Hey everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Dosa Dental Podcast.
The focus of this podcast is to share undergraduate and dental school experiences from dental
students and dental professionals through valuable discussions.
Through sharing the journeys and stories of current dental students and dental professionals,
our goals to help you find answers or guidance for your own pre-dental journeys.
We are very excited to have Sonny Brook dental student Brandon Axelrod as our guest today.
Brandon graduated from Cornell University with a bachelor's degree in biology and
society, along with completed minors in nutritional science and business.
He's now an incoming D2 student at Sonny Brook School of Dental Medicine.
During his undergraduate years, we can definitely say Brandon was a little bit busy, founding
and serving as president of a non-profit organization, board member of an orientation committee
which organized orientation events for incoming Cornell University students, as well as conducting
and publishing research.
Now in dental school, Brandon serves as the vice president of the community engagement
in the American Student Dental Association, also known as ASDA.
Hey Brandon, welcome to the podcast.
How does it feel to get that first year dental school under your belt and how are you?
Wow, well first of all, thanks so much for having me guys.
It seems like an excellent podcast you guys have going on, but it feels great.
We kind of went from the full first year in the med school and we kind of, you know, at
the tail end, we worked on some hand skills.
We finished operative dentistry one along with dental morphology, but it feels really
great to have that first year under my belt, I guess you could say, and looking forward
to D2 when we start maybe seeing some pediatric patients doing some pro-galactic care.
So there's a lot to look forward to.
Wow, I cannot wait to dive into all those things.
But first, why don't you tell us about yourself, like where you're from, you know, what would
you like to do for fun?
Yeah, for sure.
So like you guys mentioned, my name is Brandon, I'm from Long Island, New York.
I'm from a family of four.
And so I went to Cornell University for undergrad and Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine
was always the school that I was looking at, you know, not only as a close to home, but
as an excellent reputation.
And it kind of was in line with everything that I was looking for in a dental school.
So let me, I guess you guys kind of mentioned some things I did in undergrad and Stony Brook
and hopefully there's a lot of other things that will involve myself with it school.
D1 year, there's a lot of, you know, you worry about the academics primarily.
But I guess, let me think, what can I talk about here?
I guess one thing that is pretty big on my application, something that's part of my personality
and all my friends know me for it, is that ever since I was five years old, I had been
doing magic.
And through the years, what's happened is I stopped doing magic, but I actually picked
the balloon twisting.
And this is like, when I say balloon twisting, it's like extreme balloon twisting, like
it's, I can make anything that kids ask for, from Sonic the Hedgehog to Rideable Unicorn.
It's actually, it's really fun for me and I can literally, I welcome the challenge.
So whenever a kid comes over and asks, you know, to make them something, I'm ready to
go.
And this is a full, full-fledged business that I'm able to run while being in dental
school.
I work every weekend, multiple parties a weekend, birthday party, block parties, barbamits
with communions, literally anything.
And so that's a big part of kind of, was my application and something that I'm able to
do in dental school, and it's really fun for me.
But besides that, I really, I like going to the gym, I like running, even put some things
that I've been able to do, of course, while being in dental school, and they're great
stress relievers, have to talk about some of that stuff as well.
Hopefully that was a nice little intro.
I guess that the ultimate goal for me is to incorporate these sorts of skills that I
have in terms of balloon twisting into my practice.
Not sure if I want to be a pediatricist, but regardless of whatever I pick, I'm sure
like, you know, any age group will find that entertaining and definitely alleviate some
of the stress of going to dentists.
Honestly, that's like one of the most unique things I've ever heard from like any dental
student or even like a doctor.
Really?
Yeah.
And like, if you want to go to pediatrics, I think balloon twisting would be, you know,
you'd be pretty successful, I think so.
Yeah, if you twist a balloon after an appointment or something like that, oh my goodness.
That'd be so...
No, yeah.
In the cards, I would say.
I'm honestly between pediatrics and oral surgery, so I know they're kind of polar opposite
ends of the scale, but like I said, I'll see kid, obviously regardless of whatever
practice specialty, even if I do general course, I'll see kids.
So anyway, possible that I incorporate that, that would be the ultimate goal.
Right.
So, everyone needs that fuel to their journey, right?
So we wanted to ask you like that question, you know, no question that comes with your
interviews, you know, like everything.
So why dentistry?
Like what motivated you to be where you are today?
Yeah, of course.
I actually didn't really allude to this earlier, but my whole like upbringing in life is really
interrelated.
So like I mentioned, I was five, I slipped and fell in the shower.
I started doing magic.
And the reason I started doing magic is because I slipped and fell in the shower.
I promise it isn't related.
I slipped and fell in the shower.
I went face first and like into a tile, whatever the shower situation was at the house.
And my two front teeth got pushed up into my gums and I'm bleeding and I'm crying and
it's the whole thing.
And my parents, of course, the first instinct is you know, rush me to the dentist and five
girls are not like rushed to the dentist like emergency.
He wasn't even a pediatric dentist.
He was my dad's dentist for years.
I'm not sure if he had seen kids really that frequently.
But I get there and I was down in the chair and I literally was laughing so hard from
just how great of a guy he was.
Like it was like the like he was cracking jokes and like the fact that he was able to
manage me in that situation is really astonishing and admirable.
But he when he was finished, I honestly thought he was joking.
I thought it was part of the part of the stick.
He was like, I thought he was joking because it seemed very, very quick in my eyes and I
felt a lot better.
He put a gauze out of my mouth and then snapped his fingers and pulled out a red sponge ball.
So like I learned that he knew magic and whenever he had a chance and it was infrequent, but
whenever he had a chance, we do magic for his pediatric patients.
And so that was like the moment where I was like, I want to do this.
Like this is this is what I want.
This is what I'm born to do.
So I, every time I went to the dentist, I was obviously like the most excited patient.
He like took a real strong liking towards me and he would show me like little magic tricks
as I would go and I would do them for the hygienists and the secretary, the secretary
of staff.
And I had just a great relationship there.
I really enjoyed going to the dentist.
And like I mentioned, you know, as time went on, I actually stepped away from the magic
and balloon twisting became the thing that I was into.
I took like the most basic lessons for like a dog, a sword and like a snake, but I was
like, that's so lame.
I was young enough to know the kids wanted like, you know, the characters from movies
and things like that.
But to get back to like, you know, why dentistry, it's kind of incorporates everything that
I've come to love.
I really love, I first of all, I've always loved science in school.
I really liked the idea of being artistic and that's something that of course I tried
to relay through my personal statement and interviews that my whole kind of, it's called
balloon artistry for a reason where I'm, you know, I fully have to create on the spot whatever
is being requested.
And it's just really working with people.
