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BDS2 Overview

Fili

Dentist 🦷
Moderator
where can I find a texbook list for BDS2?

They usually get listed in the course overview via blackboard.

Imho you don't need textbooks but if you wanted to read them for fun, you could try Health Sci library. There used to be a dropbox of digital versions of the books that got deleted for some reason. It's not worth the expense tbh, dentistry is already expensive enough.
 

M_L

Member
Can someone tell me roughly how much I need to fork out for the equipment if I get in to Dent 2nd year?
 

Fili

Dentist 🦷
Moderator
Can someone tell me roughly how much I need to fork out for the equipment if I get in to Dent 2nd year?

Dental Instruments are around $1700. We had some components missing this year so we paid around $1400-$1500. Idk when we're supposed to get those missing components tbh but yeah.

Immunity Screening (blood tests) is around $300. Any missing vaccines or immunity boosters required, you'll have to pay as well which could increase the cost by a couple of hundreds.

First Aid Course - depends on the company so not too sure. Defs check St John's or Red Cross. I used Red Cross which was probably around $200+.
 
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M_L

Member
Dental Instruments are around $1700. We had some components missing this year so we paid around $1400-$1500. Idk when we're supposed to get those missing components tbh but yeah.

Immunity Screening (blood tests) is around $300. Any missing vaccines or immunity boosters required, you'll have to pay as well which could increase the cost by a couple of hundreds.

First Aid Course - depends on the company so not too sure. Defs check St John's or Red Cross. I used Red Cross which was probably around $200+.

thanks, gee that's quite alot of money for students ay lol
 

Fili

Dentist 🦷
Moderator
thanks, gee that's quite alot of money for students ay lol

Yeah had to pretty much open up my savings account and use up the $1k student loans that I've accumulated.

But after this one, I hear there isn't a super big pay out until fourth year when you get loupes. Even then, it's still not as much as this one.
 

reverse

Lurker
1. Does DENT 261 Biomaterials involve a lot of physics?
2. Are there any helpful resources/apps you would recommend in preparation for the course or could use throughout the course?

Thanks!
 

Fili

Dentist 🦷
Moderator
1. Does DENT 261 Biomaterials involve a lot of physics?
2. Are there any helpful resources/apps you would recommend in preparation for the course or could use throughout the course?

Thanks!

1) Mainly conceptual physics and is easy enough to understand. We didn't need calculators or anything. It's mainly concepts e.g. corrosion, the pros and cons of different impression materials etc. The final exam questions were all essays if that helps - try looking at past exams for "Dent 261B" and you'll get a good idea of the things they ask. It's very different to your typical health sci and ncea physics stuff.

2) You don't need any preparation before hand. Second year walks you through things quite well and holds your hand along the way, other than biochemistry. They're slowly trying to change that paper since it's so bad that even the grad students who have done biochemistry (like myself) wonder why they're making biochemistry seem like wrote-memorisation when it should be about concepts.

Ngl the best resource is literally google. I mean the lecture slides are enough since they're just cramming a lot of biomedical sciences in one year since you never see a lot of it again *ehem bioc*, but I just used google and youtube to understand concepts.

The main thing about professional programmes are that the lecturers care. No one wants you to fail since they know that grades don't matter as much as being a good health professional that care for their patient.
 
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Squirp

Lurker
I see most of the threads in this forum a Lee a few years old so I’m hoping to gain some insight as someone who is interested in doing a 360 career change…

I am considering a career change from being a 30yo chartered accountant to a dentist (and hopefully one day an orthodontist). It’s a huge decision so I was wondering if I could ask any dentists/orthodontists for insights into the career, specifically:

1) what is a realistic salary for a dentist in NZ for all levels of experience?
2) is the work life balance reasonable? (Better than regular late nights and weekends in accounting at least…)
3) is 31 too old to make a change?
4) do you know the admission rates after completing first year health science at Otago? And marks expected? (I hear medical school requires 96%+ in HSFY)
4) is it a secure job long term (also factoring in AI, invisalign and other dental advances), and is it relatively easy to find a job?
5) excluding loans/allowance, how much debt did you graduate with if you went to Otago Uni?

I don’t really want to go in to why I want to leave accounting here but definitely don’t think I can hack 35yrs more in it. My posture is already pretty bad working in accounting so the physical demand of the job doesn’t deter me.

Any advice would be welcome, thank you!
 

Fili

Dentist 🦷
Moderator
I see most of the threads in this forum a Lee a few years old so I’m hoping to gain some insight as someone who is interested in doing a 360 career change…

I am considering a career change from being a 30yo chartered accountant to a dentist (and hopefully one day an orthodontist). It’s a huge decision so I was wondering if I could ask any dentists/orthodontists for insights into the career, specifically:

1) what is a realistic salary for a dentist in NZ for all levels of experience?
2) is the work life balance reasonable? (Better than regular late nights and weekends in accounting at least…)
3) is 31 too old to make a change?
4) do you know the admission rates after completing first year health science at Otago? And marks expected? (I hear medical school requires 96%+ in HSFY)
4) is it a secure job long term (also factoring in AI, invisalign and other dental advances), and is it relatively easy to find a job?
5) excluding loans/allowance, how much debt did you graduate with if you went to Otago Uni?

