Categories
Advice High School Tips

So you want to be a dentist? – High School Edition #1

Over the years I have met many high schoolers who aspire to become a dentist. They ask me “I want to be a dentist. What should I do?” Parents also ask this question looking to give their child the best opportunity to become a dentist. For this reason, the series is dedicated to giving high schoolers every secret to succeed in high school, getting into college, and making college an easy experience. Over the next few publications I will go through every tip and trick that I wish I knew throughout this process.

The following excerpt is an experience I had in high school.

As a pre-dental student, my dream of becoming a dentist started in high school. During high school I was asked numerous times why I wanted to become a dentist. During this time, I didn’t have much to say that would defend my “dream”.  Because of this, people often brushed off my poorly developed answer and categorized me with every other high schooler with similar dreams of becoming a doctor/lawyer.

It took me a while to realize that my answer was a poor attempt at defending my career of choice. I was very fortunate to attend a unique opportunity touring the UoP School of Dentistry campus. This tour included areas that tour groups don’t usually see like the gross anatomy lab and the multi-million dollar surgical rooms. During this trip, a dental student from Stanford asked me why I wanted to be a dentist. Immaturely,  I corrected him and told him that I actually wanted to be a prosthodontist. He unnecessarily apologized and asked me, “why do you want to be a prosthodontist?”
I told him that it seemed like it would be something that would be fun. That was it;  the entirety of my answer. The puzzled look on the dental student’s face as he seemed dumbfounded by my answer. He changed the subject and shortly after doing so, the realization of how idiotic I sound began to sink in. This moment of my life is something I will never forget; one that is deeply engraved in my brain. This moment was the first time I asked myself if I EVEN KNEW why I wanted to become a dentist.
Up until now, this story has stayed close to my heart because I am horrifyingly embarrassed of it. However, it is time to share it because there is much good that can be learned from it. I learned that while it is good to dream about the future it is important to also account for everything in between. Before anybody should be concerned about specializing in dentistry they should be well on their way to dental school or in dental school.

The point of the story above is to get you motivated to start early in exploring the field of dentistry. Ask your dentist if you could shadow his office for a day since you are interested in becoming a dentist. I can guarantee you, that the dentist would love your company! Don’t be afraid to ask questions. The first time I saw the back of a dental office, I asked the Dr. Paul Binon where his office ships instruments to to get cleaned and how long does it take the instruments to get it back. He chuckled, walked me to the sterilization room, and showed me the whole process. One day of shadowing will be enough to know if you are interested enough in dentistry to ask to visit another day. The sooner you do this the better! This will allow you to better structure your future plans.

Some high schools offer specialized programs like the Regional Occupation Program (ROP) in California for people interested in technology, medicine, dentistry, carpentry, business, etc. These programs are typically designed for those who are planning on working immediately after high school, however the dental assisting program is a great benefit to pre-dental students. Arrange a meeting with your counselor and tell them that you are considering becoming a dentist and have shadowed in an office. They will enlighten you on any programs they have to offer or a plan to help you as best as possible. These programs are often HEAVILY subsidized for high school students. The entire program cost me around $300 dollars which is absurdly cheap for all the experience I gained on top of the certifications I received like the legal right to take x-rays. You can find a list of programs in California by visiting the California Department of Education.

As always, if you have any questions, visit the Ask Elias page! The next few posts cover tips/tricks that I have never seen published so be on the lookout!

Have a great day!

Categories
Advice Dental School Tips

Introducing the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Page

graduating-toothHello everybody! I have finally finished putting together a list of frequently asked questions that I get on this website! You can see this new list by clicking the “FAQs” link at the top of any page on the website. As time goes on, I plan to add new questions and answers as well as refine old answers based on new information I learn.

I will be applying this upcoming cycle in hopes of getting into one of my dream schools (UCSF or UCLA). Congratulations to all my friends who have been accepted in dental school over the past few week! It is exciting watching my network of friends spread across so many schools!

In the process of applying, I expect to learn a lot more tips and recommendations as I go through this process of getting all my requirements ready. Currently, I am working on ironing out letters of recommendation. In the past few weeks, I have learned a lot about letters of recommendation and I plan to write an amendment article to All You Need to Know about Letters of Recommendations based on my personal experiences. I hope to have this article published by the end of February so that the information would still be relevant to those who are gathering letters of recommendation for the next AADSAS application opening on June 1st.

I still plan to begin a new segment geared towards high school students! There are many things I wish I could have told myself in high school that would put me in a better position now for dental school. If you know anybody who is still in high school and even just CONSIDERING a future in dentistry, please share this website with them and have them contact me on the Ask Elias page if they have any specific questions.

As of now, back to studying. Midterms are coming up quick! Keep fighting towards your dreams!

Categories
Advice Dental Assistant Dental School Tips

U.S. News Rates Dentist as the #1 Best Profession of 2013

You guys are in the right place! Dentistry was crowned as the best job of the year by U.S. News. The list is based on the Labor Department’s predictions of the occupations with the highest hiring demand from now until 2020; selections take into account employment growth as well as median salary, estimated stress level, and work-life balance.

U.S. News has put together a wonderful resource analyzing dentistry’s future. This page includes in-depth salary analysis, a summary of what is needed to succeed as a dentist, as well as, advice from dentists.

As the article mentioned, it is ideal to begin working towards dental school starting in high school. This is one of the reasons why the next few articles will be directed towards high school students who are interested in dentistry.

Happy Holidays! Dental Holidays

Categories
Advice Dental School Tips

First Round of Acceptances are Out!

Congrats to everybody who was accepted in this first round! Those accepted get calls today congratulating them and they should find their status updated on AADSAS shortly, if not already.

Now you can relax and no longer stress about if you will ever be a dentist! (Lucky for you!)

Here are a few reminders now that you are in:

  •  Maintain your grades! Don’t let senioritis kick in fully! Yes, you don’t have to get “A”‘s anymore, but they are still recommended if you want to keep that GPA up for graduation. You won’t be kicked out of dental school for receiving “B’s”.
  • Complete the classes you told the AADSAS application you were planning on taking. Your acceptance can be revoked if you do not complete those classes as your decision factored in your upcoming workload.

Meet your class mates! Visit The Student Doctor Network forms threads for school specific acceptances!

 

Kick back, relax, and enjoy your senior year! You earned it! If you would like, let me know where you got in using Ask Elias!

Categories
Advice Dental Assistant Dental School Pre-Dental Society Tips Website

Introducing the Ultimate List of Pre-Dental Resources

Hey everybody!

After seeing the popularity of the post Recommended Resources for Pre-Dental Students, I decided to release the full list of resources!

Today we celebrate the release of the Ultimate List of Pre-Dental Resources! The list can be found at the top of the website in between “Ask Elias” and “Portfolio“. It contains many of the links I have looked through and collected over the years. I would highly recommend using it to its full potential. There is much more information there than I will be able to relay on AlmazDentistry.com.

The plan is to keep the list growing as I discover new resources. I also hope to figure out a way of making it much more organized. Currently I am looking into organizing using buttons or hover-over text-boxes. If you have any recommended links of your own, please send them through “Ask Elias”! Of course, you will be credited for your find!

The list will also be going onto AlmazDensitry’s sister website Pre-Dental Society at UC Irvine so keep on the look out!

Have a great weekend!