Question on U of T dental first year

[Censored]

any subjective experiences would be much appreciated..

Q1. What are the hardest courses, and the easiest courses?

a) (In terms of getting the A+)

b) Most time consuming classes to least to memorize all information

Q2. For anatomy, any tips on supplemental sources? (I.e, ackland head and neck vids, netters head and neck, are there anki cards for U of T dentistry?)

Q3. I read on this forum that some students accepted off waiting list entered class AFTER the welcome week and after classes has started. For someone who was in this position, did u feel any alienation among your peers during the program.
 

Q4. When you attempt OMFS specialization from U of T, what would be the academic/extracurricular requirement from your class of 96 students?

( I didn’t see class rank displayed... did I miss it?)

(u of t dent grades A+ and A as both 4.0. Does this have any meaning to the class rank stat?)
 

Q5. I read lots of stories about people failing certain clinical tests. Is there some way to practice this before entering first year?

 

 

[longteethgriffy]

1) Preventive dentistry probably the hardest course I've ever taken in first year. Gross anatomy compared to that was a walk in the park. 

2) You don't even need to study gross anatomy. Better off studying up on fluoride and different tooth brush techniques. 

3) We honestly don't interact with any of the waitlist kids. They aren't even allowed in the official facebook group. You better hope you don't get partnered with anyone who came off of the waiting list. You're just asking for trouble. 

4) You're probably going to have to be #1 ranked, also president or vice president of your class. They really place an importance in if you had a leading role in your class. If you're not at a 3.95 GPA after your 4th year you might as well give up. 

5) A lot of people fail our restorative practical tests in first year and end up having to repeat the course or even the year. If you want to practice, purchase your own high speed and low speed + burs and ask a dentist if you can use one of their ops for practice. If you can't do an MODL with 2 cusp caps + pins in under 30 minutes in your first year, UofT doesn't want or need you. 

[capoo]

3 hours ago, longteethgriffy said:

1) Preventive dentistry probably the hardest course I've ever taken in first year. Gross anatomy compared to that was a walk in the park. 

2) You don't even need to study gross anatomy. Better off studying up on fluoride and different tooth brush techniques. 

3) We honestly don't interact with any of the waitlist kids. They aren't even allowed in the official facebook group. You better hope you don't get partnered with anyone who came off of the waiting list. You're just asking for trouble. 

4) You're probably going to have to be #1 ranked, also president or vice president of your class. They really place an importance in if you had a leading role in your class. If you're not at a 3.95 GPA after your 4th year you might as well give up. 

5) A lot of people fail our restorative practical tests in first year and end up having to repeat the course or even the year. If you want to practice, purchase your own high speed and low speed + burs and ask a dentist if you can use one of their ops for practice. If you can't do an MODL with 2 cusp caps + pins in under 30 minutes in your first year, UofT doesn't want or need you. 

Can't tell if all of this is sarcasm or just #3 & #4...

[Censored]

5 hours ago, longteethgriffy said:

1) Preventive dentistry probably the hardest course I've ever taken in first year. Gross anatomy compared to that was a walk in the park. 

2) You don't even need to study gross anatomy. Better off studying up on fluoride and different tooth brush techniques. 

3) We honestly don't interact with any of the waitlist kids. They aren't even allowed in the official facebook group. You better hope you don't get partnered with anyone who came off of the waiting list. You're just asking for trouble. 

4) You're probably going to have to be #1 ranked, also president or vice president of your class. They really place an importance in if you had a leading role in your class. If you're not at a 3.95 GPA after your 4th year you might as well give up. 

5) A lot of people fail our restorative practical tests in first year and end up having to repeat the course or even the year. If you want to practice, purchase your own high speed and low speed + burs and ask a dentist if you can use one of their ops for practice. If you can't do an MODL with 2 cusp caps + pins in under 30 minutes in your first year, UofT doesn't want or need you. 

Thank you so much for your insightful response!

1) preventive dentistry has like 50 things to memorize, with 0.25 unit course load, the lowest possible save for pass/fail for first year dent. How did u find this so difficult during your studies? (Could u elaborate where u failed to grasp those concepts)

2)  Can u elaborate on those tooth brush techniques? I usually use my nail clippings to floss my molars. Would they fail me if I did this in U of T clinical? 

3) That’s unfortunate for the waitlist kids! How can dents be so insensitive! If there are mods out there who came off a waitlist, could you verify this? It sounds HORRIBLE to be in such situations... ostracized for four years!

4) would it be okay if I’m #3 rank? They accept up to 3 for OMFS in U of T. Oh I see where ur coming from! They must accept #1 rank applicants from other dent schools! That makes perfect sense now. But isn’t it difficult to be both president and number 1 rank?

5) I heard some specialists can extract teeth like candy. Timing would definitely a valuable asset in all clinical tests, in addition to private practice. Too bad those equips are expensive!

[Fred VanVleet's Tooth]

6 minutes ago, Censored said:

Thank you so much for your insightful response!

