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[racquetballer]

So, I've been talking with all of the fourth years of my school and they all tell me they hate dental school because they never get to do anything. One of the biggest reasons is that they say it take three visits to actually do real dentistry. The first visit is for doing a prophy and taking radiographs, the second is for discussing treatment options, and then they can finally do something with your patient the third visit! So patients get frustrated and time is wasted on both sides. Do any of your schools do this differently? how?

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[MatthewLeeDDS]

So, I've been talking with all of the fourth years of my school and they all tell me they hate dental school because they never get to do anything. One of the biggest reasons is that they say it take three visits to actually do real dentistry. The first visit is for doing a prophy and taking radiographs, the second is for discussing treatment options, and then they can finally do something with your patient the third visit! So patients get frustrated and time is wasted on both sides. Do any of your schools do this differently? how?

Wish we moved that fast. At OU we schedule all of our own patients. That will be changing soon (hopefully). I got a patient back in March and I won't be seeing them until mid-June. By the time they were assigned to me, I already had other appointments for the rest of the semester, then we have 3 weeks off, and all the initial appointment chairs for June got booked in a couple hours and I missed out. We don't need an appointment to take x-rays so I'm doing that on my own time in June and hoping I can get a chair for them in July. So if I'm lucky, they'll get a cleaning 4 months after they were assigned to me.

3 visits to do "real" dentistry would be impressive here. We're doing a cleaning at appointment 3 if things go well.

 

[tinman831]

I got a patient back in March and I won't be seeing them until mid-June. By the time they were assigned to me, I already had other appointments for the rest of the semester, then we have 3 weeks off, and all the initial appointment chairs for June got booked in a couple hours and I missed out.

This is something you'll need to work on. Patients are going to get pretty mad if they have to wait 3-4 months to see you.

3 visits to do "real" dentistry would be impressive here. We're doing a cleaning at appointment 3 if things go well.

This is a lot more realistic OP. I've taken as many as 5 three hour appointments to complete a comprehensive exam on a patient. This was the worse case scenario but 3-4 appointments to do an exam is not unheard of. Reminds me of why I hated dental school so much.

 

[PreDent08]

at midwestern-az we can complete a whole exam, fmx, periochart usually in 3 hrs. sometimes we complete it in 2 hrs if we are fast and can present a limited SRP/prophy tx plan and do it the same day. Then present the comprehensive tx plan at the following appt and do the 2nd phase usually restorative same day. i guess this is all possible due to being paired(helps set up/clean up), having multiple chairs, and 2 faculty per 11 groups?

however, because we are the only school that is paired and thus alternate on procedures, i guess the work evens out if you compare to other schools where you are by yourself and do all the work. but still, most of the time we are able to schedule 3-4 patients per day 8-10,10-12, 1-3, 3-5 except for crowns/rcts which takes either whole morning or afternoon. so we each still see 2 patients per day, yet because of the pairing i still feel i am not doing as much procedures as other schools. but hearing that it takes the 3rd appt just to do the prophy, i guess we have it good??

 

[Streetwolf]

At SB they assign you a patient that has been through the screening process, and you call them to schedule their first appointment. In 2nd and 3rd year it's usually a 3 hour appointment and the only appointment of that session. You don't have so many patients on your roster that it would take more than a month to get them in.

In 3 hours during 2nd year you'd get the med/dental hx, FMX, and probably operative charting done if it's earlier in the year. Later in the year probably perio charting and a finalized tx plan as well. By visit 2 you *SHOULD* be able to do the prophy. If the plan is a little more complex or you are just a little slower picking the whole process up, it may take 3 visits.

In 3 hours during 3rd year you should get the entire exam including charting and an FMX finished if it's earlier in the year. Later in the year depending on how many specialist consults and other "time wasting" crap you need to do, you may be able to do the prophy as well. If not then you'd be ready to go by the 2nd visit.

In 4th year our coordinators actually scheduled all our patients for us. They RARELY gave out 3 hour appointments... usually up to 2 hours unless we requested more. In 2 hours we would have everything done plus a prophy since we used the same restorative faculty to look at the entire tx plan (instead of needing each specific specialist for each problem we encountered as was required during 2nd and 3rd years). Later in the year probably even less time... like 1.5 hours or so.

It gets better but it takes time.

 

[uthscsaalum]

My senior year, our faculty would be disappointed if you didn't at least have a treatment plan in place by the end of the first appointment, but they usually wanted exam, treatment plan, and prophy done in one appointment. Early in junior year things moved much slower though and I lost a few patients due to three visit exams and them just losing patience.

 

[bigstix808]

So, I've been talking with all of the fourth years of my school and they all tell me they hate dental school because they never get to do anything. One of the biggest reasons is that they say it take three visits to actually do real dentistry. The first visit is for doing a prophy and taking radiographs, the second is for discussing treatment options, and then they can finally do something with your patient the third visit! So patients get frustrated and time is wasted on both sides. Do any of your schools do this differently? how?

most schools i would assume have a screening appt in which radiographs are taken (FMX/pan).-- appt 1

from there they are assigned to student. student will H & P, chart, tx plan, and possibly start perio tx -- appt 2

if tx was not started previously, then a DXR or diagnostic review (tx plan formulation) trip is needed in which pt accepts tx plan you've made --- possible appt 3

appt 4 - bang out that oppr or perio tx


here at MCG, if there is perio tx to be done other than prophy then a separate d0180 is to be done with a separate appt (usually) just for perio charting (PD, PI, GI, recession, furcation, mobility, etc) and a totally separate perio tx plan is made and accepted.

 

[djeffreyt]

Honestly, doesn't sound odd to me. If memory serves it usually required 1-2 appts to get a treatment plan completed and financially set up and treatments started around the 2nd or 3rd appt. Even treatment though took laboriously long.

Always hated that but that is how school is.

 

[DrJeff]

So, I've been talking with all of the fourth years of my school and they all tell me they hate dental school because they never get to do anything. One of the biggest reasons is that they say it take three visits to actually do real dentistry. The first visit is for doing a prophy and taking radiographs, the second is for discussing treatment options, and then they can finally do something with your patient the third visit! So patients get frustrated and time is wasted on both sides. Do any of your schools do this differently? how?

Heck, in my own office if a new patient calls up for an appointment, and they're not it pain, it's atleast the 2nd, or possibly the 3rd visit before I'm working on them. 1st visit, radiographs, prophy (if perio scaling isn't needed), exam. If its a complex treatment plan, visit #2 is a treatment plan option consultation, if its a simple treatment plan then treatment commences on visit #2, if a complex plan, treatment commences on visit #3.

If a new patient calls up in pain, the treatment of the source of that pain begins on visit #1, which more often than not is within 24hrs of when they call my office.