Fall 2016 Newsletter

DISTRICT 2 NEWSLETTER FALL EDITION BUFFALO ǀ COLUMBIA ǀ NEW YORK UNIVERSITY ǀ RUTGERS ǀ STONY BROOK ǀ TOURO

Thank You BUFFALO COLUMBIA NYU RUTGERS STONY BROOK TOURO

TO OUR GENEROUS SPONSORS

The ASDA Journey

Dear District 2 Members, It has been my pleasure to serve as your trustee over the past five months, and what a whirlwind it has been! I could not be any prouder to represent our district, as all of the schools and students have come close to my heart. ASDA has become a huge part of my dental school career, and it wouldn’t be the same without it.

When I started dental school, I envisioned late nights, endless cups of coffee, and many flashcards. While I did receive all those (and more) I also received the greatest and most unexpected gift, an ASDA membership. My ASDA career started with my auto-enroll membership at the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine. Like most first year students, I was focused on grades and getting acclimated to terms like “mesial” and “distal.” I soon found out that I would drive myself crazy if I didn’t get involved in something. There began my crazy journey through ASDA. I looked to leaders above me at my chapter and district for guidance through both ASDA and school. I can honestly say I wouldn’t be in the position I am today without the help and a bit of pushing from leaders who saw potential in me. As a leader, the best thing you can do is to push others to become better leaders themselves. That is one of my jobs this year as trustee and the best piece of advice I can give; if you are interested in a leadership position, go for it! You never know where it will take you, but you will find that you always end up exactly where you are meant to be.

I am inspired on a daily basis by the leadership and commitment to the profession we as ASDA members share. It is truly amazing what we can accomplish when we work towards a common goal. It is clear that the future of dentistry is in the capable hands of our current ASDA leaders. We will stand together to end live patient based exams, reduce our student debt, and protect our profession from Mid-Level Providers. It has been a wonderful start to my term as trustee and I can’t wait to see what District 2 has in store for the rest of the year.

May the year bring success and energy to all the members of ASDA and District 2.

Sara Jo Perrone, Buffalo ’18 District 2 Trustee Chapter President

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New Beginnings @ Touro College of Dental Medicine

Shreya Jha and Aman Kumar, Touro ’20

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ew beginnings can be just as exciting as they are nervewracking; whether it’s getting accepted into an undergraduate school from high school, landing a new job, or even participating in research at a new lab. It’s moments like these where we begin to think vicariously about how the person before us has approached the situation. Well, what happens when you’re on the forefront to new beginnings leading the way for others? Just this past month, Touro College of Dental Medicine (TCDM) at New York Medical College became the 66th dental school in the United States with an inaugural class of 111 students. Touro is located in Valhalla, New York, neighboring underserved areas such as the Bronx and the Hudson Valley Region.

The location provides an enriching opportunity for us to cater and serve a diverse patient population.

Touro has placed great emphasis on developing well-trained professionals by providing state-of-the-art facilities such as our 112-seat simulation lab, a 132-chair clinic facility divided into eight clinical practice units, a pediatric dentistry clinic, an oral and maxillofacial surgery clinic and multiple student workrooms. But what is an awesome facility without the best equipment?

Yeah, we also have CAD/CAM technology, digital scanners, new cone beam computed tomography scanners, as well as mannequin head and torsos (instead of just the conventional mannequin head) to begin working on our chairside manners. In addition, third year students will be paired with fourth year students in order to learn four-handed dentistry early in their careers. Pairing students up to complete clinical procedures is a relatively progressive style of learning; students will be able to help and learn from each other which we believe will give us the proper leadership and teamwork skills to be excellent practitioners.

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One of the most valuable experiences as the first dental class is having the privilege to learn from well experienced and qualified faculty members. Each of the professors have graduated from various reputable dental institutions and include specialists in endodontics, oral maxillofacial surgery, oral maxillofacial radiology, oral maxillofacial pathology, pediatric dentistry, prosthodontics, and general dentistry.

We look forward to advancing in our education through the insight, experience, and knowledge in the field of dentistry conveyed through their instruction. Most importantly, they emphasize the importance of establishing interpersonal relationships between the faculty, administration, and student body. This has so far been accomplished through group discussions, lunches with deans, and various social activities.

Whether it’s hiking together as a class, having a friendly bowling competition with the faculty, or even debating about ethical issues, Touro goes above and beyond to unite the faculty and students as one family.

It has been less than a month since we’ve all started our journey as the inaugural class of TCDM, and as each day passes by we eagerly sit on the edge of our seats knowing that we are at the forefront of modern dentistry. It’s hard not to crack a smile knowing we’re equipped with sincere and dedicated faculty members at an arm’s length. What makes the experience so much more enriching is that our team of 111 students is made up of those who will go the extra mile to help one another as we progress. With Touro’s principles as our foundation, we are taking great strides towards the advancement of our education, growing as role models to future dental students and maturing to become educators of oral health.

Reflections from your ASDA National Vice President Jordan Telin, Buffalo ’17 ASDA National Vice President

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remember my first week of dental school as if it were yesterday. Each day filled with excitement, new friends, and an overwhelming amount of information. I was sure that dental school would consume me. It was easy to become overwhelmed at my newly overstocked plate of responsibilities. Yet I saw upper-class students who seemed to be handling it with ease. Not only that, but they were planning outrageously successful events through ASDA and somehow even appeared to have healthy social lives. I needed to know how they were maintaining this type of success.

These students became my mentors. They taught me the importance of involvement in the profession, and how it developed them into stronger students.

In many ways, dental school has consumed me. Just ask my family and friends from home.

This consumption was not necessarily a bad thing though. Dental school has allowed me to transform in many positive ways and has provided priceless experiences. I knew that dental school meant sacrificing parts of my personal life, and that was okay because in exchange I now have the chance to pursue my dream career. But, I never anticipated the opportunity to lead, travel, or meet so many incredible students.

ASDA soon became my “productive outlet.” It was a way for me to break up the schoolwork while doing something that still added value to my experience. My involvement began with the

goal of meeting other dental students, making friends, and building a support network as we navigated through our educational adventures.

However, it seems that #ASDAfever knows no limits.

I enjoyed helping to plan and execute events at Buffalo. It was a way of building my “new community.” The events were opportunities to make friends and connect with colleagues. I caught the leadership bug early in college, and though I anticipated my involvement in dental school to be minimal, I couldn’t resist. I had ideas and plans that I wanted to share with my school. As my involvement in ASDA increased, I loved the coordination and communication that was required for the role. I needed to continue. I became excited about the mission of the association when I was enlightened on issues facing students and even patients.

Previously, I never considered myself politically savvy or knowledgeable on policy. But as a future dentist, I had a reason to become educated. Although maybe a little out of my comfort zone, I felt passionate and confident that I could grow further as a leader. I took the leap and didn’t quite know where the path would take me. Now as a member of ASDA’s Executive Committee, I can say that I have learned so much and have developed both as a leader and as a person. I’ve learned about serious time management, delegation, and the dynamics of a well-functioning team; skills that are directly applicable to our profession. I am about halfway

through my term right now, and am excited by how much I know I have yet to learn. As I begin my fourth year, I reflect back on the mentors who encouraged me to get involved and am so thankful. I am gaining the perspective they must have had, and enjoy talking to new students about getting involved and where their paths can lead. The possibilities are endless, and I would encourage anyone questioning their involvement to take a chance and go for it! You never know where it may lead, the opportunities that may arise, or the meaningful friendships that may form.

There is a special connection that exists within the American Student Dental Association. Time and again, I read articles of students stating that their favorite part of ASDA is the relationships that they build. ASDA is a place of opportunity, leadership, community, and a place where students can express their interests. For the Harry Potter enthusiast, I sometimes liken it to the Room of Requirement. If you have passion and a plan, there is a way to make it happen. While dentistry is a specialized field that narrows in on the oral cavity, the professionals and students that comprise it are far from narrow-minded. Whether a natural-borne lobbyist, a cook, a fitness expert, a technological guru, one with a keen eye for photography, a humanitarian, or you name it, there is always a place for you to develop your craft and further enhance the ASDA family.

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CHAPTER UPDATES

BUFFALO

By Jesse Adamson,’19 Chapter President-Elect

What a year ASDA Buffalo had, and what an exciting year ASDA Buffalo has to look forward to! We were very proud to have two ASDA Buffalo members elected to national positions this year. One as national vice president, and the other as our very own District 2 trustee. We were also very excited to be awarded two Gold Crown awards at the Annual Session: for Most Improved Newsletter and for Advocacy. We started a new wellness initiative last year, which included therapy dogs, yoga classes, and massage therapists being brought to campus for students to use to de-stress during our busy academic year. We also hosted our first International Dental Student Program event, a carnival, for incoming international students to meet current UB students and become familiar with the dental school.

This coming year, we plan to continue with some of our traditional ASDA events, including our Buffalo Bills tailgate, alumni golf tournament, and spring formal. We look forward to kicking off the year with our fun-filled ASDA Week to give our incoming D1s a look at everything ASDA has to offer.

We will be continuing to advance ouar Wellness and IDP initiatives that were started last year. Lastly, we are hoping to get more people involved with ASDA by introducing several committees, such as our Wellness Committee and Pre-Dental Committee, that will give more students the opportunity to become involved with ASDA. We are excited for the upcoming year, and hope to have another great year as one big Buffalo family!

COLUMBIA At Columbia, our ultimate goal is to educate our fellow students on the importance of being involved with ASDA and organized dentistry in general. One of the challenges that our chapter dealt with in the past was the inability for D1 students to obtain a position on the executive board upon entering dental school, which stifled involvement by the D1s to a degree. This year’s executive board decided to tackle this problem by adding a first year representative position on each of our now 10 committees to help educate and foster involvement in our chapter. Furthermore, we have increased the number of committees as well as the total number of students on each committee.

