Hello, fellow dental Redditors!

I'm a student in my third year and currently brainstorming ideas for my dissertation. I'm particularly interested in the fields of orthodontics and dental anthropology. If you can assist me with some general advice, or tips, or simply point me to some interesting directions, I’ll appreciate it a lot. I’m just exploring my possibilities here, so all feedback is welcome:)

Thank you in advance!

Hi, i am a dental student from Germany. I am in the course where we treat endodontic patients, and i was assigned a right upper second premolar with 1 root canal. The tooth had been prepped for a crown by a different person some time earlier. Additionally, said person had already begun an endodontic procedure. The records i recieved said that trepanation had already occured and that the „electronic length measurement was not clear" which is why the practitioner took an xray with a clipped File. This xray showed a length of 19mm. Now that the case was passed to me, protocol has it that i had to measure the length again. Which is where Ray-Pex again „wasnt clear". The file was inside the canal for 18mm but the device only showed the blue area (if you get what i mean). So i took another ray with a clipped file. This time only with 18mm, because i was not able to get the file down to 19mm. After me and the attending doctor were baffled and the session ended so i just closed everything up. The next session is thursday. Any tips how to handle the situation? Sorry for imperfect english. I would appreciate any tips :-thanks in advance :D

I took the head and neck anatomy class last year, between too many challenging classes I barely passed it and I am not super confident with my head and neck anatomy knowledge. It is rather embarassing as a 3rd year dental student. So I am kind of struggling with the local anesthesia class, not just the anatomy but overall. Can you recommend good resources to supplement my head and neck anatomy knowledge and learn the local anesthesia better? I know I can grind and just pass the class but I really want to learn it well. All the clinical notes and how to deal with variations etc. I am currently using oxford's head and neck handbook(nomenclature is in english and I learnt it in latin so some of the terminology doesn't come as easy for now in that sense) and also Malamed's local anesthesia book. Anything else you could recommend?

I want to buy a Macbook for university and future work, and I've seen that Exocad doesn't have support for macs, But maybe there is a way to do it?

Thank you in advance!

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Current dental student here. Does everyone feel like the INBDE or the D.AT was harder? How long did it take to prepare for each?

How do you balance preparing for the INBDE with dental school?

Did you get to choose when to take it or did your school dictate the time?

Hello, I currently have an assignment regarding oral ulcers. If anyone here has any canker sores / traumatic ulcers or any other ulcer and could send me a picture before and after healing that would be amazing! thank you!

As an Egyptian international student i just graduated , I want to start the process of equating my degree and moving to the US, so If someone done it or has any experience please contact me as that would really help me.

Please ask all of your questions regarding specific schools and the experiences of current students here. If you're looking for opinions on which school to choose (USC vs NYU vs etc), this is the place.

Any other posts about current student experiences from prospective students or crowdsourcing which school to go to will be removed.

Hey guys! Just wondering, I’m a current D1 and am pushing 31. My partner and I want to have kids and was wondering if anyone had advice on when it’s the “best time” in your opinions.

Soooooo…. What do you guys do for winter break? I have two and a half weeks and I’m considering traveling for three weekends and maybe picking up a part time job, working like 12-15 hours a week. Does that sound like a good plan? What is everyone else doing?

I obviously plan to relax during that time too though.

Hey guys any tips on how to fix an acrylic impression without having to do it again the problem is the distribution of the material wasn’t even on the cast so it made it look weird in some places my lecturer said it can be fixed with wax but im not sure how to

Hi everyone, I'm a first year dental student in india, I have a test tomorrow for which idk where to study from, my professor asked us to study from a certain book but I cant even find the topic she's taking the test for in the textbook?? (where is epithelial tissue in cunningham's anatomy??) i cant even study from notes because she told us to refer the textbook and that there was no need to write notes, how do I navigate through this

Hi everyone,

I’m autistic, and lately, I’ve been seriously considering becoming a dentist. The idea excites me—the precision, the focus, and the chance to make a real difference in people’s lives. It feels like such a fascinating blend of science, artistry, and problem-solving. Plus, the structure and routine of dental work seem like they’d align well with how my brain operates.

But here’s the thing—I’m scared. Scared of making mistakes during procedures, of freezing up in stressful situations, or not being able to handle the social and sensory demands of the job. I worry I’ll start down this path only to find out that I’m not capable of succeeding, or worse, that I’m not cut out for it at all.

I’m not looking for generic “you can do anything you set your mind to” advice. I want the raw truth. Are there any autistic dentists here who can share what this career is like for you? What are the unique challenges you’ve faced, and how do you overcome them? Are there ways in which being autistic actually helps you as a dentist?

I’d love to hear how you navigated dental school, how you deal with patient interactions, and what strategies you use to cope with sensory issues or high-stress moments. What did you wish someone had told you before you started?

This isn’t just a casual thought for me—it’s something I really care about. But I’m standing at the edge of this idea, unsure whether to jump. Hearing your experiences could be the insight I need to figure out if this dream is something I can turn into reality.

Thank you for reading this, and thank you even more if you’re willing to share your story. It means the world to me.

A warm welcome to all incoming dental students. Congratulations on your acceptance. I'm sure you all have many questions and we'll do our best to aggregate them here. I'm going to make this a weekly thread every Monday.

Hey Everyone! As the title explains, I am an incoming D2 advanced standing international candidate starting January.

Wanted some advice on the do’s and don’t specially as an international candidate who has no experience ever studying in US schools. Really want to make the best of it, while integrating with the ongoing class. Open to hear what you all have to say.

This past week has been a rough one for me. A close friend of mine, who had been battling many demons, died as a result of an overdose. I feel somewhat responsible because I haven't been able to answer all of his calls recently and I know he needed me. Needless to say, I'm having a very hard time with it.

I am also on rotation. Thankfully it is in the same town as my school because I don't have a license. I also am a broke med student and wasn't approved for more financial aid so I can't afford to Uber across town every day. So I've been walking a few miles each way, in honestly not a great area. I've had to run when I heard gun shots on numerous occasions. My legs have been so sore from walking so much and almost hot to the touch even (both, not just one).

My professors question weather I want to be at school which is crazy to me because I am so invested!! The other day though I was 15 minutes late for my rotation because one of my loupes broke so I was trying to fix them and was late. As soon as I knew I'd be late, I messaged the professor via email and it bounced back.

After I get done with the day, I am called into the office and given THREE prof slips for these things! I'm petrified of being kicked out and don't think I deserve it! Any advice?

To all dentists out there, what type of marks did you have in highschool?

Tomorrow is my first day of dental school i am super excited and anxious any tips are welcomed regarding how to tackle first year of school thanks

I’m headed in to dental school next year and I’m curious on what the salaries are for working as an associate out of dental school. I know it depends where and whether it’s private practice and stuff but just curious.