specializing ?... kinda

[Britty894]

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Hi everyone!!

Im gonna be a first year dental student this summer. Although Im not dead set on specializing (i think its ridiculous to have your specialty picked out completely before you even START), I would be open to it if I found something I really liked.

How did yall decide on which specialty to do? Did a lot of you know right away? How soon did you have to decide? Did you even think you wanted to specialize when you entered school?

Should I just try to do really well in my science classes incase I want to specialize?? I dont know if theres anything else I could be doing..

Im a little bit worried/intimidated that everyone's gonna be super competitive.. guess Ill just have to wait and see how it is...😳

 

[NileBDS]

Hi everyone!!

Im gonna be a first year dental student this summer. Although Im not dead set on specializing (i think its ridiculous to have your specialty picked out completely before you even START), I would be open to it if I found something I really liked.

How did yall decide on which specialty to do? Did a lot of you know right away? How soon did you have to decide? Did you even think you wanted to specialize when you entered school?

Should I just try to do really well in my science classes incase I want to specialize?? I dont know if theres anything else I could be doing..

Im a little bit worried/intimidated that everyone's gonna be super competitive.. guess Ill just have to wait and see how it is...😳

Yes, please wait. Any advice you will get today, will be totally irrelevant 4 years from now. You still have a couple of years until you need to make up your mind. In the mean time, keep all doors open ... externships, volunteer for oral health campaigns and screening events, get involved in organized dentistry (ASDA, ADEA, ...), research never huts and dental school GPA.

 

[setdoc7]

You need to do very well from the opening day of school if you really want to "keep your options open". Let's face it, getting C's in basic science will get you through, but not into ortho or OMFS 4 years down the line. So those options won't be open if you slack off in the beginning and there is no making it up. The gunners in your entering class know this, so do the legacies.

 

[HupHolland]

Just do your best. Don't sweat the small stuff or you'll drive yourself crazy and look like a clown to your more grounded classmates.

I'm all about keeping options open, but don't let it turn you into a sketchy dental student.

Hup

 

[DROCKINDAHOUSE]

I'm competitive. I play to win. Jk Lol check the people in our class' facebook page...most of them look competitive.

 

[mamelons]

I'm competitive. I play to win. Jk Lol check the people in our class' facebook page...most of them look competitive.

lol 👍

 

[Britty894]

I've just noticed on here that it seems like a lot of kids are like so set on it when they come in. I am interested but not sure so I guess what I was trying to ask is how do u find a balance between keeping your options open and overextending yourself...
Hey darock... Are u still coming this summer? I saw your other post :-(

 

[The Anhedonia]

the funniest thing is that 90% of predents are all certain beyond a fraction of a doubt that they want to do orthodontics. every single one of them. 😛

it's good to keep your options open. before starting college, i decided i wanted to be a civil engineer. i just did it, finished, worked, hated it, and now i'm back as a lowly undergrad. so, yeah, take your time in deciding what you want to do.

 

[Mackchops]

Here's my suggestion: Even if you do find a specialty that you love you need to graduate dental school first. You won't get into ortho if you fail everything else. Do well in everything and don't be one of those people that complains about doing wax-ups because "I'm going to be an oral surgeon anyway"... that bugs me...

I'd recommend spending time in the undergrad and postgrad clinics when you get to school. And more than once. Get a feel for each discipline and how each fits (or doesn't) into the bigger picture. I have a friend here who wants to specialize but his problem is that he loves EVERYTHING! So why not become a GP and practice EVERYTHING? Get your feet wet and you'll eventually figure out what you want to do.

I'd also recommend jumping on the extracurricular bandwagon in case you do decide to fall in love with a competitive specialty. Pick one or two things and excel at them. Research, student government, club, outreach, community service. Programs don't care about the focus of your EC so much as they do the leadership role you took in them. Become president of your club. Get your reserach published. Despite the "numbers trump all" message you'll hear from people on this forum, I know plenty of people who have jumped into spots at competitve programs with less-than-stellar stats but with other things that were simply outstanding. Be well-rounded in d-school and you'll not only figure out what you want but you'll make your life easier getting there.