This fall, we plan on having our first “ASDA Fever” week for the incoming first year students to spread the “fever,” while helping the new students get acclimated to NYC. We plan to build on our successful pre-dental programs, namely “Getting into Dental School 101” and “Being a Dental Student for a Day,” by co-hosting an open house-style event bringing in student representatives from each of the District 2 schools to show pre-dental students what we all have to offer. We also plan on increasing involvement with our local and state dental societies through meaningful programming on where dentistry can take us in the future. Each of our committees has many exciting ideas for this upcoming year and we are looking forward to transforming these ideas into action!

By Thomas Ulicny, ’18 Chapter President District 2 Pre-Dental Chair

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY

By Monika Patel, ’17 Chapter President 4

As we reflect back on this past year, ASDA at NYU has a lot to be proud of. Our chapter has improved by leaps and bounds with more active participation from the executive board, committee chairs, and general members. Many new and improved events were held, including lunch-and-learns with record-high attendance, mock practicals to help prepare our D1s, and a hugely successful Pre-Dental Day. Our very first Instagram account was created, along with a brand new NYU ASDA logo! We also had our largest vendor fair yet, with more than 1,200 students in attendance.

These are only a handful of our club’s accomplishments and our board this year is running with the momentum we have built to achieve our new goals. This year, we want to encompass the idea of ASDA being a club run by the students and for the students. The board members have a myriad of new ideas that are both different and fun, including stress-relievers after big exams, a paint night, and a study club for billing and coding.

We’re ready to spread ASDA fever throughout NYU like never before and we are beyond thrilled to be hosting the District 2 Meeting this year. We hope everyone comes away from the weekend with new friends, a unique NYC experience, and tons of fantastic memories!

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY This past year has been full of excitement and hard work for Rutgers ASDA! We have made amazing strides in expanding chapter interest within our own dental school as well as reaching out to the local community. In the fall, we had the most students ever travel to Buffalo, New York, to attend the annual District 2 Meeting! This past winter, we held a school wide initiative where students had the opportunity to travel to the local Newark food bank and volunteer.

Together, we were able to pack 1,440 take home food bags in less than two hours! Additionally, with the help of NJDA’s Jim Schulz we were able to recruit over 50 new students to join ADPAC/ NJDPAC. Lastly, business aside, our yearly ASDA Halloween party was a great success — a thrilling night for our students to unwind and have some well-deserved fun!

This coming year, we hope to continue to rise and to keep the ASDA fever flowing! We are looking forward to planning fever week, recruiting pre-dental students, and planning more legislative events, mentorship events, and so much more! ASDA has always worked hard within our school and the local community. This year, we want to broaden our focus with a brand new initiative. Our goal for the year is to make our chapter part of a global movement known as “Charity Water.” This is a non-profit organization that works to bring clean, sustainable water to developing nations that would otherwise not have access to it. Clean water is a vital part of our profession and our world; our ambition is to hold “water-themed events” throughout the year in order to raise both awareness and money to be donated to the organization. This is a project that is very dear to our hearts and we are excited to see where the year and our ambitions will take us!

By Falon Rozhitsky, 18 Chapter President District 2 Secretary

STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY

By Jimmy Shak, ’18 Chapter President This past year has truly been a good year for the Stony Brook ASDA chapter under Stella Stavrou’s leadership. We had a high level of representation at NYS Lobby Day, the District 2 Meeting, Legislative Day, NLC, and the Annual Session. In addition, we had record-high number of lunchand-learns, as well as a record-high number of vendors present at our vendor fair. We are also proud of our new monthly publication, In the Loupe, which aims to keep students educated and informed on recent dental and healthcare-related articles that are featured in the news. For social activities, we continued to host Welcome Week for incoming first years, a wine tour, Halloween party, and spring formal. Our philanthropic activities included volunteering at Little Flower Children & Family Services

Orphanage of New York and Long Island State Veterans Home in Stony Brook. Lastly, we continued to support the pre-dental students of Stony Brook with “Impressions” Day and Mock Interview.

This upcoming year, I hope to follow in Stella’s footsteps and continue to expand the presence of Stony Brook ASDA in the school, state, and national levels, with extra emphasis on increasing membership involvement. I believe active members are the key to a successful ASDA chapter so with that in mind, this year the executive board and I have restructured how ASDA events will be run. In addition to members in leadership positions (e.g., social, philanthropy, and activities chair), we are encouraging other members to find what they are passionate about and run their own events with us. Through this, we look to expand membership involvement and leadership opportunities to our general student body and to deliver the message that you don’t need a leadership position to be a leader. Here are three examples of events being undertaken by our members: Christopher Pae plans on setting up an oral health fair at a local elementary school to provide oral hygiene instruction; Rutu Shah plans to raise breast cancer awareness by providing pink bibs in clinic during the month of October as well as raising money toward a breast cancer charity.

Both will be working closely with Igor Lantsberg, our philanthropy chair; Stephanie Sager will be working closely with Max Sanacore, our activities chair, to set up Stony Brook ASDA’s first lunch/dinnerand-learn with the ADA Success Program.

We, the executive board of Stony Brook ASDA, are excited to see these three leaders step forward and even more excited to see more leaders step forward during this upcoming year.

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The Most Comprehensive Oral Health Research, Education, and Patient Care Center In The World

Dr. Charles N. Bertolami, DDS, DMedSc Herman Robert Fox Dean NYU College of Dentistry

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actually don’t think that the size of the school makes much difference one way or another and so my frame of reference isn’t based on it. In my various meetings with all the other NYU deans, Dentistry is considered one of the small schools. This is apparent when you attend the NYU commencement ceremony and can see all the graduates of each of the other NYU schools. This is true not only within NYU, but holds up across universities as well. For instance, we’re much smaller than, say, Harvard Law School or Harvard Business School. We’re considered large only in relation to other dental schools — and I think this gets to the core of the question: Students — whether in Law, Business, or Dentistry — need and deserve specialized services. Smaller places can have difficulty delivering those services because they have too few people doing too many jobs. That can be a real headache for students (not to mention for the dean). Central to the way Dentistry has evolved at NYU is how highly and uniquely valued we are at this University and so we’ve been given great latitude in deciding what’s best for the school. In the past, growth was a key part of that plan.

So, I tend not to think of us as a large dental school; rather, I see NYU Dentistry as the most comprehensive oral health research, education, and patient care center in the world — all derived from the resources uniquely available here. Assets — human, financial, intellectual, educational, interpersonal — are what deans think about and we happen to be very rich in those particular qualities. Having previously served as dean of a smaller dental school, I can say that running our school isn’t much different. What is different is the ability to exploit opportunities that resources make possible.

NYU Dentistry receives more than 280,000 patient visits annually, making our patient population among our greatest resources for student education. Because the College’s student body is equally diverse — culled, incidentally, from nearly 5,000 applications annually — students have opportunities to connect with people like themselves, while also making lasting friendships with students from across the nation and

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around the world. Another advantage is access to a large and distinguished clinical faculty — including those who write the textbooks that others teach from, and who pioneer the treatment techniques that others adopt — rather than having only one or two experts in each area. A parallel advantage is student access to our resident basic science faculty, whose focus is on oral health and who give preference to dental and dental hygiene students, in contrast to some smaller schools that are forced to combine dental and medical students in basic science courses or hire freelance basic science faculty who have no permanent ties to the dental school. NYU Dentistry’s resources also allow us to provide first-class facilities and a technology-rich environment for our students; a positive faculty-to-student ratio; strong, personalized student services; support for students to cultivate and project a view of themselves as highly educated health professionals; and opportunities to excel. It’s not surprising that our students achieve a 98-100 percent first-time pass rate on both Part I and Part II of the National Board Examination.

Additional opportunities include global student outreach experiences, teaching assistantships, the opportunity to earn a dual dental/global public health degree, and the opportunity to engage in research throughout dental school, thereby earning recognition through national awards and even publishing papers as pre-doctoral students. Because we are a dental school whose alumni practice in every state in the nation and every nation in the world, and whose large clinical faculty are encouraged to practice and have thriving private practices, we are able to provide a vast network of referring colleagues for graduates to call upon when they go into practice and for the rest of their professional careers.

I know this may all sound like a commercial for the dental school, but all these features of NYU Dentistry make my job easier, not more difficult.

Admittedly, there are many challenges to being a dean, but they don’t come from the school’s size. The number and quality of our students, faculty, and staff make confronting those challenges a pleasure. If I have to talk about size, I’d call it an asset, not a liability.

NYU Dentistry Poll: Advantages & Challenges for Attending the Largest Dental School

STUDENTS Varun Nakhate (D4) Advantage: Networking ability and resources.

Challenge: Anonymity.

Andrew Kary (D3) Advantage: Access to a huge pool of talented individuals with diverse backgrounds and interests; every niche of dentistry is well represented.

Challenge: Impersonality of our didactic classes requires that the student take initiative because he/she has less personal oversight.

Likewise, each student is left to his/her own devices in building a social network as it is somewhat easier to become a face in the crowd.

Kara Bagdan (D2) Advantage: Since we’re so big, we have so many resources.

Challenge: Professors don’t really know each student individually.

STAFF Mark Wolff, DDS, PhD (Professor and Chair for the Department of Cariology & Comprehensive Care; Associate Dean for Development & Alumni Relations; Associate Dean for Pre-Doctoral Clinical Education) Advantage: We have the financial resources to provide students with faculty on weekends, world class leaders in research and education, and the best in facilities and materials to learn and care for patients. Being located in NYC offers our students the very broadest of experiences in dentistry. We see all types of pathology, access to patients requiring implants, crowns, bridges, and forms of esthetic dentistry. The depth of our student experiences are fantastic and the availability of our renown faculty make NYU College of Dentistry a special place. We provide a myriad of community and research experiences to suit the desires of EVERY student.

Challenge: When working with a large class, it can be challenging getting students to understand that we care about each individual as if he/she were our only student.

