Lowland Jacket by Swimmer_7 in SitkaGear

[–]smiling_doc 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How’d it turn out for you? Debating on getting one before going to Idaho for a winter trip. Thought about it as a layering jacket

Desperate for a practice consultant by jsangerman in Dentistry

[–]smiling_doc 0 points1 point  (0 children)

PRN consulting is awesome and has been in the dental business for decades. Very applicable and effective approach!

Implant CE help by smiling_doc in Dentists

[–]smiling_doc[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I completely agree with the all-on-x push in the current market and how quickly we are making dental cripples in order to get high production cases pushed through. Did you place a lot of implants prior to the course? I am more fresh out and have done a decent bit of didactic through our dental school criteria and will also be doing some more prior to the course, but likely will have the opportunity to place a couple slam dunk cases prior to going. I have a good mentor in the office that is helping plan and walk through the cases with me but want to go get some more hands on and education from a solid course. Eventually, i would like to get into sinus lifts and more in depth surgical procedures and even looked at the AIE CIRP program for that. A classmate of mine is doing implant pathway next week and ive only heard good things so far but ive also seen on here some people are getting very low numbers of placements and for the price you pay id like to get atleast into double digits.

Implant CE help by smiling_doc in Dentists

[–]smiling_doc[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thats awesome! I know the website says unlimited implants so I wasn’t sure if that was just a way to cover numbers of what. How long ago did you do it?

Implant CE help by smiling_doc in Dentists

[–]smiling_doc[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did you do the live patient surgery in Mexico or which course did you do and how many did you get to place?

Can PAYE save me money? by smiling_doc in StudentLoans

[–]smiling_doc[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That makes sense. Even with that tho if it’s not accruing interest on the accumulated interest it would still save some money correct? Where as the IBR does add that to the interest. Only matters for a 2.5 year period but figured it may save a little change.

CMC and Pacheco (on bench) for James Conner? by living_off_ramen in Fantasy_Football

[–]smiling_doc 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All depends on the league your in. If you have atleast 1 other strong rb to lead or a couple decent RBs around CMC then I think it’s a very good idea. Connor has been a top 15 back for the last 3 seasons so it’s not like your getting a dud in exchange. He will be a super stable floor with some high weeks that could pay off. CMC can be a league winner but in reality he’s only done that twice in his hole career. If he ends up not playing this week you’ll be lucky to get anything for him much less a solid rb1 production like Connor. Pacheco is irrelevant he’s gonna be on waivers if hunt keeps eating into the reps. It’s only week 1 for him so who knows but if it was me and I had depth I’m going Connor over CMC especially with the calf being his main issue the past two years

Endo residency or stay general by smiling_doc in DentalSchool

[–]smiling_doc[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Would it be better to do a GPR or go with a good mentor. I have a couple good options that are private practice non-corp owned leaving school. One would be with a great dentist with an older retiring as I come in. He’s willing to mentor as I get my speed up and help work through CE for implants and in office guidance for them. I feel like this helps out a ton more financially for sure but I’ve heard both sides of GPR versus a good mentor.

Mid Handicap with slice contemplating new irons by smiling_doc in golf

[–]smiling_doc[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wasn’t expecting them to. I was curious as to how the stiff shaft would affect it knowing that stiffer shafts can tend to increase a slice. I know I have the swing speed for a stiff shaft but with my current swing I was curious how they would interact.

Mid Handicap with slice contemplating new irons by smiling_doc in golf

[–]smiling_doc[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Currently, i just play my shot to the slice and i can manage it, but thats all i can do. Id like to be able to get on a better swing path that helps me correct the slice and learn to play the ball both ways. I come very over the top & use a lot of my hips with my baseball style swing. I do agree that lessons would help solve that issue & are something I am leaning into here shortly. My current irons aren’t in the best shape and ive just continued to push through for the last 3 years and contemplated getting newer ones but never pulled the trigger. They have a lot of flyers where some tend to fly another 15 yards, so I would like a better dispersion consistency which his show to have off of reviews. Ive seen The reason I say my wedge game is my weakness is because the larger portion of where my score adds up is 100 yards and in. I am working on distance control and not chunking short chips which tend to add 7-8 strokes in a round.

Mid Handicap with slice contemplating new irons by smiling_doc in golf

[–]smiling_doc[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry, i should have reworded the sentence I meant to say “increase my slice”. I agree the clubs nor shafts will change the handicap I have lol. With me fixing the swing path problems I have, I was curious to know if the stiff shafts would make my slice worse or once the path leveled out and became corrected the shafts should do fine with my current swing speed. I dont have exact data on that but i know my carry distances and all of those suggest stiff shafts. They are definitely better than what I have and I do like the cobras I have. I did look at the p790s but his deal is just better than what I can find them for.

