Only BDS students will understand these things
Dental students undergo certain unique experiences that no other student in any other stream could ever understand or experience. Though not all experiences are universal, most of them are quite universal in this field. Let me share a few of such incidents.
It’s never just ‘32 teeth’
Everyone who first learns that you are going to dental school always jokes that it’s only about 32 teeth. They never understand the struggle we go through to study the entire head and neck structure in more detail than MBBS students. We are more experienced in identifying any anomaly in the orofacial region than other streams.
The word ‘repeat’
We never knew just a word could be traumatizing. Every effort we make to create a preclinical work would get rejected without a second look. Most of them would have to start from scratch, which could be painstaking and annoying.
Instruments overload
Every procedure has a different instrument for a different purpose. We carry around a huge pouch of instruments, which also have different names. Learning these names and remembering them is more difficult. Most of the time, we invent new names which we understand among ourselves, rather than wrecking our brains over their original names. Sometimes, a completely different instrument would be used for a different purpose, as most of them would be stolen in the lab every day.
Constant pain
Pain is the constant companion throughout dental school. Bending a wire requires ultimate strength. Removing a cleaning is an entire process that takes up the whole day. Our hands are always in constant pain. Arching the back to treat patients could cause early back issues, which is a lifelong companion. This is less than the pain in our heart, shouldering the disrespect from the faculties.
Exams End, Stress Doesn’t
Theory exams? Practicals? Viva? Clinics? There’s always something next. Relaxation is temporary. Stress is permanent.
Quota!
The constant pressure and stress to complete the clinical quota is a Himalayan feat in itself. Being able to tackle these situations could mean you could survive anything in life.
You Start Noticing Everyone’s Teeth
At weddings. In movies. On Instagram. On the streets. Once a dental student, forever a silent tooth examiner.
Mistakes under microscope
Every single mistake you make is scrutinized more. You are under constant pressure to be perfect and presentable. Being covered in dental plaster is never an excuse. All instruments are supposed to be sparkling clean. Nothing you do will ever be enough.
You are an full time artist
You are required to carve wax into teeth to learn its anatomy. To create cubes out of dental stone. To patch up structures lost during impression. To fabricate anatomic structures over teeth. These artistry usually go unnoticed and undetected.
What struggles do you undergo in your medical school?
MBH/PS
. Quota and Repeat are the worst nightmare for dental students. The fun fact as you said, is that work gets rejected without a second look. I remember most of my friends submitting the same work without making any changes in it. Also, dentistry has to be the most expensive field in medical background. You have to invest a hefty amount of money in instruments and the worst part is them getting replaced or lost during the sterilization process. Third and fourth year have to be the most hectic periods. Managing patient appointments and patient visiting outside their assigned time is challenging especially in Prostho and Endo postings.
Only a dentist who has walked through anatomy books at 2 am and handled all the clinical quota completion stress truly can understand these moments. Thank you for sharing the realities of what we experience, and it is not always pretty, but it is what makes us who we are. 
