In two weeks I will be starting my second year of dental school. Being a second year dental student is partially cool and partially terrifying. I'm expected to know things, diagnose conditions, and work on patients. While I've learned a lot in the past year, there is still so much information to learn. They say that the more you know, the more you don't know. It's true.
I can do an amazing amalgam or composite prep. I can even do a pretty bomb crown prep. I can make you a near-perfect provisional. But I don't know how to diagnose caries and other oral health issues, much less treatment plan them. I can't interpret an x-ray proficiently. And when people ask me "hey doctor, what's wrong with my teeth?", the best answer I can give is "maybe you should go see a dentist".
Insecurities aside, I think that I'll be a lot more competent after second year. Here is a sample of the classes that we will be taking during the upcoming trimester:
Problem-Based Learning
Endodontics
Orthodontics
Pediatric Dentistry
Periodontics
Posterior Fixed Prosthodontics
Treatment Planning
Evidence-Based Dentistry
Radiology
Diagnosis
