A Pre-Dental Necessity: 5 Essential Study Tips for Finals

It's almost that time of year again and it seems to be a pre-dental way of life. That's right, I'm not talking about a Thanksgiving feast big enough to leave you full for weeks, I'm talking about finals! Along with finals naturally comes one tell tale trait of the pre-dental student: their study habits. Maybe you're a freshman, new to the pre-dental stream, or maybe you're just trying to take your game to a whole new level. Either way, this list of tips and tricks may just be what can help you to achieve the level of academic performance you desire. These tips and tricks are both from my personal arsenal and those of others online. Most of them I've developed through years of study as an undergraduate, grad-student, my time in pilot training in the air force, and now as a post-bacc.

1. Develop a plan. A well considered plan is always key when you've got multiple different classes all competing for study time. I prefer to start early and generally and then increase the level of detail in my plan as finals week approaches. This adds more flexibility to my earlier study time and prevents me from being concerned about fine, unnecessary details.

2. Sleep well. This is personally my most important study and exam strategy. Although it may seem counter intuitive, by not studying late and sleeping instead, you will increase your productivity dramatically while also reducing stress. By being well rested, I find that my memory "opens up" and allows me to both recall and learn details more accurately and faster. This tip also ranks highly on almost any online source, including Time Magazine's 6 Tips for Surviving Finals Week. 

3. Eat well. Not only do you need to take care of your mind, you also need to take care of your body. Now that you've probably got a little more free time on your hands (which should be used for study), you're probably spending a lot more time at home. This often means that there is far more temptation to eat poorly and use your finals study as an excuse to justify it. We all begin to prioritize study over other things when finals come around, but you can't use it as an excuse to not be taking care of yourself. Take some time to go grocery shopping and prepare something reasonably nutritious for yourself: it will pay dividends when you actually sit down to study.

4. Stay active. I really should have roped the last few points into one big "take care of yourself" section, but it's really true. Taking care of your mind and body should be atop any studying plan. This is also one are which is backed by science and almost guaranteed to improve your memory functions. According to the Harvard Health Letter, researchers at the University of British Colombia found that regular exercise boosted the size of the brain responsible for verbal memory and learning. Not to mention, exercise is known for it's wide array of positive psychological effects.

5. Stop procrastinating. Although pre-dental students are usually among the most motivated of college undergraduates, we can still fall victim to this often taboo side of studying. Unfortunately, it comes with the territory and in today's world there are more procrastination inducing triggers than ever. However, I like to think of study in terms of the old adage, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," except I like modify it to say, "an ounce of study not is worth a pound of study later." I find that by completing study earlier, it makes subsequent study more effective. Take for example the normal semester class in one of the most notorious pre-dental classes; organic chemistry. If I have completed the reading and example problems before the class, I find that I can absorb almost all of the material being presented to me in lectures and I leave feeling confident. However, if I have not I don't understand half of what is said and leave feeling as though I have a mammoth study task ahead of me. By doing that small amount of study early, I've significantly reduced the amount of effort required for later study and have overall learned and retained the information significantly better and faster.

Although certainly not exhaustive, this list is my top five essential study tips which I believe have helped me through the plethora of study I've done in the past. If you apply them well, hopefully you too can achieve your desired study outcomes. Please feel free to leave any feedback in the comments section below or even some of your own study tips. What have you found helpful?

(Title photo courtesy of Syracuse University)

The Digital Dentistry Revolution

If you're interested in dentistry as a career you've probably already heard the term, "digital dentistry." But what is digital dentistry? What does it do and why, as future dental practitioners, do we need it for our patients? Although this post won't be exhaustive, it will aim to point out some of the more prevalent areas where digital technology is being applied to modern dentistry.

Much as it does for the rest of society, the introduction of technology into the lives of dentists have made procedures faster, easier, more accurate, more comfortable for the patient and more productive for the operator. Although the term, "digital dentistry," is not well defined, it generally refers to anything which has traditionally been done by hand which can now be done with the assistance, in one form or another, of technology. Until recently this has proven difficult because dentistry, which is a delicate mix of art and science, is difficult to replicate with machines. However now there are many procedures and techniques which can be aided with the use of technology. Some of these technologies include, but certainly are not limited to; CAD/CAM restorations, cone beam CT, computer aided implant dentistry, digital x-rays, electric handpieces, lasers, intra-oral cameras, and patient and practice management systems. Although all of these technological developments have had a profound impact on the art and science of dentistry, below, I will elaborate on three areas which I believe have had the most profound impact; intra-oral cameras and CAD/CAM restorations, digital x-rays, and patient and practice management systems.

