First-year dental students unite at Cannon Beach retreat

School of Dentistry students revel in orientation experience

The tranquility of the Oregon coast has a way of calming the soul. Perhaps it’s the methodical lap of the waves, refreshing the sand each time it passes over the shore. Maybe it’s the sun warming faces and the breeze tussling hair. It could be the relaxation one feels while spending a day at the beach and stepping away from the confines of the office or dental clinic.

First-year students from the School of Dentistry enjoyed this experience Sept. 19 and 20 during an orientation at the majestic Cannon Beach.

“This (trip) helps us get to know each other. It’s a good start for us as a team so we can support each other,” said Lynn Choi, one of 75 students who took part.

The two-day annual retreat has been a tradition since 1987—save for two years during the pandemic and in 2014—where students get to know each other in a beautiful, serene setting while learning about their profession. The event is named after the late OHSU School of Dentistry dean, Jack Clinton, D.M.D., who served in the leadership role for eight years starting in 2004.

Activities included drafting commitments to each other and the clinical teams they will be a part of, reflecting on their character and behaviors, writing a letter to their future self and discussing industry professionalism and ethics. All the exercises were framed around team building.

Team sport

“Dental school is a team sport; it’s not an individual sport,” said Karan Replogle, D.D.S., senior associate dean of clinical systems, when addressing the entire class of students. She was one of several dental faculty members leading the event.

During their four-year academic dental training, students work in small groups to prepare and eventually treat patients at the south waterfront campus. The groups are named after several bridges in Portland. Students worked together in these groups at the beach, some for the first time.

“Half of the people in my bridge group I hadn’t talked to yet,” said Nick Merryman from the Sellwood Bridge group. “In the groups, we get to pick up on people’s personalities.”

There were many activities, including brainstorming a slogan and graphic to represent the kind of dentist they want to be and the work they will do as a clinical group.

Examples included the Steel Bridge group’s “Smile” campaign where the letters represent service, motivate, inspire, lead and empower. Fremont Bridge group’s “friendly Fremont” design displayed a bridge span on the back of a turtle. Their slogan is to “collaborate with persistence and reach the finish line together.”

Dental Olympics

The retreat culminated in a final project on day two: a friendly competition of building and presenting sand sculptures within full view of the infamous Haystack Rock on Cannon Beach. Dental Olympics was the theme.

In 90 minutes, students shaped their concepts using buckets of sand and seawater, beach treasures and a few items they brought to craft their story. Each group acted out their Olympic design while OHSU alumni joined the activity as judges.

The Fremont Bridge group took first place after waddling down a sandy track to the finish line while demonstrating rinsing, brushing and flossing teeth techniques. At the start, each bridge group was represented by name plates on students’ chests. The announcer called each group member to the line, introducing them as a type of molar. After the finish, the group acted out the victory celebration, calling Fremont to the top step of the podium, which was a sand sculpture in the shape of a canine molar.

Later, the Steel Bridge group told the story of the second molar. Students performed dental exfoliation and re-absorption by break dancing on the sand to the 1981 hit “Down Under” by the Australian rock band, Men at Work. The play-act ended with a second molar erupting from the sand—in the form of a staff member’s 9-year-old son, Joshua.

“OK, let’s go!” shouted Diyar Dezay, as he encouraged Joshua to jump out of his hiding place in a hole on the beach.

The crowd erupted in cheers as Joshua ran to the finish line, flopped on his belly and rocked back and forth.

Peer advice

After the sand competition, the retreat wrapped up inside the Surfsand Resort with a panel discussion of third- and fourth-year dental students. They offered tips on navigating the first two years of dental school.

“Learning dentistry is a new language. You’ll use the new language every day for four years,” said Anna Kennedy, a fourth-year D.M.D. student. “It’ll build on itself, and you’ll get more comfortable over time.”

The classmates also noted clubs and groups at OHSU and within the dental field that they have benefited from such as the American Student Dental Association, the OHSU All-Hill Student Council and the School of Dentistry’s Voices for Inclusion, Belonging and Equity group, or VIBE.

The first two years of dental school are particularly intense academically. There is a large amount of information to absorb in short order and it is taxing for students, according to faculty and students. The beach trip is one way first-year students get to be with each other casually while doing low stress learning activities.

“Take time to fill your cup. You can’t pour from an empty cup,” said Kennedy.

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Story by Rhonda Morin, APR