How Assisting a Third-Year Dental Student Changed My View on Dental Education at UCSF

It’s been about five months since I’ve started dental school. After going through two quarters of studying, and now assisting a third-year dental student, I’ve finally come to see why the classes I’ve been taking at UCSF are necessary for me to become a knowledgeable and competent dentist.

The classes I have taken these past two quarters have been anatomy, histopathology, microbiology, pharmacology, research methods, dental procedures, tooth development and morphology, and patient care. Before dental school, I used to think that being skilled at dental procedures was enough to be a good dentist. This is because I mostly focused on how dentists performed clinical procedures rather than how they approached patients’ health conditions in a comprehensive manner. Honestly, even until the end of last quarter, I was not able to see the true benefit of learning didactic material in dental school. I felt like it was extra work. However, I realized how all the knowledge I have learned from didactic classes fit into clinical skills when I came to assist a third-year-dental student this quarter. During the assisting session, the student dentist assessed the medical records of a new patient. The medications, overall health conditions, previous surgeries, infections, diets, allergies, oral health conditions, and social history were assessed. There were many factors to be considered to come up with a treatment plan. The student dentist had to have some knowledge about medications in the patient’s medical record and the patient’s current health condition to decide if it was safe to provide the required dental procedure. In addition, the student dentist used knowledge from didactic courses to explain to the patient what was going on with their oral health status and why the proposed procedures were necessary.

This experience gave me an explanation for why I need to master material from a variety of courses at the UCSF School of Dentistry. To deliver the safest and the best possible care, a dentist should know not only how to perform dental procedures, but also how to consider such procedures in the context of the patient’s overall health condition.

Advice to Pre-Dentals!

One of the biggest steps toward your dental education is the process of preparing for and applying to dental school. As a current D1 coming out of this process pretty recently, I remember how overwhelming but incredibly exciting of a time this was! As this application cycle slowly gets closer, here’s just a few of the many things that I would keep in mind as a pre-dental getting ready to apply to dental school! 

• Be involved in a wide variety of things that you are passionate about!
  • It might seem like dental schools care the most about dental-related experiences, like lots of shadowing, and while this is definitely important to make sure that you know what the career is like, it’s also equally important to show dental schools what makes you a unique applicant through the things that you are truly passionate about. Be involved in a variety of things, from dental experiences to completely unrelated experiences, and schools will see your passion through the things that you do.
• Start preparing early so you can apply early!
  • I know everyone says to apply early, but they do because it’s actually important! Don’t wait till the last minute to start your personal statement, collect letters of recommendation, or take your DAT. Applying early increases your chances of landing an interview at your top schools, so try to make sure that one part of your application isn’t holding back the whole thing! You can collect letters of recommendation in advance and hold them securely on websites like Interfolio, and continually work on editing your personal statement so you can have something you are truly proud of to submit.
• Talk to dental students from schools you are considering to know what the school is like!
  • I knew I wanted to go to UCSF for dental school since my first year of undergrad, and even so, I still talked to current students before fully committing to the school. Where you receive your dental education will completely shape your experience, and every student wants something different out of dental school. Whether you are focused on a specific specialty, passionate about Public Health, interested in research, or whatever the case may be, you want to know that the school you decide upon is one that will fit your needs and interests.
• Finally, enjoy the process!
  • Applying to dental school might seem overwhelming, but looking back on it, it is really one of the most exciting times as a student. Try not to get too stressed out or compare yourself to other applicants. Every applicant will have a different experience going through this process, but everyone ends up where they’re supposed to be.

Mistakes I made in dental school

My time in dental school is passing with a blur. It seems like yesterday I was waxing a tooth in simlab, and now I’m halfway through my 3^rd year. Looking back, there was many triumphs and also many many failures. Here’s the most major mistakes I have made:

–not going to class. There are days where I feel so tired that it’s easier to lie on my bed than going to class. Looking back, I wish I have gone to class more. Most of what’s been taught in lecture is useful in someway. And we all paid large $$ every year to be in dental school. Not going to class is like cheating yourself. 

–not asking for help when I needed. Sometimes pride gets in the way and I didn’t want to look stupid by asking for help. But now is the time to ask questions, make mistakes, and get help because we have a safety net called dental school. Once we leave dental school, there’s no one there to protect you from lawsuit.

–not putting my health first. When you’re young, you don’t realize your body has a limit. But realize in order to practice dentistry, you got to be well enough to endure through the long work days. No matter how many test cases, exams, and patients you have coming up, don’t forget to sleep, eat well, and exercise. 

–not enjoying my time in dental school. Dental school is short. Even though the days seem long now, your time in dental school will be over in a blink of an eye. For some people, it’s the last time they will be in school. Your time now in dental school is precious. Treasure it and make the most of everyday so you will have no regrets looking back.

Thank you for reading. Hope you can learn from my mistakes and good luck to your dental school journey.