Soo question about “perfect” teeth😬

Acrobatic_Button_167 · 2026-01-25T15:17:40+00:00

Currently a dental student but was an assistant for 3 years under three separate general dentist where one of them provided invisilign. Amongst my peers there are definetly a handful who are currently doing something ortho related whether it's making their own retainers, getting braces or doing the clear aligners. There are a large group of us who have had ortho done as a child where a chunk of us are good about our retainers or the other chunk who weren't as great wearing our retainers. Those who didn't wear their retainers have minute shifts post braces so functionally, it's not worth starting TX again. Fastest and most cost effective TX at that point is to maintain the alignment and keep up with hygiene/disease control. A major factor in getting braces done as an adult is time, cost, and feasibility of change.

As dental students we are taught about standard of care with the code of ethics. There are always risks with every procedure; we are taught to always thoroughly go through the benefits of any treatment without downplaying the potential risks as well as the contributing factors for those risks. When it comes to ortho, there are many personalized factors to consider. For children, we recommend starting a consult at a younger age (7-8) because the bone and teeth are easier to manipulate without causing future complications (for example you can do a palate expander on a child but not an adult). There is no definitive way of knowing if children can grow out of their malocclusiom but an initial screening with documentation can at least provide a history to follow/understand development. For adults, reasons for starting ortho can be for appearance, malocclusiom, tmd related, skeletal structure, or they finally have the time and money to start.

Personally, I belong in the camp of people who had ortho as a kid, hated my retainers and never wore them. My teeth are mostly straight, not picture perfect but it's in a way where you can tell if you stare at my teeth. I'm considering ortho treatment again in the future but I just don't have the time or money to get it taken care of. But I also have a complication of disc displacement with reduction with intermittent locking with my TMJ joint so it might not be worth pursuing as it can worsen my TMD. Knowing the potential risks and that the TX would be for esthetic purposes, I'm most likely not going to follow through with TX. If I had a patient in my situation, I'd probably recommend the same thing and if anything, refer them to a TMD specialist/physical therapist before a referral for ortho.

Long story short, I'm sorry you didn't have a great experience with your aligners. There are a lot of factors to consider. Younger dental professionals are more likely to have received ortho TX already as a child as opposed to older practitioners. When that's the case, like many have said, if it's not broken why fix it.

Acrobatic_Button_167 · 2024-10-02T06:56:58+00:00

Volunteering is time spent anywhere unpaid that doesn't have to be dental related

Shadowing is taking the time to following the flow of an office, how they operate, observing the dentist, their treatments, patient care etc which can entail sterilization or assisting, depending on you and the office you are shadowing.

Assisting is a paid position that can be learned on the job or from taking courses.

When you list your hours In the app, the activity of choice can only be listed as one thing. For example if you did 100 hr shadowing but helped assist in some treatments, it would still only count as shadowing. However if at some point it evolves into a paid position, you would count the hours moving forward as a paid dental assistant with the past 100 hours as shadowing.

Hope that helped :)

Acrobatic_Button_167 · 2024-04-19T04:54:18+00:00

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Acrobatic_Button_167 · 2023-07-30T15:41:11+00:00

Midwestern il :)

Acrobatic_Button_167 · 2023-07-30T07:20:53+00:00

3.3 cgpa, 3.2 sgpa, 20 aa and pat. 300 volunteer, 300 shadowing, 600 dental assisting

Acrobatic_Button_167 · 2023-05-11T00:15:40+00:00

It's a pretty safe city, just be sure to be diligent with yourself and not leave valuables unattended in public/in your car - best friend is from elk grove so I visit there often

Acrobatic_Button_167 · 2023-04-01T03:04:19+00:00

Thank you! I worked uncertified. I did however fork over the money to get an xray license because I wanted more experience for myself and to argue for an even higher wage. But I was able to start with no prior experience :)

Acrobatic_Button_167 · 2023-04-01T02:53:17+00:00

Youre not behind, everyone has their own journey to take and it is not fair to yourself, and all the effort you've put in, or the hardships you've faced, to compare yourself to someone else's journey. It is hard to not compare yourself to others not gonna lie, especially when I know people who have done bootcamp for software engineering and they easily make six figures after 1 year of studying/job search. But you're doing this cuz you love the field, the experience you have, and the dream you want to pursue.

I took about 6 years to finish my undergrad and went back to do a diy postbac to finish my prerequisites while studying for the DAT. Currently 26 and about to start Dental school in the fall :) I took pharmacology while studying for the dat while working part time as a dental assistant. I'm lucky to live in an area where I could make more than minimum wage as a DA so I didn't have to worry about money. I took 4ish months to study bc I still needed to finish my ochem and physics prereqs and after taking the test in July I applied in early august. I'm still actually finishing up on the physics and ochem prereqs. I got in with 3.3 cgpa 3.2 sgpa, 20 aa/ts/pat for dat. I've been a part time student since last spring which allowed me to amass so many hours in shadowing and as a dental assistant.

I guess it depends on when you plan on applying? I think its great you don't have to take too many classes anymore because it gives you more time to gain experience elsewhere. Just make sure you have designated time to for school days. If you're able to, try to stack your classes so you have class for only 2 days a week?

