Academic Dentistry vs. Business Dentistry

I have taken a greater interest in other people's blogs since I had started my own. I mostly look for dental blogs, although not exclusively. There is plenty of information in those sites about running a more efficient practice/business, discussions on new tools and products, and events such as continuing education programs. In addition to these dental blogs, I have also been reading a number of articles from the oral health divisions of the WHO and CDC. These particular organizations mostly discuss research findings and their implications on both national and international scales.

What I noticed early on is that information from research organizations such as the CDC and dental blogs rarely intersect: the business side walled off from the academic side. Furthermore, there are no links from these dental blogs to academic sites or vice versa. To date, the only exception I have found is the ADA, who does make an attempt to include academic and business dentistry for the general public and dental professionals.

Yet, the ADA is definitely an outlier when looking at the universe of dental-orientated websites out there. Most dental sites aim at business dentistry as opposed to academic dentistry. And this is not surprising. Keeping up to date with the newest research does not necessarily make you money at the end of the day, but the newest teeth whitening agent may. In a battle between the two, a dentist will inevitably read the latter.

Although I do not propose a change to the current status quo, I do suggest an improvement on current dental studies: make the findings less academic and more accessible. I am not suggesting that full-fledged research reports be done away with; however, I do believe that it is better to stress the implications of a study's findings as it relates to the general public and the dental professional. If a dentist can see how a particular trend will effect their own practice, may be then they will actually sit down and read that academic article after teeth whitening.

Studying on the L

Since last week, I have been taking advantage of the 20 or so minutes of my train ride to work to study for the DAT. I have a few quick review sheets and a bunch of notecards for my upcoming DAT course, so I have plenty to review.

It sounds a lot easier than it is. The train is packed, elbow to asshole, in the mornings, and there is always someone who smells or has there Ipod blasting too loud (I hope you DO go deaf). For someone who has trouble concentrating even when the heat turns on and off, this is a major problem.

But, necessity is truly the mother of innovation, and I have finally figured out how to circumvent all these issues: go to the back/front of an "operator" trains. A lot of times, an operator train will be in the middle or even back of an oncoming train - all you have to do is look for a distinct type of window.

The operator train has an end portion that holds the operating equipment and accompanying adjacent portion that doubles as seating when there is no operator. If yourlucky enough, you can find a seat in that area. And, this is where I have been studying. I avoid all the big crowds, the music, and the smelly people. Above all, I can focus on the material with the little time I have. I guess even in a very "social" place, you can find your own private corner.

DAT Cancellation

I am really tired, but this is a post I need to make. Never mind the fact that I am at that point where I am hallucinating. Seriously, even my teddybear (don't ask, don't tell) appears to be moving.

Last week, I received some irritating news from the instructor initially assigned to teaching my DAT course. Apparently, there were not enough students to keep the class (I think I was the only one who has signed up), and it was subsequently moved to one of the universities. Straight up, this really sucks. The class I had signed up for was literally 3 blocks from my house and was on Monday and Wednesdays, which works well for my daily schedule. But, I am not about to complain because the fact is I need help on the test.

To be honest, the news did not really surprise me. For years, I have heard people talk about the dwindling numbers in the dental field. Over the last 20 or so years, numerous dental schools have closed or reduced their annual enrollment rates. Apparently, not enough people are interested in the field; I suspect the vast majority of those who want to become a doctor choose medicine instead. I mean, sticking your hands in someone's mouth for a living is not exactly everyone's cup o' tea, so I can understand this choice.

Undoubtedly, this trend effects everything related to the field, including those overzealous students who take DAT courses. I am actually surprised that 8 students are enrolled in the course, but considering the class is near the dental school, it kind of makes sense. Kind of...

The only thing I do not understand is why dental admission have to be so competitive if no one wants to apply in the first place.

A Novel Taste

Ever since beginning the dental admissions process, I have been having trouble reading for fun; everything I read has to expand my knowledge of a particular topic, whether it be the social sciences, history, or pop culture.

Take for example Howard Miller's St. Leibowitz and the Wild Horsewoman. Howard Miller is one of the first great science fiction writers. His seminal and only major work, A Canticle for Leibowit,z is considered the paradigm for all science fiction that followed. I recently began his second novel, St. Leibowitz and the Wild Horsewoman, and found myself having trouble consistently reading it. I did not realize the what my problem was until my girlfriend brought up that her reading tastes have recently shifted from fiction to non-fiction. I, too, have realized this trend with my own tastes.

At least for the foreseeable future, it appears this will be an ongoing trend for me. And I do not mind it one bit.

