
As a third-year dental student stepping into the clinic, the transition from classroom learning to hands-on patient care is both exhilarating and demanding. The structured chaos of clinic life becomes the norm as we balance patient care, clinical duties, and continuing education. This transition is one of the highlights of dental school; this is where the countless hours spent doing pre-clinical work have paid off. While each school has a slightly different approach to clinic, this blog post will introduce you to a typical day in the life of a dental student in clinic. See Part 1 to learn about overall dental school curriculum.
The day starts early, often before the sun rises, as we prepare ourselves for the upcoming day. Clinic appointments are divided into morning and afternoon sessions, each lasting about three hours. Our appointments are broken down into disciplines, and we book our patients in corresponding to the treatment they need. The different disciplines are – operative, prosthodontics, hygiene, oral surgery, endodontics, pediatrics, general dentistry, urgent care, diagnosis and treatment planning. These appointments are longer than typical in private practice, since as students, skills take a bit more time and more steps are involved, such as case presentations to faculty and instructors verifying work.
The students are assigned to patients who require comprehensive care or recall maintenance. Patients undergoing recall maintenance receive regular cleaning and check ups by the dental student. The comprehensive patients are under the care of dental students for their entire years in the clinic. The steps followed in comprehensive care for our patients in the clinic are broken down into multiple phases. as follows:
- Diagnosis and Treatment planning
Upon receiving a new patient assignment, the first step is to gather comprehensive information to formulate an effective treatment plan. This involves meticulous extra oral and intra oral exams, periodontal charting, creating an odontogram, and taking radiographs (x-rays) to assess the patient’s oral health status. These initial appointments are very thorough for information collection to facilitate forming a comprehensive treatment plan. The treatment plan unfolds in a systematic manner, beginning with addressing any systemic issues that may impact dental care. This may involve liaising with medical professionals to manage underlying health conditions effectively.
- Acute and emergency phase
Next comes the acute and emergency phase, where immediate dental concerns such as severe pain or trauma take precedence. Swift action and effective pain management are paramount during this phase to alleviate patient discomfort and prevent further complications.

- Disease control phase
Following acute care, we transition into the disease control phase, tackling tasks ranging from simple fillings to complex extractions. This phase focuses on restoring oral health and functionality while minimizing disease progression.
- Prosthetic phase
As the patient cases progress, we move on to elective prosthetic work, including the fabrication of crowns, dentures, and implant restorations. This phase requires precision and attention to detail are crucial at this stage to ensure optimal fit and aesthetics for our patients. Many schools give students the opportunity to practice lab work in the fabrication of prosthetics which can include pouring up impressions in stone, waxing up teeth to ideal anatomy, adding teeth to dentures, and creating temporary restorations.

Our weekly clinic schedules are diverse, encompassing appointments across various dental disciplines throughout the week. From general dentistry to periodontics and prosthodontics, we gain exposure to a wide array of dental specialties, enriching our clinical experience and broadening our skill set. Students juggle multiple other roles akin to dental assistants for our clinic partners, receptionists, and lab technicians. Each student will act as their own receptionist to organize their schedule and book their patient in each discipline, according to the work they require.
Typically students are seeing patients in the hours of 9 am – 5 pm. Outside of these hours, students are not quite done for the day. We as well balance didactic coursework, cleaning and setting up for appointments, and completing time intensive lab work.
As you venture on this journey through dental school, downtime is limited, but it is important to take time to rest and recharge. This journey is not easy, comes with a lot of stressors, but is very worth it if you have found your passion for dentistry. At Future DMD, we provide an all encompassing program that will be your #1 resource for preparing for dental school. From our Interactive Dental Shadowing Externship, Mastering the Dental Application, and Personal Statement Mastery programs, to 1-on-1 mentoring with dentists and dental students, we want to help YOU succeed along your journey.
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