 

[setdoc7]

Mackchops is correct about programs wanting to see extracirriculars that you are committed to. On the other hand I will re state that grades for some specialties are very important. No one is sliding into a 6 year OMFS program with low grades and board scores. Ortho is another case, where the vast majority of accepted applicants are in the top 5%. There are always exceptions, but that is what they are.....exceptions.

 

[Istr8nthem]

the funniest thing is that 90% of predents are all certain beyond a fraction of a doubt that they want to do orthodontics. every single one of them. 😛

it's good to keep your options open. before starting college, i decided i wanted to be a civil engineer. i just did it, finished, worked, hated it, and now i'm back as a lowly undergrad. so, yeah, take your time in deciding what you want to do.

The thing is... prior to being in dental school, most people are introduced to dentistry through their orthodontic treatment. That isn't to say that predents don't get ample exposure to general dentistry and other specialties by shadowing, however, normally the initial, and often most powerful experience is their orthodontic treatment. Also, the orthodontist is often seen as the "nice dentist" because there is no drilling, filling and pulling teeth. This leads people to place orthodontics as their dream after dental school. You don't visit your GP, a periodontist, endodontist, OMFS, or pediatric dentist nearly as much as you visit your orthodontist growing up! When a predent enters dental school, they have likely shadowed many different dentists, but still have the lasting experience of orthodontics in their minds. During dental school, students are able to see what other specialties are all about from the inside out and they often realize that as a GP, you can pick and chose what you want to do. That isn't to say that people don't enter dental school because they love general dentistry and want to be a general dentist, because many do.

Nonetheless, it is crucial that if you think you are interested in specializing (even if you don't think you are-you may change your mind) it is a good idea to keep your options open through dental school. It isn't until your 2nd-4th year of dental school that you are able to see what "real" dentistry is all about and get a feel for what fits you best, so if you slack in first year and blow your chances you may be kicking yourself.

Like others have said, the best thing to do while in dental school is spend time in the postgrad clinics and get a better idea what the specialties are all about. You will likely know as much about orthodontics when you graduate dental school as you did when you entered it. Very few dental school dive into teaching about orthodontic cases except for simply showing a few points on a lateral ceph and telling you what it means to be class I, II, or II.

 

[Britty894]

Thanks everyone for the great responses!!! I've heard of spending more time in the different specialty clinics.in your opinion, how welcoming were the grad clinics to allowing you in? Do people look down on you for wanting to observe/ learn about more than one specialty? How did u find time for this extra stuff in school? My school actually offers electives about a few of the different specialties although I'm sure I would not have time to take a bunch....

 

[CanuckDDS]

Hi everyone!!

Im gonna be a first year dental student this summer. Although Im not dead set on specializing (i think its ridiculous to have your specialty picked out completely before you even START), I would be open to it if I found something I really liked.

[B]How did yall decide on which specialty to do? Did a lot of you know right away? How soon did you have to decide? Did you even think you wanted to specialize when you entered school?[/B]


Should I just try to do really well in my science classes incase I want to specialize?? I dont know if theres anything else I could be doing..

Im a little bit worried/intimidated that everyone's gonna be super competitive.. guess Ill just have to wait and see how it is...😳

to answer your question directly...

How did yall decide on which specialty to do? Did a lot of you know right away? How soon did you have to decide? Did you even think you wanted to specialize when you entered school?

No, I was actually poked and prodded by some faculty and classmates(that's right, encouraged by classmates to specialize) who "saw something in me" into OMFS. I was going into dental school with an open mind.

I have to say that most of the ppl in my class that came into dental school saying they were GOING TO BE AN ORTHODONTIST/OMFS were in fact all talk. Most of the big talkers are just that. They ended up near the bottom of the class (actually one of them flunked out the school, sued to get back in, took 6 years to get his DDS and is now "teaching" GP's how to do "ortho" through the Rondeau lecture series!! PS he is NOT an orthodontist).

