Looking back on D2 year: Reflections & advice from a dental student

Whether you’re still years away from starting dental school or are currently in dental school, you might be wondering what your future holds. Dental school is a busy, exciting, and formative time, and while everyone’s experience differs, you can learn a lot about what to expect from dental students who are going through the process! In this article, a dental student who has just completed D2 year shares her experience about the highs, lows, and surprises of second year.

What changed from D1 to D2?

At my dental school, D1 year is a full year of medical school. Therefore, it was during D2 year that we officially started doing dentistry full-time. It was exciting to finally start learning all the skills that dental students must have, from knowing how to do cavity preps and restorations to placing rubber dams and administering local anesthesia. However, it was also incredibly overwhelming. There were so many hands-on skills we needed to learn in lab, yet we were still spending plenty of time in lecture learning about topics such as pathology, radiology, and treatment planning. Overall, D2 year has been much more busy and challenging than D1 year, but it has also been more fulfilling because I know that everything I am learning will be important to my future career, and I’m getting the chance to see myself progress and improve over time.

What surprised you most about D2 year? What do you wish you had known?

I was probably most surprised by how quickly the year flew by. It feels like no time passed between us starting our sessions in the pre-clinical lab and us now preparing to see our first patients in clinic. It’s hard to believe that I’m halfway through my dental school journey already! With that being said, I wish I had known two things: First, be intentional with your free time. Sometimes that means intentionally relaxing, having fun, and making time for the things that recharge us. Other times that means having the discipline to work on things that need to get done to prevent them from being a source of stress for us in the future. With my free time now feeling more limited, I wish I had been more thoughtful with how I spent the lighter-workload days of D1 and D2. Second, I wish I had known that everything would work out. There have been difficult, stressful, doubt-filled moments, but everything truly does work out, as trite as that may sound. You have to trust that, every step of your journey.

What was the biggest challenge of D2 year?

The biggest challenge, for sure, has been learning not to compare myself to my peers and learning how to navigate discouragement. In dental school, we spend hours together in the preclinical lab working on lab exercises. It can be challenging when you feel like everybody is doing great besides you — that you are the only one struggling; that you are less efficient, less talented, or less capable than your classmates. None of those negative thoughts serve you. This year, I really had to learn (and convince myself) that I am my own person, with my own strengths and weaknesses, on my own path. What matters is how I grow, and it doesn’t benefit me to concern myself with what anyone else is doing. That definitely feels easier said than done at times, but when I’m feeling discouraged, I try to look back on all the times in the past when I doubted myself but ultimately reached my goals. Honestly, the challenges of D2 year are what helped me grow the most.

What are your takeaways as you start D3 year?

One of my main takeaways is that I have learned so much over the past two years, and there is so much more to learn over the next two years. I hope to learn as much as possible from the experiences I will have over the next year treating patients in clinic. I think being excited and receptive to learning new things will help me get the most out of the experience of dental school. Another huge takeaway: It is so beneficial to find your outlets and sources of support! Having just one or two people you can really trust and lean on, and at least a couple of hobbies that you truly enjoy, makes all the difference. With the right people on your side and activities that make you happy, you can get through so much more than you would ever imagine possible.

What are you most looking forward to?

I’m excited to spend less time in lecture and more time face-to-face with patients — which is exactly what all of us signed up to do when we chose careers in dentistry. While I know the transition to patient care will be nerve-wracking, I know patient care will also be filled with impactful moments that will make everything I have been working towards feel so worthwhile. I’m also looking forward to seeing how much more I grow over the next year and how my interests, skills, and identity will evolve.

What is your advice for current D1s? For students starting dental school?

For current D1s: Get to know the upperclassmen at your school! Talking to students who are a year or two older than me has been incredibly helpful. I have learned so much from more advanced students, particularly those who enjoy mentorship, and have come to see that everyone has faced and overcome their own challenges. The upperclassmen are also incredibly inspiring and great role models as I think about the type of dentist I hope to become.

For students starting dental school: Try your best to live in the present and enjoy the pros and cons of every life stage you’re at without wishing you were moving onto the next phase. Also, you have an incredibly exciting journey ahead of you, and you have yet to meet some of the best friends you will ever have (I swear, dental school friendships are a special type of bond because you have so many shared interests and experiences). I wish you all the best!

If you have any questions about dental school, feel free to leave them in the comments and I will do my best to get back to you! If you want to read about D1 year, check out last year’s blog post here. Wishing you the best of luck!

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