And I really am looking to make that difference.
I want to create my own style where I'm like staying informed about the lives of my patients
and leaving lasting impressions like my dentist did.
And it's kind of interesting.
It's like both my side, my side hustle and dentistry kind of both involve the technical
movements with your hands and like working with your hands.
But they're both kind of designed to gain trust in a sense.
And that's something that I played with in my personal statement.
And so that's kind of my answer.
Yeah.
Right.
So forget what I said about unique before.
I think this is even more unique.
That sounds like an amazing story.
I'm actually amazed at how this all just kind of fits together like a puzzle.
I mean, it doesn't get more, it doesn't get more genuine than that.
Right.
So I wanted to ask you, like as you went through undergrad, how did you not lose focus of your
why?
Like, was it something that had that has been like, motivated you since that, since it
occurred and you just kind of ran with it?
Or yeah, just how did you, how'd you maintain that, that fire throughout this whole process?
Yeah.
That's a great question.
So I guess starting in high school, this is when I kind of like turned it up a notch
in the sense that I knew that for undergrad, for undergrad, I needed to be like have a
strong science background.
And I did science research.
So there's any high school students listening.
I think science research is a great way to get yourself involved with the literature
that's out there, scientific literature, and not just, you know, you know, doing well
in chemistry and biology are great.
Like, I think you, some, some colleges want to see that you're, you're really expanding
upon these things.
So I was lucky to get connected with a national, with a research fellow from the National Institute
of Dental and Craneo-Facial Research in high school.
And so that was a really cool project to learn kind of what academia is like within dentistry
at an early age.
So the early years, basically summarizing research and just having a love for science.
And then when I'm in college, of course, there, you know, there were times where being that
I wasn't in a dental office or seeing dental professionals very often, you know, there
are times when you think like, maybe there would be something that I would possibly be
interested in more.
So maybe, maybe I was thinking more so the medicine route.
I, as you mentioned, I was a business minor.
I actually did a summer where I did a full on business internship in New York City just
to see what it was like, and I was lucky to get that opportunity.
And I quickly learned that, yeah, there's no way I want to do anything like, like, like
hardcore investment banking.
This is the worst thing ever.
But personally for me, I really liked working, I really want to work with people.
I really want to make that impact and make that difference.
So I was right back on the train for the dental.
And let's see, like I said, like science research, these are important things to stay
involved with.
I guess something that helped me too was all the clubs and the volunteering that I did.
And again, it puts it into perspective, like there are people out there who really can
value your help and dentistry.
Like I'm learning more and more every day through school.
It's like, you know, not everything's always peachy for people.
Like I've been lucky to have a great dental experience, besides when I was, you know,
younger, and I haven't really had any cavities or any real dental elements.
But I'm seeing in the clinic, I'm seeing in PowerPoint slides.
Like there are some people out there who really, really need dental treatment, like
immensely, and like they can't function without going to the, like people neglect their teeth
and neglect their oral health.
And you're going to be there for them and you're going to be there, they're kind of
their savior in that sense and really make that difference.
So kind of escaping those things in mind.
And it always helped, of course, that I knew from such a young age that I want to do it.
And I really committed to it.
But there's some points.
You know, I could definitely, we can definitely relate to, you know, being in school only
and not in the office, like assisting or something like that.
You get like lost in your books and like lost in education and like you don't, when you're
not around to practice that much, you kind of start thinking a lot.
So like definitely like I assist, even in school, I do part-time.
So doing that like maybe once, so we kind of like recognize that spark that I want to
do this entire time, right?
Excellent.
I'm absolutely.
I would love to see that as well, that you're assisting.
That's great.
That's a great thing.
And I'm also like a business administration major, also with the bio major.
So like, yeah, business is cool.
But I remember doing like, I worked in like a real estate office in junior year of high
school and I hated it.
It was like a desk job, like five days a week.
And I was like, I cannot do this.
So every time I like think about dentistry, like am I still on this path?
I just think about like that, that summer that I just sat in a desk and then we're
like, it's assisting, we're just like, you're standing up, you're interacting with patients,
you're helping people.
So that's kind of how I, you know, similar to you, that's how I keep my, you know, spike
spark.
Yeah.
And it's great that you can combine the aspects of business and dentistry into one.
All the great aspects of business are involved with dentistry.
Whereas like the desk job, like sitting in one spot, making excel sheets, you're not
really, you're not really doing that.
Maybe there'll be a, if you're lucky or you're involved in a practice as a business manager,
like, yeah, there might be some of that.
But like, you're honestly like, you're like a performer when you're doing dentistry, like
you're out there, like you're, you're, you're kind of the, not only you, you're the expert,
but like you're kind of the mastermind behind any sort of business or practice.
And I think it just, for me personally, and it seems like maybe the two of you, like combining
the business, because you're doing this podcast, it's a great initiative.
Kind of shows that like, you know, that, that savviness in a sense.
I think, you know, the two of you are probably set up really, really well for a career in
dentistry.
Appreciate that.
So I wanted to go back into like your research.
So how did that happen?
How'd you, I know you briefly like mentioned how you got it, but you know, how was it,
how was your experience?
How'd you get in the lab?
Things like that, like how long did it take to publish, you know, the whole thing.
So my school, and some schools might have a similar situation, but they'll post that
there's certain professors who are looking for undergrad research assistance.
And I highly recommend anyone interested in research to look into that.
And here's a point, and I guess a misconception that you don't need to do research within
biology.
You don't need to do, but you don't need to be curing cancer as an undergrad.
If your major is like food science, for example, like it doesn't need to be so beyond your
scope that it's uncomfortable.
You're taking all your time.
And Frank, it should be enjoyable to some extent.
It really shouldn't be, you know, you're going into dentistry unless, you know, of course
there are people who want to do research and publish and be working at dental school, for
example, within academia and want to publish.
Sure.
I feel like for the vast majority of people on myself included, I'm looking to involve
myself in science beyond, like I said, the classes and things like that.
And I want to have some of that exploration and, you know, kind of working with a PI,
for example.
But it should be something enjoyable is basically the point of what I'm saying.
For example, one of my current roommates, he did research on frogs.
Like it was totally like within their environment.
It was like ecology.
It was like, it was like, it was no relation to teeth, no relation to human health.
And that's all dental school want to see is that you're doing something that you're passionate
about and you're taking that extra step.
So that's the first thing.
But like I was saying, I looked at the school into which professors were looking for undergrad
research assistants.
I got like, I somehow was the luckiest when it comes to this because I was able to get
a position within a taste bud research lab, which is like perfectly related.
And like it goes against what I just said, but it really does not matter what you're
doing in terms of research.
So we did, we looked at taste buds and specifically how it's related to obesity.