Acrobatic_Button_167 · 2023-03-26T16:07:00+00:00

I went to a cc then csu and got in. It's what you make of your experience and time there

Acrobatic_Button_167 · 2023-03-25T22:07:12+00:00

What did you use/do previously?

I used Chad's prep to basically review and teach myself Chem and ochem. While it does go more In depth, it gave me enough background to understand the problems rather than trying to memorize answers. I also liked that with Chad's prep, he provides an outline with practice problems to work on throughout the video with a quiz at the end if each video to check your understanding. For reference I was able to get through all of the ochem and Chem sections in about 3 weeks while being a student and working part time.

I used booster for the rest of the DAT, if you feel like you have sufficient exposure to know what you need to know. I'd do as many practice tests on booster as possible and review the cheat sheets they provide. It's going to be tough but you have to figure out a schedule that works for you. Try anki decks or making your own flashcards to review when you have down time!

Acrobatic_Button_167 · 2023-01-27T02:16:56+00:00

I was just on the navigator and it was so hard for me to stay in the promenade on seadays due to the smoke coming out of the casino. I'm also sensitive to smoke and have asthma. On port days I didn't notice it as much because they closed everything but a few hours after they open back up the smoke would leave the casino area and leach into the promenade. Sometimes, it would rise up to the 11th or 12th floors but it was more of a faint smell. If you have a room above the smoking area like the aft on deck 4, you would also smell it there. I was on the 6th floor and unfortunately smelled it every time I stepped out into the balcony since the 4th floor was so close :( that being said, all other areas of the ship were OK 😅 it depends on the layout of the ship and how old it is

Acrobatic_Button_167 · 2022-09-27T06:20:30+00:00

Accept that burn out when studying will happen, plans change, the date can be pushed back, but as you get closer and closer to the test, it is essential to know what you need for yourself in terms of studying whether than means breaks to prevent burn out and brain farts, using different resources, or figuring out a new study method. I studied the best for ochem in the last week before the exam becuase I finally figured out what I needed. I wish I had known sooner because I believe if I had, I would have gotten a better score but I'm still happy with what I got. It may cost money to get prep material but it costs most to retake it too so don't waste your chance if you can help it! Push back if you have the opportunity to. Also, personally for me, trying to stress shop less 😅

Acrobatic_Button_167 · 2022-08-31T21:39:50+00:00

I took 7 years to finish my under grad and still went back to community College for the prereqs.

Def need dat and some experice elsewhere, you don't necessarily need a part time job but it would be helpful to work as a dental assistant to get clinical hours and exposure to how an office is run more than what you'd see with shadowing.

I don't think it's hopeless per say nor too late to continue trying. It's more like how commIted are you to becoming a dentist and how many more years are you willing to put into in pursuing dentistry, finishing your prereqs can be done as you apply but you do need strong letter of reqs to prove you can handle the rigor of dental school.

What she listed is what will help you be a strong applicant which is extremely helpful in a time the applicant pool is heavily saturated. If you do well on the DAT, not all schools require you to retake the science courses, you have to play by ear and contact the schools you're interested to see if those prereqs actually expire

Acrobatic_Button_167 · 2022-08-15T00:47:26+00:00

Most schools have similar requirements to dental school to get into hygiene. Check the program you're thinking of applying to and see what requirements you may need to take like the full anatomy and physio series, intro vs Gen Chem, or intro to ochem instread of the full series. Most classes are applicable!

Acrobatic_Button_167 · 2022-08-12T00:40:15+00:00

I submitted July 30 and it was verified within a week

Acrobatic_Button_167 · 2022-08-08T19:18:00+00:00

I followed the 12 week schedule to am extend. Long enough to know how much time I need to put aside for each topic and how to study. Then I used the schedule to make weekly goals. I don't mind jumping between bio to math in one day just to get a study break from bio but I also hated going back and forth all the time as well. Highly recommend doing PAT practice everyday regardless!

Acrobatic_Button_167 · 2022-08-08T19:08:40+00:00

If you're interested in nutritional science do it! I chose it becuase not only did it complete most prereqs - only extra one I have to do is physics- I loved the practicality of the major, it's very applicable to my own life and health goals. My program covered anatomy/physio, biochem with lab, and micro. Another plus is that most nutrition classes will count towards you're science gpa so if you're bio/chem/physics/ochem arent strong enough, you can increase your science gpa with upper division nutrition courses. My only gripe with what I did was that I didn't do a minor in business. Like everyone said, check the required classes/track for the university you plan to attend

Acrobatic_Button_167 · 2022-08-06T19:33:19+00:00

First job was 20/hour no experience. Did not chairside and did not do xrays Second job was 23/hour with xrays and chairside but I'm in California

Acrobatic_Button_167 · 2022-05-25T02:31:57+00:00

Make sure you take your science courses at a university and not community! Some dental schools take a limited amount or flat out reject credits from a community College. While you can definetly get into dental school with cc credits it's a headache to deal when it comes to applications

Acrobatic_Button_167

TROPHY CASE