I don’t really want to go in to why I want to leave accounting here but definitely don’t think I can hack 35yrs more in it. My posture is already pretty bad working in accounting so the physical demand of the job doesn’t deter me.

Any advice would be welcome, thank you!

I'm still a student so can't give too much input into the work-life balance of things other than what my friends & tutors have told me

1) Salary - highly dependent on where you work, how much, and what you do. Have heard some friends say $100k+, have heard some on $200k-$300k, and some on track for $300k-400k before tax though they're all GDPs and have been working less than 5 years. My tutor said that on average after you get decent doing procedures, you can look at an average of $150k possibly - any more and you're going to work harder than average or sacrificing quality over quantity. Same thing with specialists - dependent on the specialisation, where you work, what you do etc since not all specialisations result in higher pay. I believe ortho you're looking at maybe $300k or around that range but different orthodontists will give you different answers since it varies on so many factors.

2) Can be reasonable depending on how much you work and who you work for - I have friends who are private clinic GDPs that only work and only want to work 3-4 days a week (sometimes on weekends) because their bosses let them and some on the standard 9am-5pm, 5 days a week, and some more because they work for the hospitals. It's a lot easier to manage what days and how many days you work with a nice boss or if you have your own clinic (my old dentist started working 2-3 days a week only when he turned 40 since he owned his own practice). I assume the same is with orthodontists - highly dependent on your boss or your position in the clinic. Other private GDP clinics or specialties may require more work from you depending on the clinic itself tbh.

3) Not too old - I have classmates that are 30+ and have families, and there are more in the other classes. It may be difficult because you'll need to save up money (unless you're eligible for student allowance) for the year, and may not necessarily vibe too well with the younger students due to maturity differences or different people you would rather hang out with e.g. family. But definitely not too old if you can commit the time, money, and work to it.

4) Admission rates and marks change every year. These are always discussed in older threads and you can also look up "Official Information Act" details but they're not always consistent with what's actually seen in real life - afaik the good old rumours of 96% average for med and 93% for dent depends on which year the intake was, and it's mainly for direct entry. Waitlists can go down quite a lot lower e.g. for dent can even go to low 80s and med like low 90s/high 80s on some years. Majority of the cohort consists of those that come from HSFY.

5) Honestly never kept track of it because I was heavily dependent on my student loans and allowances for everything. I also did a BBiomedSc before dentistry so my student loans are high as.

Extra Tip (which I'm planning to implement when I do start working) - yeah probably will have to go visit the physio often for ergonomics and get an actually good pair of loupes when I start working. My dentist told me he would visit the physio once/twice every week or two just to check in if any issues pop up.
 

Emily0612

Member
I see most of the threads in this forum a Lee a few years old so I’m hoping to gain some insight as someone who is interested in doing a 360 career change…

I am considering a career change from being a 30yo chartered accountant to a dentist (and hopefully one day an orthodontist). It’s a huge decision so I was wondering if I could ask any dentists/orthodontists for insights into the career, specifically:

1) what is a realistic salary for a dentist in NZ for all levels of experience?
2) is the work life balance reasonable? (Better than regular late nights and weekends in accounting at least…)
3) is 31 too old to make a change?
4) do you know the admission rates after completing first year health science at Otago? And marks expected? (I hear medical school requires 96%+ in HSFY)
4) is it a secure job long term (also factoring in AI, invisalign and other dental advances), and is it relatively easy to find a job?
5) excluding loans/allowance, how much debt did you graduate with if you went to Otago Uni?

I don’t really want to go in to why I want to leave accounting here but definitely don’t think I can hack 35yrs more in it. My posture is already pretty bad working in accounting so the physical demand of the job doesn’t deter me.

Any advice would be welcome, thank you!
Hey I will be 36 when I graduate from dental school. I hope it is not too late…
 

Fili

Dentist 🦷
Moderator
Hii would anyone be able to give me an overview of BDS3 at Otago?
Hey there, are you currently enrolled at Otago? Usually, students from the class above give an overview lecture of what to expect throughout the year during O week - hence why I decided not to write any overviews for the different years
But as a tldr, BDS3 is the most chill year you'll have and is the first year you start seeing patients. You have so much free time that a lot of people take up part time jobs to kill time.
 

dalki

Lurker
Hey there, are you currently enrolled at Otago? Usually, students from the class above give an overview lecture of what to expect throughout the year during O week - hence why I decided not to write any overviews for the different years
But as a tldr, BDS3 is the most chill year you'll have and is the first year you start seeing patients. You have so much free time that a lot of people take up part time jobs to kill time.
Yes i am enrolled, thank u for the reply!
 

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