What current students wished they knew before starting dental school?

[dmd2024]

I’m excited to be starting dental school this summer!
I was wondering if there is anything current students wished they knew before starting school.
Also with the covid situation I’ve found that I have a lot more free time. I was wondering if there was any advice for things to do to better prepare myself for school (anything to help hand skills in particular).

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[Allsmiles!]

Congrats! Honestly, just relax and enjoy your time off...trust me.

 

[IdleKoala]

If you have free time, definitely spend it with family or friends if you can, I know its hard to even do that during times like these. As far as hand skills go, nothing will truly prepare you from home, the best practice you can get is with the materials and instruments your school will provide you with. There is no need to worry about that this summer tho, just enjoy your time and be prepared to work hard when classes start.

There is nothing I really wish I knew, but simply a few observations i've made. I dont know what school you are attending, but most likely your first semester/year will be filled basic science classes with few dentistry related classes. This made my first semester feel more like undergrad 2.0 then dental school, but once we got into operative 1 and started working with hand pieces it was a lot more motivating and exciting for me. Also, make sure to always do what works best for you, this goes for studying, waxing, socializing etc. If your prof shows you a certain way to wax a 1st mandibular molar, but through practice you've found a way that works better for you, by all means do it. Same with studying, don't let people pressure you into study groups if you work better alone. And as far as socializing goes, dental school is an interesting mix for sure. Some people will go out all the time, and others will never go out. So don't feel pressured to go out when you need to study, and don't feel pressured to stay at home and grind when you really need to blow off some steam. Try the best you can to seek balance. Dental school is definitely a marathon, with quizzes and exams coming at you fast week after week. If you study all the time and never make room for your hobbies and friends you will burn out. So try the best you can from early on to take a balanced approach to school, while still making time to maintain your mental health. Feel free to pm me if you have other questions. Best of luck and congrats!

 

[Allsmiles!]

Great advice!

 

[Grinz]

Honestly I thought that D school would teach me a lot of what I needed to know to be a great general dentist. I quickly learned that school is only teaching barely enough to satisfy CODA requirements and just enough for you to pass your boards. If you want to learn how to become a fantastic dentist then you are going to have to learn that outside of dental school through residency or excellent CE.

 

[Anondds87]

Honestly I thought that D school would teach me a lot of what I needed to know to be a great general dentist. I quickly learned that school is only teaching barely enough to satisfy CODA requirements and just enough for you to pass your boards. If you want to learn how to become a fantastic dentist then you are going to have to learn that outside of dental school through residency or excellent CE.

This is so true. As soon as you graduate you realise that everything you do in years of dental school is like 3 months in private practice.
Which makes you realise all you get from dental school is the certificate. So get your certificate as cheap as possible because all schools are equal

 

[B0wMNj]

keep your grades up and learn as much as you can because you never know if you'll want to specialize and dental school is a great time to pick the brains of the experts at your school

 

[Ivy.ch]

Learn as much Spanish as you can. My classmates definitely regret that.

 

[ToothEnthusiast96]

Learn as much Spanish as you can. My classmates definitely regret that.

Can you elaborate more on this? Beyond just that it helps when dealing with Spanish-speaking patients. Thanks!

 

[Ivy.ch]

Can you elaborate more on this? Beyond just that it helps when dealing with Spanish-speaking patients. Thanks!

you’re going to have several patients who only speak Spanish. What are you going to do? There’s not much to elaborate.

 

[gentlerwave]

Congratulations! I agree with an earlier post that you honestly don’t have to prepare a whole lot before dental school. You’ll have 4 years of studying non-stop so this is the best time to let your mind relax. First 2 semesters are usually going to be a review of your college classes, albeit more condensed and faster paced. I also wouldn’t worry about finding things to improve your hand skills either because you’ll get that through your training.
Have you looked into ways to finance your education? If not, I’d look into programs like HPSP or NHSC if you have an interest in either.

 

[endodonia]

Can you elaborate more on this? Beyond just that it helps when dealing with Spanish-speaking patients. Thanks!

I’ll elaborate with a slight fear of becoming politically incorrect.

Spanish speaking patients (in my personal experience) are hands down the most appreciative, nicest, loyal patients and perhaps most importantly they always pay their bills. how do you think it will be received in the Spanish speaking community to hear that a local friendly dentist speaks Spanish? I bet well. A few of my friends that are dentists speak fluently and their (Spanish speaking )patients gush over them.

+1 for learning Spanish.

 

[endodonia]

all schools are equal

Not true. but the sentiment of going to the cheapest school possible because you perceive all schools to be equal is a good one to have.

 

[GoDental101]

Not true. but the sentiment of going to the cheapest school possible because you perceive all schools to be equal is a good one to have.

^ Great point!

 

[2TH MVR]

I’ll elaborate with a slight fear of becoming politically incorrect.

Spanish speaking patients (in my personal experience) are hands down the most appreciative, nicest, loyal patients and perhaps most importantly they always pay their bills. how do you think it will be received in the Spanish speaking community to hear that a local friendly dentist speaks Spanish? I bet well. A few of my friends that are dentists speak fluently and their (Spanish speaking )patients gush over them.

+1 for learning Spanish.

