Rocky Mountain Dental Convention
The Rocky Mountain Dental Convention is the largest continuing education event in this region! But what does that mean for a dental student? You get one full Friday off of school -- yippee a ski day! Joking. It’s “expected” that we attend the event, and to be honest, I firmly believe we should.
RMDC provides, in my personal opinion, the ultimate learning experience. You have the opportunity to attend classes on topics that most suit your fancy. These topics can range anywhere from oral cancer to selling treatment plans to your patients. It’s a great way to start getting involved with dentistry on a different level and without a textbook. In addition to classes, the exhibition hall once again provides unique insight into our career. There are many vendors eager to suck you into learning about their product, and why not? We all will be our own business owners someday and it’s important to be researched and educated about our purchases. On a side note - there are tons of product samples, lots of free candy, and even an exhibitor selling full body massage chairs… at least sit down and check them out!
The RMDC also offers a myriad of social events, which is the best part if you ask me! Most of us went into the dental profession because we love being around people, and the social events at RMDC are a great way to network. Here we get free holdovers, drinks, and a place to mingle with other professionals in our field. This year, there was a twist implemented, in which you had to talk to certain people with tickets in order to get a free drink. Sure we couldn’t be as lazy as we originally intended, but it was a great way to branch out of our social clique and meet new people. Whether you’re outgoing or more on the shy side, having an opportunity like this gives us all a scapegoat to strike up new conversations. If we recognize a face, remember a name, or just want something to discuss, we now have something very distinct we can mention to allow us to approach that “stranger”. Personally, I know that remembering names is not my strong suit, but now I have confidence and a topic I can use to approach someone and ask if they attended RMDC. BOOM! Conversation initiated. Network opportunity engaged.
So, whether you’re a first or second year dental student eager to learn anything and everything about dentistry, a fourth year needing to network and plan your future hopes and dreams, or you’re a third year student who gets excited to see different colors of bite registration, The Rocky Mountain Dental Convention is a great experience for us all.