Eugenia Mejia, PhD (Assistant Dean, Admissions & Enrollment Management) Advantage: The diversity of people (staff, students, faculty, administrators), diversity of opportunities (clinical, outreach (local/national/international)), learning about public health, teaching assistants, leadership skills, tutoring, and specialties offices connected to undergraduate clinics. Students can almost create individualized areas of concentration.

Challenge: I can’t remember everyone’s name, and there aren’t enough seats for all when selecting qualified applicants with a passion for dentistry.

FACULTY Mary E. Northridge, PhD, MPH (Associate Professor of Epidemiology & Health Promotion) Advantage: It is more likely that those students who are outgoing will find communities of interest, whether it is around what they want to pursue in dentistry, research, or in life. In this way, NYU College of Dentistry is a reflection of New York City itself, where students from all over the world may find communities that share their heritage and culture, and experience those of others. My hope is that, together, we can use our diversity to build a stronger, more inclusive teaching and learning community.

Challenge: The biggest challenge I have encountered being at NYU Dentistry is the opportunity to interact with and learn from our students on a one-to-one basis. Those who have research interests aligned with mine are the only ones who specifically reach out to me or respond to my invitations to collaborate.

“ During my career, I have held appointments at a smaller dental school and at NYU. The opportunity

and challenge at NYU is keeping up with and using its abundant resources. It may be cliché, but resources at NYU are limited only by your imagination. What I dread is not keeping pace with the ongoing change in resources.

— Frederick G. More, DDS, MS (Professor of Epidemiology & Health Promotion)

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OUTREACH

Buffalo: PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

By Rachel Kim and Jasmin Abdel-Malek, Buffalo 19 Chapter Community Service Committee

PAST 20 patients, six languages, and three hours. This is just a glimpse of what a patient pool in Buffalo, New York, can look like today. And in November 2015, it was what SDM faculty and members of UB Dental for Intercultural Awareness encountered at the Jericho Road Community Health Center. We provided oral screenings and patient education in an effort to meet the dental needs of Buffalo’s ever-growing refugee population. Using translators from within our own student population, we were able to connect with patients of all ages and cultures. As more and more begin to take up the identity “Buffalonian,” we continually seek ways to bring dentistry to new spaces.

PRESENT UB Dental’s mission for outreach is to recognize the issues in our community, brainstorm ways to give back and as a team, execute our plans in making a difference in Buffalo a reality. As Buffalo struggles with one of the highest minority poverty rates in America, both ASDA and the Buffalo Outreach and Community Assistance program at UB have paired up with Knox Community Table to help serve food bi-monthly to members of our community. We encounter those without homes or careers, but also, ministers, teachers, and nurses. This communal breaking of bread has been a staple of outreach at UB and we hope to continue this tradition for years to come.

FUTURE The number of elderly patients in need of dental care is currently on the rise. At the same time, the amount of dental professionals who are able to cater to this population remains extremely limited.

With a recognized need for service within the geriatric population, this September, BOCA will be launching its newest outreach, Bingo for BOCA, where UB dental students will rekindle their bingo skills and aid Elderwood Nursing Home residents in doing the same. Bingo for BOCA’s purpose is to not only become a helping hand for Buffalo’s elderly population, but to also raise awareness among our peers about the importance of serving the geriatric population.

The Local Farmer’s Market: A New Community Service Venue

By Jun John Yoo, Columbia ’18 Chapter Community Service Committee

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What better way to reach out to locals than to blindside them with the Bass Technique as they’re picking out their vegetables? Trick question. There is no better way!

CDM ASDA was recently invited to take part in a collaborative, cross-disciplinary initiative in the heart of our Washington Heights community. The project is part of a larger goal to bring greater health awareness to our community residents while they are going about their usual routine in a familiar setting. CHALK (Choosing Healthy & Active Lifestyles for Kids), nutrition, stroke prevention, and exercise programs all contributed to the success of the first Greenmarket Health Awareness initiative this June.

There will be five more rounds of this initiative spanning from June to October, and student volunteers and post-docs alike have already begun to sign up for fall shifts in an effort to lend a hand. As with many dental schools across the nation, CDM prides itself on its numerous community service initiatives,

from dental-related events including Give Kids a Smile, the Dental Van, CHHMP Free Clinic, to non dental-related projects, such as Heights Helpers, a mentoring program for middle school students in Washington Heights.

Jajaira (Jary) Patrocinio, associate director of student activities, has been an integral part of this new community project and takes an active role in the service initiatives of CDM student groups, oftentimes volunteering her own time. “We are very excited to be working with CHALK and our Washington Heights community to do our part in providing knowledge and greater access to dental and oral health care. It’s very fulfilling to be able to partner our wonderful student organizations and clubs with our community outreach programs.”

We hope to continue the spirit of service in creative and effective ways, and encourage suggestions from our fellow District 2 colleagues!

Rutgers dental students are packing bags of food, to be distributed to underprivileged children throughout New Jersey.

RSDM ASDA Community Service

By Anudeep K. Grewal, Rutgers ’18 Chapter Community Service Chair During the 2015-2016 academic year, the ever-so-thriving Rutgers ASDA chapter organized another successful event: on the morning of Saturday, January 30, 2016, 20 Rutgers dental students dedicated two hours of their time to volunteer at the Community Food Bank of New Jersey (CFBNJ), located in Hillside, New Jersey. All 20 students collectively participated in packing bags of food for underprivileged children, to be distributed in various parts of the state. Such collaborative efforts resulted in packing 1,440 bags of food

in just less than two hours! These packaged goods will be delivered to children attending local schools in Essex, Union, Passaic, and Monmouth counties.

The Rutgers ASDA team will continue its outreach efforts in the upcoming 2016-2017 academic year, by arranging another group volunteer event with CFBNJ. In addition, having been re-elected as the community service chairperson, I wish to expand the role of giving back to the local community through our school’s ASDA chapter. I am currently

contacting local organizations in Newark, New Jersey, in search of other opportunities that will allow us to directly benefit the society in which our school is located. Such prospective plans include holding a collection drive, and all proceeds will be donated to St. John’s Soup Kitchen in Newark; furthermore, this soup kitchen is often in need of volunteers to serve breakfast and lunch, so this is a potential plan that will be proposed to the ASDA officers during our annual ASDA Officer Retreat in August 2016.

Stony Brook: The Year at a Glance

By Igor Lantsberg, Stony Brook ’18 Chapter Philanthropy Chair

This academic year, Stony Brook’s ASDA chapter organized several events that have continued to accentuate the students’ unceasing dedication to their community. The annual Thanksgiving Food and Clothing Drive was once again arranged with the Interfaith Nutrition Network (INN), an organization whose mission focuses on the issues of hunger and homelessness on Long Island. With the non-perishable food items and clothes collected, the INN provided nourishment to those in need. Another successful event was the new Colgate Terracycle recycling program. The aim was to reduce waste and promote recycling by returning used oral care product containers to Colgate. In October, Stony Brook raised awareness for breast cancer research by selling pink attire and in the springtime, both

ASDA members and faculty participated in the Oral Cancer Walk.

Together, we raised over $12,000 for oral cancer research.

Events for the upcoming year are already in the works. The aim this year is to continue to expand Stony Brook’s ASDA community involvement and the chapter as a whole. Our annual visits to the Long Island Veteran’s Home and the Little Flower Orphanage are nearly finalized. At both institutions, Stony Brook dental students not only socialize and play games with the residents, but also educate them on proper oral health. We are also launching a new outreach activity this year at Nassakeag Elementary School. We hope this will be the start of an ongoing educational partnership that strengthens our commitment to improving the oral hygiene of our community.

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OUTREACH

Charity Begins at Home with Reach Out & Read Program

By Rabia Mujtaba, NYU ’19

As a first year dental student, the doors of opportunities and service are widely opened for us. It is hard to decide where to begin our work as new members of the dental community. As eager dental students we often seek experiences that are unique, transformative, and thrilling. It is a common misconception that the transformation begins in a distant offsite location, in a population stricken with poverty and in dire need of health care. While those communities are extremely important, it is valuable to recognize that service begins at home. Home is NYU College of Dentistry, an institution that recognizes the needs of the diverse populations across New York City.

The College provides countless patients access to the healthcare they need, granting students the privilege to become part of the important service that needs to be provided.

An exceptional example of one such opportunity is the Reach Out & Read Program at the NYU Pediatric Dentistry clinic. Volunteers have the opportunity to greet and engage young patients and parents in the pediatric clinic waiting room. They are able to choose from a variety of books to read to and with patients, cultivating a love for reading, writing, and education. Being a volunteer at the clinic for the 2015-2016 academic year has been a

unique and transformative experience.

Interacting with children and young adults that come from communities where a simple book is a luxury has taught me the value and importance of literacy and access to education. As professionals in this field, our duty is not limited to just providing needed dental treatment, but extends to providing patients with the tools to succeed and lead healthy lives.

A lot of first year dental students attended the orientation for the Reach Out & Read Program and signed up for spots to volunteer. The fact that, as students, we are able to volunteer at our own school through the in-reach opportunities provided by the Reach Out & Read Program really cut down the time that it takes to commute to another area to serve and thereby encouraged students to sign up for more shifts. Since it is also a recurring opportunity, it allowed more students, especially those who are commuters or have families, to sign up for shifts between classes and thereby not have to make arrangements outside of school hours or on the weekends in order to pursue a community service opportunity.

Thus, our Reach Out & Read in-reach is truly a one-of-a-kind opportunity. It allows us to give back to our own community and reinforces the saying that “charity begins at home.”

