After teaching Seminar 6 in Orange County recently, POS instructor Dr. Subodh Swaroop sat down with us to share some tips for success for all POS students who are midway through our seminar series.
Click below to play the video or scroll down to read the full transcript.
Video Transcript
GABY CASTILLO: Hi everyone, this is Gaby. We're here in Orange County. Dr. Swaroop just taught Seminar 6 and he's here to answer some questions on what students should look forward to now that they’re midway through the series. So what did you teach today?
DR. SUBODH SWAROOP: This weekend's seminar was Seminar 6 and we went over topics dealing with molar extraction, differential horizontal growth from the mandible relative to the maxilla. We dealt with a lot of mechanics closing extraction space, more interpretation and diagnosis of model measuring and VTO. And we also dealt with describing the differences between keyhole loops and T loops and things associated with that so it was a good seminar, good seminar.
GABY: What do students struggle most with at this seminar?
DR. SWAROOP: I think at this seminar we still have some doctors that are struggling perhaps getting cases started, although not too bad of a situation with that. I think definitely connecting everything, having everything connected with a framework from records processing to diagnosing with DentalCad and SmileStream and then how to actually start doing this in the mouth. So we tried connecting that framework quite a bit from DentalCad in the software to the appliance design and how we're actually going to do things in the mouth. Even though the computer’s representing what we should be doing in the mouth, how do we actually do that on a patient clinically.
GABY: What do you recommend for students who haven't started cases?
DR. SWAROOP: What I recommend for students who haven't started cases is just start looking. Every single patient they see in their clinic is a potential patient. We also went over in the seminar a lot of indications for orthodontic treatment specifically phase one and there's many reasons and many indications to start orthodontic treatment and it's just a matter of remembering that and actually start talking to the patients actively about orthodontic benefits that they can have. So the patients are there, we just need to go find them a little bit better and start getting people motivated.
GABY: Do you remember when you at Seminar 6?
DR. SWAROOP: I remember. It's been a while, but yeah I remember.
GABY: What was it like for you?
DR. SWAROOP: It was confusing. Just a lot of information that you spend over four days. It's exhausting, it's a tiring 4 days. Mentally you're just getting inundated with a lot of facts and then you're trying to learn how to use the software. So it's, in a sense, sensory overload and information overload that technically we're supposed to take back to our clinics the next week and that becomes a challenge because we're busy. We're all general dentists, we’re torn apart in 20 different directions at the same time and still remembering to and actually fostering more orthodontic consults in a busy work schedule. That's a challenge.
GABY: So what's your recommendation for students to be successful?
DR. SWAROOP: My recommendation for students be successful with POS is definitely number 1 start cases early. You must to do that in order to apply and really see clinically what's happening and what we're talking about at the seminar so that's number 1. Number 2 is constantly stay in touch with each other. I think that there's a lot of communication among students while seminar in between seminars that can help out a lot. Form study groups, form some friends that you can kind of get together with and kind of go over what was learned over the next, the previous seminar. Use the resources that POS has. We have a tremendous resource for students to take advantage of not necessarily being in a seminar you know the IAT, what have you. The staff is wonderful also as a good resource. Any supply questions just call Progressive Dental Supply and there's very, there's a lot of people that are very knowledgeable in the terminology and supplies that a general dentist will need so they can answer a lot of questions. Basically ask. Go seek your information and get it and then once you have the information start using it in your clinic every day. So I think really the formula to success is being an active student and learning, and then applying it on clinical cases.
GABY: So what are some of the common questions you get from students and grads?
DR. SWAROOP: I think the common questions or concerns from current students and previous grads is you know, the concern is being a general dentist doing orthodontics and how is that logistically possible and are we learning enough to be at the level that an orthodontist is and I frankly tell them with the amount of information and the scrutiny that we go under with our records and our diagnosis that well we are well above the standard of care and the orthodontic profession and your local orthodontic community. So I try to enforce to the students to grasp that the amount of effort, amount of information rather, that we’re asking each doctor to acquire and process and understand will keep everybody's orthodontic care well above the standard of care here in the orthodontic specialty.
GABY: Alright, thanks Dr. Swaroop This has been very informative. I hope you guys found so too. If you have any questions give us a call, we're here at the office.
DR. SWAROOP: Absolutely, we're all here to help.