Should a school that offers teaching implants sway my decision?

[DCGstudent]

Long story short I was accepted to two schools and am torn. After weighing everything, I am leaning 51 to 49 in the direction of Dental College of Georgia. However, San Antonio offers an implant elective which i hear is rare. Ultimately I wanted to know from current students and dentists if doing implants in school should sway my decision much? Thank you for your insight

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[anonymousdent]

its not as cut and dry as you make it. where are you from? where do you plan to practice? how much does Georgia vs San Antonio cost you? what are the schools reputations in other areas of dentistry? which state has better Medicaid coverage for dental and do these patients go to the school for treatment? what's the class size of Georgia vs san Antonio? is placing an implant a graduation requirement at UTHSCSA or is it just a possibility?

I got to place zero implants in school and if I could go back sure i'd love to have had the opportunity. how much $ is that worth in tuition? idk. it depends, of course.

at the end of the day trust your gut.

 

[Humbl3Pye]

Long story short I was accepted to two schools and am torn. After weighing everything, I am leaning 51 to 49 in the direction of Dental College of Georgia. However, San Antonio offers an implant elective which i hear is rare. Ultimately I wanted to know from current students and dentists if doing implants in school should sway my decision much? Thank you for your insight

I go to a school that has a lot of implant exposure and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I will say that if your end goal is to get implant experience, the place you’re really going to learn it is in a residency. If a school is offering an elective, just know you can probably get the same information in a CE course.

To sum it up, as @Big Time Hoosier always says, go to the cheapest school.

 

[schmoob]

Money should be the only thing swaying your decision, not a posterior implant or two where someone holds your hand.

 

[DCGstudent]

Thank y’all for the insight. I figured that doing a couple of implants while in school vs not wouldn’t be that big of a deal but wanted to ask y’all opinion. And btw my GI bill will cover both schools so money isn’t an issue. I plan on practicing in the southeast and am leaning towards Georgia.

thanks for the info anonymousdent. Class sizes are similar 90:100 but I need to do more research on the Medicaid. You have given me a few more things to compare. Thank you

 

[schmoob]

Thank y’all for the insight. I figured that doing a couple of implants while in school vs not wouldn’t be that big of a deal but wanted to ask y’all opinion. And btw my GI bill will cover both schools so money isn’t an issue. I plan on practicing in the southeast and am leaning towards Georgia.

thanks for the info anonymousdent. Class sizes are similar 90:100 but I need to do more research on the Medicaid. You have given me a few more things to compare. Thank you

If you have any service connected disabilities, voc rehab is a way better option as long as you’re at least 30%

 

[Combine33]

San Antonio all the way. I did the implant selective, but it wasnt much to be honest.

 

[Typical Average Student]

Another thing you need to consider is where you're going to practice after dental school. Georgia has their own boards specific to their state and SA does WREB which qualifies for a lot of states.

 

[P7898]

Cheapest school.

 

[yappy]

Go to the cheapest school. No dental school will prepare you to independently take on implant cases. Even if you were to you sink 100k+ into implant systems and CE (not including CBCT) after graduation you still will not be able to treat most cases.

 

[TanMan]

Go to the cheapest school. No dental school will prepare you to independently take on implant cases. Even if you were to you sink 100k+ into implant systems and CE (not including CBCT) after graduation you still will not be able to treat most cases.

The last statement is a definite hyperbole. You won't be able to treat some... there are slam dunk cases too (ASA I, 7mm+ ridge with 15mm+ of height and lots of KT). If you're in it for the long term, I think the biggest challenge is managing complications. You could spend 10-20k on an overseas course placing 30-50 implants and be prepared to take on most cases.

I'd agree though, placing 1-2 implants in dental school isn't going to make you any better at placing implants. You might even learn inefficient implant procedures in dental school.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

To sum it up, as @Big Time Hoosier always says, go to the cheapest school.

Big Hoss

 

[P7898]

But really you will have more endo patients than implant patients. So worry about the general dentistry first and I would jut get good at endo and ext. You don't have people usually walking in the door wanting to drop $2k to miss a tooth they have been living without for forever.

 

[ncide]

The GPR program at Augusta is probably the best in the nation when it comes to teaching implantology. I had the privilege of going all over the country for interviews, and these Georgia programs offered some of the best opportunities for their residents. You'd be getting much more clinical exposure to implants in a postdoctorate residency than in dental school, and honestly, that is more important. You'll learn how to do lateral wall sinus lifts, IV sedation, hybrid implant placement and restorations, and soft tissue grafts--all procedures that are out of the scope of dental students.

My advice would be go to Georgia and network there. The VA hospital in Augusta also offers a fantastic residency with a solid implantology education.

 

[Debt Free DDS]

Long story short I was accepted to two schools and am torn. After weighing everything, I am leaning 51 to 49 in the direction of Dental College of Georgia. However, San Antonio offers an implant elective which i hear is rare. Ultimately I wanted to know from current students and dentists if doing implants in school should sway my decision much? Thank you for your insight

Go to whichever is cheaper. Learn implants later. It's tough to learn in Dental school.

 

[iluvnetters]

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