District 2 Meeting at Stony Brook

By Jordan Telin, Class of 2017

This past weekend ASDA was able to take an excellent group of students down to Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine for the District 2 meeting. There were 150 attendees from the five schools that make up our well-reputed district. Our Saturday consisted of speakers on many different topics from 7:30 in the morning to 6:30 in the evening. Throughout the day we heard about the use of technology in practice, how to care for pediatric patients, current issues facing the profession, how to run a successful practice, managing varying personality types, among other inspirational speeches. We also spent time participating in round table discussions with other students, faculty, and members of the ADA having conversations about ethical issues we face as students and professionals. We ended the weekend with a fantastic dinner together, and were able to hear from one last speaker about the different paths of dentistry we can take upon graduation.

Attending these meetings is always an educational experience, providing us with opportunities to listen to topics that we don’t often have the time to cover in our busy curriculum. This is an opportunity for us to network with dental professionals, and also to develop strong bonds and friendships with students from our neighboring schools. We were commended by faculty and students alike about the class, enthusiasm, and overall spirit of the Buffalo Dental students. We are honored to hear this feedback at most meetings, but it is always gratifying to hear that we are representing ourselves in a manner that we can be proud of. The students that attended the meeting should be commended for their time management skills as they diligently completed their work to give up a weekend at home, and spend it with a packed schedule of further learning. Unfortunately we were not able to take any D1s, but we felt that it was more important for them to utilize the open lab hours as they approach their first Gross Anatomy Practical.

We leave this weekend with a new perspective, a refreshed motivation to learn, and new friends. We wanted to give you a small update of what we accomplished this weekend, and to let you know that Buffalo students continue to represent the School of Dental Medicine in way that maintains our esteemed reputation.