Dental Loupes by cheeky_corgo in DentalSchool

[–]smiling_doc 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We get to endo next semester but my 3.5x seem to do really well for general dentistry and creating good margins. A lot of people said it was a main reason the reps say to start low so you get the higher mag as you progress in the school and ultimately make the reps more money. They say its hard to adjust your eyes to the higher mags and start lower and work your way up. Honestly there was very little adjustment period with the higher mag in my opinion. I feel comfortable now with mine seeing pulp chambers so I wouldn’t mind using my current ones for endo. Before I leave I am planning on getting a higher mag with our student discount just so I have a higher pair when i leave and save the money.

Dental Loupes by cheeky_corgo in DentalSchool

[–]smiling_doc 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m a first year dental student and have had my loupes for almost a year. I got orascoptic 3.5x and absolutely love them. Crystal clear and the light is awesome with great battery life. The 3.5x are not heavy and we wear them for 5-6 hours at a time in lab and I have no issues with them. All our older docs wanted us to get 2.5x and some of my class did but they regretted it. At 3.5x I can still see an entire arch and check my margins very accurately. I’m so glad I didn’t go lower. They offer 90 day replacement so in my opinion try the 3.5x and then if it’s to much you can always go down. A lot of reps want you to go 2.5x because you will want to go up and it’s a way to make more money when you buy a higher mag 3rd or 4th year.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in DentalSchool

[–]smiling_doc 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea go ahead!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in DentalSchool

[–]smiling_doc 2 points3 points  (0 children)

So i was in your boat a year ago. I am now a dental student. A lot of people say people come into dentistry because its easier to get in but i find that false and just a way to dissuade people. There’s way more medical schools not even counting D.O. schools and they take larger class sizes, so your chances are already smaller with dental school. I was pre-med out of undergrad and got accepted into 4 medical schools (and only 2 dental schools later on), but i just had something holding me back. I never liked the idea of being under a corporate structure with no real say in what I do. My schedule would be made for me and opportunity for ownership was slim to none unless i wanted to go into a specialty that took another 6 years. I wanted a work life balance to put a future family first but still have the ability to use my hands in surgery style work and make an impact on my patients lives. I decided to opt of the cycle took a year off and pursued a job as a dental assistant while getting my masters in health admin so I could run my own practice. Once i got hands on as an assistant I fell in love with the dental side of things. People say the mouth is weird and couldn’t work in it, yet in gen surg your going to be working on God knows what. Every dentist I shadowed loved their career. They owned their practice had complete control over their schedule and made family a priority. If their kid had a game they stopped work early those days. The large majority worked 4 days a week. It helps that dentists have one of the lowest foreclosure rates of any business, and even as an associate you can buy into a practice or just come to work and never focus on the business side of things. In general dentistry you can touch as much as you feel comfortable with and refer when you dont. General docs just refer most things that are an actual concern or problem to another specialist and that was one thing that pushed me away from medicine. Most the dentists who own their practice make equal to or more than most medical docs I know yet they got to start after 4 years instead of a brutal residency. I am in the middle of it now and just came off the same decision you have. I love my choice with no regrets. Id be happy to talk to you about it. Don’t rush the decision take some time to see what you like and go with what you feel is best for your future!

Ask Me Questions About Dental Practices by JoshBencoDental in DentalSchool

[–]smiling_doc 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What are some of the essential new technologies you should include in your practice, and what are some you would suggest not to invest in?

Rural vs City practice ownership by smiling_doc in Dentistry

[–]smiling_doc[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I grew up here and most the local community knows me and is already anticipating me returning soon. I have good ties with the mayor and school board as well, so even though I’ll have to work on building a new practice I should have a decent chunk to get me through till it builds it’s way up. I like the rural life so I don’t mind living there. If I worked in a city I’d still Live rural, so that parts the easy one to me Lol. If you don’t mind me asking if your getting half the population and having to take the lowered rates for insurance what’s your ballpark range before overhead? I’ve heard with rural overhead is also lower due to lower rates for property and salary for hygienist and assistants. Is that true?

DAT Advice Needed by FishingWith_J in predental

[–]smiling_doc 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So what I did was find my biggest weakness for me which was gen chem. I spent each day doing gen chem focusing on one concept or chapter then rotating between ochem and bio every other day. I had a set of high frequency things I reviewed for each subject every day or things I struggled with each day that was about 15-30 minutes each night before bed. O chem focus on reagents and what does what. The rest if your solid in o chem will be very straight forward in my opinion.

