Dental school is a very arduous experience; and solely finishing school doesn’t actually get us what we want – not by itself anyway. To become a dentist in most states throughout the US, there are several requirements, which include, but are not necessarily limited to:

• A degree from an ADA CODA-accredited dental school,
• Passing the National Board Dental Examinations I and II,
• Passing one of the Regional Board Examinations

Though regional board exams are a point of controversy among many in the United States right now, they are still a part of our current situation…. So we have to be able to conquer them! This becomes a daunting process when you are looking to spend upwards of $3,500 and the first things you hear about boards may be tidbits like…. “I still have nightmares about those 2 days,”  “I’ve never felt so much stress in my life,” “It was hell.”

So what was my first step? I assisted candidates taking both of the regional board examinations offered at our school, WREB and CRDTS, to help me decide which one to take.  I can’t emphasize enough how great of a learning experience this was! Not only did I get to see and experience how nerve-wracking boards is, I got to watch a plethora of students make it through the process unscathed!

What did I gain from assisting? I learned that getting good patients is vitally important (including making sure the nearby teeth are also in good shape).  I also learned how important it is to trust your instincts and skills! Another important piece of advice is to practice using all materials and instruments you intend to use on the day of - don’t try anything new you’ve never done before.  Additionally, I learned that you should always do a final inspection of your preparation with the super-sharp explorer that is sent up with the patient, because that’s what your graders will be using.  Finally, I learned how important it is to know the in’s and out’s of the specific test you are taking --- read and learn the instruction manual ahead of time!

Most importantly, I decided on which exam I will be taking.  This is a different decision-making process for everyone because it depends on multiple factors such as where you intend to live and what your specific strengths/weaknesses are.  So to all those 4^th years who passed boards in the last few months – CONGRATS! To all my fellow 3^rd years who will be taking boards less than a year from now – GOOD LUCK! To all of the 2^nd and 1^st years who still have some time – make sure to assist various boards exams, get some cash along the way, and see which exam suits you more.

National Dental Student Lobby Day: my first national meeting and what I would consider the beginning of my involvement with ASDA. Attending what is considered the most influential annual meeting that ASDA holds every year was an honor, and I’m glad to be able to attend again this year. This is an event where over 400 students from schools nationwide come together to lobby about important issues in organized dentistry as a unified voice, seeing that changes occurring in the profession are brought about by the ones who know it best: dentists and dental students.

As the newly appointed vice president of Colorado ASDA and first legislative liaison, it is my responsibility to relay information and updates about any current issues in dentistry. This entails being up-to-date on current legislation that could pass, or has passed, in either the House of Representatives or the Senate. Although these are my duties as the first legislative liaison, it is in everyone’s interest to remain engaged during the legislative process involving these issues because decisions made in the coming years will affect all of us within the profession. While I’m not expecting everyone who reads this to try and set up meetings with legislators (frankly I’m happy you’re still reading), I would like people to be informed with what is going on in the world of organized dentistry, and what issues we are lobbying for in DC this Tuesday. Mid-level providers, access to care, licensure, and student debt are a few considerable issues that are of concern. Student debt and access to care specifically are the two that ASDA has decided to focus on at National Lobby Day this year. Two bills aimed at helping lower student debt are H.R. 649 (Student Loan Refinancing Act) and H.R. 4223 (Post Grad Act). The Student Loan Refinancing Act would allow graduates to refinance their student loans if a lower interest rate becomes available down the road. The Post Grad Act would make it much easier to get subsidized student loans while in school, meaning that students would not accrue interest while in school as well as for six months post-graduation. If both of these bills were to pass, students would have the potential to save tens of thousands of dollars! The third bill that will be lobbied for on Tuesday is H.R. 539 (Action for Dental Health Act of 2015) and addresses the access to care issue. The Action for Dental Health Act of 2015 would allow programs such as Mission of Mercy (MOM) and Give Kids a Smile to apply for readily available funds (around $15 million) that the CDC has set aside for public health projects. This bill is an amendment to the Public Health Service Act due to its current exclusion criteria regarding what sort of organizations can apply for these funds.

