The TRUTH About Dental School

[kidsteethyay]

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So here's what I've heard about dental school: You're in class from 8-5 everyday and you come home and study for hours and hours until you go to bed. Then you wake up and do it all over again. Then on the weekends you do nothing but study for hours and hours. Is that true? I mean, I want to get good grades because I'm thinking of specializing in pedo, but am I not going to have a life for the next 7 years?

 

[Typo]

Is that true? I mean, I want to get good grades because I'm thinking of specializing in pedo, but am I not going to have a life for the next 7 years?

No.

 

[kato999]

So here's what I've heard about dental school: You're in class from 8-5 everyday and you come home and study for hours and hours until you go to bed. Then you wake up and do it all over again. Then on the weekends you do nothing but study for hours and hours. Is that true? I mean, I want to get good grades because I'm thinking of specializing in pedo, but am I not going to have a life for the next 7 years?

Not true at ASDOH. We worked hard (sometimes) and played hard (lots of times). Can't speak for other schools though.

 

[unlvdmd]

Not true at ASDOH. We worked hard (sometimes) and played hard (lots of times). Can't speak for other schools though.

Ditto for UNLV. You put in it what you want to get out of it. Simple as that.

 

[WVUdental]

So here's what I've heard about dental school: You're in class from 8-5 everyday and you come home and study for hours and hours until you go to bed. Then you wake up and do it all over again. Then on the weekends you do nothing but study for hours and hours. Is that true? I mean, I want to get good grades because I'm thinking of specializing in pedo, but am I not going to have a life for the next 7 years?

Thats been my experience. Work, work, work.

Also, listen to someone with experience, do not go into a dental program and plan on specializing because you will be upset for sure.

I was in a great undergrad program and got straight A's in the science courses. I struggle in dental school to get a B.


Also, its not out of the ordinary to go home at 5 and have over 300 pages of detailed reading awaiting you, so is it hard?

Hell yes.

 

[jpollei]

So here's what I've heard about dental school: You're in class from 8-5 everyday and you come home and study for hours and hours until you go to bed. Then you wake up and do it all over again. Then on the weekends you do nothing but study for hours and hours. Is that true? I mean, I want to get good grades because I'm thinking of specializing in pedo, but am I not going to have a life for the next 7 years?

Depends what you want to get out of dental school. I think your OP describes more of an extreme in my experience than the norm, though.

One big factor (one that you unfortunately can't gauge ahead of time) is whether dental school or certain aspects of it (lab work, patient care, multiple guess) comes easy to you or not. For example, some guys I know spent an average of 2 hours/night studying M-F and occasional Saturdays and graduated with a 4.0, got high 90's on boards, and matched at their first choice ortho program. They seemed to really grasp everything well (obviously). On the other end of the spectrum, some people seemed to study literally hours a night, all weekend for 4 years and still barely managed to get through (to the point that I don't know if I'd want them working on me, or if they know enought to 🙁 ). But is wasn't for lack of trying, they just took forever to catch on...but it did gradually come.

Dental school is definitely work, but speaking as someone who has done that and is now practicing, it is worth applying yourself to learn as much as possible (within reason) so that you don't have to learn once you get into practice. Don't sweat it...you'll do well and find a happy balance that suits you.

 

[toothart]

OP I don't know what you personally define as life, but God gave me a brain and a body for the purposes of His work. I never once thought of not putting both my brain and body to use to the maximum. Dental school gives me the opportunity to do so and is currently my purpose in life. However, the studying is well within my standards of a balanced day. You will have to deny yourself of many things while in school, but it's not forever.

 

[WVUdental]

OP I don't know what you personally define as life, but God gave me a brain and a body for the purposes of His work. I never once thought of not putting both my brain and body to use to the maximum. Dental school gives me the opportunity to do so and is currently my purpose in life. However, the studying is well within my standards of a balanced day. You will have to deny yourself of many things while in school, but it's not forever.