Working with New York City Youth through NYU Dentistry Citizens School Club

By Alvin Babu, NYU ’19

One of the greatest privileges about attending dental school is being able to have multiple opportunities to give back to the community. Through the NYU College of Dentistry Citizens School Club, I was able to educate and expose middle school students through a 10-week apprenticeship program. By taking part in this program, middle school students learned what a future career in dentistry has to offer through interactive and hands-on activities. During the final week of the program, the children then presented all that they had learned back to the dental students and faculty at NYU. During my involvement in the program, my colleagues and I taught sixth grade students at the Global Technical Preparatory School in East Harlem, New York. We were able to build a very strong and trusting relationship with each student in this

class of 10 through educational and engaging projects. Being able to watch the children enjoy learning about dentistry and to be excited to see everything it had to offer was a true blessing. Every Thursday, the children greeted us with a warm and loud welcome. As soon as we settled in, they would be very eager to share with us what they had learned the previous week and then soon after ask about what the day’s activity consisted of. After an introductory lesson, we would then divide into smaller groups for the exercises in order to provide an even more personalized environment for each student. As the day came to an end, they would express their gratitude to us for taking the time to show them the importance of education and the different career opportunities that they could pursue if they continued to work hard in school.

During those 10 weeks, the children had made more of an impact on me than I probably ever did on them.

Because of this experience, they taught me not only how to be a better practitioner but also how to be a better individual. I also felt very proud during the presentation fair, when the children not only shared what they had learned about dentistry, but also how much they loved having us there to guide them and to make them feel special. When the program finished, saying goodbye to the children was probably one of the hardest things I had ever done, but I know I definitely will see them later in the future as grown, intelligent, and successful dental colleagues. Overall, this was one of those experiences I will never forget. It will continue to shape who I am throughout my career as a dental practitioner.

Giving Kids a Smile with KinderSmile

By Ben Kahan, Touro ’20 KinderSmile Foundation Junior Board Member, 2016 KinderSmile Foundation (KSF) is a non-profit 501C3 organization that offers high quality oral health care to underserved populations across New Jersey. In February 2016, I was given the opportunity to attend Give Kids a Smile Day in Montclair, New Jersey, hosted by KSF. Dr. Nicole McGrath, the founder of KSF, welcomed me and put me right to work. Little did I know that day what Dr. McGrath had in store for me in the future. In the proceeding months, my involvement with KSF increased as Dr. McGrath continued to give me more responsibilities. She tested me weekly on oral anatomy, provided me with training on the behind-thescenes administrative tasks involved in running the foundation, and tasked me with organizing the oral health education seminars for students grades PreK-12. After proving that I could juggle all of these responsibilities and produce high quality work, I was asked to serve as a “Junior Board Member” and attend KSF’s international outreach trip to Grenada, in the West Indies.

The weeklong outreach trip took place in May 2016. We provided $200,000 worth of dental care, working for four days from 6 am-5 pm and spending the remaining two days relaxing on the beach! Prior to the trip, we also collected over 200 pairs of shoes to donate to the children we would be taking care of. Each morning, we woke up to the kids hollering, excited to walk with us to their school. On the first day, the students helped us set up our offices in the classrooms of Birch Groove Elementary School. And on the last day, as a way of thanking us for coming to help, the entire student body performed a concert, singing songs that had been written by some of their fellow classmates. Even upon arriving, the gratitude from the community and the children was immediately apparent. The children would follow us around, help carry equipment, organize the other children into lines, and draw adorable pictures of teeth with messages like “We love the dentist!” on them.

My role was to handle administrative duties and to assist the dentists on site. The ongoing appreciation was unbelievable; our three dentists, two pre-professionals, four college students (including yours truly!), five high school students, and one middle school student were cooked local cuisine (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), including some of Grenada’s signature dishes, and taken on several excursions (beach trip, local BBQs, Leatherback Turtle watching, and exploring the town). In return, we worked tirelessly until every child was given an appointment and received the dental treatment he/she needed. In total, we saw and treated more than 300 children.

The days were strenuous and the temperature was so hot it was nearly unbearable. It was around 95˚F during the day and 90˚F overnight. Along with the heat came critters, sandflies in particular. (I went through two cans of OFF in four days and I still got bit up!) With the heat, bugs, and long hours of work, every minute was worthwhile as we saw each patient come to us in pain and leave us pain-free; this was exceedingly gratifying and humbling for me. This being my first experience on an international outreach trip was life-altering and it left me yearning for more opportunities to become involved with dental philanthropy. The Grenada community, as a whole, showed us endless generosity and for that I am equally grateful. KinderSmile Foundation bolstered my confidence in pursuing a career in dentistry and guided my intent to devote time to serving those in need. I will be planning Touro College of Dental Medicine’s (TCDM) first international outreach trip, partnering our TCDM ASDA chapter with KinderSmile Foundation in the near future. I highly recommend taking part in any, and all, outreach events; the reward is intangible, but it is one of the best feelings you can have.

To learn how you can get more involved, visit www.kindersmile.org or email me at Ben.TCDMASDA@gmail.com.

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AESTHETICS AT STONY BROOK

By Samir Lillaney, Stony Brook ’18 Chapter Newsletter Editor-in-Chief

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he Stony Brook Aesthetics Society focuses on teaching and providing pertinent information to pre-doctoral students about aesthetic dentistry. Many of us are pursuing a career in dentistry for our love of science and our desire to help people, as well as an appreciation for the art of dentistry. The ASDA chapter at the Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine recently sponsored an event with international lecturer Peter Pizzi, who discussed his experiences in aesthetic dentistry as a master ceramist.

Many experienced practitioners will tell you the work they produce is only as good as the dental laboratory they use. Mr. Pizzi prides himself on his work using the latest technology in smile design and having a breadth of knowledge on dental materials. Mr. Pizzi’s ideology when designing a smile is to account for not just the teeth, but for the person as a whole, and their soft tissue structures. His lecture included several of his cases as well as the science and reasoning behind his design choices. He lectured to a receptive audience of dental students who would not normally receive exposure to this type of information in such detail during dental school.

After attending his lecture, many students realized that there is so much more to learn after dental school. In dental school, we learn how to comprehensively diagnose and treat a patient. However, technology is rapidly changing the field of dentistry. The Stony Brook Aesthetics Society’s next event will be showcasing a digital smile design makeover of a Stony Brook dental student designed by an American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD) accredited dentist.

The goal of this event is to make students aware of design and material choices so that when it comes time to coordinate with a dental laboratory for their own patients, they will be able to deliver aesthetic and beautiful restorations of their own.

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Keeping the Faith: Maintaining Religious Practices While in Dental School

By Cesar Quezada, Rutgers ’18 Chapter Newsletter Chair

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t’s Saturday night and Gaurav Shah, a rising sophomore, has a little more on his plate than most other dental students. Like his colleagues, he’s expected to keep up with the academic responsibilities that have become notoriously associated with the healthcare field. The following day however, a Sunday, means changing gears. Gaurav is a practicing Hindu Swaminarayan, and that means he’ll be spending three hours the next morning at temple.

“Many of [my friends] consider our temple to be a second home,” says Gaurav, who has been worshiping at his local temple since childhood. From here, it’s easy to draw parallels between the kinds of outlets most dental students introduce into their routines — opting for moderation and variety as opposed to focusing singularly on their studies. “Temple has taught me ways to relieve stress so that in the end I can remain focused when it counts.” For Gaurav, this means stepping aside from the schoolwork to pray, to meditate, and to connect to a spirituality he attributes to his academic success thus far.

It isn’t rare for students to make time to unwind from the demands of dental school, but few recourses are, arguably, as interesting as religion. Religion implies schedule. It is primarily spiritual, and unlike taking a day off for a little personal time, it embraces community. At Rutgers Dental, few independent groups have become as famous as the Friday bible study class. Including students from all four years of dental school, the group meets once a week to read scripture, to sing, and to participate in something a little bit greater than friendship. “It’s a time to not only share what we know about scripture, but also to get closer to God,” says David Paladines, a sophomore who regularly attends on Fridays. “The [bible] study isn’t

focused on changing people’s opinions, but allows anyone to share theirs. We share our love of Christ, love for dentistry; we aren’t a club, we’re a family.”

For some, the thought of deliberately making a decision to set time aside from studying, especially before exams, is difficult to understand. “I’m usually met with mild surprise,” says Melissa Ciandella, a sophomore who identifies as a non-denominational Christian. “I often struggle to find a balance, but the fact that Sunday morning church is seen as the expectation in my family makes it an easier issue than it might otherwise be.”

It can be argued that for these students, making time for spirituality is as simple as writing it into a schedule and sticking to it. It speaks to the ability to organize and deliberate tasks, to prioritize and to work around time constraints. “I don’t feel that doing things like going to church has negatively affected my grades. Any time I’ve spent on my religion has been time for me to refocus my outlook and to pay more attention to the big picture issues in life.”

In essence, whether by strict scheduling or acrobatics, dental students will find ways to adhere to, and accommodate all the values that are important to them. In this way, they find ways to not only remain true to their academic roles, but to their spiritual responsibilities as well.

For Gaurav, that means spending a few hours with his childhood friends at temple once a week. “With the demanding schedule we’re facing in dental school, it’s difficult to juggle both my academic life and my personal life. But going to temple has definitely benefitted my studies. No question.”

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History Uncovered: Discovering and Digitalizing NYU’s Rare Book Collection

By Katie Rothas New York University ‘19 ASDA District 2 Communications Chair Chapter Website Chair

D

r. Andrew Spielman, DMD, MS, PhD, associate dean for academic affairs at NYU College of Dentistry, has always had a passion for history. In fact he originally wanted to become an archaeologist. He developed this interest from his father who was a historian and taught courses in the history of medicine and dentistry. Although Dr. Spielman ended up pursuing a career in dental education rather than archaeology, his passion for history never died. Soon after being appointed the deanship in 2001 at NYU Dentistry, he stumbled upon a copy of the 1st edition of Pierre Fauchard’s book, Le Chirurgien Dentiste (1728), being sold at auction on eBay. Fauchard is revered as “the father of modern dentistry” for publishing this comprehensive book that contains information about basic oral anatomy and function, signs and symptoms of oral pathology, and operative methods for various dental procedures.

