I am starting dental school, I need help preparing for D1

newmanchster · Feb 25, 2018

So I am starting dental school, I need help preparing for D1. I am not looking for "go have fun and you will learn everything at the dental school". I have another 6 months of free time. I do not like being stagnant and not doing anything. currently I volunteer with a local general dentist for 3 days a week and I like the experience I am getting. the dentist gave me few models and tools to help me practice fine motor control. but I am also looking to hear from someone who is in dental school right now. what would you recommend? I also looking for text book that D1 usually use. It would be awesome to put down the name of the textbooks you are using. if you can provide pdf version of book, pdf notes, slides or any material would be greatly appreciated.

I have free 6 months and I would like to use it to make my D1 a little easier instead of just sitting around all day. I appreciate your help very much and thanks in advance.

surfline · Feb 25, 2018

go have fun and you will learn everything at the dental school

Saddleshoes · Feb 25, 2018

surfline said:
go have fun and you will learn everything at the dental school

I totally agree!

However if you insist on being a gunner...
Go get a job as a "bench monkey" in a dental lab. The bigger the lab the better.

schmoob · Feb 25, 2018

Chances are you won't be using any textbooks at all, just lecture slides.

Vicviper · Feb 25, 2018

I would recommend continue volunteering as you're doing, this will be the best way to get "real world exposure" that you won't get in dental school. Otherwise, try to get some traveling in, go on a fun trip or something. This is going to be your last break for a while. There's a reason you hear so many actual dentists and dental students saying to "go have fun" while you still can. Going in refreshed is going to be your best method to success. I would recommend one of the things that will actually help you D1 is to start reaching out to your fellow classmates and start establishing relationships and meeting people.

futuresurgeon00 · Feb 25, 2018

newmanchster said:
So I am starting dental school, I need help preparing for D1. I am not looking for "go have fun and you will learn everything at the dental school". I have another 6 months of free time. I do not like being stagnant and not doing anything. currently I volunteer with a local general dentist for 3 days a week and I like the experience I am getting. the dentist gave me few models and tools to help me practice fine motor control. but I am also looking to hear from someone who is in dental school right now. what would you recommend? I also looking for text book that D1 usually use. It would be awesome to put down the name of the textbooks you are using. if you can provide pdf version of book, pdf notes, slides or any material would be greatly appreciated.

I have free 6 months and I would like to use it to make my D1 a little easier instead of just sitting around all day. I appreciate your help very much and thanks in advance.

Currently D1 here.

Definitely enjoy yourself, but if you want you can review stuff - like do flashcards or something for a few hours a day. It'll definitely help because you'll be able to recall the material a lot better if you are more familiar with it.

1) Anatomy - even if you just want to colour in the Netter's colouring book - you will start picking up some things, or even doing flashcard practice - through Anki, or even quizlet or making your own. (BRS and Moore's - books)
2) Histology/Embryology - definitely a D1 killer so reading up on Histology (Junqueira/BRS) and embryology isn't the worst thing in the world.

Watch youtube videos - Kaplan, Dr. Najeeb, Ackland Anatomy, Crash course

I know people say enjoy the time before dental school because you won't get it back, and yeah I definitely did that, but for me I needed/wanted to review a bit as well so that's basically what I did.

PM me if you want more specific details.

newmanchster · Feb 25, 2018

surfline said:
go have fun and you will learn everything at the dental school

hahaha Got em'

newmanchster · Feb 25, 2018

Vicviper said:
I would recommend continue volunteering as you're doing, this will be the best way to get "real world exposure" that you won't get in dental school. Otherwise, try to get some traveling in, go on a fun trip or something. This is going to be your last break for a while. There's a reason you hear so many actual dentists and dental students saying to "go have fun" while you still can. Going in refreshed is going to be your best method to success. I would recommend one of the things that will actually help you D1 is to start reaching out to your fellow classmates and start establishing relationships and meeting people.

got it. thank you.

newmanchster · Feb 25, 2018

I am really not trying to be a gunner or anything. I just have so much free time and I would like to utilize some of it to prepare for D1 since it is so heavy on sciences. I am specifically looking for dental anatomy and pharmacology material if that is possible as that is what most dental student reported as being challenging courses. I understand about this being last chance to travel and have fun and i plan on doing that. however, even if i travel for a whole month or two, I still have 4-5 months left. hope you understand where I am coming from.

