Dental schools
provide an intensive first year to introduce students to the complexities of the dental profession.
New dental students want to know what to expect as they anticipate their first year of classes at dental school. A dental school's first year combines academic study with practical dental work. Dental students can anticipate a first year that focuses on teaching theoretical knowledge, along with dexterity skills they will need when they start working inside patients' mouths.
Medically Oriented Lectures
Dental schools' first year includes medically oriented lecture courses such as gross human anatomy (cadaver dissection), biochemistry, pathology, microbiology, immunology, cell biology, neuroanatomy, and physiology. In some dental schools, the students study these classes together with medical students, while in other schools the students study separately. Many dental schools pair first-year students with second-year students who can answer their questions and help them acclimate to the dental school routine.
Introduction to Dentistry
First-year students have exposure to coursework that gives them an introduction to dentistry. Studies include dental anatomy and occlusion, operative dentistry, oral microbiology, dental anatomy, oral radiology and oral biology. Many dental schools include the study of dental materials and their properties in the first-year schedule.
Working with Patients
Many dental schools introduce students to basic information about the effects of human development and aging on individuals' dental health. These studies include proper care of jaw tissue, preventative dentistry and oral disease prevention. First-year dental students receive an overview detailing dietary counseling and oral hygiene instructions for patients.
Pre-Clinical Laboratory Work
First-year dental students participate in pre-clinical laboratory work, which typically involves waxing teeth, mixing basic cavity preparations and inserting fillings in plastic teeth. They learn about the anatomical characteristics of an oral cavity, external and internal root and crown morphology in their laboratory classes. Students practice occluding tooth surfaces in some first-year dental schools and sometimes create teeth from melted wax.
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