First year survival guide

The dentalsmackers guide to surviving first year at University!

Let me break it done for you……

1. Don’t waste money on buying new recommended textbooks, upon arriving at uni you will be bombarded with lists of recommended textbooks! Firstly you will be able to borrow from the university or buy these textbooks at a reduced price from other students. Some students will even give you books for free or at least to borrow. Some textbooks can be expensive and for preclinical subjects you may only use them one week before the exam.

2. But some books are a MUST-BUY. Some books will serve as a core to not only your dental studies, but also reference for postgraduate studies and/or work. These are the bread-and-butter textbooks which are definitely worth the investment at some stage. For example Sturdevandts “Art and Science of Operative Dentistry”, although this book has too much detail for first year students, it’s the book that alot of dental professors will reference, especially for Preclinical Dentistry. You will use this book from Year 1 to the day you die. (it also has a nice piece on cariology and plaque which will be invaluable for any preventive dentistry exams). For a full list of must-buys CLICK HERE

3. Practice good communication skills. Dentistry is built on human communication and face to face contact. This is especially important for introverts. Communication builds trust and good dental knowledge and clinical skills mean nothing if you cannot gain patient trust. The best way to do this is to get out and speak to everyone everywhere i.e.cafes, bars, clubs, shops, bus stops, everywhere. You will meet people who are happy, sad, angry, shy, good, bad etc. Through this you will naturally learn how to manage people’s emotions wether including anxiety and anger which is not uncommon in dentistry.

4. Take your studies seriously. It is easy to get caught up in uni life: going out with friends, partying, socialising etc. But it is important to develop a personal philosophy on your approach to uni life. This should be centred around learning and fulfilling your course obligations first and foremost. A good habit is going the extra mile and studying ahead of a seminar or lecture, completing coursework and assignments early and attending non-compulsory lessons. You will find this approach will give you far more free time overall, and you will also be able to enjoy your free time without feeling stressed.

5. Don’t underestimate Anatomy and Preclinical Dentistry. Anatomy will ruin your life, start studying early and look over it routinely, although understanding anatomy isn’t difficult, it is the sheer volume of content that will overwhelm you if left late. Preclinical Dentistry is the core and foundation of your dental knowledge, use the practices to become acquainted with the instruments, materials and techniques. A good understanding of ‘preclin’ will shape how you develop as a dentist, which is important as there is alot of debate in dentistry across the world on the best dental theories and practices.

6. Communicate! The easiest and most unacceptable way to fail an exam or credit test is misunderstanding what is required of you. The only way to avoid this is to have a good communication with your professors and colleagues. If you don’t know something your most reliable source of information is your professor. No matter how intimidating professors they have the answers to everything you need to know!

7. Practice English. For non-native english speakers(studying in English, or considering working in English) confidence in speaking english will give you a flair to passing exams (the majority of which are oral). If you think you english skills are poor then find someone to practice with. Or even better, find a friend where you only speak English between each other.

8. Work hard, Play Hard, balance your social and academic life. If you study all day you will burn out quickly, and if you party all day your work will drown you later in the semester. A little bit of work everyday will benefit you more than trying to cram everything into one or two weeks before the exam, and conversely a little party never killed nobody.