And without all the boring details, it was a really great experience.
I did a good amount of both lab work.
I did a lot of imaging.
And then I was also able to contribute to the actual authorship of the paper.
So it was a really, really rewarding experience.
And let me think.
Yeah.
So I guess the timeline, right?
So you asked about that.
I started my sophomore year.
I started sophomore spring, I believe.
I think I wanted to get Orgo out of the way.
I took, well, I took Orgo one during fall of sophomore year.
And then I think during that second semester of sophomore year, I was like, I could fit
in a research at this point.
And I did it all the way up until my senior spring.
And like I said, it was a really great experience.
I can, if you have more questions, I'm happy to kind of talk about the details there.
Yeah.
So like, how exactly did you get the research?
You know, what did you have to do in order to reach out to these advisors and kind of
put your name out there?
And, you know, I know it's a little discouraging sometimes even me personally, I felt it's
a little tough to get the attention of these advisors and these, these PIs and professors.
And so what would you, what would you, what kind of advice would you get pre-downals who
are interested in looking to get the research?
Yeah, that's a great, great question.
So I think I reached out to three labs.
And so the one who, the one hit that I had was Facebook one.
So the way that I kind of reached out was like, they don't want to see like the longest,
they don't want to see like a personal statement when you reach out to them.
They, because these people are like full-time faculty, they have their grad students they're
worrying about, they have their grants and the current public things they're working
on.
So you, you don't want to like, I've seen a lot of people try to reach out to professors
with research and they write this long personal statement email and it's like, they don't really
care about that.
I think it's the best thing in the email to show your willingness to contribute in any
way that you can.
You should give them your availability upfront.
And I think a reasonable availability for a position where you, for a lab in which you'll
be in a position to publish is I think maybe 10 to 12 hours a week of commitment.
A lot of schools will do like a four cron like a per course credit, like they'll give you
like three credits of research, although they'll even pay you.
I think it's better to do the course credit.
Like I got every semester that I was involved, I got an age factored into my GPA, which was
really great.
Like why, for minimum, like I was in a position where I was looking at like I can do like
a minimum wage sort of situation or I can do like for credit and I was like, you know
what, I'm building my future.
Like I want to have a higher GPA whenever possible.
Like here's, I'm going to, I'm going to take that option.
So like I said, tell them about your availability upfront, tell them kind of your willingness
and maybe within a paragraph, just say like kind of some of your skills that you think
you could bring to the table.
If you have any prior research experience, of course, that's great.
But I think the first email maybe should just be like, you know, would you be willing to
meet and discuss like, of course they have, it's almost like a dual interview process
where you have to be wanting to work in their lab and do the things they're asking you
but they also have to deal with you.
So like that's, that's kind of the, the two parts of that.
So yeah, I guess the summary, right?
The summary of what I just said is, is just your availability, your experiences and your
willingness to work and kind of be a contributor, like an active member of a lab group.
And just kind of see if they're willing to just meet with you, discuss.
I think a lot of these things come through better when you're meeting with someone and
speaking with someone that has been through email.
So those are some of my recommendations.
And I think you're talking about like research with the research, like you can use as credit.
I think it's Sony Brook.
If you have a research experience, like if you're doing research, they give you like
credits, you don't have to take like an upper division lab course.
So I can like get you out of it.
So that's, that's great.
No, I think that's the what can be done.
I would totally recommend that because some of those upper lab courses, like no matter
how much time you put into something, they can probably like doc you for some reason
on the rubric.
Like a better, like I think it's a more, it's a more.
It's like a win-win kind of thing.
If you can get it.
So I just want to ask a little bit more.
So when you first started your research, did you start out strong or did you have to like
learn to get trained and then do you have to like learn everything, how long did it take
to learn everything and then also start doing meaningful things, meaningful actions that
actually you thought that were that contributed to the project itself?
Like how long did it take to get to that point?
I mean.
Yeah.
So something that I experienced and I know a lot of my friends experienced, they'll start
you off with something that's very like mundane, like the kind of the work that no one wants
to know that grad students want to do and that's very normal.
And I think that's, I think that's totally okay.
And I think people should go into research experience, expecting that and being very
okay with that because like you should be kind of honored that they've accepted you
into their group.
Like a lot of these grad students go through a very similar rigorous process to get into
these groups.
For example, if they were, if they're doing their PhD program, as we would do if we're
going into a dental program.
So it's very selective.
And you know, I think you should just be willing and okay with doing the work that's very kind
of mundane.
What I did though personally is I, after doing that work for a little bit, I was, I kind
of up to my PI and I, and I was lucky to have a good relationship with them and just explained
to him where I'm trying to go, where I'm heading, what's sort of, what's my end goal.
And of course it was to go into dental school and I explained, like I really do want to
be involved with myself with as many kind of skills within a lab as possible.
And I said, you know, ultimately it would be great if I could be involved in some sort
of publication.
I think the PI's know that that's generally like what people are looking for.
If they're like a pre-health major and not like a, not, not going into a PhD program.
Like it would be helpful.
You don't need to have a publication by any means, but it does help.
I mean, it's something that you can just list on the wrist, for example, and you can talk
about an interview.
So my PI was very understanding of that.
And then at that point we kind of reevaluated, looked at my schedule and he said, you know,
here are some things that we need help with.
Here is where you can step up, for example.
I started doing a literature review for him where I was looking at taste genes associated
with dental carries.
So if it's, if it's not enough initially, you can definitely ask to step it up and a
lot of the PI's will be receptive towards that.
And then in terms of the learning curve.
Yeah, at first it was tough because I was jumping into something where everyone around
me knew everything and I knew nothing.
And I didn't take immunology, which was huge for my project because I was looking at inflammation
associated with obesity and kind of how it affects like the oral mucosa and things like
that.
So I had to learn a lot of it by myself, watching YouTube videos.
Ninja Nerd is great.
Something I actually used in dental school to YouTube channel.
And kind of, I was lucky to have a grad student that I worked with.
That was really great explaining things.
So it does, it does take a little bit of time to get to, you know, where you should be to
feel comfortable kind of holding a conversation with your PI or other grad students.
But definitely ask questions.
You should, you shouldn't feel like the relationship you should have with your PI and a grad student,
for example, should be very calm.
It should be very informative and educational.
Like it shouldn't be something where you like hate being there because they yell at you
and things like so.
Don't put yourself in a situation like that, obviously.
Hopefully that answers your question.
Right.
And I feel like a lot of pre-dentals need to consider, you know, not being in a research
lab where they hate being in and, you know, kind of choosing something that they, they
it's contributing to their future, what they want to do in the future.
Or just something they enjoy, honestly, like it doesn't have to be medically or dental
related to be honest.