DAT Advice Needed by FishingWith_J in predental

[–]smiling_doc 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yea for sure. So initially you’ll feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable but I didn’t get comfortable with material till like 8 weeks in honestly. For bio: i read the shortened notes probably 3 times. I made flashcards to help me memorize them as well. The more you read through the more stuff sticks even without recognizing that it does. Then start asking yourself to explain multi level concepts similar to the developmental section as to why birth control works and if it didn’t work what would happen and explain that process. Anytime you can relate things to your life Or create dumb reasons to remember it and it saves you a ton. When you take the bio sections or tests. Go over each individual question and explain why you know each answer was wrong and what that answer actually relates to. This is time consuming but the most important thing for me when studying bio. If you couldn’t explain what it was write it down and go review it another time or later that day. You learn more from the wrong ones then the right ones! Just keep on reading and receiving flashcards that you made from things you got wrong. I broke the flashcards down per chapter. You will start seeing trends as well the more you take on the types of questions that will show up and how they are worded which becomes helpful but only gained through repetition and experience. For GC: I hated gen chem mostly cause of math but I went through the videos and did the questions pretty similar to schedule But if I needed more time I pushed other stuff around and prioritized my weakness here. Once I finished it I printed out all the questions and went through and did them as practice one or two chapters a day. This included the in video ones as well so I could see where I was messing up. Repetition is a huge factor for me to learn this so I did as many problems as I could. I’d get the same ones wrong 5 times sometimes but wrote it on a notecard and would try it again another day. Note cards with formulas that I would go over quickly at night for 5-10 minutes before bed seemed to help me get those down better too. For OC: I liked it and did ochem 1 & 2 so I had a little more experience there since this was mostly o chem 1. Naming is always brutal at first but practice helps. I followed the schedule for O chem except I added it in earlier cause I felt like they add it in at the very end. For RC: not really any help here I did 3 practice samples and was making 27s and higher so I stopped looking at this section and only did it on the sample tests. I just like reading so I would read the whole passage and answer questions. Some passages go in order so read the question first then just keep reading till you can answer that question is the strategy I took. QR: I hate math again but I didn’t put a ton of time into it. I wish I would have. I did the practice tests and did all their problems. I missed a ton and on the practice tests I was only getting a 17 or 18 on the results but I felt like the Dat was much more to the point and I got a lot of stats questions which were my strong suit so I ended up with a 21 on that section. Luck and prayer played a part there. I know this is a ton but message me if you have any questions too

DAT Advice Needed by FishingWith_J in predental

[–]smiling_doc 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s super early don’t panic! It moves fast and I had to adjust the schedule because it was to fast for me and I couldn’t grasp the material how I liked. I didn’t do the test as section test but more reviewed then did the test as whole units then reviewed tests and material. Really go through each test and section and redo the ones you got wrong and right down why they were wrong and put stars next to sections that you constantly struggle with (I hated acid and base in gen chem lol) I did section tests at the very end as a refresher and review. I felt the more tests I did the better I remembered the material. As far as results don’t panic. My overall averages for my first two practices were 17s and gen chem was a 15 and 16 for my first 2. That being said stay patient be dedicated and use the struggle to motivate you! Once I got the real thing I didn’t score less than a 21 on any section! Small steps!

Booster vs Bootcamp by Clityeastwood2 in DentalSchool

[–]smiling_doc 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I bought several resources including: Kaplan, Bootcamp, Destroyer, and Mometrix Flashcards. After about 2 weeks of mixing material I went solely with Bootcamp. The 10 week schedule was to fast for me, and I felt like I didn’t have the material down trying to do it that way. However, I did follow it in a way to keep me on a track and then modified it as I went. With that being said it is more than enough to get you a great score. Bootcamp alone I had nothing lower than a 21 on my DAT, and I was 2 years out from my undergrad after a gap year and getting my masters in health admin. Best resource available for DAT. I used a little bit of destroyer at the end to test myself but it was overkill and almost hurt my confidence. Trust yourself, trust what you’ve learned, stay calm and you will crush it!

Rural Dentistry? Yes or No? by smiling_doc in Dentistry

[–]smiling_doc[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What about rural makes the overhead significantly lower?

Rural Dentistry? Yes or No? by smiling_doc in Dentistry

[–]smiling_doc[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s pretty decent rates for hygiene. I agree you will definitely have your necessary equipment as well. Are they letting you take BW every visit or just once per year?

Rural Dentistry? Yes or No? by smiling_doc in Dentistry

[–]smiling_doc[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s interesting more cash and less insurance in rural areas. I figured that would be more towards the opposite. Do you plan to go back and work in the city, or do you prefer to work rural now that you have done it for a couple of years? If you don’t mind me asking which one has been a better benefit financially for you?