Some general pre-dent questions

[ProfessionalNapper]

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Hi, everyone! I've been lurking this forum on and off for about a year so I figured it was about time I got an account and asked a couple general questions.

So a little background: right now I'm going into my second year at the University of Florida as a Psychology Major on the Pre-Dental track. I haven't gotten too deep into my Science pre-requisites (I'll be taking Bio and Orgo this upcoming year), but I've managed to maintain a 3.9 GPA. Right now I'm on the exec board of a Pre-Health organization called MEDLIFE, I'm an RA, and I'm involved with a few other organizations on campus. I'd like to get involved with the Pre-Dental society on campus, but their schedule conflicts a lot with mine.

So I have a couple questions. I have not shadowed a dentist yet, and do not think I will legitimately have time to until next summer due to my other commitments. Is pushing this off a bad thing? And in your experience, did you just shadow your own dentist, or seek out someone else?

Obviously there's no specific way to go about doing everything, but is there any general timeline anyone could recommend? Like, should I try to use next summer to shadow and the next summer for apps/DAT studying, try to get ahead on classes one summer while shadowing, etc.?

Also, I'm a little intimidated by all the schools and their different requirements (for example, I believe UF requires Microbio and Biochemistry, whereas BU does not). Is there a list of classes that encompasses most of the dental schools in the US? I know most require the Bio/Chem/Physics/Biochem/etc. but there seems to be a couple other classes that some schools require and others don't. I guess I'm just unsure if I should start seriously looking into dental schools now so I can be sure to take the classes necessary to apply. I feel like I'm over thinking this haha.

Also, this will be different for everyone, but is there anything you wish you knew in the years before applying to dental school?

Okay, well, this post got really long. Thanks in advance to anybody who responds. 🙂

 

[dentalgirl7893]

Hi there! So this is just my own personal advice.. By no means the be all end all since I'm in the process of applying right now 🙂 I didn't start shadowing until the summer after my sophomore year. But when I did start shadowing I hit it hard and got in a lot of hours to make sure it was what I really wanted to do. You want to start shadowing sooner rather than later so it doesn't seem like you're just trying to fit it in last minute.. But you should be fine starting next summer if that's what you need to do. As far as DAT studying... Idk when you were planning on taking it. If you're planning on taking it at the end of your junior year I would give yourself ample time to study for it (you don't just want to study the summer you plan on taking it). It can be done as you've probably seen on here but it's much less stressful to start further in advance. Check out some of the breakdowns on here for when they started studying. I started in January and took it in may and still felt crammed for time. Finally, as far as your prereqs questions go your safe bet is definitely to have biochem (upper level!!) as you said, and a lot of schools also require microbiology (upper div). Some schools like midwestern also require anatomy and physiology, and those are good classes to have going in anyway. Sorry this turned into an essay, good luck in your endeavors! And feel free to message me if you have anymore questions.

 

[dentalWorks]

Regarding shadowing, I think its imperative you get it done as soon as you can. Your other extra curricular activities are not as important as shadowing. And it doesn't really need to be THAT much. I mean, sometimes I see students with hundreds (even thousands) of hours, thats just a waste. All you need is 50-100.

As far as which dentist to shadow, it doesn't matter, who ever allows you to come is good enough. I would recommend general dentist as opposed to a specialist.

And with requirements. Even if a school does not list a particular subject as their requirement (example biochemistry), I think its still important to take the class because its considered an upper level bio, and maybe the school's website doesn't specify it as a requirement, but, the decision makers still evaluate your undergrad progress based on these upper level biologys'. I always recommend to undergrads to take the following:
-Gross anatomy (preferably w/ cadaver lab)
-Biochemistry (real 300/400 level... not introductory)
-Physiology (again, not introductory)
-Histology
-Microbiology (God I hated microbio in dental school)

 

[floatingonforever]

I heard that UF has two different Pre-dent clubs. They have Pre-dental society and Pre-dental ASDA. I would see which is better for your schedule and try to have a leadership position in one of those clubs since you still have a lot of time. & honestly I didn't start shadowing a private practice till last month and I am applying this cycle. I have a lot of volunteering opportunities with dentistry but pushed off shadowing till now. It may seem like a late start, but better late than never. I used the summer of my sophomore year to study for the DAT and I am so happy that I did because that is just another stress factor off my list as I am applying this cycle right now. However, MANY people take the DAT the summer they apply and that is perfectly fine as well. All depends on what you want.

 

[techyguy]

If you can, try to build one semester of classes where you have one whole day off, Mon - Thurs. (not many dentists work Firdays). You'll be able to rack up the shadowing hours, and you'll most likely have time for the rest of your classes and ECs, too.

 

[BrazilianRider]

Dude, if I see you on campus I'm so gonna vacantly stare at you.

 

[dlilb]

There is no exact timeline for when you should do everything you need. ASDA has a pretty good timeline that lists the things you should do.