1) preventive dentistry has like 50 things to memorize, with 0.25 unit course load, the lowest possible save for pass/fail for first year dent. How did u find this so difficult during your studies? (Could u elaborate where u failed to grasp those concepts)

2)  Can u elaborate on those tooth brush techniques? I usually use my nail clippings to floss my molars. Would they fail me if I did this in U of T clinical? 

3) That’s unfortunate for the waitlist kids! How can dents be so insensitive! If there are mods out there who came off a waitlist, could you verify this? It sounds HORRIBLE to be in such situations... ostracized for four years!

4) would it be okay if I’m #3 rank? They accept up to 3 for OMFS in U of T. Oh I see where ur coming from! They must accept #1 rank applicants from other dent schools! That makes perfect sense now. But isn’t it difficult to be both president and number 1 rank?

5) I heard some specialists can extract teeth like candy. Timing would definitely a valuable asset in all clinical tests, in addition to private practice. Too bad those equips are expensive!

They’re not being serious 

[longteethgriffy]

#1-5 is all true what can I say. When encountering questions like this I just have to paint the whole picture like it is. 

[Mike Oxlong]

4 minutes ago, longteethgriffy said:

#1-5 is all true what can I say. When encountering questions like this I just have to paint the whole picture like it is. 

can confirm this is all 100% accurate. @longteethgriffy is a great classmate and extremely reliable. 

[Dentboyyyy]

Seriously, just take it one step at a time. Basically everyone from my class entered this year wanting to get top grades. A lot of us got over that pretty quick. In the end, becoming a good clinician is the goal, and achieving that together is much easier than alone. Just try to enjoy the process. None of our courses are too difficult individually (obviously gross and histo seem intimidating). It’s really the limited amount of time we have that makes everything harder. 

[cleanup]

Since someone doesn't want to give you a serious answer, I'll be happy to oblige.

On 11/12/2019 at 3:45 PM, Censored said:

Q1. What are the hardest courses, and the easiest courses?
a) (In terms of getting the A+)
b) Most time consuming classes to least to memorize all information
Q2. For anatomy, any tips on supplemental sources? (I.e, ackland head and neck vids, netters head and neck, are there anki cards for U of T dentistry?)
Q3. I read on this forum that some students accepted off waiting list entered class AFTER the welcome week and after classes has started. For someone who was in this position, did u feel any alienation among your peers during the program.
Q4. When you attempt OMFS specialization from U of T, what would be the academic/extracurricular requirement from your class of 96 students?
( I didn’t see class rank displayed... did I miss it?)
(u of t dent grades A+ and A as both 4.0. Does this have any meaning to the class rank stat?)
Q5. I read lots of stories about people failing certain clinical tests. Is there some way to practice this before entering first year?

1. From what I recall, for me, gross anatomy was tricky just due to the sheer volume of information. In terms of easy courses, preventive is merely annoying.

2. There will be plenty of resources to share amongst your class. There are two fraternities that have supplemental study materials, people make study cards and share them, etc. There's no reason to worry about this now. So please don't.

3. This is hit or miss. Again, not worth worrying about something that has not occurred. Orientation week can be huge, but I will say that even transfer students & IDAPP students who enter the class in second year integrate perfectly fine, so missing one week of orientation isn't going to hold you back. The mutual struggle of U of T dentistry bonds you together more than anything else.

4. From what I understand, matching to an OMFS programme is more about interest, commitment, doing externships, and speaking to people. You don't have to be a top, top student, but some US programmes will require higher grades or a high USMLE score. In Canada you just need to be really committed.

5. Nope. Don't worry about it.

Above all, you really need to stop ruminating about things that may or may not happen, and even if they do happen, have not happened yet and truly aren't worth tackling right now. All you're doing is stressing yourself out and reducing the quality of your life presently, for the sake of a completely imaginary future. Why bother?

[rmorelan]

On 11/13/2019 at 1:46 PM, longteethgriffy said:

1) Preventive dentistry probably the hardest course I've ever taken in first year. Gross anatomy compared to that was a walk in the park. 

2) You don't even need to study gross anatomy. Better off studying up on fluoride and different tooth brush techniques. 

3) We honestly don't interact with any of the waitlist kids. They aren't even allowed in the official facebook group. You better hope you don't get partnered with anyone who came off of the waiting list. You're just asking for trouble. 

4) You're probably going to have to be #1 ranked, also president or vice president of your class. They really place an importance in if you had a leading role in your class. If you're not at a 3.95 GPA after your 4th year you might as well give up. 

5) A lot of people fail our restorative practical tests in first year and end up having to repeat the course or even the year. If you want to practice, purchase your own high speed and low speed + burs and ask a dentist if you can use one of their ops for practice. If you can't do an MODL with 2 cusp caps + pins in under 30 minutes in your first year, UofT doesn't want or need you. 

I am taking this as sarcasm as well - but more serious answers did follow. 

Don't panic Never panic.....