Albeit somewhat brief, this is what is going on in the world of organized dentistry at the current time! It would not surprise me if most of this information is foreign to you, but I hope that this new knowledge you now possess will motivate you to stay informed on the current issues in our profession.

As a first year dental student, orientation is the first time you hear about a cascade of topics including class expectations, financial aid, student health insurance,  and campus resources.  Then student organizations are introduced, with each group talking about the focus and mission of that association.  Feeling a little overwhelmed but following along, I had a question, “Which group will aid my success throughout dental school and into my career?”

I found my answer within ASDA. My appreciation did not instantly come over a cup of joe with an ASDA leader. Instead, I used the first semester of dental school to test out a multitude of events hosted by a variety of societies. I found myself supplementing my classes with ASDA-run lunch and learns on dental issues—financial stability, corporate dentistry, dental saturation in Denver, etc. As a first year, practicing dentistry can seem like a dream with a very long day of work before that prize. ASDA’s frequent meetings remind me that it is important to become aware of the issues and changes surrounding my career now, even if my reward of practicing is three years away. These lunch and learns also clarified the importance of continuing involvement as a dentist, so that when I’m able to practice, I can transition from being a voice in ASDA, to being a voice of an involved, contributing dentist.

I guess I went to more ASDA events than I realized because in December, our ASDA president notified me that I had earned the most diamonds out of our chapter members. Diamonds are a form of ASDA currency for attending events, and with them, I was able to receive funding for the ASDA Annual Session in Dallas, TX this March. Before Annual Session, I saw ASDA as strong presence at CU for its ability to inform students, encourage community involvement, and provide networking experiences.  After, I saw an even bigger community.

Annual session introduced me to ASDA’s ability to unify dental students’ opinions and concerns into one powerful voice that, as I saw first-hand in Dallas, brings about change for our current position as students and future career as dentists. That’s power. Becoming involved in ASDA is not becoming involved in a CU Dental organization—it’s building yourself as a professional through becoming an active part of an influential, national voice.

For me, the days of orientation are over.  I don’t need to look around at student associations and wonder what each one offers. ASDA allows members to be as involved as you want, whether it’s in social media, community outreach, pre-dental involvement, business chair, social events, health and wellness, etc. It is an environment to excel, specifically in an area that interests you. For me, ASDA is the student organization that most allows me to grow my professional career outside the classroom. “The how” I got involved was a process accelerated by the many opportunities ASDA provides, and “the why” continues to grow as my involvement with ASDA increases.

ex·tern

Webster definition:

:  a person connected with an institution but not living or boarding in it; specifically :  a nonresident doctor or medical student at a hospital

My definition:

Showing up to a different school and being that annoying person asking questions and stalking residents for a week

For those of you who may be interested in specializing, one way to sway you one way or the other is to participate in an externship at a program you may be interested in. (Keep in mind, not all specialties offer externships, and not every school does either). Spending a solid week following residents around can really let you know if it is something you can picture yourself doing.

So, how do you get started?

1. Check out programs online to find an externship you are interested in. I did a perio externship, and there is a list of them on Perio.org
2. When you find a school/program that you are interested in, contact the program director (their name should be listed with the school information) via email and introduce yourself, ask about dates and further information they may need from you. Try to get the dates nailed down.
3. In my case, the program director had three requests. #1 was a letter of intent (I wrote one, sent it to Faye and she printed it on CU letterhead, then I mailed it myself), #2 was a letter from an Associate Dean stating my academic eligibility (good standing, etc) had to be sent, and they also must approve your request if you are missing school. #3, proof of my health insurance (NOT malpractice, just normal health insurance so I scanned my card and emailed it).

