Dental students need to drill.
Seniors at the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine are seeking patients to serve as subjects for their licensure examination. The exam, given by the North East Regional Board (NERB), will take place the week of Feb. 13.
A screening test was held on Jan. 25 to search for patients who met the examination requirement: "very small cavities on specific teeth," according to a Jan. 17 e-mail from Mark Gonthier, Associate Dean for Admissions and Student Affairs at the Dental School.
Gonthier notified Tufts students via e-mail of the opportunity to sit for the exam and receive free dental care in return.
The screening examination included seven x-rays and an assessment of each patient's overall oral health.
"The patients are screened for sub-gingival calculus detected with an 11/12 explorer and for a Class II restoration need," Janet Markell, an Administrative Assistant in the Dental Clinical Affairs department, said.
This screening was only available to Tufts students.
"Over 126 prospective candidates signed up and 155 D'06 students signed up to participate in the screening," Markell said.
The examination lasted approximately an hour in length. Upon concluding the process, all candidates were supplied with a free toothbrush, toothpaste, and a Crest Whitestrips Home Care Kit.
Tufts Dental School generally holds one screening per year.
"On occasion, we have held [screenings] on Saturday for the general public. Most candidates who participate are not acceptable patients for the NERB exam," Markell said.
Both Boston University and Harvard Dental School also hold free screenings.
Individuals who meet the criteria will sit the half-day licensing exam on either Feb. 16 or Feb. 17. In return for their time, the patients will qualify for free tooth bleaching at the School of Dental Medicine's predoctoral clinic, Gonthier wrote in his e-mail.
In order to obtain the free bleaching, the individuals must first become patients of record of the School of Dental Medicine.
"This requires a comprehensive examination (more extensive than the initial screening examination) and a full set of x-rays at the clinic," Gonthier wrote - a free process for Tufts students.
"Patients come to our school because of the excellent quality of care they receive here," Markell said. All the students performing the work have received two years of didactic education, and one or two years in the clinical environment, she said. The work is performed under the direction of faculty.
According to Markell, students sitting the licensing examination complete a written portion, an exam on a manikin head, a periodontology procedure, and a restorative procedure.
This year, 169 students will sit the exam, and will be granted three chances to pass all portions. "I'd say 96 percent pass on the first try," Markell said.
In addition to the NERB examination, all dental students must clock a certain amount of practical experience, measured in "points," prior to graduation.
"Each dental procedure has an associated point which is given to the student upon completion of that procedure. For example, a complete denture-maxillary is 12 points," Markell said. Students must amass 1000 points.
Third-year dental student Brian Hoffman said that he still had doubts about some portions of the exam and is uncertain of procedures he will be asked to perform.
"The NERB practice sessions in the pre-clinic, although helpful, still have us doing 3 unit bridges, which I understand are no longer a part of the NERB," he said.
Hoffman said that by the time he sits for the examination next year, he will have been working on real patients for over two years.
"After I gain my license, I plan to move to Florida and begin learning the business of being a dentist, hopefully with a solid foundation to build on, given to me from Tufts," he said.