It's just something that, you know, when you go in every day, you have a clear purpose
and you like know that this is going to help you and something that you really enjoy doing.
So on that note, I just want to talk about, you know, the DAT and the application and
the personal statement, things like that.
Can you just run us through your application, you know, how you approached these different
tasks of the DAT personal statement, rec letters, everything, essentially.
Yeah, for sure.
So I knew that I would, the first thing you need to know is if you're trying to take
a gap year or not.
And that kind of changes the schedule and the timeline.
So I knew I didn't want to take a gap year.
I knew I wanted to go straight from undergrad to dental school, being that I'm looking to
specialize, I don't want to spend an extra year or two just doing something in the interim.
I'd kind of rather just go right to school.
So that was something I decided very early on.
So I took my DAT in my winter break of my junior, wait, let me just make sure this is
right.
I took my DAT, my winter break of my junior year, I'm pretty sure.
I think.
I'll go back to you guys.
But then I remember, because by the end of senior year, I kind of knew where I was going
to school.
I had interviews during February of senior year, I think February, March, April of senior
year.
So that I guess makes sense.
Let me think.
Personal statement.
I started also, I think, around when I finished my DAT, because I had to have that into AdSAS.
Well, so my school had a committee letter.
So also by February, I had to have everything into my school.
So I had to have a pretty good draft of my personal statement.
But then I had from February to June or July when the portal opens to actually submit the
personal statement.
I think I'm watching this entire timeline.
So forgive me if I'm wrong, but you can interrupt and tell me that doesn't make any sense.
I think I'm probably too good at DAT like winter of junior year.
I highly recommend that.
Yeah, probably.
Then you probably apply in the summer after junior year, and then you're good after that.
Well, so I was interviewed, I guess so.
Yeah, because I knew I was going to school junior year.
Yeah, because I think the interviews go into the next year.
So like, you know, you apply June, then you start hearing back like, I don't know, like
this December, December, January, February, something like that, somewhere around there.
Something like that.
You're going to have to have another podcast guest.
It's not me.
Well, I like the dental school admissions team on here or something like that.
Yeah, so for those, you know, pre-dentalists that don't even know what the interview process
is, like, can you give like a little definition of what it is and like why it's an important
part of the whole application?
Yeah.
So I think so I was the first COVID year, so I was fully virtual interviews.
And I think some schools are still doing virtual.
It actually saves a lot of money.
It's very convenient.
But I think the interview process is like the make or break.
And I don't say that to like stress people out, but I think it's like actually an advantage
for most people to have the interview process.
So if you're lucky enough to get there, this is essentially the level like it's an even
playing field at this point, because you've applied.
And now you're amongst a pool of people that have in their eyes, the admissions committee's
eyes, you know, you're all on the same page.
You all have great grades, whatever they are, you all have a good DAT score, whether that
be a 30 or 18 or seven, whatever it is that your equation that kind of got you there,
you're all even at this point.
They're not going to look back at your DAT after the interview and compare you with someone
who got a 25 versus a 20, because they don't care about the, they've already shown that
they care about that.
That is now out the window.
So this is why the interview is huge, because you're going to be with people and they're
all going to come from different backgrounds, different schools, and it really doesn't matter
because you, this is your time to be you, be yourself.
And this is something that I really enjoyed because I was able to figure out early on that
you can sway the interview process and the questions in any way that you want.
And it's actually fun to do that.
They'll ask you a question, you answer the question as much as you want.
And then you just start talking about something else where you ask them a question and it's
literally cruise control from there because they just want to see that you can have a
conversation with someone.
They don't really, they're going to ask you questions like, tell me about your research.
They're going to ask you the boring questions like, like, tell me about your strengths and
weaknesses.
They don't really care.
I'm sorry, but they, I've spoken with people at my school, they just want to see how you
respond to these things.
Another one that comes to mind is like, they'll always ask you about your hand skills.
Right.
Like you've heard this question you've seen on student doctor network.
Well, the behind the scenes is that they really don't care because it's nothing translates
to dentals.
Everyone will learn how to use a hand piece and everyone's going to learn how to complete
these procedures.
My, I had a professor who said his favorite part of the interview process is to ask about
the hand skills because he loves it when people make up these cockamame, explain it, these
relations that don't make any sense.
And then he loves watching the pre dental student try to answer and explain why it would be
useful within the industry.
It doesn't matter.
He said it would be actually better if you say, I actually don't have any hand skills
that would lead me to, to be a better practitioner one day.
Sure.
Like I can tell you, oh, I played viola when I was six, but like that doesn't really, like
that's, there's no relation there.
So if you, if you have something like let's say you are an artist or you, you know, you
do play piano, yes, mention it, of course, like sure, that's what we want to hear that.
That's a traditional answer.
But like if you like took a cooking class and like you think that like sprinkling salt
into something is like hand skills, like don't say that because it just doesn't make any
sense.
I hope you guys follow where I'm going with this.
So that's some of this, this interview process.
I'm trying to think of, should we pause there?
I have a lot of, I have a lot of things to talk about with interviews.
So yeah, and I think it's important to make a distinction between like what you should
say, not say on an interview and things that are actually applicable to dentistry instead
of just saying things that I guess anybody could do.
But yeah, so how would you, how would you describe the interview process in like a word
or two?
Wow, that's really, I don't think of the word.
I would say like, I don't know if I can do it in one word, but I could say to you that
maybe like a couple words, I'll say a couple words.
Give me a couple to work with.
Okay, thank you.
I would just say, this is, I can't know if I can do it.
Like I said before, where you, when you kind of are asked a question, take it where you
want.
That's, that's, that's kind of how my experience was.
And so like I said, they'll ask you a question, you just, just be yourself, answer the question
and then talk about something interesting that, that, that you think they'd be interested
in hearing about.
Right.
So, so were you anxious, nervous, excited before interview?
Like how did that feel?
How did the whole process actually go?
Okay.
Yeah.
So I was not calm.
I'm, I, I tried to come off calm and I hopefully was able to, but definitely stress, I mean,
it is stressful, right?
Even you can tell yourself a hundred times and you can practice your, your personal, your,
your wide dentistry question, for example, like a hundred times and feel like you got
it down.
But then once you're actually sitting there and like for a lot of the pre-dentals who
were coming up, for example, you might have in-person interviews, which I didn't have.
You're not in the comfort of sitting in your, you know, your room and your desk chair.
Like it is going to be stressful.
And it's like something you, once you kind of get through that first question, you just
take a step back.
Like I said, realize that they're just want to have a conversation with you.
I've never been grilled on an interview.
I never had a question where I wasn't able to answer.
I've had times where they would ask a question and I would say like one second, let me think
about that.