Next, get yourself to the school. Book a hotel, stay with a friend if possible, etc.  In my case, I decided to turn an externship in Charleston, South Carolina into a 25-hour (each way) road trip. Maybe not something I would do again, but it was a great way to see a TON of the country- 4000 miles to be exact. And, since it was during spring break- there was time for stops to visit friends along the way, explore new cities (St. Louis, Nashville, Jacksonville…), and eat at some incredible restaurants.

Arrival: show up at the clinic, wherever the program director tells you to meet. Now- this initial day can be the more awkward, uncomfortable portion of the week- meeting the residents and following them around, meanwhile you feel utterly useless and annoying. But- be friendly, polite, and ask questions. Talk to the faculty members. Make friends with the assistants. Act as though you are being watched at all times- because you are. Assist however you can. Pick the brains of the residents because they are your absolute BEST resource on picking programs, learning anything online is seemingly impossible.

Also take time to explore the city you are visiting and see if it’s a place you would want to live! This is a big part of deciding on any residency.

After you leave, it’s a great idea to send thank you cards to everyone you met. Keep in touch with the residents. Remember- you want to stand out, make a memorable impression, and hope that they will invite you back for an interview!

Moral of the story- externships bring residencies to life. Life decisions don’t come easily, but you should know in your heart where your future goals lie after completing this experience.

With an array of things to do over spring break, a couple of us decided to help out with a continuing education course at the dental school. Fun, I know!

In actuality, it turned out to be a great experience.  We met Dr. André Ritter (one of the co-authors for our Operative book), had great free food, and had the opportunity to witness what exactly CE entailed.

The course titled “Achieving Excellence with Direct Composite,” incorporated a lecture on anterior and posterior case studies, followed by two hands-on activities in the sim lab. The educational session was short; we missed most of it due to the fact we had to prepare the sim lab. The sim lab was a mess but we were able to make it presentable for the 20 or so dentists and EDDA’s. That’s right EDDA’s (expanded duties dental assistant).

Dr. Ritter showed us how to restore class IV, class I, and class II restorations using 3M ESPE composites, including body and translucent types. The procedure included using a lingual stent, and building up different layers using the various types of composite. He outlined how to incorporate developmental grooves and mamelons using the translucent type of composite. It was actually quite comforting to know the process was similar to the method we were taught in Esthetic Dentistry, just using slightly altered techniques to make it look more esthetic and, of course, the use of better (more expensive) polishing instruments.

The best part was when the participants were practicing.  We were given the opportunity to pick Dr. Ritter’s brain. Not only was his work on plastic teeth amazing, he was also tremendously approachable and friendly.

For the most part, it was a great experience, and I walked away with some really great tips for using composite!

And since we all know dental students’ relationship with free food, the event was catered by Gourmet To Go, and it was quite tasty!

This blog post is adapted from a letter originally published via email on March 2, 2016. This post is reprinted with permission from the American Student Dental Association. For more dental student news and updates, visit ASDAnet.org.

ASDA has had a remarkable past year as an association, and personally this year has been one of the wildest, most fulfilling experiences I could have imagined.  From the 2015 election in Boston to National Dental Student Lobby Day in Washington DC to National Leadership Conference in Chicago to our House of Delegates in Dallas, this year has been a whirlwind of challenge and excitement.  Because it's difficult to get an accurate sense of what it's like to serve on ASDA's Executive Committee, I’d like to share some insights about our work over these past 12 months.

Wellness Initiative

As I was reading over farewell speeches given by ASDA presidents over the past ten years, I came across the one delivered by Jiwon Lee, and I was reminded again what an intelligent, insightful, talented leader she was. Jiwon was ASDA's immediate past president when we lost her to suicide just a couple months after she gave that speech to open ASDA's 44th Annual Session.

That loss is still difficult for those of us who knew and worked with Jiwon, but one of ASDA's most important accomplishments this year - the one that makes me most proud to be a part of this association - has been the continued rollout of the Wellness Initiative that we launched in response to her passing.