NMR Spectroscopy

I have never had much use for it. Plain and simple. So, when I was going over some review lessons yesterday, I was not surprised that I did not know an easy NMR question. But, it is really not my fault and I will tell you why.

In college, we had an assistant professor - a distinction that I clearly made when discussing him with anyone, including professors, classmates, even my mom. He was in charge of the Organic Chemistry Lab also known as Hell, and I think he still might be.

The times I was in O-Chem lab were arguably the worst times I ever had in college. The labs were poorly written, the TA's sucked, and the material was god awful, not to mention they would last anywhere from 4 to 5 hours. But, what made it worse was that every Thursday, the university decided they would give the chemistry professors a day off and have the Lab Director of Hell discuss topics that we supposedly covered in lab.

Now, I always had lab on Fridays mainly because I liked the positive pain I felt knowing that when I got out of lab, it would be the weekend. Unfortunately, that meant I had no idea what the Lab Director was talking about on Thursdays, since I always prepared for lab on the prior evening. Subsequently, when it came to the quizzes about the lab material, I was SOL. I never really thought about studying on Wednesday night, and why should I? Lab was always on Friday, and I was bound to forget the material if I had studied it two days beforehand.

Looking back on it, a lot of the quizzes and end of the year exams (pointless) involved NMR Spectroscopy, and I do not remember knowing 100% if the answer I chose was the correct answer. Needless to say, I failed the lab quizzes and exams. Like, well below average. But, I was always lucky enough to be with a great lab partner who helped me do well on the labs, much to their chagrin.

I guess I should learn from my mistakes and finally learn NMR Spectroscopy, but alas, I am not 100% I want to do that either.

Dental Forums

So, under the advice of one of my friends who applied, but never got into medical school, I checked out one of the dental forums frequented by predentals and denstists alike. Its got great threads with a ton of information about the DAT, dental schools, and practicing. I spent quite a bit of time purusing the threads trying to find more direction for DAT studying.

There were some insightful points from some of the users. I even found a great excel chart detailing the organisms and their biological characteristics categorized by phylum. Now, I think this chart is great, but remember, I have never actually taking the DAT so I do not really have any prior knowledge to draw my opinion from. At least it was greatly organized?

In any event there was some great stuff, but one aspect really started to gnaw on me after a while: kids asking whether or not they will get into dental school. Since I do not want to be that guy and put a link to those, I will let it be. But, holy shit there were some boohoo sob stories. I really wanted to go and end their lives right there. I mean, they will not be getting into dental school, so what do they have to live for? Or, get this, one kid saying he has studied DAT Destroyer, I quote, 5! times and still has no success. Sorry kid, may be you need to consider something else.

On the way to a friends house, I called one of my med school friends and told him about what I read. He said that in addition to obsessively talking about all the ins and outs of getting into professional school, you here a "shitload" of complaining in those forums. I know all too well...

Things Really Haven't Changed All That Much

My first entry will pay tribute to the last Blog Entry I made a few years back at www.teethguy.blogspot.com. Since there were 0 comments and only 10 page views, I imagine this is the first time anyone has seen it. You'll notice little has changed since then. Enjoy...

Monday, March 27, 2006

To be honest, I really can't remember the transition from brushing to a career. But, one thing that I can always recall is the fear: fear of the dentist, fear of "The Drill," fear of the cavity. I never quite understood how a 300 pound paint guy at the local Home Depot could be transformed into a helpless infant at the site of dental pick. But, the most incredible thing about it is that no one can recall a single time they considered suing a dentist for being too painful or the food scraps from the last Thanksgiving that they had neglected to remove before their last dental visit.

I mean, come on, isn''t your fault that your teeth suck?

And, no, using Scope three times a day does not replace the need for a brush; you might as well be using your fingers.

Anyways, I embarked on college with the thought of one day going to dental school. I didn't necessarily and still don't believe that teeth are the answer I need in my life, but as of now I can't turn myself away from it. In my eyes, I should give it a chance. After all, I would like to instill fear in even the toughest guys, since I don't have a chance to do it otherwise.

Being a dentist was put on the backburner for the next two years as I looked to somehow complete a worthless coursload in the physical sciences. Believe it or not, dentists are expected to go through everything that your run-of-the-mill physician goes through for a bachelors except the MCAT. Dentists take the DAT, the Dental Admissions Test, which is basically a huge crossword puzzle. I mean, this thing is way bigger than the NY times could ever dream up. So, I've been practicing everything from Soduku to those half price Barnes and Noble "Which pattern comes next," to the point where I am really thinking I have a beautiful mind.

But, becoming a dentist is a ways away. Like physics, dentistry pervades our very existence, especially my own, and I look forward to bringing these issues to light.