I study Dentistry - Ask me anything (AMA)

Kartace

As the title says - ask anything you like!

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Reply 1

urteeththo

Original post by Kartace

As the title says - ask anything you like!

Worst/most unexpected thing about dentistry so far?

Reply 2

spencer_param

How stressful/difficult was your interview?

do you actually like teeth? :colone:

Reply 3

Kartace

Original post by spencer_param

How stressful/difficult was your interview?

do you actually like teeth? :colone:

They were different...One was very stressful the others were just like general chats...if you know your stuff then it's not too bad really, you just have to try and enjoy it i guess!

And whilst i don't particularly "like" teeth i do enjoy operating in the mouth and helping people who are in pain or who are uncomfortable with the way their mouth looks/feels. :smile:

Reply 4

Another

Which Uni, which year?

What was the absolute worst thing that's happened to you while treating a patient? :lol:

Reply 5

Kartace

Original post by urteeththo

Worst/most unexpected thing about dentistry so far?

Had a patient with Schizophrenia who dissociated into a psychotic episode during a difficult extraction in a clinic full of patients the other day...that was pretty stressful although not completely unexpected i suppose. The management of this was quite difficult, but i learned a great deal from it!

One of the worst things is the increasing realisation that I'm not statistically going to be sued at least 6 times during my career and that every injury claim lawyer now looks at me with Pound signs in their eyes...we are now the most sued profession in the world and it's worse here than in the US even. The GDC (our governing body) don't help either, with their cavalier attitude to disiplinary hearings and seeming contempt for dentists.

Also people with general disgusting mouths never cease to amaze me...you wouldn't believe what a mouth that genuinley hasn't seen a toothbrush in a year looks/smells like....it's not something i'll forget in a hurry i can tell you!

Reply 6

Kartace

Original post by Another

Which Uni, which year?

What was the absolute worst thing that's happened to you while treating a patient? :lol:

I'm at Barts and the Royal London School of Dentistry and i'm in 4th year.

As for the worst thing i think the above post about the patient with Schizophrenia covers that...but another situation that was also quite bad was my first local anaesthetic injection...i was actually really on target and hit the nerve sheath, so the patient jumped...being a scared little 2nd year i immediately pulled the needle out without injecting anything and they wouldn't let me try again...i beat myself up over that for ages! These days it seems like second nature.... haha

Reply 7

Another

Original post by Kartace

Dear lord, is there anything in the world that can prepare you for a patient going into an episode at the chair side? (Serious question though. Is there? I would have broken down crying)

On the plus side... you had a really accurate first injection! You should wear that as a badge of honour

Reply 8

Kartace

Original post by Another

To be honest...nothing can really prepare you for when it actually happens.

We learned a lot about schizophrenia in first year, so i understood what was going on and what was causing the problems, the medications avaliable and the likelihood of her coming back around etc. I've also worked with patients who have mental illness before...so there are at least some parallels there. I've also shadowed community dentists working with very difficult patients before, so i have some idea of how best to deal with challenging situations like that.

In the end though, a lot of it just simply comes down to your gut feeling as a clinician and that can only come from the experience you get by working with a wide variety of patients. I just spent most of the time, trying to calm her down and get her to answer me, luckily her partner was also there so i think that had a bit of a calming influence.

And thanks :wink:

I'll try and think of it as my little badge of honour and then i won't feel quite so bad :tongue:

Reply 9

MAnnaMM

Original post by Kartace

What uni had the stressful interview? :smile:

Reply 10

Kartace

Original post by MAnnaMM

What uni had the stressful interview? :smile:

The worst one for me was Liverpool...It was two interviewers and they grilled me on the GDC and lots of ethical scenarios that i must admit i really wasn't prepared for, I can't remember a great deal of the interview tbh, i think i've blocked most of it out :tongue:

Reply 11

MAnnaMM

Original post by Kartace

Oh wow, kinda makes me glad I didn't choose Liverpool as one of my 4 in the end!

Reply 12

Kartace

Original post by MAnnaMM

Oh wow, kinda makes me glad I didn't choose Liverpool in the end!

It may all be different now ... remember i was interviewed about 5 years ago!

Although... Compared to Barts the facilities at Liverpool are....interesting...

Reply 13

Mr JB

How often do you brush your teeth?

Reply 14

MAnnaMM

Original post by Kartace

It may all be different now ... remember i was interviewed about 5 years ago!

Although... Compared to Barts the facilities at Liverpool are....interesting...

Haha, can imagine :smile:

Birmingham has the new dental school, which sounds very nice, and I loved the facilities at Newcastle and Plymouth. I think I didn't choose Liverpool because they only had 57 places, whereas others have about 68.

Reply 15

Kartace

Original post by Mr JB

How often do you brush your teeth?

I brush twice a day with an electric toothbrush using a fluoride toothpaste.
I floss once a day in the evening.
I use mouthwash after meals.
I chew gum as needed.

Reply 16

Kartace

Original post by MAnnaMM

Haha, can imagine :smile:

Yeah it's tricky with the limit on places, especially when things are already so competitive. Where was your fourth choice?

Reply 17

urteeththo

Original post by Kartace

Wow, its seems hard enough focussing without that especially still being a student. :L
I didnt know people did that to dentists :O, the consultant cardiologist said he lost a case (and 30,000 pounds!) when he was sued for a misdiagnosis ,i can understand that this would happen because the risk to the patients life, i didnt think this could be the case in dentistry, what do they sue for?
Perhaps you can change the way that the GDC deal with this, maybe starting a petition or writing a letter before you find yourself helpless in that situation?

I can imagine! At least it gives you a project haha, where do you start with such a horrible mouth? & how do you hint to a patient to start brushing their teeth without coming across as rude?

Reply 18

MAnnaMM

Original post by Kartace

Yeah it's tricky with the limit on places, especially when things are already so competitive. Where was your fourth choice?

Sheffield. This was my least favourite open day, although not because of the dental school but more of the feel of the place in general. Of course, if I manage to get an offer for it I'd still be over the moon anyway :biggrin:

I'd say my fave was Newcastle, and Birmingham and Plymouth are a joint second place.
Did you have any interviews at any of these 4?

Reply 19

Mr JB

Original post by Kartace

I brush twice a day with an electric toothbrush using a fluoride toothpaste.
I floss once a day in the evening.
I use mouthwash after meals.
I chew gum as needed.

Post selfie of your teeth to prove it. I bet you got bare yellow jackets hiding in there.