UCLA Pre-Dental Courses...worth it before starting Dental School?

[baliztiknsg]

Hey SDN, for us D1 students, since school is starting soon I was wondering if it is worth it to take any UCLA pre-dental courses to get used to using equipment and things like that...

I am interested in the Pre-Dental Tooth Waxing course, but am not sure if it is worth it

Has anyone heard anything about these courses or taken them before?

Here is the link to the one i might do:

http://uclasod.dent.ucla.edu/ContinuingEducation/index.asp?id=681

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[Munks]

I'm wondering this as well

 

[reapply2007]

I do not attend UCLA. However, at my school you'll have enough experience with wax to not need any classes ahead of time. It's pretty much first year curriculum stuff. Preclinic lab will cover waxing, instrument use and whatnot for different areas of dentistry. If you want to get an early exposure to preclinic lab so that your dental school grades might be higher or the coursework easier, then take the class but realize the predent class is not a guarantee of this. It probably won't set you ahead further than a week or two versus the regular student. $500 for two days of waxing is not enough experience doing or didactic of anything to be worth it for me other than you may have the stuff needed to wax teeth in your closet all summer (without faculty input) before doing it all fall in preclinic lab.

For my money, I would take the summer off and enjoy. There is an overwhelming amount of things going on once dental school starts. I wouldn't do anything like this prior to starting dental school for any reason. Enjoy your free time.

 

[davefan]

I wouldn't take it. Sounds like a money maker to me. You will learn more than you want to about waxing in dental school. I think better time would be spent shadowing at a lab. That way you can see a lot of different things and I bet they wouldn't mind teaching you a thing or two about waxing. IMHO save the money and enjoy the summer as this will be one of the last real summer vacations you'll have.

 

[davefan]

I just looked up the guy that teaches the course. Here is his website:

http://www.vinmarsolutions.com/

That's the cheesiest website I've seen in awhile! $230 to learn how to take impressions? What a joke!!

 

[Vicviper]

Hahaha... WOW... that site was corny. I took it back in highschool, and I thought it was great, I still have the denture wax up I made on my desk, haha. Anyways, as the others have been saying, since you're about to start dental school, you really don't need this, and you'll get most of what you'll learn in a few weeks in dental school, and that really won't set you far ahead at all.

As recommended, take the summer off and RELAX!!! Once you start taking the incredibly heavy first year load, you'll wish you had. Good luck!

 

[dmitriyivanov]

These courses are nothing serious so you wont really learn anything important. They are taught by 3-4 year dental students and it can be fun sometimes.

I had finished an 80 hour volunteer program at UCLA SoD and it was def fun, except for the patient records rotation. If you want more exposure to your prospective school (UCLA), try that program instead of taking these classes.

 

[akeurogh]

what if you haven't applied yet, do you think it'll look good.

Because I have mostly everything else... volunteering, research, and shadowing

 

[Daurang]

Don't take it; waste of time and money.

 

[browncrack]

I looked at the website. The class pictures are great- one creepy looking older guy with a tie surrounded with a bunch of normal looking people. Plus, you can get a letter of recommendation if you successfully complete the class.

Spend your $500 on beer. Otherwise, take this class and this guy will spend your $500 on beer.