When Dr. Spielman saw an opportunity for NYU to own this book, he did not hesitate to contact Dr. Mike Alfano, the dean of the College of Dentistry at the time, to request $10,000 to purchase this valuable piece of dental history. While Dr. Alfano was quick to approve the allocation of these funds, he had one condition: “You [Dr. Spielman] must inform the library director that it will come out of his budget.” So, Dr. Spielman sent the library director an email and the response he received is something Dr. Spielman says he’ll never forget. The library director wrote, “Well, we already have the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd editions of Pierre Fauchard.” In fact, not only did NYU College of Dentistry own all three editions of Fauchard’s book, the school also had in its possession nearly 1,000 historical dental texts.

Upon this discovery, the historian inside Dr. Spielman was eager to learn everything he could about the College’s rare book collection. It turned out a member of the 1932 faculty, Dr. Bernard Weinberger, an orthodontist by trade, shared a similar passion for the history of medicine and dentistry. His interest was sparked by NYU College of Dentistry’s first dean, Dr. Norman Kinglsey, “the father of orthodontics.” Dr. Weinberger started collecting all of Dr. Kinglsey’s books and along the way he ended up with a collection of 5,000 medical and dental texts!

According to an article published in New York in 1931, this collection was absolutely unique. While it was not necessarily the largest collection, the components of this collection made it unique. For instance, our unique set of Fauchard’s books is unmatched anywhere in the world. Not even famous world

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libraries such as the French Academy, the British Library, nor the Biblioteca Nacional possess a copy of all three editions. Additionally this collection included the first-ever dental book published in English, the firstever dental book published in French (1687), the first-ever dental book published in America (1801; A Treatise of the Human Teeth by Richard Skinner), and many other valuable books.

Over the years Dr. Weinberger’s collection dwindled. He sold some of his books at auction and he gave others away to famous collectors, so by the time NYU received the collection (either through purchase or donation – it’s unclear), only 1,200 books remained. For many years, these books sat forgotten in a basement of the dental school; no one seemed interested in the history of medicine. Dr. Spielman claims, “People think about the past as something that you cannot use or get inspiration from.” He strongly disagrees. Upon discovering NYU Dentistry had this rare book collection in its possession, he felt a responsibility to take charge and become its custodian. For several years, these books were stored at the library space the College had at the VA Hospital, but after being evicted from this space, and upon discovering there would not be a place for books in the new building at 433 First Avenue, these books needed a new home.

Dr. Spielman took it upon himself to lobby with the current leadership at the College to build something to house these books, so they constructed special display cases in the conference room in the 10th floor administration suite at 421 First Avenue to store this valuable collection.

For Dean Spielman, this was not enough.

While these books now had an appropriate home, they were still sitting on shelves collecting dust. “Highlighting the uniqueness, the considerable size of this collection, the condition in which it is in, I felt that we were very lucky to have it and so I took it upon myself to ensure that this collection would not be forgotten and that the outside world be able to access the books.”

With that, the rare book collection project was born. The project consists of two parts: the first to take an inventory of all of the books, including the title, author, date of publication, and current condition of the book. Dr. Spielman wanted to be certain what still remained of the original collection since the books had undergone several moves and some had been given away to NYU’s medical school; the second to create a digital library starting with 20 of the most prized books in the collection and growing from there. Dr. Spielman says the website will look like a digital bookshelf, on which users can see the spine of the book with the title and the author’s name. Then, by clicking on the book the user can flip through it page-by-page. But the history lesson won’t stop there! Understanding who the authors were and period in which they wrote their works is equally important. To provide users with some context and background information, there will be additional resources such as links to Wikipedia pages, images, and videos. Otherwise, Dr. Spielman

says, “People will just open the book and say, ‘Okay I just see a lot of printed stuff.

What does that mean?’

To put this project in motion, Dr. Spielman recruited two students from the Class of 2019, Kimia Kohanbash and Sherry Aviczer (see their interview on page 16: “Getting a ‘Taste’ of History”) who started working on this project in the fall of 2015. They successfully completed part one of this project this past July and are currently working on part two.

Eventually, Dr. Spielman hopes that 100 of the school’s most prized books will be available in this digital library for the entire world to read, understand, and become inspired. Without knowing the history and evolution of the dental profession, one cannot truly understand the impact that it has had on developing the profession, nor predict how the dental profession of today will influence the dental profession of tomorrow.

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Getting a “Taste” of History An interview with Sherry Aviczer and Kimia Kohanbash on their work with the rare book collection project

By Katie Rothas, NYU ’19 ASDA District 2 Communications Chair Chapter Website Chair

Sherry Aviczer and Kimia Kohanbash, both members of the New York University College of Dentistry Class of 2019, were originally interested in working with Dr. Spielman on his research on taste buds, but found themselves taking a completely different pathway working more as historians rather than scientists. They’ve been collaborating with Dr. Spielman for nearly a year on his rare book collection project, taking inventory of the books in the collection and developing the digital library’s website. Here’s what they had to say about getting involved with the project, what they’ve gotten out of the project, and what they hope others will take away from it.

How did you get involved with the project?

Sherry: We had a lecture with Dean Spielman and I found him very engaging and wanted to know more about research and what he was doing. I had done research in undergrad and Kimia wanted to start her research journey, so we decided to get in early and find different mentors. We thought Dean Spielman would be a great fit for us. We emailed him and said we were thinking of doing taste and bitter taste research. He responded, saying that this project [rare book project] had just opened up and we could be on board if we were interested.

Kimia: We found it interesting, so we went from there.

What is your role in the project?

K: First, we’re taking an inventory; we’re using a list from Dean Spielman to catalog the books and track what’s in the display case and what’s missing. We’re making sure that the date, title, and author are correct and match up with what’s on the list. We’re also writing down the condition of each book — whether there are any missing or ripped pages. We take pictures of the coversheet of the books, including the title, author, and date. And, if we see any interesting pictures, we pho-

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tograph those as well. During the second part of the project we will be setting up a website. We are going to start off with some of the most interesting books in the collection. If viewers would like to learn more about a specific book topic, there will be a whole list of resources to view.

S: Some of these books are already digital, like in the French Academy, so our goal is to provide these links in order to give people a feel for what the collection looks like without actually being in the 10th floor conference room. Then, they can read it on their own time. We’re also taking inventory because the rare book collection moved so a lot of things might have been lost.

What has been your favorite part of being involved in this project?

K: Actually touching the history! It’s the coolest thing when you can see a book from the 1500s. You see all these pictures, some of which were hand drawn, and it’s really cool. There are also plays about dentistry from the 1600s, with jokes that we don’t always understand, but they’re still funny.

S: The project has helped me understand the growth of dentistry over time. And it is unique. Aside from actually touching these books and trying to restore them to the best possible condition, we’re also looking at the past and can see how the field has grown as well as predict where it is heading.

What surprised you or what have you learned from being involved in this project?

K: I’m surprised that some of the books are in really great condition yet they’re from hundreds of years ago. It’s really incredible that they’ve lasted so long. Also, some of the techniques and instruments that were

developed and used in the past are pretty similar to the techniques and instruments that we use now. There’s one book with a page full of hand instruments like a hoe, hatchet, and pliers.

S: I’ve learned a lot about anomalies just by looking at the pictures and the drawings that we have at our fingertips through the rare book collection. We might be given a general overview of something in Anatomy or GDS, but these books have given me a better understanding of it.

Dean Spielman has mentioned that this is probably one of the most extensive collections of books about dentistry in the world. In your opinion, what are some of the most interesting books available in the collection?

K: Definitely Fauchard! That’s probably Dean Spielman’s most prized possession since we have all of the editions. We have a book by Eustacian, the one who discovered the Eustachian Tube, and the G.V. Black books, Miller’s theory. There’s also a book about toothbrush patents over 200-300 years. They look really cool and it’s interesting because toothbrushes haven’t changed that much.

S: And to see how many patents there are – it’s just a huge volume!

K: There are also a lot of books and pamphlets from dental schools from 200 years ago, describing their curriculum and what they taught. It’s interesting to see how students like us learned dentistry back then. Dean Spielman doesn’t mention these as much, like he does the Fauchard and other famous books, but I think these are also very valuable to us.

S: Personally, the books that I really love are atlases, which have a multitude of pictures that allow readers to see how dentistry was taught and the different techniques that were once used. Some of the atlases have multiple openings and layers. Readers can see the techniques that were used and then gain a better understanding of the human body as scientists were studying it; understand what scientists thought, their theories on it; and explore the different anatomies as scientists once saw them. There are also pictures of what a dental chair looked like. It was much more comfortable back then, in my opinion! Even the mirrors; the dentists used really beautiful antique-like mirrors.

What kind of impact do you hope that the completion of this project has on either NYU students or the greater dental community?

S: I personally hope that people actually go online and read these books to get a fuller understanding of their field and the history of it because it’s so enriched. There’s so much to read up on. There are some people who don’t necessarily know how complex dentistry is and/or people who are just, you know, interested in the history of dentistry and this will be a great area for them to just click on a specific title of a book and search in their free time. I hope, education-wise, it really reaches out to the masses.

K: I like that this project will provide access to a wide audience, including NYU students, alumni, and other people who just happen to be clicking through the site. Otherwise, these books are just behind a locked cabinet and not a lot of people have access to it.

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ADVOCACY

By Nancy Mo, Columbia ’19 2016 Washington, DC, ADPAC Extern District 2 Advocacy Chair and Chapter Organized Dentistry Chair

Tuesday, July 26. It is the night of the Republican runoff in Georgia’s 3rd congressional district. The ADPAC Team has convened at Tre Scalini, an old-fashioned Italian restaurant in Philadelphia, for a dinner reunion that has transformed into our very own watch party. ADPAC has worked hard to support Dr. Drew Ferguson, an ADA dentist member. After nearly five months since he entered the race, this is the big moment for the team.

The results are in. Congratulations, Dr. Ferguson; you are one step closer to becoming the 4th dentist in Congress! Never before has pasta with truffle oil and parmigiano tasted so good.