Intra-oral cameras and CAD/CAM restorations

Previously, if a patient needed a crown, a long and slow road was ahead of them. To deliver a crown to a patient typically took no less than three visits to the dentist over a period which usually spanned weeks. This was primary due to the fact that a dentist would have to first prepare the tooth for the crown, then take an impression to send to an external lab so the crown could be made, then finally fit the crown, each at a separate visit. This is obviously less than ideal for both patient and clinician. However, with the advent of intra-oral cameras and CAD/CAM systems (such as CEREC) a crown can be delivered in a matter of hours. This has lead to many dentists offering crowns in only one appointment. These systems work by the dentist preparing the tooth for the crown in a traditional sense, then using a intra-oral camera to scan the prepared tooth surface, finally a machine makes the crown from a block of ceramic; all while the patient waits. Check out this video below from Dr. Barbra Kane which explains the process from beginning to end.

Digital X-rays

Another new and exciting development in the world of digital dentistry is the introduction of digital x-ray technology. The best way to explain digital x-rays is that it is like taking a digital photo. No film is required, there is no wait time after the x-ray is taken so if the first x-ray needs to be redone it can happen immediately, the x-ray can automatically be kept on a digital database, the x-ray can be easily viewed on a computer, and perhaps most importantly digital x-rays require far less radiation than traditional dental x-rays. In fact, according to Dental Economics, a dental related publication, digital x-rays deliver only 10% of the radiation dose of traditional film x-rays. No matter how you look at it, just like digital photos, digital x-rays have everybody smiling!

An Example of a Digital X-ray system compliments of Atlantic Avenue Dental.

Patient and Practice Management Systems

Although it might not seem obvious, being able to keep patient records on computers has both saved time, energy, waste, and also made dental records more efficient. Everyone is familiar with the traditional manila folder full of a patients dental records. Here, a busy dentist scribbled down what little information that he or she could after an appointment just prior to seeing the next patient. This made managing both the practice and patient records unruly. However, with the digitization of such records, dentists are easily able to keep complete, neat, and up to date records with the press of a button. There are also great features integrated into software packages that allow x-rays and other patient information to be kept readily on hand. So long paper!

Above are just a few of the more modern and prevalent digital dentistry systems that are being adopted by dentists practicing across America and throughout the world. I'm very excited by what these and other new systems will mean for me and my patients in the future when I finally begin practicing dentistry.

UC Davis Pre-Health Professions Conference

Being local to San Francisco, about a month ago I was fortunate enough to attend the 13th Annual Pre-Medical and Pre-Health Professions National Conference over the weekend of October 10th. "What's a Pre-Health Professions conference," I hear you ask? A pre-health professions conference is a gathering of like-minded pre-health students, including pre-dental students of course, to attend a variety of different keynote speeches, panels, workshops, exhibitions and more. All of these are aimed at giving the budding dentist information that will not only help them decide if the profession is a right fit for them, but also to give useful information about the application process, what to expect, and how to get the most out of pre-dental activities. The remainder of this post will give a brief synopsis of my experience at the conference will provide some other little tips along the way for those thinking about attending next year.

After registration and breakfast, which was provided, I attended the main conference speeches. These were delivered by many esteemed members of the health-professions and although heavily focused on speaking to pre-medical students, I felt that there points were still applicable to dentistry.

However, after the main conference speeches were over, the real pre-dental really fun began. The two keynote speeches, presented by Dr. Friedrichsen, Dean of Western University's dental school, and Dr. Featherstone, Dean of UCSF School of Dentistry, were both informative and inspirational. Both had the general overarching theme of describing how the role of dentists is changing as healthcare becomes more integrated. The primary focus of this is that as future dentists, we will not be working in isolation. Instead, we will be working as a part of a larger healthcare team, aimed at providing a holistic approach to both healthcare and dentistry simultaneously. I would definitely recommend attending the keynote speeches in the future.