And they said, like take as much time as you need.
Like it really is, they're humans.
Like they're, at the end of the day, like they're the same dentists that you've shadowed
and you've come to love and wrote your letters of recommendation.
Like these are just nice people at the end of the day.
They're not trying to grill you.
So that's something that you just keep in mind.
Like I said, the first question is going to be stressful, but you'll get to a groove and
everyone's going to be okay.
So did you know from the beginning, like which schools you want to apply to and like how'd
you narrow them down?
Yeah.
So I knew, I knew a few schools I didn't want to apply to just because of costs and location
and like even though like, of course I didn't want to go like, you know, like really far
from home, for example.
So I had like maybe a list of 20 that I narrowed down to like 15.
So I think I applied around there.
And then I knew Stony Brook was always a number kind of one of those schools.
And if I get into Stony Brook, I really have to consider Stony Brook.
And then there were, I kind of went from the 15, I had, I think working in our 15 schools
that I applied to, I got interviews at nine, I got in call nine that I interviewed at.
And then from there, I narrowed it down to four.
And we can talk about the specifics if you want.
But I do want to hear like some schools that I was considering and what kind of made me.
Yeah, sure.
So you scale like a little scale of, you know, where Stony Brook fit in your.
Yeah.
So basically at the end of the day, I was between Michigan, New University of Pennsylvania,
Stony Brook and Buffalo.
Michigan kind of was the first to go because I was thinking to myself, you know, why spend
the extra money for a state school where I'm out of state.
And I was lucky enough to get into Stony Brook and Buffalo.
So while Michigan would be, would have been a great experience in terms of like the athletics
and like kind of like that big name school.
Like I felt I got that personally in undergrad.
So I didn't know if I needed to spend the extra money for myself to go to Michigan.
And I know someone who goes to Michigan, she seems to really love it.
So it's a great school.
And it's, you know, there's nothing, nothing wrong with going to Michigan.
I just personally, I thought I was going to narrow down between Penn, Stony and Buffalo.
And then Buffalo was the next to go off the list just because I figured I'm from Long
Island, like kind of just like a real hassle to do the whole upstate thing again.
Like I did it for undergrad from coming from Long Island up to New York.
I felt I had that experience.
The only thing holding me back from Stony at that point was like looking at the class
size for anyone listening.
Like Stony Brook has like the second smallest class size behind Harvard.
Harvard has like 34, 35 and Stony Brook has 45 or 46 depending on the year.
So I was thinking to myself like small class size can go one of two ways.
I could really love everyone in my class or, you know, I might not love everyone in my
class.
I've actually come to love everyone in my class.
So I'm really happy that I chose Stony Brook.
But Buffalo was ultimately the next to go.
Another reason Buffalo was off the list was because I didn't want to be ranked.
And I also wanted a GPA.
So I can talk about that quickly.
Being that I know where I'm really strongly considering specializing at this point, I
felt that when I was applying to residency, I didn't want my, and especially like through
my years in school, I didn't want to know that I was like number 20 out of 95, for example,
in Buffalo.
Like I didn't really think that that was a healthy way to go about it for me.
I also like feel like at Stony Brook.
I thought that a lot of people who went there, the ranking, no ranking really helps because
it's no, no one's really that competitive with each other because there's no reason
to be like, there's no curve.
Everybody can get an A if everyone does well on something.
Whereas some of these ranked schools, you might have some of that keeping in terms of like
study guides and things like that.
So I was like, you know who I am and I've always been a collaborative learner like I
was between Penn and Stony Brook at this point.
And then, and I was like, okay, let's look at the financials here and then you can was
just way too expensive for what I was kind of considering at the end of the day, like
we're all going to be a dentist.
So like, you know, if you can get into your state school, I would highly recommend it.
I don't really see why not.
I'm sure there are arguments for, you know, going to you can over Stony Brook in terms
of specializing maybe, but Stony Brook had 100% matri for the last few years and it's
pretty much anyone, whatever you're trying to specialize in, you're able to get into.
So you know, it's like, you know, let's do study bro, I'm 20 minutes from home, but
I'm going to, I actually live closer to the school with four of the guys from my class.
So I kind of made it feel like I was going away to college, even though I'm really close
to home, but that was my process.
Nice.
Yeah.
I mean, you know, Stony Brook is obviously like the best choice, you know, when I was
applying like college, you know, I wanted to go to like BU, but Stony Brook was right
here and it was like just great connections and stuff like that.
So I just kind of chose to stay close.
Yeah.
So I mean, these are a lot of factors to choose when it comes to deciding on a school.
So what are some like resources, pre-dentals can use to prepare for that interview to get
into their schools of choice and that they really want to get into?
I think the best resource is to go on some of these Facebook groups that exist and finding
current students who will talk about their experiences.
This is not something that this is totally allowed.
Is it something that you're allowed to speak with upperclassmen and just hear kind of what
their interview day was like?
First of all, the question is changed every year.
So if that was a concern, that's not something to worry about, but they can really give you
like the real deal, like what it was like for them and like what you guys were moving
to earlier.
Like how did you feel on the interview?
Did you feel pressured?
Did you feel like there was questions that you weren't able to feel?
Those are things, good things to know going in.
So I think the number one resource is reaching out to students who go there and I'm sure
there are any school you look at, there will be people willing to talk about their experiences.
If anyone's looking to go to Storybrook, you can hit me up.
I'm always down to talk about it.
That's the first thing.
One thing I would say away from is Student Doctor Network.
It's like the worst thing that's ever been created.
Somehow everyone on those swarms has a 35 on their DAT even though it's only at a 30.
Everyone loves to talk anonymously on this thing.
So I would stay away from there to really learn what the school is like.
And of course, like if talking with the admissions committee, with the people who work there,
they would actually probably like to see that you're taking an interest in an early point
within your interview process and within your process of applying.
I think some of the reason why I actually didn't hear back from some of the schools
I did it because it seemed like I was just applying to apply, whereas if I had shown
that long-term interest, that might have helped.
I know that matters in undergrad decisions.
They wanted some of the, I've talked to admissions committee years back and they said, when students
come on tours, we really know that they're interested in applying here.
They're not just applying here because of stats line up.
So anything you could do to show that little bit of interest for that sustained period
of time, I would highly recommend it.
So you talked about how your interviews were virtual, obviously, because it was during COVID.
So can you walk us through how the entire experience was?
Like maybe getting the interview and then like in the waiting room, like, and then actually
getting there and maybe some questions they asked you and how you kind of, how your own
experience went down.
Yeah.
So I remember getting my first interview invite.
I got so excited.
It was from Rutgers and I was like so pumped.
It was actually in person.
So for me at that point and during the COVID, during COVID was, was really big to go in
person.