Vicviper · Feb 25, 2018

For sure. If you really want, go pick up a NBDE Part 1 study book like Mosby's, read a few pages a day, and then watch a few shows on netflix!

Faux · Feb 25, 2018

pharmacology material doesn't even start until 3rd year at my school.

schmoob · Feb 25, 2018

Definitely won't do pharm 1st year.

PreDentTechySon · Feb 25, 2018

There’s some thing you could probably start reviewing, but it is kind of a diminishing yield of return. You don’t know what kinds of things are going to be emphasized. If you can find a resource on cranial nerves maybe start looking at some of those. You would probably be better off shadowing or finding a part time job to work at. Get into a good workout routine or start enjoying some hobbies.

PreDentTechySon · Feb 25, 2018

schmoob said:
Definitely won't do pharm 1st year.

We had pharm 1st year at my school. It wasn’t towards the end right before boards though.

schmoob · Feb 25, 2018

PreDentTechySon said:
We had pharm 1st year at my school. It wasn’t towards the end right before boards though.

My mistake!

Faux · Feb 25, 2018

PreDentTechySon said:
We had pharm 1st year at my school. It wasn’t towards the end right before boards though.

but pharm is second board material?

Vicviper · Feb 25, 2018

Pharm is currently NBDE Part 2, but that will likely change with the new board exam coming out! I wouldn't stress much about pharm one way or another until you're actually taking the class.

deleted678432 · Feb 25, 2018

Embrace the suck of dental school. If you get kicked downstairs everyday for six months, it will still hurt if you get kicked downstairs six months from now. Studying now might reduce the "flinch", but its still gonna hurt.

PreDentTechySon · Feb 25, 2018

schmoob said:
My mistake!

Oh no worries. I think you are generally right though, most schools don’t have pharm until second year.

PreDentTechySon · Feb 26, 2018

Faux said:
but pharm is second board material?

Yeah, they gave us Pharm 1 before part 1 boards because there were some meds on part 1 (at least that was what we were told).

Likkriue · Feb 27, 2018

Read all of Firsy Aid front to back. That will keep you occupied.

newmanchster · Feb 28, 2018

Likkriue said:
Read all of Firsy Aid front to back. That will keep you occupied.

I pick up a pdf version of it. I like it. it will do.

Medin2017 · Feb 28, 2018

maga1994 said:
Pick up a new hobby or do something that you've always loved. That shouldn't be a problem. You must have some interests outside of dentistry.
Don't worry about preparing for dental school. You're not going to learn or remember the stuff that you will be tested on when school starts. Even then, you have no context. You don't know what's important and what's not, especially for a class like dental anatomy. You need a teacher to tell you the things that aren't mentioned in books, like how teeth vary with certain features or even altogether.
Please enjoy yourself. When you have 2-3 exams every week for 5 weeks in a row, you will miss being able to think about anything outside of dentistry.

Not learning or remembering things isn't true now that there's spaced repetition programs out there in various forms. I agree not to prestudy for dental school classes because they barely use the textbook though.

Medin2017 · Feb 28, 2018

maga1994 said:
Most of the things you learn in dental school, you're going to forget. I don't remember which molars have mesial or distal roots beyond the crown outline or which teeth have concave, convex, or flat proximal contacts, but I knew it at the time. Just learn the stuff when you have to. You're not going to remember dental anatomy after prestudying it.

Yea I definitely agree with this.

newmanchster · Feb 28, 2018

you guys are all right. I am just trying to have a pre exposure to it. it will be easier than if everything was brand new to me. that is all.

I am starting dental school, I need help preparing for D1

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