A Day In The Life Of… a Dental Student

Post #4

Interesting how time gets away from you. There is much to update on, so lets get to it!

The intensity of dental school has definitely picked up recently. We are taking several classes simultaneously (different from our first year which was just one class at a time) as we gear up for clinic. Our class has received CCU assignments (CUU = Comprehensive Care Unit, a division of the clinic where we receive more focused help from doctors assigned to us) and it seems that seeing patients is right around the corner. Our courses have transitioned from science-based to person-based. We have also began taking our Public Health courses. These classes help us focus on the charitable aspects of dentistry – giving back to underserved communities, helping those in need, etc. An ASDOH dental education is definitely diverse.

Perhaps the most interesting thing that we have started doing is learning about anesthetic. You know, everyone’s favorite part of going to the dentist? INJECTIONS! Did you know that a dentist has 16 different injections he can give you to accomplish the appropriate anesthesia for your dental procedure? Guess how dental students get to learn each of the 16? By giving them to each other! In the future, I will be able to tell all my patients that “I know how it feels” …because I do! Many of us walk around campus with numb faces for several hours after we’re done injecting one another.

Here are a few pictures of things I’ve been working on since my last post.

Thanks for reading! As always, if you have comments, concerns, complaints, etc. please send them my way: chrisevans9@gmail.com. If you are interested in seeing more about the life of a dental student, check out Instagram!

We fabricated our first set of dentures!

...Learned how to place implants

...root canals

... and occasionally we have some fun, too.