Well the truth is this, don't plan on having much of a life for at least 3 of the 4 years.

 

[ItsGavinC]

I agree with Kato (and the UNLV student). You can put what you want into dental school. Some programs are easier than others. Arizona was (is) great, and I've had way more free time here than I ever did in undergrad.

You can get good grades and have fun, it depends on what you value and are willing to lose (or gain) to acheive your personal goals.

 

[aggie-master]

I'm going to wait and find out what it's like. I think, like college, it's going to be different for everyone.

I had a friend in the same major as me that studied for 50 hours a week to get a 3.2 gpa while I studied 8 hours a week and had a 3.85. I'm prepared to study much more in dental school but I also think there is a chance that I might be one of the lucky ones that has a little bit of free time.

 

[WVUdental]

I agree with Kato (and the UNLV student). You can put what you want into dental school. Some programs are easier than others. Arizona was (is) great, and I've had way more free time here than I ever did in undergrad.

You can get good grades and have fun, it depends on what you value and are willing to lose (or gain) to acheive your personal goals.

wow, maybe WVU is a super school.

We have zero free time, were too busy learning and learning, etc.

 

[WVUdental]

hell, i need to be studying right now.

 

[capisce?]

wow, maybe WVU is a super school.

We have zero free time, were too busy learning and learning, etc.

I hate to break it to you, but it's not necessary to learn every little detail they preach to you in dental school. You'll use maybe 20% of what you learn.

I'll echo what others have said...it merely depends on you. Most of dental school is regurgitation. Whereas some people like jpollei studied an hour or two a night, I chose not to. I studied about 2 days before exams, and hit the books hard then. Otherwise, I didn't crack open a thing when I went home. I went out on the weekends and thursdays at the same time. Of course, during 1st/2nd years, we had several exams a week but as things progressed we had more time to go out. I was able to be in the top 10%, get the magical 90s+ on boards and match into my first choice so it can be done.

 

[HuyetKiem]

I agree with Kato (and the UNLV student). You can put what you want into dental school. Some programs are easier than others. Arizona was (is) great, and I've had way more free time here than I ever did in undergrad.

You can get good grades and have fun, it depends on what you value and are willing to lose (or gain) to acheive your personal goals.

Same here at Case. So much free time if you don't have a part time job.

 

[WVUdental]

I hate to break it to you, but it's not necessary to learn every little detail they preach to you in dental school. You'll use maybe 20% of what you learn.

I'll echo what others have said...it merely depends on you. Most of dental school is regurgitation. Whereas some people like jpollei studied an hour or two a night, I chose not to. I studied about 2 days before exams, and hit the books hard then. Otherwise, I didn't crack open a thing when I went home. I went out on the weekends and thursdays at the same time. Of course, during 1st/2nd years, we had several exams a week but as things progressed we had more time to go out. I was able to be in the top 10%, get the magical 90s+ on boards and match into my first choice so it can be done.

Hey man, I hate to break it to you, but until our professors give us a better heads up as to exactly what the questions will be on our exams we have no freakin choice as to study everything.

Will I need it to practice? HECK NO, do I need to study it all to pass exams?

HECK YES.

 

[kidsteethyay]

I appreciate all of the comments. Remember back in junior high when everyone told you that high school would be lots and lots of work and it wasn't? And then again in high school when they told you how much harder you were going to have to work and you didn't? That's kind of the place that I'm at right now. Sure, some classes are going to require more thought and attention but ya'll are right, I'll get out of it what I put in. If studying all the time means that I become a better doctor for my patients then I'll do it.

 

[Rezdawg]

At BU, if you want to be top 10%, get ready to work your ass off and sacrifice your life. There may be a couple that can do it with minimal work, but for the most part...get ready to work.