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Life as a summer extern for the American Dental Political Action Committee (ADPAC) came with many “firsts.” I had my first non-familial roommate: Elieza Tang, a second-year dental student at Midwestern University in Arizona and legislative co-chair of District 10; I watched my first Major League Baseball game from the private suite of an ADPAC-supported Congressman who talked about student debt over hot dogs and mac-ncheese; and I shelled my first crab at the ADPAC Board of Directors Meeting, where dentists offered me crash courses in crustacean anatomy after cringing at my ineffective use of a mallet.

The ADPAC Board Meeting was ripe with networking opportunities with the executive board, district trustees, and liaisons from other organizations. They were excited about our presence and strongly encouraged us to continue our involvement. A neat discovery that I made was that one of the district trustees, Dr. Brittany McCarthy, was an ADPAC extern back in dental school. On top of that, the ADPAC director who mentored her, Mr. Frank McLaughlin, was also present at this board meeting. (Her externship was more than 10 years ago!) From extern to trustee, from non-voting observer to voting member, Dr. McCarthy’s pursuit of leadership reaffirms just how lifelong involvement in advocacy can be. Her path, which has evolved from offering the student perspective to now representing her district as a practicing professional, shows that it is possible to balance student life, and then a practice, with active engagement in organized dentistry.

When Mr. McLaughlin (center, bottom) mentioned he had a picture with Dr. McCarthy (left, bottom) at a Baltimore Orioles game, I had to juxtapose it with a picture with our Congressman at a Washington Nationals game.

While there have been multiple ADPAC directors and externs throughout the years, the mission of the externship has remained constant.

Once referred to as “Health Policy Externs,” ADPAC externs are selected by the ASDA Board of Trustees for a multi-week experience at the Washington, DC, ADA office to learn about lobbying, fundraising, and political processes.

The legislative and fundraising events were front-loaded in my externship. Meeting over 15 members of Congress in the first three days roughly demanded breakfast, two lunches, dinner, a post-dinner social, and spontaneous “meet-andgreets.” Uber in, Uber out. We scrambled to research every member’s state, voting record, and political positions in order to frame our conversations about the important issues that dental

students and dentists face. I quickly learned that demonstrating expertise in an area does not correspond to inundating our members with facts. Rarely did informing them about the bill number (“Post-Grad Act HR 4223”) help. On the other hand, strategically using facts, such as “dental students graduate with an average debt upwards of $240,000,” coupled with our individual stories, was helpful. The way that Ms. Sarah Milligan, our ADPAC director, was able to so seamlessly weave her agenda into and extract information about congressional activities from casual conversations, sometimes small talk, was impressive.

Ms. Milligan’s skills developed through her repeated experiences on Capitol Hill.

In a comparable but smaller-scaled fashion, by the end of day one, I noticed that I slurred less when I introduced myself and I became more open to initiating dialogue with the representative next to me. Part of this developing confidence was experiencing the thrill of these fast-paced interactions. But, more substantially, it stemmed from recognizing the value of being students in rooms saturated with lobbyists.

Students are new faces with fresh enthusiasm and energy. Our views can influence and be influenced. Our anecdotes have impact. We are the futures that will bear the effects of the legislation that these congressional members are voting on right now.

Every year, about 3,000 bills that have direct or indirect impact on dental practice and patients are introduced into Congress.

As one of the nation’s largest healthcare PACs, ADPAC provides a bipartisan “One Voice United” for more than 150,000 dentists. It raises money and distributes contributions to support and elect leadership in Congress in order to protect ADA interests for our profession. It promotes political education and grassroots advocacy through Engage Alerts and mobilizing local dentists. As an extern, I caught a glimpse of what happens behind the scenes: paving political roads and appealing to candidates who will give us a strong voice up top.

The impact of exposing students to advocacy during their education is essential for nurturing lifelong involvement. As

Mr. Peter Aiello, the ADPAC Grassroots and Online Advocacy manager, stressed to me, students should be involved because members listen to us.

The patients that we will advocate for as dentists represent their constituents.

What most resonated with me from talking with Mr. Aiello was the idea that if we distance ourselves from politics, everything stays stagnant; change does not happen from sitting back. Some actions that students can take to stay informed are: subscribe to Engage Alerts; seek out lobbying experiences on all levels; meet with their district representatives; attend the 2017 National Dental Student Lobby Day (integrated with the ADA Washington Leadership Conference); and register to vote.

Advocacy is the backbone of ASDA and ADA. My ADPAC externship was nothing short of eye-opening. It gave me perspective about an essential side of dentistry that is not built into our traditional dental curricula. It reaffirmed the value of taking advantage of my identity as a student to stay informed and actively engaged.

ADVOCACY

Having an Impact on the Future of Dentistry: An Introduction to Organized Dentistry

By Michelle Callahan, Buffalo ’18 District 2 & Chapter Legislative Liaison

This past June, along with representatives from Columbia, NYU, Rutgers, and Stony Brook, I had the opportunity to attend the New York State Dental Association’s New Dentist Conference at the Annual House of Delegates meeting in Brooklyn, New York. We spent the weekend, attending various sessions that spanned from legal matters and risk management to treatment planning for cosmetic dental cases. Additionally, we had the opportunity to sit in on portions of the House of Delegates proceedings during which District 2 Trustee Sara Jo Perrone provided the delegates with a status report about ASDA District 2’s accomplishments and goals for the upcoming year.

Over the past few years, NYSDA has made a strong and effective effort to engage with dental students and ASDA. They increased the number of student voting delegates from one to two, added a student member to the NYSDA Council of Ethics, and invited students to attend their New Dentist Conference. These important actions symbolize the work that NYSDA is doing to strengthen its relationship with ASDA and to demonstrate to students how much sharing ideas and participating in organized dentistry are valued.

NYSDA continues to work diligently to connect with current students and recent graduates, emphasizing the importance of their involvement because without their involvement the impact of these organizations would wane. For NYSDA and the ADA to remain the strong voices they are in advocating for our profession and the patients we serve, it is important to increase membership and to reverse the downward trends we are continually hearing about when it comes to enrollment in these influential organizations. Hopefully, by increasing engagement with students prior to graduation, students will remain involved in organized dentistry throughout their careers, so as the Baby Boomer generation of dentists begins to retire there are energetic and passionate young dentists ready to take over and continue defending our profession and fighting to protect our patients.

But what exactly is NYSDA and why is it important? The New York

State Dental Association is a division of the American Dental Association that represents and provides benefits to over 13,000 New York State dentists.

The organization works with state and national legislators to develop or co-sign legislation that will help to strengthen and improve the dental profession; sets ethical standards that state dentists must abide by; and works to advance the profession. Furthermore, NYSDA and the ADA provide benefits to member dentists, including CE (Continuing Education) courses, legal and contract advice, and the opportunity to participate in outreach programs such as Dentistry Smiles on Veterans.

The NYSDA’s and ADA’s efforts to convey the concerns of dentistry and the concerns of our patients at the state and national level are furthered by the American Dental Political Action Committee (ADPAC). This PAC is dedicated to giving a voice to the interests of dental students, dentists, and patients. As a bipartisan organization, ADPAC monitors legislation that has the ability to effect the dental profession, lobbies lawmakers, and supports candidates that run for office who are supportive of our interests.

Successful efforts of organizations such as NYSDA and ADPAC include securing a two-year suspension of the Medical Device Tax and passing legislation such as the Aid to Localities Budget Bill. The Medical Device Tax would have increased the cost of dental care and we hope that the delay will buy time to find a more permanent solution. On the other hand, the Localities Budget Bill provides a $250,000 grant to the New York State Dental Foundation’s charitable endeavors in Article 28 facilities.

In addition to being a member of organizations, such as ASDA, ADA, NYSDA, and ADPAC, who advocate for our profession, we can also directly advocate for the dental profession by voting. It is our responsibility to ensure that we do our best to elect officials who will look kindly on the dental profession. This past June, Dr. Richard Mounce, an ADA member, lost his bid for the South Dakota State Legislature by a mere 15 votes.

Cases such as this drive home the point that every single vote counts and that you can make a difference. Register to vote and be a dental voter!

Pints with a Penchant for Perspective

By Winston Liu, Buffalo ’16

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t’s a Tuesday night. I sit on my couch, lounging, with “The Voice” in the background. A pint of white ale sits on the end table. The gentle bubbles rise rapidly to the top of the glass. I reminisce about the year floating by just as quickly. “35 days,” I say to myself. I’m half-filled with excitement about a new journey and half-saddened by the thought of being far away from some of my best friends.

D4 life is excellent. Mostly.

This painted picture of peace has some merit.

Yet, at the same time, it is tremendously false for some. There are a number of things running through a D4’s mind. Will I graduate on time?

How late after commencement will I need to stay to finish my cases? Where can I find a class II lesion for a licensure exam? And the biggest concern for all of us: who will I discuss the latest, craziest cases with, if not with my closest dental friends?

Fourth year seems like an anomaly. Unlike the first three years of dental school, which consisted of collective misery, D4 provides

varying degrees of stress. While most of us are fortunate to be settled into a relaxed routine, a handful of seniors are just starting, or are in the early stages of, removable prosthesis preparation or fabrication. The result: almost all of these students will need to stay much later into May, and possibly early June, to complete requirements. This can be a tear-inducing and stressful reality. The fate of these students is largely in the hands of luck and at the mercy of school policy. Neither of these can be controlled. There is a palpable aura of uncertainty as commencement approaches.

This is not the case for every student. The majority of our class has met requirements or is on track to graduate on time. As we have learned, misery loves company. Thankfully, it is the company of our classmates that has brought a smile to the faces of those staying through the summer months to complete their patient cases.

I am going to miss this cult called “dental school.” I will miss the friendships I have made

in the past four years. Current students in every year share a bond that runs trigeminal nervedeep. The class of 2016 is no exception.

Looking back, we have dedicated endless hours with strained, watering eyes to the cross sections of gross anatomy cadavers. We’ve spent months in B28 and have likely developed lung problems from the lack of ventilation. We miraculously managed to treat patients while studying for eight quizzes and exams every week as a D3. With each passing semester, the goal of graduation and of achieving a lifelong dream comes closer to reality. It is almost unbelievable to think that the light at the end of the tunnel is now only steps across a stage.

