A week in the life of a D3 + Semester Highlights // Dental School Vlog #10

[@TheMariagno123]

I was studying for DAT Exam and saw that you posted video and decided to take a break. This vlog was extremely refreshing and motivated me to work harder. Thanks for the video and its wonderful seeing you guys give back to those who are less fortuante.

[@jasmineahrar]

Thank you!! 💜

[@Sunsets-1233]

Yes would love those licensing videos!

[@SP-sx2zi]

pls never stop making these vlogs!! so good!!

[@johnalmanza6327]

This gets me so excited to get into dental school

[@ReidEvers]

Definitely would like to see a video on the licensing exams you mentioned.

[@jasmineahrar]

Thank you!! Will do :)

[@Sara-si4wy]

I love these vlogs!! keep them up

[@usamarafieck1715]

Did you pick someone from your Sim lab and bring them home?

[@TheMariagno123]

Could you do a video on the expenses of dental school and how you manage it?

[@jasmineahrar]

Yes!! Putting that on my to-do list ✅

[@shawnb8364]

The face I never knew you could make haha 1:56

[@jasmineahrar]

😂

[@golfertex]

My dental school jeremiad, mid-1980s, somewhere in Texas. I attempted dental school and it really, really, next level ruined my life. My educational credits: High School GPA 3.85, National Honors Society. Nine years US Air Force medic. BS Biology (1983) GPA 2.99. MBA Marketing (1990) GPA 3.42…Dental school 3rd year GPA 2.05. During the third year of dental school, I came down with fulminating ulcerative colitis & ended up with a permanent ileostomy. I didn’t want to, but I had to quit. My H&H values dropped below 10. I was done. It took me 2 years to recover from the surgery. Post-surgery Problems: loss of body function, loss of body image, phantom limb, phantom pain, the Kubler-Ross five stages of grief…Tears, lots of tears…I only survived the stress with my wife’s support and love. The top six stress items, as perceived by third-year students, included examinations and grades, graduation requirements, inconsistency of professor's feedback, patient tardiness or no show, atmosphere created by clinical faculty, and financial responsibilities…Journal of Dental Education Trial by ordeal. What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger!..Nietzsche & Kelly Clarkson To my surprise, the dean invited me to return. Condition: Back to day one of the 2nd year. Not only No, but Hell No! Return to a Hell Hole with a “D” average? Really? I was tired of the opportunity cost incurred thus far. Five years of wasted spacetime without making any money nor getting ahead in my career. Don’t forget the hole on my side! When you enter dental school you enter a different learning universe. Spacetime is contracted and energy-matter tends toward zero. Dental curriculum allows no time for discussion nor reflection like in the “real” academic world of, for example, the humanities or math theory. Discuss 3 social comments in “Lord of the Flies.” Is math invented or discovered? Handskills: No scientific method needed, just haptic learning. Watch the video. Perform hand-skills 5,000 times until your brainstem and fingers get the idea. You are going to spend most of your time at the bench. Just do it! Didactic: No dental school class was particularly difficult. It was not difficult like solving an NP problem difficult, nor solving differential equations. There was just too much information - too many classes. There was no time to review, reflect nor internalize - just memorization for the next exam. Feynman Learning Technique? Pomodoro Technique? Cornell Notes? What you really need is a photographic memory with instant recall. You cannot learn at your own pace! So, put on your war face and rely on game theory. When in doubt, go with “B.” Did you know there are correct answers and MORE correct answers. So, dental exams, besides incorrect answers, also contain both correct answers and MORE correct answers in quantum superposition...? Why did the dental student cross the road?…. “Because it was required!” Wrong! The MORE correct answer is, “Because it was too far to go around.” (Rim shot!) The second answer both addresses the curriculum requirements and the absurdity of diverting several miles from the stated goal…Yeah! (I should do stand-up comedy ;-) Spacetime wasters: A HUGE & very difficult, but fun, spacetime waster was gross anatomy. (You only really need head-and-neck anatomy, which I “aced.”) On the plus side, you do get murder toys! to play with! on your cadaver! Let’s Party! Other wasters included statistics (stochastic events anyone?), dental history (no one cares who invented the face-bow), and dental materials (you are not going to make the dental materials you use). It was difficult to accept “Ds” when, since high school, you are used to, and confident, in earning “As, Bs…and a few Cs.” I did have to remediate second-year crown-and-bridge. But I was a Wiz in endo and ortho! Call me if you need your wires bent! I had learned a lot, but my grades did not reflect this. My dental knowledge was like an iceberg. (Or maybe dark energy / dark matter.) Ninety percent of my knowledge would never be tested, only that pesky 10 percent that was an obscure and obtuse faculty favorite. I was competent at the bench and didn’t kill anyone during clinical. Year 1. One student, who was a dental tech, had to repeat the year. Fifty students failed the microbiology final exam. Two students dropped out because they could not stand gross anatomy lab. Four other students finished the year but did not return. One brainiac got bored and transferred to med school. Year 2. Two classmates were caught cheating during a bench exam (3-unit bridge). They were dismissed, lawyered-up, and returned the next year. From my bay alone, 2 female classmates were sexually harassed by male faculty. Several other students finished but did not return. Year 3. Since my grades hovered around GPA 2, I had been placed on the dean’s “anti-list.” I didn’t even know this until a professor approached me in the hallway. He said I was taken off the list because my hand skills and grades had satisfactorily improved. Six other students also did not return; one of them had all “As” in didactic. Proof it’s all about the handskills. I began to feel dentistry was just a trade with a veneer of science. After successfully delivering a full denture to a grey, shy and recluse woman, I received a zero. Lack of professionalism! WTF! Two days later her sister drove my patient to clinic to personally thank me. Her hair was styled, she wore makeup, new shoes, matching purse, and a colorful dress. What a transformation, all because of a new denture…No good deed goes unpunished! Dental school grades are “curved down” by one standard deviation. But grades are irrational or imaginary numbers, or both. After all, I was performing relatively well during the 3rd year. On the other hand, my ileostomy remains very real… After my disfiguring surgery, I returned to retrieve my instruments and to bid classmates goodbye. I was surprised at the comments: “You are so brave, I can’t drop out because of the shame.” “My gran paid my tuition.” “I hate this school / dentistry.” “I am not learning, just memorizing.” OMG! My first roommate contemplated suicide after totally flunking out the 2nd year. He had quit a well-paying mid-level engineering job at NASA. Ouch! His father-in-law wanted him to join his dental practice. No Bueno! Other crap: All written exams were multiple-multiple guess, so cheating was rampant. Low-paid clerks were bribed for test copies; if not at the department, then at the print shop. Nowadays students just go to the dark web. Am I right? The office of academic integrity flagged my class three times, but only once were we compelled to retake an exam. After exams, I would find classmates vomiting in the restroom. Welcome to the house of STRESS! Regrets: I wish I had never, ever pursued STEM, especially health science. Dentistry has ruined my health forever and I really resent it. As an Air Force medic, I was über interested in health science and believed I should use my knowledge in aid of humanity - a life well-lived. If I had a do-over, I would go into motorcycle sales and service. Enthusiasts pay tons of money for something they really, really want, but actually don’t need - just the opposite of dentistry. In spite of all the crap I learned in dental school, it’s a wonder I can think at all…(Simon & Garfunkel) I happily changed my major to business, and am very glad I was able to earn my MBA from a “top 20” university. It was vindication that I was not a “D” student after all. Do I recommend dentistry?- not on your Life! OMG, go to B-school! My son’s best friend went to UPenn/Wharton and now makes over $250k with only a BBA! While researching data for an MBA finance term paper, I chanced upon yearly state per capita funding for graduate students - $40,000. This funding, plus student tuition, is crucial to the dental school budget. It seems this state funding has decreased and that burden has been shifted to the dental students. So, the dean just really wanted the money I represented! What do you really want? (a) Become a dentist and establish an office next to a WaWa. (b) Incur a crushing $400k debt. (c) Risk health, limb and sanity. (d) Knock down 6-figures with a Fortune 500 company. (e) enjoy free health insurance and 30-day paid vacations. (f) a, b, and c (g) d and e…(h) none of the above.

