though.
I was lucky and two people in my family were able to hook me up with two separate dentists and a dental student to shadow. Those dentists also were kind enough to offer to set me up with other dentists but I wasn't able to follow through due to personal reasons.
My personal dentist told me the office was too small and she also couldn't let me shadow for confidentiality reasons. But your dentist might let you shadow. Some people will say that you should switch dentists if your current dentist is not nice enough to let you shadow. I don't necessarily agree or disagree, but I thought I'd just mention it because I wouldn't be surprised if someone else didn't eventually say that.
So ask your dentist. Look up dentists in your areas online and start calling. And let everyone know that you're looking for dentists to shadow. Maybe a family member or friend will even be able to help set you up if they know someone. Good luck!
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Will you keep that in mind when you hang your shingle?
