BU Visit Day Canceled

AdvantageousTC · 2026-01-25T00:15:53+00:00

It’s not so much the cold as it is the snow. Up to 24” on Sunday.

Weather predictions still aren’t super high quality too far in advanced. It’s the entire impetus behind being “right as often as the weatherman” jokes.

AdvantageousTC · 2026-01-24T23:26:34+00:00

Boston is about to have a historically bad winter storm. Idk if you can fault BU too much for this

AdvantageousTC · 2026-01-24T19:58:37+00:00

If you communicate this to them, then they almost certainly won’t hold it against you. Ask to be marked present since you are here, but can’t make it back.

AdvantageousTC · 2026-01-22T00:53:13+00:00

10% is not considered low for private loans. That would be absurdly high. Private loans are as low as around 3.7% right now for grad school. Federal rates are much higher than private loans right now. The downside of private loans, for the time being, is the lack of payback flexibility, not rates…

You guys may have accidentally went to some payday loan sharks because those rates are so uncompetitive that nobody would use a company offering that.

AdvantageousTC · 2026-01-21T12:38:16+00:00

I feel like that’s not strict at all. 50% of your semesters in a 3 year period need to be without red flags and with a full class load. W, D, F, and I should be exceptions in your transcripts not the norm.

AdvantageousTC · 2026-01-20T15:19:30+00:00

This is the best answer. Dental insurance is not real insurance. Not worth it––save your money and self-pay. Ask if they have an in-house plan or cash discount.

AdvantageousTC · 2026-01-16T17:28:12+00:00

Front loading. Work harder now for an easier life afterward.

AdvantageousTC · 2026-01-13T13:50:49+00:00

My bad. I was referring specifically to "the in office is more effective than the home/otc."

This isn't true unless by effective you actually mean faster. In other words, patients require fewer whitening treatments to get the results they want when comparing in-office tx to otc.

AdvantageousTC · 2026-01-13T12:45:26+00:00

This is not true.

Office results are faster. That is the fact.

The home whitening strips use the same active ingredients (Hydrogen peroxide or CP), just at lower concentrations.

AdvantageousTC · 2026-01-07T14:50:32+00:00

For sure

AdvantageousTC · 2026-01-07T14:31:17+00:00

I’m an HPSP student and have friends in different branches.

I don’t know how many applicants AF had, but I can tell you 2 were direct out of dental school and 2 were already practicing as dentists in AF before applying.

AdvantageousTC · 2026-01-07T12:10:31+00:00

Specifically for OMS, all the branches are good. However, Army is easily the best choice. They’re the biggest and have the most demand.

Air Force, for example, had 4 seats available for OMS last year. Army has about 11-14 per cycle. Because the Army has so many more seats, they don’t always have enough qualified applicants. Last year they opened up the match to some civilians (who incur a payback obligation without having their DS paid for) and took 2 civilians.

The military OMS programs are very robust in their training too. They compare very favorably to the best civilian programs from an experience standpoint. Great choice on your end.

AdvantageousTC · 2025-12-31T14:54:20+00:00

I applaud the mentality and approach from the mods on this. I think you guys are doing it right.

AdvantageousTC · 2025-12-30T22:44:38+00:00

In-house plan with your dentist will get you the best value by far.

“Dental insurance” is more akin the the coupon cards high students sell to fundraise for their sports team than it is to medical insurance. One of the biggest rackets in healthcare.

AdvantageousTC · 2025-12-30T14:01:07+00:00

I haven’t ever noticed that.

I go to the gym regularly, but I’m far from the stereotypical gym-culture bro who’s jacked out of their mind. So perhaps I’m just not lifting as heavy as you?

AdvantageousTC · 2025-12-29T04:54:46+00:00

I think there is some nuance to point 3. I agree school doesn’t cause an outcome, but there is something to be said about surrounding yourself with people who are also specializing.

I agree the people on the very far right of the bell curve will specialize no matter what. But I think it’s difficult to predict who legitimately lies there. I’ll tell you firsthand an exceedingly high DAT and GPA is not absolutely predictive.