 

[rocknightmare]

this wvu school seems too hard.. you should of gone somewhere else 🙂

 

[Dukie]

I think the answer here is you just can't know until you do it. I've had to work harder for some of my exams, such as biochem, than some of my classmates because it just doesn't come as easily to me. On the other hand, I've never gone in on a weekend or stayed after school to practice for a practical because it just comes easier to me than others. You'll have to work real hard real often, but you can get through it.

 

[capisce?]

Hey man, I hate to break it to you, but until our professors give us a better heads up as to exactly what the questions will be on our exams we have no freakin choice as to study everything.

Will I need it to practice? HECK NO, do I need to study it all to pass exams?

HECK YES.

If you need every free second of your day to simply pass dental school, you just must be pretty slow. After all, you are in wv.

 

[Rezdawg]

If you need every free second of your day to simply pass dental school, you just must be pretty slow. After all, you are in wv.

True...passing exams isnt hard...getting to the top of your class takes lots of work.

 

[WVUdental]

If you need every free second of your day to simply pass dental school, you just must be pretty slow. After all, you are in wv.

You should apply to WVU since you are so worried about your education.

Of course if your out of state theres only 8 spots for 1200 that apply.

One year there was only 7 b/c I got one!

 

[capisce?]

You should apply to WVU since you are so worried about your education.

Of course if your out of state theres only 8 spots for 1200 that apply.

One year there was only 7 b/c I got one!

I'm gonna pass on going through dental school a 2nd time, since I'm in a specialty and all now. But IF I did, after reading the brilliance of your posts, wvu would surely be my first choice. 😴

 

[unlvdmd]

One year there was only 7 b/c I got one!

It looks like someone is trying to compensate for having 1.5 inches downstairs.

 

[hockeydentist]

True...passing exams isnt hard...getting to the top of your class takes lots of work.

hows the dawg doing on getting to the head of the class....

 

[Rezdawg]

hows the dawg doing on getting to the head of the class....

Yeah, haha, not even close...lol.

Good luck bro...do better than me.

 

[WVUdental]

I'm gonna pass on going through dental school a 2nd time, since I'm in a specialty and all now. But IF I did, after reading the brilliance of your posts, wvu would surely be my first choice. 😴

from the brilliance of your posts I am sure you are in a specialty.

I am so sure.

 

[dane4695]

So here's what I've heard about dental school: You're in class from 8-5 everyday and you come home and study for hours and hours until you go to bed. Then you wake up and do it all over again. Then on the weekends you do nothing but study for hours and hours. Is that true? I mean, I want to get good grades because I'm thinking of specializing in pedo, but am I not going to have a life for the next 7 years?

Sounds like someone who wants to specialize and/or die young of stress and depression.

 

[PrinceOfPersiA]

posted by rezdawg: "At BU, if you want to be top 10%, get ready to work your ass off and sacrifice your life."
ha hahahhahahahhahahah HAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHA
Rez I love you.

 

[hockeydentist]

Yeah, haha, not even close...lol.

Good luck bro...do better than me.

will see!

 

[DMD-2-B]

So here's what I've heard about dental school: You're in class from 8-5 everyday and you come home and study for hours and hours until you go to bed. Then you wake up and do it all over again. Then on the weekends you do nothing but study for hours and hours. Is that true? I mean, I want to get good grades because I'm thinking of specializing in pedo, but am I not going to have a life for the next 7 years?

I'm not in dental school yet, but hopefully will be next year 😛 .

My opinion on hard work is that it's beneficial. I mean, suppose it is as hard as you described, would it really be so bad?

The conditions you described reminded me A LOT of what my life was like while I was studying engineering in undergrad. I remember replacing 8 hours of sleep with 2 hour "naps" several times a week, and the workload just snowballed day after day. In fact, you just get sucked it and you don't even feel the passing of time.

The end result is that you're mentally more fit and your confidence rises. If I could I would DEFINATELY do it again.

It's scary to me even still, the idea of getting back on the wheel for dental school, but more so because I'm worried that I might not feel too happy about leaving my baby to my parents while my husbands busy with medical residency and I'm busy with dental school. Alright - let me shut up before I start freakin out about that!!!