What lessons have I learned during the socalled “best year of your dental school career?”

I took away these pearls of wisdom:  enjoy the stress;  thrive on new challenges;  and embrace your friends.

For many of us, this is the last academic year we will ever experience. Frankly, I am going to miss it. Most members of the 2016 class have been through over two decades of schooling.

Let us take a step back. Join me on my couch for a pint. Let us toast: not to the end of four taxing years, but rather to new beginnings and old friendships that will always endure. *Originally published in The UB Impression Spring Edition; Volume 5

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Playing in a Band While in Dental School

By Ben Wang, Columbia ’19 Chapter Newsletter Editor-and-Chief

Each month, students at Columbia University Medical Center come together for a showcase of music, dance, and other artistic talents at Coffeehouse. More than just a study break with free food and refreshments, Coffeehouse provides an important outlet for busy and stressed students to kick back for a bit and share the company of one another. The acts include performers from across all years and schools at Columbia. I had the pleasure of catching up with Daria Vasilyeva, Shawn Gutman, and Richard Clough — three D2s at Columbia who make up the band, “Overjet.”

What was the story behind the forming of your band?

Daria: Sleep deprivation and vanity brought us together.

Shawn: Richard and I used to jam a lot during our first semester, but it was boring playing with just drums and a guitar. Then Daria came out of nowhere one day and said, “Hey I’m good at piano, can I play with you guys?” The rest is history.

Richard: It all started with the decision on whether to bring my acoustic or electric guitar to dental school. Somehow I ended up with the Les Paul [electric guitar] in my stuff. I threw out a post to the class one day looking for anyone that played drums, bass — pretty much anything — and Shawn answered the call. After a few awesome days playing some extremely trebleand drum-heavy Blink-182 and other ’90s throwbacks, Shawn and I realized we were seriously lacking balance in the music. I think it sounded something like “Hey, Daria is like amazing at piano, lets give her a call.” It took about three seconds of hearing Daria play to realize she was a must-have member in what would become “Overjet.”

Why did you all decide on the name “Overjet”?

D: We thought it would be a subtle way to combine a secret curtsy to all those in the know and a neutral enough band name to not raise any suspicions. Key word - “subtle.” We are very subtle.

S: We wanted to make sure that once we become rich and famous that we will never forget where we came from.

R: Aside from sounding like a totally amazing name for a rock band, I feel like it was something we had just heard in class that sounded more like a name for a cool band than a dental term. The sound of it was chocolaty and velvety to hear, and 22

we knew it represented us perfectly. Somewhere in the 24 hours before our first performance I think we settled on it.

Can you each describe your past experiences with music?

D: Shawn was born with drumsticks in his hands.

S: Contrary to popular belief I wasn’t actually born with drumsticks in my hand. I did start playing drums in high school. I had a band with friends in high school called the “Angry Dragonflies” and we wrote a song called “Smuckers” (check YouTube for the music video and watch multiple times to get that view count up).

R: “You have to start with the piano” was the story I got from my parents from day one about playing music. So a few years into piano lessons came saxophone, and finally at 16, I got my first guitar. I still love that thing and once saw it survive a fire, but that’s a different story. Somewhere in college I managed to save enough money to get myself an electric and that’s when I really got into playing the guitar. I still love playing any instrument I pick up, I’ll still make an attempt at saxaphone and try to keep up with my piano (I’m an absolute novice compared to Daria), but guitar is the one that really allows me to enjoy myself and play in front of people. Singing was something I messed around with from time to time but never really thought I was any good at. I sang once or twice with a band in high school, but when Daria and Shawn said we needed a singer for a song, I just said “Let me try it.” It just kind of happens from there.

Can you describe your song selection/ rehearsal process?

D: There are times when we lock ourselves in music room A for 48 hours straight and brainstorm until something good comes out.

S: We know what we are. We try to play songs that the people will know because that makes playing infinitely more fun. If our name wasn’t “Overjet” I think it would be “The Crowd Pleasers.”

R: “Overjet” is all about making people happy, making them smile and seeing them sing along.

All we really do is think of songs that make us happy or give us good memories, and try to make some smiles in the crowd with our renditions.

Did you ever imagine yourself playing in a band in dental school?

D: Sometimes you don’t imagine — you just do it.

I don’t think “Overjet” is a result of an imagination process. We saw the opportunity and seized the day. And here we are.

S: Not at all! Playing with Richard and Daria gives me an extra thing to look forward to when school gets overwhelming.

R: I had a quiet hope when I grabbed my electric over my acoustic, but I never really considered that it would become a reality. I would have to echo Daria that we didn’t think this would happen.

It just sounded great that first time the three of us played together, and we thought, “Hey, let’s keep doing this.”

What is your favorite part about being in “Overjet”?

D: It’s a good way to pretend school doesn’t exist.

S: Knowing how many lives we change and souls we lift when we play our music.

R: The look on Daria and Shawn’s faces after we really feel like we killed a song. It’s amazing to see how much the crowd enjoys things, but even better is that mutual feeling the band gets when we do something awesome.

A Case for Mindfulness in a Mindless World

By Ilon Choai, NYU ’19

I

t’s 10 pm on a Sunday. You’ve amassed 13 unread emails over the weekend that include the details of your professor’s announcements, outreach opportunities, warnings of construction in certain areas of campus, and even your quirky uncle who hasn’t heard from you in seven months. You know that you should read through them before the week starts, and you become increasingly devoured by the week’s tasks and hectic schedule with each moment. While all of this logically registers in your mind, the only thing you want to do is zone out to some TV show or cook yourself a meal that provides half decent nutrition. You’ve tried to enjoy your weekend, but each buzz from your phone is another nagging reminder that someone out there is trying to tell you something, and a cue that you could be allocating your time in a more “productive” manner, leading to sensations of guilt.

For some, this hypothetical scenario is quite mild. Participating in such a rigorous lifestyle has caused many students to devolve at an alarming rate.

Students have experienced serious bouts of depression and anxiety, emotional exhaustion, burnout, in addition to a multitude of other issues (Galan, RiosSantos, Polo, Rios-Carrasco, & Bullon, 2014). As future dental practitioners, we are expected to maintain a certain level of emotional stability. However, in 2016, our deep-seated technological dependence fosters emotional and mental states of distress. In addition, these nagging stressors accumulate and rear their ugly heads in different areas of our lives. It can amass to an inherent unhappiness, lashing out at loved ones, relationship issues, or even physical symptoms.

Welcome to the “Attention Economy”. Your attention is required in order to be converted into a physical action, such as completing an assignment or reading certain material. Many refer to this term with respect to the content we consume, and very rarely is it used in the context of education, especially a more rigorous program such as dental school. Our professors can shout at us electronically with ease, regardless of the hour or day. In addition to the rigors of studying, we are expected to complete online assignments and examinations by certain off-hour deadlines. Our phones and laptops are not only devices that allow seamless communication and media consumption. They are also a nonstop liaison between our faculty and our brains. We are always on the clock, and even when we attempt to take time to decompress and unwind, our phones are buzzing. If one is brazen enough to turn off or silence the device, the mind clings to the thought of missing an important announcement or deadline.

While this era exudes a façade of hyper productivity, it is organized mindlessness. We are constantly on call, but never in touch; Always available, yet never present. In an endless state of mindlessness, we are punishing ourselves mentally and, consequently, physically. It is increasingly more difficult to stay mindful in such tech-driven chaos.

Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, professor of medicine emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, is a national best-selling author on the topic of mindfulness. During an interview with TIME magazine, Dr. Kabat-Zinn defines mindfulness as “awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally. It’s about knowing what is

on your mind.” (Szalavitz, 2012) This type of attention is handicapped while participating in the “Attention economy”. Our minds cannot pay attention to the present moment when it is preoccupied by buzzing notifications, and nagging reminders, emails, announcements, appointments, and text messages.

Many meditation techniques are based on the practice of mindfulness.

Dr. Kabat-Zinn’s definition may invoke an image of someone who is sitting on a pillow with their legs crossed, eyes closed, and dressed in a Tibetan monk’s robe. While meditation can be practiced this way, it can be done almost anywhere, and without becoming spiritual or entrenched in eastern religion or philosophy.

Well, enough of explaining what mindfulness is, and why it’s imperative to practice. Let’s take a moment to practice what it feels like to be mindful.

The Breath Pay attention to the sensations of breathing. You can do this with your eyes opened or closed. Breathe in through the nose, and out through the mouth.

What does each body part feel like? Track the movements, be in touch with the rhythm of your body.

Contact While Sitting When sitting in a chair, or anywhere in general, take a moment to notice the contact points between your body and whatever it is you are sitting on. Do you feel the contact in your feet? Do you feel it in your butt? Are your elbows in your lap or are they touching the chair?

Full Body Scan Close your eyes and imagine a scanner going from the top of your head down to your toes. Notice what areas feel comfortable, and what areas are uncomfortable or tense. Instead of focusing on the tense areas as “bad,” just label it as “tense” without judgement, and continue to scan. This is an objective exercise rather than creating a good versus bad mentality.

You may find that when the mind is left without constant stimulus, thoughts can appear in a reflexive fashion. This is nothing to be alarmed about, and many often reject these thoughts as barriers to their practice. Instead of fighting the thoughts, think of them as water flowing through the drain.

Furthermore, the analogy of water flowing down a drain as a way to describe intrusive thoughts during mindfulness can be extended to a general philosophy that can nurture positive thinking habits. The late and great Bruce Lee shared a similar mantra: “You must be shapeless, formless, like water.

When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend.” (Lee, 1971) Our world is becoming increasingly demanding due to technology and the inability to be within communicative reach. If one allows these unforgiving tides to instill a mindless perspective, they will undoubtedly feel the consequences. Remaining present and kind to self is of the utmost importance, and the only thing that prevents us from mindfulness is our own distraction.

