Dental Student Clinical Evaluation: Fill & Download for Free

Depending on the university, dental programs actually share many of their first year science classes with medical students because the material is the same. The big differences in curriculum come with the clinical courses and that after the basic human anatomy classes dental students focus in depth on the head and neck anatomy.The reason for the separation has to do a bit with the different focuses of the professions, but also differences in the roles "vendors" play in each profession.In medicine, there are certain ethical issues that come up in the prescription of medications, and vendors are kept away from medical students so they do not have undue influence on such decisions. AMSA has a very strict conflict of interest policy, and you can check out information about this policy and their PharmFree scorecards here: http://www.amsascorecard.org/aboutDentistry, on the other hand, is quite different. Products used in dentistry are not like medications, which many times are filled off site at a pharmacy and different "brands" can potentially be interchangeable. Access to vendors to evaluate the latest in dental materials, handpieces, etc. is a very important in dentistry, since your dentist has to decide which products they will purchase and use to deliver great care for their patients.As far as medical and dental insurance goes, the two are also very different. Medical coverage is to handle the costly consequences of injury and illness after they occur, while you really can't say the same things about dental procedures. Thus, most of the dental coverage is geared toward prevention and stopping dental problems from occurring. In fact, dental insurance often times gets in the way of what is best for the patient because the insurance companies can dictate care by only covering certain procedures. Also capping fees and reimbursements can force dentists into using materials that are less expensive & perhaps less effective so that they can keep operating costs low enough to accept insurance.

Answering as a former dental student, I would say the only thing you are risking is your time schedule.Every time a student doctor performs a procedure(prophylaxis, filling, crown prepartion, denture, root canal, etc.) they have a very, very detailed card with numerous, minutely detailed steps on it. It may be on a tablet or computer nowadays.Anyway, there can be anywhere from 20 to 60 steps that have to be reviewed, approved and signed off by your clinical instructor in that particular discipline. That clinical instructor is a board certified, licensed dentist often with advanced training.The student doctor is being watched, scrutinized and evaluated every single step of the way. So the work HAS to pass muster.The only downside is that all of this takes a lot of time. What might be a 30-40 minute procedure at your neighborhood dentist's office may take all morning and/or multiple visits at the dental school. But the work will be reviewed, approved and done with care and competence.Subsequently, a lot of my patients in school were seniors and retirees with time to spare. They were very understanding of the circumstances.

Think that as an opportunity to educate them. You should learn about common myths and misconceptions about dentistry. Whenever you get a chance you teach them what they don't know.As a dental student you might not know everything,you might not know how your theories are applied in practice. If you are asked for advice that you have no idea about tell them openly that you are only a student and just starting to learn. Tell them that since you don't know it thoroughly you would ask a senior or study the subject and give a detailed explanation on a later time. Think this as an opportunity to learn, understand layman's troubles and a great opportunity to deal with potential patients.There is one important thing to remember. A dentist needs instruments,tools and machinery to observe, evaluate ,diagnose and plan the treatment. As a dental student you might not have any access to all these facilities. So tell them that everything in dentistry is to ve observed and studied by making use of certain facilities and you don't have it. Ask them to visit a Dentist nearby to get it evaluated. Also tell them that opinions change with every dentist based many factors and that doesn't mean one is correct or wrong.In my personal experience i don't like to be nagged by neighbours and relatives when it comes to free advice. Even today if someone asks me advice i straight away ask them to visit a nearby dental clinic. I don't ask them to open their mouth in public.The best thing to do is asking them to visit a dental clinic. Don't try to diagnose. Your theories is no way near the real practice. If they force you just give them your general viewpoint. Don't be specific.