A tooth is a tooth, right? Well, not in anatomy! There is more to a tooth than just being a tooth. Drawings, cartoons, and textbooks do not do the teeth justice when it comes to the number of details that are found on one tooth. For me, Dental Anatomy at times was a rough class. Especially when a tooth was put on the table and I had to be able to tell if it was maxillary or mandibular, which quad it would be found in, the number, and if it was the mesial or distal side of the tooth. All of those words on their own sound like a headache, right? But there is hope for your dental anatomy class. I want to share some tips that helped me to get a better grip on dental anatomy.
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- Follow along in class with your textbook
This may not seem like much but trust me, this helped me a ton when it came to my dental anatomy class. Following along in the book as I took notes helped me to visualize what the instructor was talking about. Dental anatomy is very visual; you need to be able to see what the teacher is talking about, especially when they talk about the landmarks on certain teeth. Also, by following along in your book, you can note down what pages the images of specific parts are on for studying purposes.
- Do not underestimate how much information you will cover and learn in the class
If you read my post on 4 Things I Wish I Knew Before Hygiene School, you would have read that I did not know how complicated teeth were until I started Hygiene School. I came from a nondental background, and the only experience I had with teeth was looking at my own in the mirror and the depiction of teeth in cartoons, which is not very accurate at all. Coming into Hygiene School with no dental background, meant learning the reality of teeth being far more complex than meet the eye. Know that you will learn many pieces of information and it may become overwhelming, but also know that it is possible for you to learn all these vital pieces of information. In Dental Anatomy, there is so much information in the class itself, like knowing the different parts of the teeth and the numbers and so on. It can become easy to fall into the rabbit hole of just reading over your notes in order to make sure you study everything for the next quiz or test. As you review your notes, try to have the book opened alongside it. This will help you to see the pictures in the book that pertains to the notes that you are reading. For example, say you are studying the different parts of a tooth. When you read about the enamel, dentin, and pulp in your notes, flip to the page in your textbook that has a picture of the different parts of a tooth. This will help you both know the different parts of a tooth, as well as identify it when given a picture to label.
- Use any open lab time wisely
When I was in dental anatomy, the class was about 3 hours long, but lecture was really only an hour to an hour and a half and the rest was lab time. I know after an intensive lecture, I just wanted to go home and relax. The homework was usually a worksheet that could be finished quickly during lab time, or at home. But at times what I failed to realize was that lab time was my chance to ask questions and really study the tooth models. For me, the most difficult part of dental anatomy was when we had to identify the individual teeth for quizzes, tests, and lab practicals. Those questions made me lose major points when I was not as prepared as I should have been. Most of the time, questions about the material can be answered in the textbook, but questions on the actual tooth models can be harder to have answered when most of the time you are not allowed to take the models home or look at them when class is not in session. Use the open lab time no matter how much you just want to go home and sleep as wisely as you can, it will definitely help you in the long run.
4) Consider investing in a tooth model
My Hygiene School did not allow models to be taken home or checked out, so I did the next best thing, purchased a tooth model from Amazon. My school used the Nissan tooth models, which are super nice. But, those models were way too expensive for me so instead I purchased a dentalmall model: https://amzn.to/3l6YJWJ Even though it was not the exact same as the ones at school, the model still helped me to be able to study and identify the different teeth. I was able to feel the individual teeth for concavities and fossas that I would have to look for when identifying them for tests, quizzes, and lab practicals. If you cannot buy a tooth model, the next best thing for me was using an app called Dental Pro in order to study the different teeth. The app allows you to see a 3D image of the teeth and move it around so you can see what it looks like from all aspects.
Dental Anatomy can be a tough class, but with hard work and dedication, you will be able to grasp the concepts and use them in clinic. The best part about dental anatomy is when you get to use it in clinic. Hope these tips helped! If you have any other useful tips that helped you in your Dental Anatomy class, place them in the comments below!
Stay Beautiful,
Priya