And I, I kind of, I remember getting there and being so excited.
And it really is exactly what you would expect it to be.
You kind of sit in the room, there's some intros and this was for Zoom and in person
pretty much for everything I'm saying here, but there'll be some intros.
They'll talk about financial aid.
They'll, they'll do like a, the dean will come and speak, they, they want to like get
you settled in.
They're not going to like start like, like bombarding you with interview questions like
right when you first get there.
And every school of mine had a exact like a one-on-one process.
Buffalo had like a two faculty with one student that doesn't really change like the dynamic
of the interview.
It was very relaxed.
Like I said, I know Michigan, they did.
And it's basically like, oh, and MMI, multiple mini interview.
And they would, it was all a recorded software.
So I would log into this thing and they would just ask me like a variety of random questions
and my answers would be recorded.
And one of them was like, do you think we should impose your sugar tax?
One of them was like, one of your dental professionals who you work with is like 85
years old and you're noticing that he's forgetting, you know, things here and there.
Like what do you recommend to do?
So a lot of like ethical questions.
That was Michigan, for example.
So that was definitely tough.
But let me think.
So I guess your question was specifically like kind of take you through the day.
What was the question again?
Yeah, like, you know, take us through the interview, like how, you know, what kind of
questions to ask you, like how'd you respond to the answer?
So always be prepared for a few different things.
So the first question is always going to be tell me about yourself, like pretty much 95%
of the time it'll be telling about yourself.
And so when you think of this answer, you shouldn't just regard to take your personal
statement.
That's a lot of things that I saw my friend is trying to do.
And I, now that I've kind of gone through the process and I was really had great interviews
success, I would really recommend trying to step away from the things that they've already
read about you and know about you.
This is your chance to tell them like, yeah, I like, I love like, you know, I love like
the New York Knicks and like, I love like, you know, if you're like intonating, like
yeah, talk about it, like they want to hear like some of the fun stuff that you haven't
talked about in your process.
So that's the tell me about yourself.
I would try to get that no more than two minutes.
I would start talking about maybe where you're from and go from kind of a little bit about
your family life.
And then kind of a little bit about your school and what you do because it makes sense kind
of when you're telling someone about yourself.
But again, they know this about you.
And then talk about those interests, what, you know, who you associate with like what
your friends would say about like, so just there's there are ways to make yourself kind
of give a different perspective on for your application.
So that's tell me about yourself.
You have to be prepared for that.
Next question is the why dentistry question.
Again, don't really regurgitate a personal statement, but really be clear here because
the statement is a chance for you to be like use like kind of tell a story to a narrative,
you know, you're going to be integrating thoughts and feelings.
You can be very direct here.
And I think I would recommend that I would say in every one of these answers after my
little intro, I would kind of talk about what I mentioned earlier about my dentist and how
he's fueled my passion.
But you know, you might want to say like I want to be a dentist because and then name
three things.
So for me, it was like working with people and kind of that combination with entrepreneurship,
kind of the love for science that I had and the artistic nature of being a dentist.
So that's you want to be very clear, the why dentistry question, you want to be clear and
confident.
That's the next thing.
So just want to ask you real quick.
So like, I think it kind of misconception is like people think that when they ask why
dentistry has to be one thing.
But like, I just kind of started learning this recently, it can be like multiple things.
Like, you know, as I'm doing my undergrad too, I'm thinking like there's multiple reasons
why, you know, there could be like a physical reason, like a mental reason, you know, many
different reasons.
I think people get caught up on there's to be one reason why, but I guess that's not
like, no, no, you, you want to, I think it's a good idea to show that you're like aware
that there's multiple, like there's a lot of things that go into this career.
I would recommend, I would stay away from talking about like the lifestyle.
I'm seeing like, like a lot of people think that's a good idea to talk about.
Like this is why I'm considering dentistry over medicine, for example.
But like, they know that and it's kind of taboo to talk about the lifestyle because
like, you know, you're going through four years of dental school and then you have residency
regardless of whatever, like he or the general all the way to any sort of specialty.
It's not something that I would talk about.
That's just something, there's just like a random thing that I just thought of.
Oh yeah, it could be a lot of reasons.
And then a third thing I was prepared for to talk about was why not medicine?
I was asked this one time, like why do you want to go to med school, for example, because
let's be honest, like anyone in these, in these applications could have taken the MCAT
because the only difference is really studying like a physics section and like that's kind
of I think the only difference between the MCAT and the DAT.
And you were in the classes with pre-dentals.
Everyone really did well and you know, did well in those those science classes.
So just be prepared to answer that.
Like I said, I had it one time.
I just think about that for yourself, like why dentistry is something you'd prefer over
medicine.
So those are the three big things you need to think about in the interview.
And like to tell me about yourself and the why dentistry always came up, why not medicine
was just one time.
And then if you're going to prepare a little bit more, I would think about strengths and
weaknesses for yourself.
I mentioned before they don't really care, but I think if you can articulate your thoughts
nicely and succinctly, that's something that's important.
And then the biggest thing I would have in your back pocket is like think of an ethical
dilemma you've been in and then think of a challenge you faced.
These are questions that you can answer regardless of what the question is.
Like they can ask it in a different way where you can bring it up.
These are just things that you might not have like necessarily on your application.
They might be in some supplementals, but the challenge was a big one.
That's something they always asked.
For me, I was actually a transfer.
I talked about like challenges and all that ethical dilemma, whatever, you know, whatever
the case may be.
I know a lot of students would talk about like, you know, not necessarily cheating,
but like academic dishonesty, like talk about you might have an experience with that and
whatever it may be.
So those are like some of the big five, I would say.
So I'll say that again, tell me about yourself, why dentistry, why not medicine, strengths
and weaknesses slash like challenge and then like your ethical dilemma.
Right.
So as you mentioned, why not medicine?
Why not medicine?
Yeah, that's a great question.
Thanks for asking.
I'm actually prepared to answer it.
So let me think, what are that?
Well, my answer was I talked to a lot of dentists and like it really comes down to that no dentist
has ever, it's like their job.
And like whenever I said that during an interview, well, the one time I did and I would bring
it up the other times, all the interviews would like laugh because it is true.
Like every dentist really does love their job and they because you're able to make your
practice in your career, I guess like practice in a way that you enjoy.
So whether that be working less days per week or like kind of having a practice that it's
not the volume of cases and isn't as high.
Like these are some things that you can modulate in your career, whereas in medicine, like you
don't really have as much control over those sorts of things.
Another thing I mentioned why not medicine is because I think dentistry is like a happier
career.
You're able to really like fix people's ailments, attend to people's ailments.
Like with that kind of instant gratification sort of sort of by words, like, you know,
someone comes in with pain, you can fix it.