Immediately following the keynote addresses were a series of panels. First was a panel of members from admissions committees from dental schools around the country. Attending this panel was great way to get the perspectives from many different schools on what makes a successful applicant and how to best go about applying. Although there is far too much information for me to mention here, a few of the biggest mistakes that they said that dental school applicants make when submitting their applications are in not completely proof reading their personal statements and applying late in the cycle. The consensus of the panel was that having grammatical and spelling errors in a personal statements say a lot about the applicant. It says that they either lack the attention to detail that dental schools are looking for in future dentists, or worse still, that the applicant simply does not care enough to compile a contentious and thoughtful submission. Either way, if you want to get accepted you can not fall into either of these two categories. Dental school applications also open for submission on June 1st. The panel made it clear that even if you submit on the first day admissions open, it will be some number of weeks before your application is complete, which are usually held up waiting for letters of recommendation. Therefore, if you submit your application even three months after applications open, say around the beginning of September, by the time your application has been processed and reviewed, it is probably already into December. With rolling admissions this places you at a great disadvantage because not only are you now competing against a larger pool of applicants, some schools have already accepted half of their class (UCSF admits half of their incoming class in December)!. Although it is long, below is a video of the 2013 dental admissions panel.

Following the panels I had lunch, which was also provided, and then spent the remainder of my day attending workshops and the exhibition. The workshops were a fantastic way to get information about more detailed topics within dentistry and applying to dental school. They are also an excellent time to have your questions answered by people who definitely know that they're talking about. In all, the workshops were engaging, useful, and interesting and I would definitely recommend that you attend them if you come to the conference next year. In addition, make sure you set aside some time to attend the exhibition. Here you have the opportunity to talk to multiple schools directly, one after the other, and have any questions you have answered. Often I was able to talk not only to admissions staff, but also to students from the schools. In my opinion these are very valuable opportunities.

In summary, I found that the conference was both engaging and interesting. I also was sure to take notes which I'm sure will serve as an invaluable resource on the long road to dental school. A word of advice though, make sure to plan your day in advance: there are so many great workshops to attend that fitting them all in without a plan would be impossible. To give you an idea of what the workshops entailed, check out page 142 - 149 of the 2015 program.

To Post-Bacc or Not to Post-Bacc?

So you've just decided that you want to become a dentist? That's great! But, whoever you are you're going to have to get into dental school first. This however is no mean feat. Many students plan their road to dental school throughout their entire undergraduate careers. But maybe that's not you? Maybe you're a latecomer, like me, or maybe you spent a few too many years involved in undergrad shenanigans.

After the profound realization of your future career in dentistry you sit down to work out just how you're going to get into dental school. You could be lucky and already have taken prerequisite courses required by most dental schools. If this is you, that's great! Just a year of studying for the DAT, applying to schools, and some volunteering and you could be well on your way. Unfortunately, for many of us it isn't that simple. Fortunately, if you haven't completed all (or any) of the prerequisites, or if you're GPA is less than stellar, there's still a way: more schooling.

The Inescapable Reality: A Lot More School!

  

You might be lucky and have a year or so left in your undergrad studies. If this is the case, great! Take this opportunity to take the classes you need while you're still there. But, if you've already graduated you're going to need some sort of a post-bacc. Postbaccalaureate studies (or post-bac for short), are the studies you will have to undertake after you've graduated with an undergrad degree to get into professional school. Whether you need to take the prerequisite classes, or improve your GPA, there are two different ways to do a post-bacc, formally and informally.

If you've only got a few classes you need to take, or your GPA only needs a little boost, an informal post-bacc might be for you. Informal post-bacc studies are taken outside of any official program, usually at either community colleges or state schools. The best way to do this is to sign up with a university as an open university of extended learning student (Link to my school's Open U page). However, I should mention that a lot of academic advisers from dental schools advise applicants not to attend community colleges. These programs are also a good option if money is tight.

On the other hand, if you need to take a lot of classes or your GPA needs a real boost, a formal post-bacc program (link to my school's formal program) is probably the way to go. According to the American Association of Medical Colleges, formal post-bacc programs are generally the best way to go: They've even compiled a database of all the post-bac programs in the country: 192 of them at last count. The advantages of a formal program are: highly structured, small class sizes and guaranteed class enrollment, individual advising and program support (my program even has a therapist), and committee letters. Not to mention you'll also be able to make friends with the people in your program group. These are all really good reasons that make a formal program an excellent choice, however, there are a few disadvantages. Expect to pay more for tuition, I pay almost twice the amount of a normal student per unit. You can also expect that classes are only offered during certain semesters with the intent that you follow the program from start to finish, usually two years. Other than that, I think that a formal program is the way to go.

Thanks for reading my first post, if you've got any questions or comments please feel free to leave them in the section below and I'll reply as soon as I can. Also, if you're interested be sure to check out the links I've included in the post and most importantly, good luck and stay tuned for future posts!

Photos courtesy of:
1) credit.com 
2) LA College of Music