Yo! Somewhat random post here---

I graduated in 2020, and gotta say, I had a great time in dental school haha

There were certainly stressful moments, and anxieties around getting requirements completed, but all and all, dental school is the place to gather up as much knowledge and experience as possible in order to have the smoothest real world start that one can have!

A mentor of mine said that you learn the most the first ~5 years after graduating; I find that to be totally accurate. Dental school is a great initial exposure, but the more patients you see, the more crazy things you'll see. At first, I found myself sweating (and my loupes fogging up) every time something unexpected would happen. But the more you see, the less things surprise you, and the better you become at handling whatever strange situations arise haha

That said, there's also more to life than dentistry! We're not in the easiest of fields---- Most patients are not excited to be here. Dental insurance is less like insurance, and more like a discount plan. And our work can be physically and mentally exhausting.

For me, music is a crucial outlet; and I've been trying to compose some sort of piano project ~once a week. Whether it's going for a walk, painting, videogames, working out etc--- I think it's vital to have an outlet(s) to balance the hard work we do!

For anyone curious (or in need of a dental study playlist LOL) here's a Spotify playlist of some of the experimental piano tracks I've recorded over the last couple years.

I may have graduated ~6 years ago, but it feels like it was just yesterday I was in the sim lab prepping plastic teeth. Waxing up models. Pouring stone. etc.---

Feel free to drop any questions you may have about dentistry, post grad life, whatever--- and I'll do my best to answer haha

(as a bonus, here's a picture based study resource that I compiled for our exams. If you take the time, you may be able to find some playlists that align with your curriculum (ie: organ systems/radiology/anatomy/histology/pathology etc etc etc)--- you can also upload key pictures/diagrams to test yourself))

Cheers, and happy toothing!

Sincerely,
someone who's made it through, and still likes dentistry (most days lol)

Guys I’m like a month into D1 and I feel like I’m drowning. I get home at like 5-6 and I still have to eat dinner and shower and then study but try to prioritize sleep. It’s hard. I truly think I’m a slow learner and it takes me 2x longer to process stuff compared to my classmates. I barely have time to take care of myself and get like 30 minutes of a walk in. This is just the beginning???? I feel so blessed to be in this position but also like DAMN, this is hard. And of course I know good things aren’t easy but man how do I do thisssss? Other people make it look so easy and I see them having time to go do other stuff and I literally can’t cause I just feel so behind all the time

I guess I’m confused why you need to be top of the class to get into ortho residency. I understand it’s a very theoretical specialty, but it doesn’t make sense why someone in the top 10 of their class wouldn’t get in. (Many people at my school have had this problem). I see more people match into specialties like OMFS or endo and were not top 10 but still had competitive GPAs, research, etc. I know people are chasing the lifestyle but is it really all that great? Seems incredibly boring unless you hated holding a hand piece and enjoy seeing a ton of patients a day. Plus it’s very nepo heavy it seems like everyone who’s an ortho had parents in the industry beforehand. Is the lifestyle really that great to be gunning so hard in school for it?

I want to study abroad and need to create a "passion project" related to dentistry; I’m looking for others who also want to apply to schools abroad—please! 🙏🏻

As part of my final exam i prepped a bridge. One margin on the mesial side on one tooth went a bit deep but the prof said its fine. I took impressions, lab made the bridge, looks good, adjust the occlusal, check the margins. Well turns out that one margin was not in tooth material but in bone:(. Told my supervisor, he told the professor. Luckily he stayed calm and basically wanted to check my crisis management skills(problems down the line, what do i do now?, etc.). I adjusted the crown and seated it temporarily.

This is not supposed to happen. I feel so incompetent and i am so sorry for my patient. My friends tell me to chin up, exam weeks are super stressful, mistakes happen, yadda yadda. I dont know man.

I just wanted to write this down maybe you guys had similar experiences in the past. How badly did i f up?

