Two months into AADSAS...

It's already almost August and already two months have passed since the AADSAS opened! I've been paying schools application fees left and right, spending money like it was water. I'm also drowning trying to come up with new ways to write the exact same things and make them sound more interesting for my supplemental applications. I am so sick of writing the same thing over and over, and just once more over again. It's quite sickening and makes me want to barf. 

Hopefully it'll all be worth it...

In the mean time, I just got hired full-time at a dental office! Cheers to that!

Nervous.

I feel like I'm a better candidate this year, except now I don't feel as good.
The dentists I know and have networked with seem to think I would be a good candidate for dental school...The admissions committees might think otherwise. The orthodontist I shadowed said I'm definitely more personable than some of the other people who have shadowed him and the dental resident I just e-mailed told me that "I've definitely shown serious interest and that the schools will recognize that."

Why was I such an idiot in college? If only I would've wanted dentistry then as I do now. But growth is all apart of this, is it not?

And I wish my two other letter writers would submit! Or at least get back to me! #goinginsane #panicking

And a plug for this AWESOME, HILARIOUS DENTAL TUMBLR that my friend introduced me to a few days ago: http://whatshouldwecalldental.tumblr.com/ Don't pee in your pants!

AADSAS!

So the 2013 cycle begins...

Let's go, go, go!

Shadowing Dr.double-S, part deux

I got the opportunity to shadow Dr.double-S, who will be Dr. S for the rest of this entry. I was supposed to shadow Dr.K but her patients didn't show up and Dr. S came to the office and asked if I'd like to see an extraction, which was a coincidentally great opportunity for me. The patient was really eager to have be see his extraction and learn, pulling me closer with his hands and telling me to get a good look in his mouth and stuff. One of the best patients ever to shadow, even though he spoke very little English and had a translator there.

While I was watching, I saw a familiar little card in Dr. S's operating room, which I recognized a few seconds later was from me! It was nice to know that my thank you cards actually get to the dentists, I always wonder if they arrive and what happens to them when they do.

Oh, and I saw the handsome Dr. LM again. He was dressed up, not in the usual scrubs that everyone in the office wears. Dr. S said that I was missing out on the "handsome doctor AN" when I shadowed the first time because he was in Indiana doing some house searching, but I think otherwise after seeing Dr. AN today. And just before lunch, I saw Dr. LM and the attending dentist go somewhere, probably somewhere important.

Another super interesting thing I saw today was a woman that had an extra tooth, literally in the palette of her mouth behind her two front teeth. I asked Dr. S if it was just a tooth that had come in wrong or maybe a baby tooth, but no it was an extra tooth. CRAZY COOL, well not for the patient. And Dr. S definitely kept me on my feet quizzing me to see if I knew the routine of a new patient exam...Medical history, X-rays (if necessary), Hard tissue analysis, Perio analysis (gum tissue check and tooth mobility), and Prognosis/How to proceed from exam.

Note to self: Dr. S is going to endondontic school in St. Louis, Missouri after he completes his residency in late June.

Shadowing Dr.double-S

I completely forgot that I had this blog when I shadowed last Friday. This was a pretty awesome experience, shadowing dental residents who had all graduated within the last year. The group of five dentists was a pretty selective group and were undergoing some rigorous training in order to become the best dentists they could be. The group had come from all over the country, NYU, UOP, Creighton, and the U of M -- I was surprised by the variety.

Here, I saw a variety of cases yet again, but different from that of the community clinic. These cases were more specialized and specifically geared to face cases that were referred to by the hospital. The attending dentist told me that this was an initiative to have dentistry compliment physicians more and vice versa, since there had always been this lingering gap of care for patients. Upon the initiative of a few people, a program was started to have dental residents take on cases from the overseeing hospital and allowed them to have the credibility of having a vast variety of experience collected within a year of residency.

The dentist I shadowed, maybe because he understands what it's like to be a pre-dental student or that he's a recent grad who is extremely modest, but he and the other residents were extremely kind and generous of their time and sharing information. I was really grateful towards all of them. (Not to mention some were very handsome...*gushes*)

After shadowing on Friday, it is something I definitely would like to pursue, should I get into dental school over the next year.

Dreams and shadowing Dr.C.R

I woke up from this amazing dream this morning where I got a call from the director of a program that I'm waiting to hear back from and that I was accepted. Unfortunately, it was only a dream and now it's been almost three weeks since I've heard back about the program since I first heard the results would be provided. It stinks to know that I lack the ability to make surefire plans when it comes to things related to my future or career.

Anyways, I shadowed at the Native American Community Clinic today for a third time. As always, the cases seen there were very interesting and it was great to be able to meet more D4 students. This time there was a different group rotating, one of the students even happened to be a Kaplan course instructor. He called my Kaplan instructor his protege and when I told my instructor about it after he responded to me about my personal statement, he said that the D4 student was actually his DAT instructor. Small world.

I came across my first experience where the patient did not want to be observing while he was undergoing a crown prep procedure today. Though during the pre-day huddle I had heard that he was a sensitive patient, I had no idea that he would object to observations. And when I saw him leave, the D4 student stuck out his hand and said, "Thanks." The patient threw his hands back and said, "I don't shake hands."

But due to the previous patient, I met this wonderful gentleman today, he had been diagnosed with a myriad of health problems yet his outlook on life was simply one of the most positive ones I'd ever seen in my life. When I was just about to step out while the D4 student went to go grab Dr.C.R. he asked me where I was from. I told him and he said, "I thought you might be, see, I like to meet as many people as I can from all over the world." I told him that it was nice and that usually people don't guess right. He said, "The world has too many wars and too much hate. Little actions of help -- just holding the door open, a smile, or helping a stranger -- would make the world a better place. Turning the hate into love, but I guess that's just me. I told him it was a great philosophy to have and I was just struck by his optimism even amongst all the ways he could hate the world due to his condition. It was apparent that he was far more healthy, mentally, than any of us.

Shadowing oral surgeon Dr.B.D.C.

This was quite a different experience. The more I shadow dental specialties, the more I like them. However, I am fully aware that in order to be in these specialties you have to be near the top of your class and study for a couple of extra years.

I was able to shadow this oral surgeon because one of the dental assistants at the dental office where I work part-time used to work for this oral surgeon. This situation was unique in that I was required to wear scrubs (and I couldn't help thinking how nice it would be to not have to worry about what to wear all the time). It was a completely different approach to extracting teeth and I really enjoyed the atmosphere of oral surgery just as I did orthodontics. It was interesting to see "the other side" of anesthesia -- because now I finally knew what went on when the patient was passed out and the oral surgeon and his dental assistants got work done.

I'm sure I can't say much more, so I'll just leave with this note. Please, remember to brush your tongue folks.