Specialty Shadowing

[Kahr]

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I haven't shadowed at all yet, but I have at least 3 general dentists I know very well and said they'd be happy to allow me to shadow as long as I want.

What I'm curious about is how useful it was for you other pre-dents to shadow the various specialties in dentistry? Did you find shadowing as many different specialties as possible to be fruitful? Did you try shadowing more than one of the same type of specialist and was that beneficial or just redundant? When looking for specialists to shadow, did you typically ask for references through the general dentist you were already shadowing or knew, or did you just pick them at random and ask if you could shadow?

Another general thing, I know some schools require a certain number of shadowing hours. How do you prove how much shadowing you've done? And in line with that, realistically (not based on a required number of hours) how many hours did you find gave you a good impression of what that dentist/specialist did?

Thanks!

 

[Impulse155]

Right now I used to shadow a general dentist (my mom works for him so basically guarenteed a recommendation from him.
I also shadow a cosmetic/orgal surgeon. And over the summer I will be shadowing another. Both are professors at Columbia so its a nice in to have there.
The way I see it, find out which dentists will give you a recommendation. And also find out what type of authority they have. If any dentists know an admissions person, are professors those are the ones who are going to help you the most. Hate to say it but shadowing is what gets you the whole "Its not about what you know about who you know" theory.
As for the type of dentist, im sure that doesnt matter. Just make sure you dont make the same mistake I did, keep a log of what you did. I probably have over a thousand hours, unlogged of course. But the dentists should vouch for me.

Edit:
No matter what type of dentist you shadow it will get redundant because you cant actually do anything. All you can really do is call in a patient, maybe set up for a dental hygienist. Thats about it. All you can do is watch. Its illegal for them to basically let you do anything else.

As for it being fruitful to shadow other types, I would definately say try and watch different types as you might see different procedures so it will get less repetitive. For example tomorrow I am going in to see a huge cosmetic case at one of the dentists, which I would never see at the general dentists. Its also a 3 hour procedure. Saturday im observing a cancer patients reconstruction. So its different stuff
And as for proving it I have no idea, im assuming they go by word but they can always call the dentist and have them vouch for you. And it can lead to some bad stuff if your lying? Idk I havent applied yet.

 

[Chemboy23]

I ran into this same exact thing as a predent. The best thing you can do is ask one of the general dentists you've mentioned if they have a good friend (that's a specialist) if they will ask if he/she would mind you coming in to shadow. The reason most specialists shy away from letting predents shadow them is that you haven't even made it through a couple years of dental school yet, so you don't really know how tough it will be, once you start, to land a specialty. While we all have dreams of specializing in some form or another...you should be able to tell after you take part 1 of your boards and see where you rank in your class (at the end of your D2 year). Most of the more lucrative specialties are extremely competitive, and you're not competing with stupid people for those spots...they are all very capable like you are.

So, if you do not get to shadow a specialist...I wouldn't think of it as a big deal. If you get lucky and one lets you come in...it will be a wonderful learning opportunity and consider yourself lucky. Best of luck to you my friend!!!