Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) - Expectation vs. Reality

Entering into a professional line with a particular and expected result, and encountering a somewhat different ending is indeed disappointing and to avoid it, one should be mentally prepared for it! Budding and aspiring dentists enter the academic journey of Bachelor of Dental Surgery, visualizing themselves as excited dental students. But once they enter the real world, all the fantasies drown deep into the water!

This does not in any way indicate that it is a bad trip, one just has to be mentally prepared for the same.

I recall when I was in my first year, I kind of got disappointed with the curriculum as it was largely similar to that of MBBS students. I didn't feel anything exclusive being a dental student, as I expected to study teeth straight from day one! But gradually, I realized that it was an important part of my studies as it laid a strong foundation for my future studies.

As the years went by, I eventually started gaining more and more knowledge about dentistry, but at the same time, my expectations kept rising! Imagining myself amidst patients, waiting for me to check their oral cavities was one of the biggest ones! Learning more and more about dental health made me more confident that I would be able to deal with a wide variety of patients, but at the same time kept me unaware of the fact, that handling patients outside the books and dummies is way more different and difficult.

Getting patients for merely cleaning as well was not easy. I remember we had to roam around the entire campus just to convince people to be our patients so we could practice and hone our skills. Due to ethical reasons, of course, we couldn't even disclose that they are just for our practice. Still, at times all these efforts went in vain. During practical examinations, wherein we have to showcase what we have learned so far we did not get patients easily! More than the actual exam, a harder task was to find the patient for the same. It won't be surprising to disclose that at times due to helplessness, we have used our colleagues as patients too!

This was the most distinguishing point between my expectation and reality. The purpose and intention of joining BDS were definitely to get patient exposure after gaining theoretical knowledge, but unfortunately as dental students, we never got it to the fullest.

Even after graduating, it was not a smooth journey! Clinics and hospitals would never risk their reputation by hiring freshers initially. After a so-called distant journey from patients, I personally expected to learn in the real world, but the reality was something else. To get and join a clinic was a struggle on its own.

Although the reality has been a completely different story from our pre-conceived notions about dentistry which left most of us disappointed, today at this stage when I retrospect, I believe that was an essential part of growth. It is for students like me to realize that whatsoever our goal, life is never just a cakewalk, but a bed of thorns so we could reach the fragrant and blooming rose. The taste of the reality of life is always essential since it prepares us for upcoming adversities.

Whatsoever the differences between reality and expectations, one should never get demotivated to join dentistry. Those students are fortunate just like me who have had the courage to take the decision to join it. I do not regret it at all rather thank my stars for the moment I decided on joining the dental school.

All these points are just to prepare yourself mentally in advance so that these 5 years are not spent in sheer frustration but with strength and determination! I wish luck and love to all students who are ready to embark on this journey.

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