Manuel's Practicum Reflection Essay

For my practicum project I shadowed and assisted a general dentist. In the summer of 2021 I worked with Dr.Nilesh Kansangra D.M.D at Main Street Dental in Laurel, MD. I was pretty fortunate in how I was able to work here since Dr.Kansangra is my neighbor. However for students interested in a project similar to mine I would recommend first asking their own dentist. If that doesn't work out I have heard that simply cold calling different places in your area can be quite successful as well. For the most part dentists are willing to help out students who are interested in the field. On a typical day I would come into the office and shadow Dr.Kansangra on days when his regular dental assistant was working. On these days I would observe him doing procedures ranging from typical cleanings to dental implant surgeries and root canals. On the days when his regular dental assistant was'nt at the office I would assume this role. I would help him throughout all his procedures on the given day by assisting chairside with a suction and I would hand him tools that he needed to complete the procedure. I also used the supersonic cleaner and autoclave after the procedure to clean and sterilize the dirty instruments.

From this experience I have learned that there is so much more to dentistry than I had originally thought. I learned that the anatomy of the mouth is a lot more complex than I could have imagined and that every case is quite unique. I also learned that there are so many different technologies that dentists use on a daily basis. I gained an appreciation for the amount of knowledge that dentists need to successfully complete their cases. I also gained an appreciation for learning in general because I have learned that in this field you are always constantly learning. There are always new tools and technology coming out that makes procedures easier and more efficient and there are also different techniques to doing procedures that allow them to go smoother.

This experience has not modified my future plans at UMCP or post-bachelors. I came into this project because I was interested in going to dental school after graduation. A major take away from this experience is that I do indeed enjoy dentistry and I am eager to learn lots more about it. Nothing that I experienced put me off from dentistry, everything just made me want to know more. For example now I am interested in observing dentists in certain specialties such as orthodontics.

Last modified: 10 May 2022