That initiative has expanded from a mental and emotional focus to include ASDA's five dimensions of overall wellness. Each of those dimensions — emotional, physical, intellectual, occupational, and environmental — has a separate section on our website with a variety of ASDA and external resources that are updated throughout the year. This is in addition to:

• Monthly wellness challenges like "going dark for 24 hours"
• The testimonials you heard at NLC about addiction and overcoming obstacles in dental school
• The upcoming wellness webinars that will kick off this month
• And the fact that the AADEJ selected the Wellness Issue of Mouth for the Larry Meskin Award for Excellence in Dental Student publications — and furthermore, that content from that issue will be re-published this month in the Journal of the California Dental Association.

Because of course, this is about much more than fun runs and catchy hashtags. This is about the fact that dental school can be a dark time. And many of us haven't experienced that — we made it through undergrad as the helpers, not the helped. But we need to destigmatize the idea of being helped. If you log onto our website, you can click on your school and learn how to connect with the wellness resources offered by your university. Yes, dental school is hard on your mind, hard on your body, and hard on your spirit — and you're not the only dental student who feels like that. ASDA's Wellness Initiative is here because we want to be able to show you where to turn.

Student Debt

Another major development that's going to affect dental students this year is the work of the ADA's Student Debt Work Group. According to ADEA, the average dental student debt for 2015 graduates is $255,567. ASDA participated in that work group, which was chaired by ADA Trustee and former ASDA Board Liaison, Dr. Jeffrey Cole. The group secured a deal with Darien Rowayton Bank (DRB) that will allow dental students to refinance their loans at much lower rates upon graduation.

Licensure Reform

I told all of you last year that licensure reform would be my top priority. Many now agree that our licensure system is broken, but there is still little consensus about which path to take in fixing it.  There are many organizations advocating for different pathways to licensure reform, but there's only one American Student Dental Association.

This past July, the Board of Trustees revisited the idea of our ideal licensure examination and passed an interim L-1 policy that has allowed the Executive Committee to be extremely nimble and clear in advocating for reform. And not just reform -- but the right reform.  I was honored and proud when the House of Delegates approved that policy at Annual Session last week.

If you haven't had a chance to review the policy, do so now. This policy is empowering us — and things are changing. Because of the way candidacy for licensure is determined, reform can't be accomplished by any kind of sweeping federal legislation. Licensure is a state's rights issue, so change on the licensure front has to happen on a state-by-state basis. You can imagine that running 50 separate reform efforts is a daunting task, and it is. But change is happening, however incrementally.

ASDA's power is in its voice, because we are the future of the profession. I'm looking forward to hearing that voice in the coming days.

Final Thoughts

I really credit the Board of Trustees for the decisions they've made to steer ASDA in the right direction. Our Board members are dental students with exams, practicals, and competencies like the rest of us, but they've turned themselves into experts on the issues that affect dental students in order to make decisions for the best interest of everyone. Thanks to all of them, including our inexhaustible Colorado ASDA president and District 9 Trustee, Kyle Larsen. And I especially want to thank my fellow Executive Committee members — Adrien Lewis, Niveditha Rajagopalan and Nancy Honeycutt — for their humor, talent, stamina and intelligence.

One of the greatest challenges about ASDA's leadership structure is that we serve one-year terms, which means our leaders turn over almost completely every year. But this is also one of ASDA's greatest strengths. It gives every set of ASDA leaders exactly one year to aggressively throw themselves into the fight for ASDA's initiatives, and then turn that work over to a new group of fresh, creative minds.

I think this is so incredible because it gives our association the ability to reevaluate ASDA's direction through new eyes every single year. It's such a gift to know that Adrien, Niv, and I will pass our work on to a new Executive Committee that can analyze and critique what we've done, and potentially take this association in a direction the three of us could never have imagined. It's not with a heavy heart that I'm ending this term - it's with a happy one. I can't wait to serve in a supporting role for the next leaders of this association.

