National Board Dental Examination moves to Pass/Fail

It's official! According to the revisions to examination regulation by the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations (JCNDE), National Board Dental Examination (NBDE) Parts I and II as well as the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination (NBDHE) will move to Pass/Fail effective January 1, 2012.

Why? Good news or bad?  First of all the purpose of the NBDE is to assist State boards in determining qualifications of dentists who seek licensure to practice. The changes were made upon the recognition that 1. the scores were not being used for their intended purpose (ex. ranking dental schools, faculty evaluations, etc) 2. the scores are not necessarily a good measure of one’s academic ability 3. worry over it's integrity due to overexposure from re-testing  and 4. some schools base acceptance to their residency programs heavily and many times solely on National Board scores – where they set a minimum score and everyone with scores below that minimum is basically “skimmed” off, not allowing all applicants a fair evaluation.

Research was conducted where residency program administrators were asked what they look for in an applicant and it was noted that the top 5 criteria were non-cognitive/non-academic, with the exception of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery programs which base their acceptance heavily on academic ability. With that said, the intention of the pass/fail system will allow the highlight of the other areas of the individuals’ abilities. But what does that mean for those who want to specialize? If there are no scores to compare candidates how do they select them? Will specialty programs implement a system where those seeking to specialize take another standardized exam? Those are questions that are still unanswered and quite frankly is not looking good for that group of people; but one thing is for certain, GPA, volunteer/extracurricular activities, Letter of recommendations and Personal Statements will be looked at with more scrutiny and carry a lot more weight than they currently do.


If the good intentions of the ADEA are met with those of the administrators of these 
residency programs, I say this endeavor can be a good thing. Passing still stands at 75% and there will be no changes to the exam.


Also, effective April 2012  the endodontics diagnostic terminology adopted by the American Association of Endodontists will be incorporated in the NBDE Part II. I don't know what this is but, phew! all these changes.


See here for Examination Info from the JCNDE

    

What To Do With Your Summer Break-ish

RELAX!! need I say more? Unfortunately this will only temporarily help you get over the very hectic semester that just ended but may not necessarily do you any good in the long run if the time off is not used wisely.
Dental schools usually run right through the summer with the exception of a few weeks off which gets shorter and more hectic each year.

Some things you'll find us Dental Students doing during summer breaks are:

• Research - Summer research is a good way to pursue your interests and learn something new outside of the classroom. They pay decent money, create mentor relationships, potential to publish, opportunities for (paid) travel to research meetings/symposiums and they look good on your CV  
• Study for the National Boards  - Bah, Humbug! Most 2nd year dental students spend their summer studying for the boards. It's sort of like the rites of passage to clinic.
• Externships - There are externship opportunities that may be affiliated with your school, or you can go to hospitals or clinics. It's a good way to continue to build on what you've learned in school and learn a few new things as well - step out and see how dentistry is in the real world.
• Mission Trips - These can be fun! You get an opportunity to go out in the community and offer dental care. Mission trips can be both local (in the US) or international. 
• Work - $$ chi-ching! By this time in the year most of us are severely strapped for cash or have totally run out. Summer is a good time for temporary positions and a lot of places hire. 
• Vacation - Or we can simply opt to really get out and relax. If you have the money, this is a good way to get away, not think about anything school related for a while and come back refreshed.        

Whatever you decide to do, use your time wisely!

Realistic Dental Robot (Manikin)!!

Wow! A life-like dental training robot that simulates the actions of an actual patient. This is incredible - a robot that blinks, moves it's tongue, moves it's head, chokes, coughs, sneezes, is incapable of keeping it's mouth open for too long and recognizes speech - like a real person.

Amazing!

After the check-up and work is finished on the manikin, it is not only capable of storing and analyzing each student's performance, but able to provide feedback through a computer link.
I must admit, though amazingly awesome, it is kind of creepy! I wonder when it will be available in the US...

Productive Weekend ✔

I had a very busy and productive weekend! As Vice President of the Student National Dental Association (SNDA) - Howard University chapter for the 2011-2012 academic year, I had the opportunity to attend the 39th annual  Convention in Baltimore, MD. The SNDA is an auxillary of the National Dental Association (NDA) and aims to promote and encourage the increase of minority enrollment and retention in dental schools. 

I had a great time at the convention! It afforded great networking opportunities as I had the honor of meeting some very important people as well as fellow students from dental schools across America. We came together, shared ideas and experiences, formed new committees, etc. It was awesome! I was also able to stock up on instruments at very reduced rates, as well as snag some really cool freebies! and who doesn't like cheap and free? 
Overall it was a totally enriching experience and I took away lots of information to share with my chapter.

♪ All I do is win win win...♪

Pedo: Stainless Steel Crown

The stainless steel crown/restoration is indicated for primary and young permanent teeth with multiple carious surfaces. It's also indicated for restoration of primary teeth after pulpotomy or pulpectomy procedures, class 2 lesions where the caries extend beyond the anatomic line angles, hereditary anomalies, etc.

After administering local anesthesia, placing rubber dam and removing caries, it's then time for crown preparation. 

Occlusal reduction by 1-1.5mm using football diamond bur or 169 L tapered fissure bur
Proximal reduction using 169 L tapered fissure bur or thin tapered diamond bur
Buccal and Lingual reduction using same burs limited to occlusal 1/3rd

Select SS Crown, ensure proper fit, check margins for cervical adaptation extending 1mm subgingivally.

Crimp/contour the crown, cement it and voila!

Work, Play and Giving Back

Only a couple days left before the summer semester ends and us dental students get a break to have some fun, relax and revamp for the Fall. I couldn't be more excited for the break but I have finals to take care of before that can happen. Summer is a bad bad time for school; all the sun, sales, BBQs and pool parties are a huge distraction!

I Love Giving Back!

There was a community service event this morning that my school participated in (one of PLENTY). If you know anything about Howard University, you will know that we are big on giving back to the community and helping the disenfranchised. Here goes another distraction, for I absolutely love these events and try to make it to as many as possible. The look of gratitude on the faces that I am able to help and just knowing that I am making a difference and having an impact on someone's life makes me happy. Anyway, distraction: because I could or should have been studying for my finals since I haven't cracked a book all week but instead I was doing this:

WORK

Oral cancer Screening - Lymph node check

Oral cancer Screening: Bilateral Palpation

PLAY

Horse back riding!

Snow Cone and Cotton Candy. Being a big kid.

...now STUDY
I have been slacking all week. Now it's time to get down to business. Catch you guys next week.


Happy Weekend!

Class III

The last graded exercise I had was to do a class II amalgam prep on tooth #18 - I passed. Since then I have been practicing class III and V preps which are, believe it or not, not as easy as they appear. The next graded exercise will be a Class III composite prep on tooth #8.

Practice makes perfect! DL #8

Along with the Class III composite prep, I also have to prepare another Class II amalgam prep on tooth #12.

DO #12