SOURCES Galan, F., Rios-Santos, Jv., Polo, J., Rios-Carrasco, B., & Bullon, P. (2014). Burnout, depression and suicidal ideation in dental students. Medicina Oral Patología Oral y Cirugia Bucal. doi:10.4317/medoral.19281 Szalavitz, M., & Szalavitz, M. (n.d.). Q&A: Jon Kabat-Zinn Talks About Bringing Mindfulness Meditation to Medicine | TIME.com. Retrieved July 20, 2016, from http:// healthland.time.com/2012/01/11/mind-reading-jon-kabat-zinn-talks-about-bringing-mindfulness-meditation-to-medicine/ A quote by Bruce Lee. (n.d.). Retrieved July 20, 2016, from http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/163198-you-must-be-shapeless-formless-like-water-when-you-pour

Q & A with James Wanamaker: Participating in Organized Dentistry James Wanamaker, Buffalo ’16, is former ASDA Chair for the Council on Advocacy

Who brought you into ASDA? What did you think it was about? How does that differ from how you feel now as you walk away?

James: I was first introduced to ASDA by then District 2 Trustee and Chapter President Lauren Vitkus. She picked me to attend National Dental Student Lobby Day as a D1. It was at NLC that I developed my passion for advocacy and protecting our profession. As a D1, I was amazed at the knowledge our student leaders had and the way they spoke with such confidence. I never thought I could do the same. Once I got back, Buffalo alumni and ADA leaders Dr. Richard Andolina and Dr. Bill Calnon both mentored me. They helped me gain the tools to become one of the leaders that had always impressed me. Being a part of something bigger than yourself to improve the whole is what kept me involved.

As I step away now, I recognize that the tools ASDA provides are available to all of us. You just have to take advantage of them.

ASDA leadership turns over every year.

You’ve seen four ECs/BoTs. You’ve seen the same changes in Buffalo. What has changed and what has stayed the same?

chapter level, each group of leaders brings new direction and ideas. Last year, we made great strides in advocacy and with our newsletter.

This year, the wellness campaign is directed by new, up-and-coming leadership. New leaders emerging each year keep us moving forward as an organization, but our overall mission has not changed. ASDA’s goal is still to advance the rights, interests, and welfare of dental students while promoting lifelong involvement in organized dentistry, education, and advocacy.

What are your next steps with organized dentistry?

J: I will be serving on the ADA workgroup for the merging of the ADA’s Washington Leadership Conference and ASDA’s National Dental Student Lobby Day. This unprecedented combined event will bring over 1,000 dentists and dental students to the Capitol to advocate for the dental profession and our patients. In June, I also plan on getting involved on a local level with NYSDA’s Fifth District dental society in Syracuse, New York. Finally, I will remain engaged as an alumnus with ASDA both nationally and locally.

What do you want your legacy to be?

J: One of the biggest challenges we face as a national organization, as well as here at Buffalo, is our leadership turnover. While this is a challenge, it also is an opportunity. On a

J: The Harvard Business School definition of leadership is “making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact

lasts in your absence.” It is this “impact” that I sought to make in the past year. I aimed to empower others to lead on a chapter level, and nationally on the Council of Advocacy. With the quick turnover of leaders in ASDA, mentoring our successors is vital. This year, Buffalo will have three national leaders in Jordan, Sara, and Stephen. This is more than any other school, which I believe is a testament to Buffalo’s extensive network of alumni ADA leaders and administrative support.

My other goal was to increase the influence of ASDA’s Lobby Day. This year we had over 305 Congressional and Senate meetings scheduled compared to last year’s 159 appointments. Not only will the increase in meetings spread our message about student debt reform and access to care, but it will also keep ASDA well-positioned as we prepare for the merger with the ADA’s Lobby Day.

What will you miss most?

J: I will miss spending time with the dozens of other leaders who became my close friends over the years. I will also miss the energy from my classmates at Buffalo events. While my official roles in ASDA are coming to a close, my next steps are just beginning. * Originally published in The UB Impression Spring Edition; Volume 5

Pre-Dental Corner: The Dental School Interview

By Lexi Lippe, Stony Brook ’18 District 2 Pre-Dental Coordinator Chapter Vice President

Congratulations! You have been invited for a dental school interview. What happens now?

Get excited. Each interviewing committee takes the time to review individual applications and only a select few are invited to interview.

Receiving an invitation to interview means this school is interested in getting to know who you are aside from what they already know through your application. It is up to you to show them that you can exceed their expectations of what you are on paper.

The main goal of interviewing is to prove that you have personal skills, you are likable, you

can have conversation, and most importantly, you have a passion for dentistry and an urging desire to attend that specific dental school!

Interviewing faculty want to see that you have the maturity to be a professional in the future and that you will be dedicated to the profession of dentistry, as well as to your patients. They want to see that you can provide patients with the best possible experience when they come into your office. The way you treat your patients is a reflection on yourself as well as the dental school you are attending.

Before Your Interview Day It is important to be prepared. Research the dental school you are interviewing for. Have a general idea of the topics that will be asked of you. Be prepared to show interest and involvement in that particular dental school. To the right are top interview questions that are likely to be asked during your interview.

On The Day of The Interview Arrive early or on time. Dress professionally. Be sure to introduce yourself to the admissions staff and your fellow interviewees. Confidence is key. It is normal to be nervous, but it is essential to maintain your composure, and most importantly, to be yourself.

ASDA Involvement: Being involved with ASDA is a great subject to speak about during your interview. What have you done through ASDA, have you attended any national events? What did you learn, how did this influence your desire to pursue dentistry?

Interviewers will find it impressive that you are familiar with ASDA and that you are utilizing all of the resources that ASDA has to offer to pre-dental students.

It is important to be familiar with current events and key issues in dentistry as well. ASDA offers numerous publications including ASDA News, Mouth, and other e-newsletters that can be found on the ASDA website. These aid you in becoming knowledgeable about current events in dentistry.

Other Important Information Know your application and your personal essay. If there are any grades on your transcript that are listed as a C or lower, or unsatisfactory, be able to explain reasoning behind them. Include how you have learned and grown from these grades. Be able to expand upon your essay and all of the information in your application, including extracurricular activities.

All of this being said, remember that the interview is not made to be a scary or negative experience. Be aware that as much as you are trying to impress the interviewers and staff, they too are trying to impress you with the facilities, friendliness of the staff, etc. It is your responsibility to determine if this particular dental school would be a good fit for you to attend, and the faculty is trying to provide you with that feeling.

Do not be afraid to ask questions. Allow yourself to learn as much as possible about that school. This will aid in making the right decision of which dental school is the best fit for you to attend for the next four years!

Frequently Asked Interview Questions Remember that the interview is made to be a conversation. The interviewer will only ask more difficult questions if they see that you cannot flow with their conversation. Be familiar with these top interview questions and how you would answer them about yourself.

Why dentistry?

This is the most frequently asked question in interviews and can be asked in a variety of ways.

“Why dentistry?”; “Why do you want to be a dentist?”; “What made you interested in dentistry?”; etc. The main goal of this question is to explain your reasoning without sounding too rehearsed. Be honest with your answer. Give examples of what you have seen so far regarding dental work and why you are interested.

Tell me about yourself.

This is also one of the most common questions asked during an interview, and can be asked by the interviewer as a conversation opening. This type of question can sway any way you want it to, but it is important to highlight what you want them to know about you. Examples of what to talk about can include your strengths, upbringings, or something that is not listed in your application or personal statement.

Why do you want to attend our dental school?

This is another very important question and is something that you should be showing throughout your entire interview day. Take the time to research the school that you are interviewing at before your interview day. Come up with questions relating to that specific dental school. This can be regarding anything such as their clinic, location, programs offered, etc. This will show that you are interested in that particular dental school over others and it is something that interviewers look for.

What are some of your strengths?

Most of these questions will be worded in a way that you can respond by talking about the strengths you have. Be able to list at least three strengths, including examples. How can your strengths define you becoming a dentist? What can you bring to dentistry?

Tell me about your shadowing experiences.

This question will give you the opportunity to expand upon your experiences while shadowing. What did you like, and what did you dislike? It will give the interviewer an idea of what you have seen so far, and how much you have shadowed. Do not feel pressured with this question. The interviewer is well aware that you do not have great knowledge about working in dentistry. He/she wants to see that you have experienced enough to know that dentistry is the career for you, and that you are determined to pursue it.

If you are not accepted by any dental program this year, what would you do?

This can be a tricky question. The key to this question is to prove to the interviewer that you are determined to get into dental school. This is what you want more than anything else. If you do not get into a dental program this year, you can take a year to improve your resume in some way or another. This can be by accomplished by taking more courses to raise your GPA if needed, retaking the DAT to improve your score if needed, or by adding more to your resume through volunteer work, shadowing, dental assisting, research, working in a dental lab, etc. There is always room for improvement and if you want to go to dental school, you will be determined to improve yourself until you get accepted.

Do you want to specialize?

This can be a tricky question to answer as well. The key here is to explain that you are open-minded and want to see what interests you when learning it in dental school, even if you already think you want to pursue a certain specialty.

Do you have any questions for me?

This is very important; you should always be prepared to ask your interviewer questions. If you are not sure what to ask, it is safe to go with open-ended What are some of your weaknesses? questions that will allow him/her to carry the This question can be tricky. Be able to list three conversation. This can even be by asking personal weaknesses you have. Have an example of a failure questions relating to the interviewer. These types of in the past and how you overcame it. When questions will show that you are interested in their speaking on this topic, be able to turn the negative program. Examples include: “What do you love most into a positive. Explain how you have changed from about this dental school?”; “What do you dislike most this negativity and how you have learned and about this dental school?”; and “What made you improved from it. interested in becoming a faculty at this dental Tell me something that is not on your application. school?”

A response to this question is self-explanatory. This can be anything from what you have done after you applied to dental school, or anything else in particular that you want to share that is not specifically included in your application.

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