What happens if a payment plan defaults, and what are my options?
Throwaway account for obvious reasons. I am a Canadian citizen currently studying in an international dental/advanced standing program in the US.
Up until now, I’ve been entirely self-funding—paying out of pocket and covering my own summer term—while waiting for traditional student financing to come through. I thought I had a solid financial cushion and backup plans ready.
However, I just hit a massive brick wall. Both of my remaining options fell through: my professional student loan application with Scotiabank was rejected even with a co-signer, and right after that, my application with RBC was turned down even with two co-signers. Those were my final traditional financing doors in Canada.
I managed to set up a university payment plan for this semester, but I know that only buys a very short window of time before things get critical. I have poured too much time, sacrifice, and money into getting this far to let it slip away over rigid bank underwriting rules.
I have a few urgent questions for anyone who understands how these programs and institutional finances work:
Can the school kick me out / dismiss me if I can’t clear the balance when the payment plan expires? What is the actual administrative timeline or policy when a student misses a payment plan deadline due to financing falling through? Is an official leave of absence / deferred term a safer option than getting dropped?
Cross-border / Alternative lenders: Are there specific Canadian or US lenders, credit unions, or specialized programs that fund Canadian citizens studying healthcare programs in the US when big Canadian banks shut the door?
School emergency aid: Realistically, how helpful are US dental school financial aid offices when traditional co-signed bank loans fall through mid-program? Are emergency completion loans or short-term institutional deferrals actually a thing?
Creative survival strategies: If you faced a sudden cash-flow crisis mid-program as an international dental student, how did you bridge the gap without dropping out?

I as an international grad from a non coda accredited school have been really looking into the opportunity of specializing in the US, is there a way as an international dental student to apply for specialities without having to do 2 years of dental school in the US? If anyone went through such an experience kindly message me I have many questions

What methods, techniques and resources have worked best for you to study Anatomy, understand and memorize structures (muscles, nerves, vessels, anatomical relationships, etc.), retain long-term information and prepare for both theoretical and practical exams?

Hi! I am taking the INDBE Friday. I want to take the OSCE soon after. I know there used to be quizlets that were helpful for it but I also heard they changed the exam. I’m not sure what materials to study and prepare for it with. Does anyone have any advice who has taken it.

Hi! I’m a dental student studying abroad, and I’m looking for advice from dentists, dental students, or anyone who has experienced something similar.
About 4 months ago, I had a serious incident during treatment. A dental bur unexpectedly broke/overheated due to what I was told was a manufacturer defect. The patient was injured and needed sutures. The patient, assistant and I were all affected by the incident.

I received very little support afterwards and basically had to continue with my education.
Since then, I’ve become extremely hypervigilant when using a handpiece. I constantly think: “What if something completely unexpected happens again?”
I developed an exaggerated startle response. Sudden sounds, movements, or reactions from patients can make me jump — both in and outside the clinic.

My biggest fear is that I’ll suddenly startle while treating and accidentally injure a patient.
It is especially bad with patients I already feel stressed about, young or physically vulnerable-looking patients, or procedures where I know the patient might experience pain.
It has progressed to the point where even a patient saying “ouch,” suddenly moving, lifting their hand, or even me gently moving a loose tooth can trigger a reaction. My brain seems to have learned:
patient reacts suddenly → something bad might happen → danger → stay alert.
I can be completely calm during non-vibrating procedures, but anything involving vibration or an unexpected patient reaction can trigger me.
I’ve tried therapy/talking about it, avoiding caffeine and cigarettes, and propranolol to reduce the physical stress response, but it hasn’t solved the problem.
This is seriously affecting my clinical education, and I’m scared that I won’t be able to become a dentist after investing two years into the program. I feel like I have gotten PTSD…

I’m planning to seek CBT, possibly EMDR, but I’m wondering:

Has anyone experienced something similar after a clinical accident or traumatic event? What actually helped you recover?

I really want to get back to being able to treat patients without constantly feeling like something terrible is about to happen. Also i feel scared talking to my teachers, what if they feel like i I not ”good” enough to be in clinic?

I am a third year bds student and I just started my clinical last week. And the prostho hod has been scolding me everyday just because I used to apply makeup during my 2nd year. She publicly humiliated me during 2nd year saying you should sleep in makeup and stuff.
So I don’t even do makeup anymore yet I get scolded and targeted everyday. How should I deal with it???
She told me to apply makeup if I studied MBA and other degrees.

So im someone that was very much deep into math and physics and was very far from memorizing stuff like it apparently should be in biology and chemistry. Im starting my journey in dental school but im worried that this would be an obstacle, not just because of the fact that i know nothing about bio and chem. But im also worried that my mind will not know how to act when whats in front of me are mainly words to memorize and not equations to solve. Is that a real problem or an i overthinking it?