The good ppl who never talked a big game went on to specialize. About 15% of my class is in some specialty now, all of the ppl are good ppl. I stay in touch with most of them.

Here is my advise...

work hard (not for marks but because this is going to be your "profession", marks will come for sure), be congenial (this doesn't mean kissing faculty ass), help your classmates (you never know when you will need their help), keep your options open (don't badmouth anyone, don't burn bridges), be genuine (good ppl can see right through trash), get a good group of friends who are in it to make each other better- this is the key. If you have some ppl to pick you up when the $h!t hits the fan, you will really enjoy dental school.

This is how I feel you should approach school. It seems idealist but it worked for me and the specialists/good DDS's that i graduated with.

I hope this helps😕

 

[Istr8nthem]

Here is my advise...

work hard (not for marks but because this is going to be your "profession", marks will come for sure), be congenial (this doesn't mean kissing faculty ass), help your classmates (you never know when you will need their help), keep your options open (don't badmouth anyone, don't burn bridges), be genuine (good ppl can see right through trash), get a good group of friends who are in it to make each other better- this is the key. If you have some ppl to pick you up when the $h!t hits the fan, you will really enjoy dental school.

This is how I feel you should approach school. It seems idealist but it worked for me and the specialists/good DDS's that i graduated with.

I hope this helps😕

This is great advice! This worked exactly the same for me while in dental school, and it also worked for my friends who went on to be great GP's and specialists. I, along with most of my good friends had no problem attaining our goals and we all truly enjoyed our dental school experience!

 

[DROCKINDAHOUSE]

I've just noticed on here that it seems like a lot of kids are like so set on it when they come in. I am interested but not sure so I guess what I was trying to ask is how do u find a balance between keeping your options open and overextending yourself...
Hey darock... Are u still coming this summer? I saw your other post :-(

What up britty, yeah i thought about alot of options but decided in the end that I would really regret letting such a good opportunity go to waste. So I'll def be there this summer.

 

[DrReo]

What up britty, yeah i thought about alot of options but decided in the end that I would really regret letting such a good opportunity go to waste. So I'll def be there this summer.

Congrats, I'm glad you saw past your not-so-cool experience.

 

[ou_jay]

work hard (not for marks but because this is going to be your "profession", marks will come for sure), be congenial (this doesn't mean kissing faculty ass), help your classmates (you never know when you will need their help), keep your options open (don't badmouth anyone, don't burn bridges), be genuine (good ppl can see right through trash), get a good group of friends who are in it to make each other better- this is the key. If you have some ppl to pick you up when the $h!t hits the fan, you will really enjoy dental school.

This advice is sage. Take it.

Work hard in school because you want to become the best dentist that you can be. Then at the end if you go GP, you will be a great dentist. If you want to specialize, you will be ready.

Also, don't cheat. Don't convince yourself you need to cheat to compete. This isn't true. Your reasons for this are hopefully beyond the pragmatic, but if you need pragmatic ones, here they are. Schools are cracking down on it. Documented cheating in your file looks really bad in a residency application. Also, no want wants to refer to a shady specialist.

 

[Rai rai]

I agree with CanuckDDS andou_jay. You don't want to have the mindset that you are studying because you have to. What we learn in dental school really is important. Granted I have forgotten a lot of the basic science materials from D1 and D2, but they are actually useful. You need to understand those materials for the Board, and they are important knowledge to have in case you want to do basic science research, and most importantly, patients expect you to know them. Having in depth knowledge in basic science allows you to make flexible medical decisions. Remember that dentistry is not just a technical job, it is a health profession as well.

As for choosing whether or not and what to specialize, it's somthing you will know. I started out wanting to do General, but considered 3 specialties along the way, and ended up applying to OMS. It probably hurt me a little that I didn't start out committed to OMS, but things worked out. It's very important to not force yourself into a specialty because you don't like General. You should only specialize if you are passionate about it. There are many other options for you if you don't like General, but always remember that dental school is different from the real world. Most dentists are happy with what they do, whether they are specialists or not, as I'm sure you'll be happy with your choice to become a dentist.