Today, after jaywalking at least four times, we drove down to UNC Chapel-Hill to see the Adams School of Dentistry. We met with the dean of the dental school, and he answered our questions about the school’s application process and learning environment.
Fun fact: the Adams School of Dentistry gets around 1400 applications every year, but the school only excepts less than 100 students every term!
picture: the outside of the dental school
We then met with an orthodontist who works with the school, and she taught us about the inner workings of braces and how they connect with the health of the overall head. After an introduction to the terminology of braces, she taught us how to take off and add O-rings (rubber bands) to teeth that had fake brackets on them.
top picture: the orthodontist’s slideshow that explained the debonding procedure in dentistry
middle picture: me in my “scrubs”
bottom picture: my completed o-ring set that I almost lost a finger on 😀
We then had lunch with two students, Elizabeth and Harper, and they shared their experiences with the UNC dental program. We also met one of their professors during lunch, and he told us about the teaching regimen and the free dental care opportunities the school provides for the community. Elizabeth and Harper then took us on a tour of the campus, where we got to see the clinics where the students tend to patients. (we weren’t allowed to take pictures of the clinic)
top picture: the inside of the Adams School of Dentistry
bottom picture: me and Priyanka because I panicked and thought I forgot to take pictures
After the tour ended, I went back to the office, where I got to shadow a periodontist, Dr. Van Scoyoc. He was treating a woman who’s gums grew around her dental implant – so, Dr. Van Scoyoc underwent the surgery to cut open her gums, remove the implant, and insert a screw port to prevent the gums form growing around the space again. Today was super exciting!