Bottom line is - no matter how hard it is, if you pace yourself right, you'll do fine and make it through with a big smile on your face at graduation!

 

[You]

So here's what I've heard about dental school: You're in class from 8-5 everyday and you come home and study for hours and hours until you go to bed. Then you wake up and do it all over again. Then on the weekends you do nothing but study for hours and hours. Is that true? I mean, I want to get good grades because I'm thinking of specializing in pedo, but am I not going to have a life for the next 7 years?

Someone else in another thread said you will lose hair. Imagine that...so better start saving up some petty cash for WIG expense. Or think of it as head denture??

 

[tiny2533]

Same here at Case. So much free time if you don't have a part time job.

I agree with you on this. I feel we have tons of free time as 1st years. Glad to be here😀

 

[wireless_doc]

You will definitely have some free time. It's really up to you on how you use it. Some will wax/prep a few teeth and be happy with them while others will keep on practicing. Similar comment can be made for science. Some only want to pass while others want to give their best (not necessary that they want to be on top whatever of their class or specialize). If you have done some real work (that requires skills and thinking) prior dental school, you know that you don't want to choose the first route. Don't kill yourself, but definitely you should give it your best. You will never have to say "what if..." later on.

 

[Dutchboy]

I agree with you on this. I feel we have tons of free time as 1st years. Glad to be here😀

Here at Nova I feel as if I have little free time. Our Thursday's are pretty light but any free time is spent catching up on studies. I just put in enough study time to understand the material and to pass but others are already pulling all nighters for midterm tests! I usually have to put in pretty good study sessions on the weekends to get ready for the next weeks test. This may be due to the fact that we take our boards after the first year. But from what I hear it doesn't get much easier until the third year.

 

[bpenly]

You will definitely have some free time. It's really up to you on how you use it. Some will wax/prep a few teeth and be happy with them while others will keep on practicing. Similar comment can be made for science. Some only want to pass while others want to give their best (not necessary that they want to be on top whatever of their class or specialize). If you have done some real work (that requires skills and thinking) prior dental school, you know that you don't want to choose the first route. Don't kill yourself, but definitely you should give it your best. You will never have to say "what if..." later on.

Well said. I am in D1 and was previously in the workforce for seven years. I have a family and commute 45 minutes each way, but I have that same attitude. You need to do you best because this is going to be your career for the rest of your working life. Give it your all and you'll still even have time for family, friends, and fun.

 

[ajex]

So here's what I've heard about dental school: You're in class from 8-5 everyday and you come home and study for hours and hours until you go to bed. Then you wake up and do it all over again. Then on the weekends you do nothing but study for hours and hours. Is that true? I mean, I want to get good grades because I'm thinking of specializing in pedo, but am I not going to have a life for the next 7 years?

just out of interest, i find that many of my peers, and dental students in general, like to tell ppl that they never study but still able to achieve resonable academic results. maybe this is the "competitive" nature in all of us, albeit i have to say this is certainly beyond control in some of us. To be honest though, if you want to just cruise through dental schools, you don't have to work extremely hard; but if you want to ace everything and have your class rank remained as a single digit figure, telling people that you did jack to get there is not going to be very convincing...good luck

 

[totalballistic]

study hard.. party hard!!! that's my motto. dental school was the best time of my life!!! it's worth the sweat and tears cuz friendships you make are unforgettable. i think i went out everyweek too.. did well on boards and now specializiing pedo!

 

[capisce?]

study hard.. party hard!!! that's my motto. dental school was the best time of my life!!! it's worth the sweat and tears cuz friendships you make are unforgettable. i think i went out everyweek too.. did well on boards and now specializiing pedo!

