People chose this specialty because of multiple reasons, the most obvious being that they enjoy working with children. Some enjoy the intellectual challenge of working in a constantly evolving situation. Children grow and react to stimuli at a much higher rate than adults, and treatment plans are always adapting to that. People like the ability to be silly and the ability to make a lifelong oral health impact on a child that they can then pass on to their children. Pediatric dentistry is a much broader specialty outside of dentistry. You practice more patient management and building excellent relationships with patients and their families rather than performing detailed procedures and knowing how to use 1,000 different materials.
What are the challenges faced in pediatric dentistry?
Kids aren’t as patient or understanding as adults usually are. They will not tolerate dentistry unless you use appropriate behavior management. On the other hand, you must have lots of patience and empathy to work with children. Because the procedures are simple, private practice often turns into a volume-based system, so if you’re not careful you may burn out quickly. Another challenge in pediatric dentistry is that the reimbursement rates are low, and your location may be limited to those that have growing families.
What makes a competitive applicant?
Nationally there are 2 qualified candidates for every residency position. Dr. Wood and students recommend that you be at the top of your class to show that you can handle the rigorous training. However, grades aren’t everything. Programs are looking for people with a broad experience with children in and out of dentistry, for example if you worked as a teacher or in other aspects of childcare. They want to see that you have an altruistic, kind, and patient personality, and they expect you to be able to communicate with children and their families. Some programs only accept students who have done a GPR or fellowship.
Things we wish knew before applying:
Prepare to spend a lot of money on the application and flights to interviews, reach out to current pediatric residents and alumni, and have confidence in yourself!
Things we wish we knew before interviewing:
Be prepared for an exhausting fall quarter as there isn’t much time between extracurriculars, travelling for interviews, school work and clinic. Before interview season starts look at what the interview dates for schools have been in the past as they are usually around the same time. and look at what they’ve been previous years. Avoid red eye flights if possible before interviews. Airbnb’s can be cheap and helps you prevent a red eye flight. Don’t schedule flights too tightly to the interview schedule - plan it to be half a day or a whole day earlier. Some programs only have one interview day, and so you need to take that into account when booking your flights. After the interview, go to all social events/nights if possible to get to know staff/residents/faculty, and then send thank you emails.