[@jasmineahrar]

Thanks for sharing your story!! 🙏

[@uzaiykhan9658]

Hi I am junior currently, where I wanted to become a dentist. Where I decided to take dental assistant during seniors year, and I am deciding should do dental hygienists in community college then go to four years college and dental school to become a dentist. Do you think it will be hard to take that as a pathway or should I just go to four year college and go to dental school and skip dental hygienist? And is it gonna cost more?

[@jasmineahrar]

It is definitely an option to do it that way but it is going to cost more to get the hygiene degree in addition to just a normal bachelors, and it really doesnt help you get into dental school. I would recommend focusing on your dental pre-reqs in undergrad and going straight into dentistry, while still doing some assisting and shadowing along the way.

[@brittanyvarga3407]

You should really have a video on the cost of your school and compare cost in other Dental School‘s and how you did it i.e. scholarships or student loans also how are you affording everything while you’re in school like rent. That is one thing honestly that has stopped me from trying to get into dental school because of I need to work to pay my bills and being in school I don’t know how you would do it.

[@jasmineahrar]

Thank you!! Great idea 💡

[@sangkhan2567]

Plus your video is really interesting for a new dental school student (Fresher) 💯🇵🇰✔️👊🏻

[@Ari.03]

I'm student in senior high school And i wanna be dentist But i have no idea about dentist Can you tell me a little about it or make video about it Please 🥺

[@jasmineahrar]

Hi! Thats amazing! There’s so much good content here on KZbin about dentistry, I think this video is a good place to start kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXjHoK2lpt-tp5I 😊

[@Ari.03]

Thank you so much

[@ambienceppe]

Dam no braces!!! That must feel great XD - Zach

[@jasmineahrar]

Feels amazinggg 🥰

[@incrementumdigitalbrandpar5396]

Hi Jasmine, we really loved your videos! We just sent you an email. Hope you can check it out!

[@sangkhan2567]

Check your instagram sister 👍🏻