Absolutely. Just one more way to distinguish your practice from the others especially if you practice in a saturated urban city.

 

[P7898]

Do NOT go to a school that will put you $400k plus in the hole. You will regret it. My friends have no light in sight, especially during this climate. They are doing IRB and they have calculated a possible $700k tax bomb when they are all done. So it turns out to be a lot more than what they paid for school.... the generation of people that do this will be screwed financially. Makes them no better than a CPA or a entry level $50k salary worker with no debt at the end of the day their numbers and finances will be similar. Sorry just from experience with people I know who have spouses that make ~$60k that were never in crazy debt.

Just going off the averages. Do not plan to be the 1% of dentists that make $400k plus annually. I have friends that make this too, but they spent 4 years making a business plan while making pennies and had supportive spouses. Ironically, both of their spouses are dentists so they understood.

 

[bluebottle22]

2 years ago I was in the exact same situation as you. I can see why people advise to relax as much as you can, but I was the type who thrives off of feeling productive so I get where you're coming from. I looked over the D1 course curriculum on our school website and studied a few terms. Gross Anatomy is something that always gets easier the more familiar it is. So if you are really interested in preparing for school this fall, I'd study that. Best of luck on your dental school journey!

 

[babytomato]

I’ll elaborate with a slight fear of becoming politically incorrect.

Spanish speaking patients (in my personal experience) are hands down the most appreciative, nicest, loyal patients and perhaps most importantly they always pay their bills. how do you think it will be received in the Spanish speaking community to hear that a local friendly dentist speaks Spanish? I bet well. A few of my friends that are dentists speak fluently and their (Spanish speaking )patients gush over them.

+1 for learning Spanish.

Does knowing how to speak Spanish help in dental school with fulfilling requirements?

 

[Ivy.ch]

Does knowing how to speak Spanish help in dental school with fulfilling requirements?

Yes. Patients are much more likely to accept treatment and stick with you through treatment if you speak their language. Hispanic patients are usually the best for showing up on time and referring more patients. And if you speak Spanish, the school usually has plenty of Spanish-speaking patients to disperse to whoever can speak with them.

 

[drseplo]

I've just graduated so I guess an accumulation of all that's been said

1) Relax, enjoy your time before the storm, dental school is rough no matter how you look at it
2) Budget, budget, budget. I know so many classmates that went out every weekend, blew money on trips, cars, this and that. It will come back to bite you in the behind
3) Learn spanish. As others have said it's the perfect time to do so. I had taken two years in highschool. When I started rotating through clinic I realized just how much more experience you got with spanish speaking patients. Emergencies were probably close to 90% spanish speaking. Like some have also said spanish speaking patients are more likely to go forward with treatment plans. Lastly they are some of the nicest and most understanding patients. You're falling behind? They'll stick around. Need them to come for a 3 hour class 2 filling where they need to go back and forth between grading and you, no worries (hint hint boards!!!)
4) Your education is what you make of it. Some schools say you can't do certain procedures, can't place implants, can't do veneers, etc. Not true. You show the willingness to go above and beyond and provide to the doctor a well thought out and clinically sound plan they will eventually let you go forward with it. I cannot stress this enough. My school was notorious for being very centered on just basic general dentistry stuff. I loved OS. Worked my butt off in presenting cases and after a couple no's finally got to do more and more of it. Put in the work and you will get the experience you are looking for.
5) Start early when it comes at looking for jobs/practice to buy/residencies. Educate yourself, know timelines for applications etc.
6) Lastly pick the brains of all your instructors, annoy them with all the questions you have, you are paying top dollar to have these doctors there for you at your disposal. Some are more willing to teach than others but at the end of the day that is their JOB make them earn that pay check. When you get out of dental school their expertise is worth thousands of dollars in CE courses. And remember to pick the assistants brains too. A lot of them used to work private practice and know a thing or two.

Good luck and congrats!!

 

[yappy]

People will discourage you from setting career goals early on. However, it is uncommon for your career goals to change throughout dental school. Most of the people I knew that wanted to specialize knew early on. It was rare that someone who was set on GP ownership wanted to switch to specialization and vice-versa. Therefore, I would encourage you to ignore everyone, professors and students, who parrot the dogma of "waiting because you just don't know yet".

If you're interested in something, just start moving in that direction as soon as possible.

 

[setdoc7]

IMHO it is possible to make +400K although not right away. You must have a mind for business and be willing to do some hard work, which includes 6 day weeks. If you work less, don’t put in the time, you will make less. It’s really about what you are willing to put into it. Quality of life counts, but when you are young you have more energy and fewer responsibilities than when you are older with a family and college kids costing a fortune. Plan for the future now. Live within your means. I went through this pandemic with no financial stress, even though my office was closed for 2 months. Rainy days are inevitable. Don’t spend it all at once, and that Porsche in the driveway is not a status symbol, just an ultra expensive machine that needs expensive parts. You will need the disposable money for something more important one day. BTW, disposable income is like “house money “, a misnomer.

 

[LaughingGas]

Does knowing how to speak Spanish help in dental school with fulfilling requirements?

Because I was one of the few that spoke Spanish in my floor, I almost always got the Spanish speaking new patients.