I 😍 totalballistic

 

[totalballistic]

ooh who is this capisce guy??? he sounds hot. 😀

 

[S Files]

just out of interest, i find that many of my peers, and dental students in general, like to tell ppl that they never study but still able to achieve resonable academic results. maybe this is the "competitive" nature in all of us, albeit i have to say this is certainly beyond control in some of us. To be honest though, if you want to just cruise through dental schools, you don't have to work extremely hard; but if you want to ace everything and have your class rank remained as a single digit figure, telling people that you did jack to get there is not going to be very convincing...good luck

yes this is rampant in the science / health professions field with dental students being no exception to the "i'm naturally brilliant and just get amazing grades without needing to study" complex. i guess it makes them feel cooler, instead of telling everyone they study hard core every night.

 

[deepstudentloan]

Ok, just in case some of you are missing what's really going on, the "gunners" will do whatever it takes, sometimes this includes studying, to get to the top to do Ortho/ OS/ Whatever. For the rest of us it's a matter of getting out. And FYI, there's nothing like the stress of realizing that you have 6 months after school to start paying on those student loans.. and the bills for the equipment form Patterson/Schein will hit you 30 days after you start. and don't forget that your patients will leave you in a heartbeat if their insurance changes and it will save them $ 4 over a 6 unit FPD costing $ 5000.00.

Smile it only gets worse.. uhh..better.. hah!

 

[I'mFillingFine]

I'm only a first year, but I just wanted to add something. I'm at Buffalo, and I'm not sure if this happens at other school, but we aren't at school 8-5. The schedule looks like that originally, but one of our classes already ended, and another will in November. Also, some classes aren't relevant to attend (for instance, when the gross lecture is just for the med students, or you can skip a week of histo lab since the lectures go longer than the lab for a particular exam.) So I'm definitely not at SCHOOL as much as I thought it would be.

Though note: just because you get out at 12 on Thursdays doesn't mean everyone's going to study until 5 and then have a free evening....

 

[ajex]

I'm only a first year, but I just wanted to add something. I'm at Buffalo, and I'm not sure if this happens at other school, but we aren't at school 8-5. The schedule looks like that originally, but one of our classes already ended, and another will in November. Also, some classes aren't relevant to attend (for instance, when the gross lecture is just for the med students, or you can skip a week of histo lab since the lectures go longer than the lab for a particular exam.) So I'm definitely not at SCHOOL as much as I thought it would be.

Though note: just because you get out at 12 on Thursdays doesn't mean everyone's going to study until 5 and then have a free evening....

i agree..u learn to become very selective in the lectures you go to. The real fun starts when u actually start seeing pts and working on them.

 

[gryffindor]

I'm only a first year, but I just wanted to add something. I'm at Buffalo, and I'm not sure if this happens at other school, but we aren't at school 8-5. The schedule looks like that originally, but one of our classes already ended, and another will in November. Also, some classes aren't relevant to attend (for instance, when the gross lecture is just for the med students, or you can skip a week of histo lab since the lectures go longer than the lab for a particular exam.) So I'm definitely not at SCHOOL as much as I thought it would be.

Though note: just because you get out at 12 on Thursdays doesn't mean everyone's going to study until 5 and then have a free evening....

Yeah, ok. Just wait till you get to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years...

 

[I'mFillingFine]

Yeah, ok. Just wait till you get to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years...

Hence my saying that I'm just a first year, and this is simply the situation that is occurring right now. I have no doubts about the increasing time we spend at school!

 

[Dutchboy]

i agree..u learn to become very selective in the lectures you go to. The real fun starts when u actually start seeing pts and working on them.

Here at Nova we have a mandatory attendance policy. You can skip class if you want, but they will fail your sluffing ass.

 

[DUBS]

i just started dental school a couple weeks ago and i must say that gross anatomy and dental anatomy are the hardest two courses i've taken in my life. even tho the material itself isn't too hard, the plethora of material you cover in addition to the small time frame it's stuffed into is incredibly difficult to keep up with. since i'm in class pretty much all day i get to sleep about
2am every night and wake up at 7. getting 6 hrs of sleep for me is now good