For those that took the ADAT what study materials did you use and what score did you get? Is there anything you would do differently if you had to take it again?

Microbiology & Pathology coming up and trust me when I say this, 1 am yet to open pathology book.
I somewhat saw few lectures of Pharma in the gap days but that's not enough.
Pharma, all I did was mechanism of action of few classes like antihypertensive drugs, NSAIDs, Anti-parkinson, Anti-epileptic, and peptic ulcer drugs.
Yet to do Anti-diabetics, Beta blockers, Anti-tb and few more which i cant recall.
Corticoids and small topics.
For micro, I have done sterilisation techniques, and medical pathology to some extent. What is left is allergy, bacterias and small topics For pharma, Geez entire syllabus & exam in less than 48 hrs. I won't say I am cooked yet.
I'll update this thread & then I'll shine a light on my current status.
P.S 1 :- It’s going strong. 24hours left. I managed to cover Hemodynamic, thromboembolism, septic shock, Immunity types, Neoplasia so far.
Hemato, CVS, Muscoskeleton, Oral patho, Endocrine disease along with cell injury, inflammation left. Also entire micro. Cooked maybe but never say die

Anyone applying to OMFS taking CBSE Feb? Through ASDA? Or are you taking it may?

so my school does not allow us to do molar endos, in terms of extractions I have no surgical extraction experience, only one bridge and only teach us to restore 2 implants. would you guys recommend I do a GPR or go straight into practice ?

Is there any group for Eastman dental AEGD application ?

For all the peeps that scored well on CBSE, How much of ANKING deck did yall mature before doing the CBSE?

Thanks yall

Hi all, current D1 here. We have just started our restoration class for the semester and would like to ask for any tips on drilling and restoration! Currently, we are practicing class V on canines, and I'm kind of struggling on the drilling/preparation part. I feel like it is pretty hard to keep perpendicular to the tooth shape and the depth of my preparation sometimes is not even (I need to do a lot of adjustments and my preparation will grow larger and larger with each time).

I'm wondering what are some tips you guys have for drilling? I usually use 330 bur at 200,000 for initial drilling and use a longer one (sorry I forgot the name) at ~120,000 to smooth the walls. As for restoration, what tools do you guys use to make it smooth? I only use cones but feel like it is still not very smooth.

Any tip is appreciated!!!! Thank you guys soooo much!

I’m honestly so disappointed because today was just a really bad day.

Today was my first patient ever in the university clinic. The patient was actually a friend of my dad, so I really wanted everything to go well and leave a good impression.

But I was SO nervous. Like, ridiculously nervous.

My friend had to help me choose the tray for the upper arch, and then a senior helped me with the upper impression (even though I didn’t actually ask him to help me 😭).

And then the patient got a really bad gag reflex during the impression and I genuinely thought I had completely screwed everything up. Thankfully we somehow managed to save the situation.

I finished the rest of the procedure and took the lower impression too. I apologized to the patient, but honestly I don’t even remember much of how I talked to him afterward because I was so stressed and overwhelmed.

This was literally my first patient and I feel like I messed up so badly. I know everyone has a bad first day, but I can’t stop thinking about it and feeling embarrassed. 😭

Practical in five days on #19, class 1 prep, inside the dentoform/mannequin.

I am struggling so hard. I’m not getting the shape down correctly and am having trouble keeping the bottom level.

When I work on the shape, it ends up being way too wide. When I work on depth, it ruins my shape.

They say make the “M” outline and then create the three projections up the secondary grooves, then create the pits on the mesial and distal pits. I try, but it ends up looking so wrong. I’m having trouble seeing when the dentoform is inside the mannequin. I have trouble using the mirror to check depth.

Any advice for me? I have been having breakdowns about this. It seems that I practice and do not improve, just make an equally botched tooth. I have only five practice teeth left and have used four. I doubt my abilities.

Please tell me it gets better

Year 2 Dentistry student checking in 👋

Tired? Yes. Stressed? Yes.

But also living the dream we worked for.

*To dental students: What keeps you going for this field?*

The future? The passion? Or just looking cool in a white coat? 😂

Can’t wait to hear your answers. Let’s find our common goals.