Whereas medicine, it's not really like that as much.
A lot of things are out of your control and it can lead to like some like a set or situation
for some patients, these chronic long term illnesses.
And so for me, that's kind of the two things I talked about.
So how was like, how was the D1, how was your D1 year and how was the curriculum like, did
you guys like touch handpieces yet?
Like how was that, you know, how was the transition from undergrad to D1 year?
Yeah.
So Stony Brook starts you off in the medical school.
So you're full on with the med students, you're taking oscues with them.
Oscues like a clinical assessment where a patient comes in and they talk about like
sort of like you kind of interview them in a sense and you ask about their symptoms and
you look at lab values that are made up and then you have to diagnose them with something
that you take a quiz or any slasher exam, whatever it is.
So this is like full on medical school.
So we took anatomy and biochem for the first two or three weeks just by themselves when
we first got there after orientation.
This was to give us time to adjust to school, but these classes are very intense.
And I could talk about these in greater detail, but I'll give the overview and then you ask
any questions that you have following.
So anatomy and biochem and it was a gross anatomy, so we had a cadaver lab really, really
like awesome experience.
So if you're looking at a school that has gross anatomy, I would look into that further
and I think that's something that is a really great experience to have.
So those are the first two courses.
And after that we took immunology essentially and then we took like a basic mechanisms of
disease class where we talked about different, we talked about cancer, different blood pathologies,
like some foundational concepts that if you, a lot of first year medical students take
an equivalent course.
So after that we then took some dental morphology.
This is where you look at the shapes and structure of different teeth and you learn about dental
specific anatomy of each tooth.
I actually hated this class.
I never hated a class more.
This is a class where we had to do those wax up.
I'm sure you guys have probably heard about it, but for those who haven't, you heat up
like white wax and then you shape a tooth from scratch almost and it's fun for five minutes.
But then after that, it's not, it wasn't fun for me because I wouldn't agree that it.
So that's a morphology.
Some other classes we took was periodontics.
So it's looking at like the relationship that the teeth have with the gums and supporting
structures.
And then we kind of then were, we were kind of fully in the dental school at this point.
So this was kind of midway through.
And this is when we were like combarded with a bunch of different classes.
We took a community, like a public health dentistry class.
We took whatever we took a bunch of other classes and they all went so quickly.
And somehow I got through it all.
And then at the, we've also done dental operaves.
So to answer your question about the handpieces, yes, we did start working with handpieces.
We started doing, we can basically do cavity preparations and then restoration.
So we did both composite and amalgam.
And it was a really fun experience because we dental school is a story because of simulation
lab.
So you can pull out the mannequin from the wall and you have your loops, like your glasses
with the magnifying glasses, like make sure you sit up straight.
And when you look through them, and so, yeah, that was a fun experience.
And so we did a lot of assignments.
It was very quick moving.
And then now we're going to start operative two when we start the two year, which is like
crowns and things like that.
So I think I saw your Instagram page and like the picture of you in the chair with the man.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
That's exactly what it looks like.
Yeah, that's pretty cool.
So like, how was your like your hand eye coordination?
Have you seen it improve since you first got there?
I mean, like your, your familiarity with teeth, like has it become, are you, are you like
one with the tooth now?
Or are you just still, still getting?
I think I'm like almost there.
So sometimes I'm getting really good.
You don't think about this a lot, but like, so maybe for someone who doesn't know about
it, I'll give you like what I thought originally.
Of course I knew there were like tooth numbers, but I didn't really like put into perspective
how important it is, how specific you are in terms of how you describe a tooth and a
certain location on a tooth.
And there are so many new vocabulary words that entered my mind and like my vernacular
I'm like during the first year of school.
And so there's like me, the old buckle proximal lingual, like, and it's like, it takes a little
bit to like get your brain to adjust to these things.
But now you can say like the distal buckle cup, distal buckle cusp on tooth 23 and then
like whatever, maybe 16 or something like that.
And then it's like, I can like think of that a little quicker than I was at first.
So one with the tooth, like almost there.
That's the first thing.
And then, I don't know, it's, there is a with the hand skills, it's like, at first it was
fun.
It's always fun at first.
And then you like realize, but I actually have to be really good at this.
So then, then you, then you take a step back.
It's, it's definitely challenging because not only are you drilling with one little drill
on the end of your, your handpiece, but then there's like different drills for different
things.
And then there's different speeds of the drill.
And it's like a very, it's a lot all at once.
And what I found in, in least Stony Brook is there's good instruction up front.
It's really great theoretical explanation of everything.
This is what we're supposed to do.
Here's what it should look like.
But then in reality, they're like, okay, now you go and try it.
And just by the sheer number of faculty, like you have to kind of, you're not always, you're
not like, no one's holding your hand a little time.
So you really have to just like figure it out.
And it's actually, sometimes it's tough when you don't know how to do something, but like
at the same time, it's like, okay, I'm, I'm going to try this.
And then I know what it should look like.
It didn't end up looking like that.
So I'm going to try something else next time.
And by, by going through that process, like it does help you kind of have things stick
in your mind and you get better just by practicing and trying to drill.
So for example, like there's something called a class two preparation where it's like the
cavity is between two teeth that are touching.
And then they might include the occlusal surface, which is like where your teeth bite and where
they touch.
And so for example, I've learned that I like to use a different drill when I go in between
the teeth, as opposed to a drill that I can do on top of the two, the occlusal surface.
Again, these are just preferences, but these are things you have to figure out as you go.
And I've gotten better for sure.
We started with these little blocks that are meant for like dental students to learn how
to drill and they have little shapes and they're like draw.
They're like, it's like an S and they're like, you have to stay within the lines.
And I remember looking at this thing as if there's no way I can stay within these like
this millimeter, like there's no way I couldn't even do this with a pencil, let alone like
a drill.
It's broken 200,000 times per second.
And so like, yeah, it was like a fun thing.
But now I feel like I could do it.
I'm getting better.
A lot of it's like knowing how to sit and like using a full-grown finger to like keep
your hand stable and steady.
These weren't things that were explained to me early on.
I don't know if you're familiar with these things, but I figured I would explain them.
But you know, if you get better with time is what I'm trying to say.
Yeah.
And I'm sure as you go on and continue on to your D2 year, I'm pretty sure you're going
to get much better with your hand skills.
I know, you know, it's like a completely different, it's a completely different like world from
undergrad, right?
Like dental school, this is what you're doing now.
You're using your hands all the time.
So like eventually, yeah, you will get better.
Everyone probably gets better.
And I'm personally, I'm excited to see how I fare in that game when it comes time, hopefully.
So yeah, you talked about, you know, a little bit about the D1.