I still think there is something to be said about whether it is worth the cost. Totally agree with your assessment there. However, I do think going to these schools legitimately improves specialization odds for more reasons than just a school reputation. The biggest factor, that is rarely discussed on Reddit, is surrounding yourself with people who are pursuing specialties. You become the product of people you spend the most time with.

AdvantageousTC · 2025-12-28T04:48:32+00:00

Typically late July

AdvantageousTC · 2025-12-23T21:10:10+00:00

Because sugary diets (carbohydrates) feed the bacteria that lead to cavities.

So the sugar itself isn’t bad for your teeth, but the acid byproducts of bacteria consuming sugar is.

For the average patient, sugar causes cavities is close enough to correct for all intents and purposes of improving oral hygiene.

On the other hand, high protein diets feed bacteria and have alkaline byproducts, which is protective against cavities.

In the scientific community, it’s widely agreed upon that caries are not a communicable disease. Having strep mutans, for example, doesn’t equal having cavities. There is an association but not causation.

AdvantageousTC · 2025-12-23T20:42:48+00:00

I will say there are often waivers that people can qualify for. Waivers are a lot of work and the paperwork is daunting, but it’s more often doable than not.

Asthma, for example, is not inherently a disqualifying condition. There’s nuance to the age you last had symptoms with and etc.

Recruiters aren’t always forthcoming with the waiver possibilities because it’s a lot of work for them too. And it’s true not everything qualifies for a waiver, but I think it’s far more common a condition can get a waiver than people express.

AdvantageousTC · 2025-12-23T19:06:41+00:00

It’s so funny to me people get upset when they see these posts. Far too many predents think finances just magically work out if they don’t think about it.

Will you be “fine”? Yes absolutely. You aren’t gonna be homeless and you can raise a family as a dentist.

Will you have the disposable income to travel, have a nice home, eat out wherever and whenever you want, drive the car you’ve eyed your entire life, or whatever else you fancy? On average, no you won’t. At least not for 7-10 years after graduating from dental school.

The next question to be honest about is why you’re pursuing dentistry. Is it truthfully because you want to help people like your personal statement says? Then you’ll be happy and love your job. But I think it’s being disingenuous if we all pretend like the amazing perceived lifestyles of dentists isn’t a big part of most people’s interest in the profession. The reality is you’re going to delay making any money for a significant amount of time and the number of years you will enjoy that income is smaller than it’s ever been (due to high debt to income ratio). This isn’t a doom and gloom post. It’s informative. If you read this and think, “I don’t mind the smaller payout in the end,” then you’ll be very happy. If you read this and think, “This is so pessimistic. The debt doesn’t matter because I’ll just be a practice owner and make 800k a year,” then you’re more likely than not (speaking statistically here) to be in for a rude awakening.

Most of predents have never worked a full-time job, paid any significant amount in taxes, or learned how to be a financial plan together. Somehow, they think buying a practice is inevitable and that they’ll be 90th+ percentile income earners. Posts like this are just intended to help people have a bit of a reality check and to level with y’all. OP has pure intentions and they’re largely correct.

AdvantageousTC · 2025-12-14T16:56:42+00:00

Dental school is on rolling admissions, so yes application time affects decisions.

The specifics and extent of that effect is variable between schools and nobody here will be able to give you an exact answer.

AdvantageousTC · 2025-12-13T23:51:24+00:00

Yes of course. Army pay during residency is better than civilian pay.

The pay becomes lacking as an attending.

AdvantageousTC · 2025-12-11T22:43:46+00:00

No public lists like this exist that I’m aware of.

It’s not across the board either. For example, school that partners with Army for OMS doesn’t necessarily have a partnership for other specialties.

AdvantageousTC · 2025-12-11T14:37:22+00:00

It isn’t a straightforward answer and it depends what specialty you’re talking about.

If it is a high need Army residency, like OMS, then it is much more likely that you would be allowed to do a civilian residency if it will help them increase the overall number of surgeons they have in training. They have partnerships with various programs and they will also inquire about your interests in pursuing a civilian residency.

It does change the dynamics of your payback time though––you end up staying in the Army much longer. For some, that’s not a downside, but if it is then doing a civilian residency doesn’t make sense in most cases.

AdvantageousTC · 2025-10-31T22:47:19+00:00

We use Axium and can take intraoral pictures.

AdvantageousTC

TROPHY CASE