I feel so humbled to have had the chance to serve you as president this year.  I see bright, exciting futures ahead for all of our members, and I feel fortunate to have been a part of an association that's making our collective future brighter by the day.

Thank you,

Christian Piers, Colorado ‘16

ASDA Immediate Past President

I-de-al (adj):  satisfying one's conception of what is perfect; most suitable.

Ideal is a word we think we understand. A word we often use to describe our goals and ambitions. A word we hope people use to describe us. Colorado ASDA recently won the Gold Crown Award for Ideal ASDA at the 2016 Annual Session in Dallas, Texas.  This means that our chapter, among the 65 ASDA chapters nationwide, exemplifies what is considered a perfect ASDA chapter.

Ideal ASDA means our chapter successfully completed items in multiple categories such as membership, communication, activities, pre-dental involvement, and advocacy. On a chapter level, membership, communication, and activities are the direct benefits a student has by being involved at the local level. This includes the how-to guides, TAD talks, lunch and learns, as well as leadership opportunities. Remember back to 2013 and imagine what ASDA looked like then: basically free pizza only 3 times a semester or so. A huge improvement in our chapter involved delegating fundraising, which resulted in students being served gourmet meals several times a week, and learning about our sponsors simply for being an ASDA member.

To the shock and dismay of the admissions committee, students do not seek out community outreach activities once accepted into dental school, yet many still want to be involved. Our ASDA chapter organizes community outreach opportunities for those individuals, and provides a variety of ways for students to give back to our community. These frequent events are some of the best opportunities for members to get involved in our chapter without committing to a leadership position.

Not only does our chapter provide for the students of our own dental school, but Colorado ASDA is a huge resource for pre-dental students in the state. One of the main goals of our chapter is to increase pre-dental involvement, and we have a committee designed to facilitate this. In the past year, our chapter has helped create pre-dental clubs at our local universities, as well as involving pre-dental students in dental school such as a leadership workshops.

Perhaps the most beautiful part of being Ideal ASDA, is that we give a home to everyone who wants to participate, whether it’s just attending lunch and learns or  obtaining a leadership position. ASDA is unique in that it is the only organization at our school that all students are members of. If it weren’t for the efforts of our leadership and the participation of our membership, our chapter could never have achieved the prestigious Ideal ASDA award. Thank you to all of our members for making this the best chapter ever!

If you want to become more involved in our chapter, please contact any Colorado ASDA Executive member.

Three years ago, Colorado ASDA created a Facebook page.  Two years ago, the Colorado Quickset blog, CEJ, and our Instagram account were born.  Less than one year ago, we created our very own YouTube channel.  Last week, Colorado ASDA was recognized for our efforts and awarded Best Use of Social Media at the 2016 Annual Session Gold Crown Awards.  This award does not go to any one individual, but rather to our entire chapter for our efforts.

Organized dentistry is a powerful thing.  ASDA represents dental students all over the country, and acts as a unified voice to speak up for the best interest of dental students as a whole.  ASDA cannot work at the national level without the contributions of each individual chapter in states and regions across the country.  ASDA cannot work at the local chapter level without the students at each school working together to represent this voice.  The volume of ASDA is increased through an expanding membership working together as a team, and Social Media is an integral part of making this happen.

Today, a huge portion of information shared between people is via social media.  In order to ensure the success of a growing organization, especially one with a high member turnover rate such as ASDA, the speed at which information is transferred is critical.  Social media allows us to send and receive this information in an instant, and the use of photos, videos, and 160 character limits better engage the eyes and minds of our Millennial selves.

I want to extend a huge Thank You to all of Colorado ASDA for your role in making our chapter the Best in Social Media.  Your contributions through watching videos, liking photos, reading articles, and sharing Facebook posts won us this prestigious Gold Crown Award at the dental school equivalent of the Oscar's awards.  Dream Bigger ASDA!