So how is the D1 curriculum?
And like, how have you been able to balance your time?
I know probably kids have a lot of academic work, dexterity work.
So how have you been juggling and managing your time and maintaining your social life
outside of dental school?
Yeah.
So that's definitely was a struggle at first.
I mentioned before, like I work on the weekends.
So I work multiple events for the balloon twisting on the weekends.
And I know that I really only have mornings and then I have nights.
But being that I work five hours a day, five to six hours a day on Saturday, five or six
hours.
Basically, I'm a large chunk of my week has taken out and then when I'm able to work and
able to study, I'm exhausted.
So like time management, for me, I need coffee.
Like that's like, no matter what I'm doing, I need to drink.
Like I have to be like, I got to turn myself on somehow.
So that's, that's one of the keys for me.
But during the week, I, you just have to be as proactive as possible.
Like for example, like at first I would go into operative, which we had on Tuesdays and
Thursdays from one to five.
And I would drill and drill.
And then I would be like, Oh, I'll come back on the weekend and I'll finish this.
I suppose to just staying there where I have all my instruments set up, like everything's
already there.
You'll find that it takes a long time to like set up everything, put the rubber dam on.
So like try to just be as proactive as you can in the moment.
Another thing is, is like, sometimes you don't need to pay attention and lecture as much
as you could actually be doing something else in lecture, where you could be doing two things
at once, like having a split screen open on your computer.
One side, like taking any sort of notes that the professor says that aren't on the slides.
And the other side, you could be doing on key decks.
For example, I'd be happy to talk about on key two.
I really love on key.
And like I always know that I want to have time to go to the gym.
So that's something that I really factor in.
And I told myself before I go into dental school, like, like my body is like something
that I really like my overall health is something that's really important to me.
And especially in dentistry, it's a career that's like physically demanding, not only
like on your back and you're not doing a lot of movement throughout the day, like you're
kind of sitting still.
Like that's why I always a lot of time to go to the gym and be active.
I'm lucky that I live like two minutes from my gym.
So I'm able to like, even if it's like a 45 minute workout, like sure, I'd love to be
there for an hour and a half.
But like, whatever it is I get to do, like I'm happy with it.
Like if it's going for a run around the block, yeah, I'll make time for it.
Because at the end of the day, like compounded, like even if you take three to five hours
a week to be like active, it really won't make too much of a difference as long as you're
just staying on top of your stuff.
Of course, if you're crunched, like you're your time crunch, like, yeah, you can't like
you're gonna have to make sacrifices, of course.
So those are some priorities for me.
In terms of like socializing, it's good that I would recommend living with people in your
classes as possible, because you kind of like come home after a long day and you can like,
you know, you can have like, you can just like talk and have fun in your house and then
like, then everyone gets to work because they're all dental students, like they all know that
they have to study.
It's not like undergrad.
Undergrad, I felt like there were a lot of people around me that like, didn't like wait
until the last minute for everything.
I was always someone who like wanted to be generally on top of things.
Of course, like not all the time, but like to my best of my ability.
And so like, I think if you want to have a social life in dental school, you absolutely
can like, you know, you might hear that you might not be able to, it's totally possible.
I would say like, conservatively, like you have two days, two days out of the month to
like, not study, not think about school, you can go like to New York City, you can do whatever
you want.
And you probably make more too, if you're able to stand up your stuff.
Yeah, so you mentioned you'd like to do Anki helps you stay on top of things.
I've heard a lot of people like not use Anki, people that use it.
So how did you kind of make that distinction?
Like I want to use this.
I want to be able to do something like, and when did you start doing that?
Yeah, so in the med school.
So a lot of the medical students, regardless of what school they're at, they all have to
take the step one exam.
So there are pre made Anki decks for the step one exam that would coincide exactly with
the stuff that we're learning class.
So being that they had the decks made for me already during that first like, you know,
six, seven, eight months in the med school, I knew that once I started using it, I felt
that really effective, and it's based on spatial repetition.
So it's not just regular flashcards, it will present you flashcards that you struggled
with in the past in a way that somehow burns it into your brain.
So being that they were pre made for me early on was helpful.
And then as we got to dental school, I didn't have these like databases with Anki cards,
but essentially like my friends and I all, you know, I would make a deck for something
my other friends would make a deck for another class and we would just share the decks amongst
ourselves.
And it really is like a, it's a really weird process, but it works.
Like if you get through the Anki deck, even if you do it one time, you'll retain it, you
know, for, for the day or two after, but if you get through the deck a few times, like
you will retain it for like an extended period of time.
And I think it's, it's something you should at least look into.
It's a little intimidating for the program.
It's not like very user friendly, but there's tutorials on YouTube.
There's definitely upperclassmen or whatever school you go to that you don't do.
So I would recommend it.
Nice. So you mentioned you have a business.
Is that the balloon business you're talking about?
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Great.
Do you have like, I looked in your Instagram, do you have another, do you have like another
affiliation with other business organizations on that?
Yeah.
So I actually, okay.
So it's the students of dentistry on Instagram and we run three different pages.
So students of dentistry, elite dentists and top dental practices.
And here we feature dental students doing their thing and sharing their stories.
And we share this on our Instagram pages, on our pages, and we have over 250,000 net
followers.
So it's a really great place to begin.
So if there's anyone out there listening and you're looking to share your experiences
in dental school, maybe start your own personal page where you share your experiences, we'd
be happy to feature you there.
And I do this with two other students who are Stony Brook alum.
They're both in their residence right now, one at Ortho at Stony Brook, another one at
OlmFS at NYU.
And so this is something I'm able to fit in as well.
We hold like weekly Zoom sessions, informative information sessions and connect students
with mentors at schools.
So it's really, it's really fun for me.
I enjoy this sort of stuff.
So Brandon, thanks for all your insights today.
How can pre-dentals reach out to you, you know, if they have any questions or concerns
or just want to know how dental school is like?
Yeah.
So my goal is to reach out to me on Instagram, so my Instagram handle is Brandon Axelrods
Axelrods-A-X-E-L-R-O-D.
And I'm sure you can put maybe some of this in the show description or anything like that.
But that's the best way.
And I'm always willing to answer questions no matter what the question is.
And I really want to thank you guys for having me.
This was really, really fun.
Yeah.
So that kind of concludes our episode of the Dostodental Podcast.
Thank you, Brandon, for joining me and sharing your experiences.
D1, your insight was definitely valuable and I hope our pre-dental listeners will feel
the same.
Everyone, please feel free to reach out to Brandon at his socials if you have any further
questions.
Lastly, I thank everyone for listening.
And if you enjoyed today's episode, please be sure to follow us on Instagram and Spotify.
And we'll see you next time for another Dostodental.