Kyler Hayes: The Career-long Impacts of COVID-19 on Dental Students

Kyler Hayes
President, Student Council 
UW School of Dentistry Class of 2022

The commitment to go to dental school is a hefty one even before adding the stress of a global pandemic to the mix. While it has certainly been one of my most challenging and rewarding undertakings, dental school became an ever-changing landscape and a completely new experience during COVID-19. Dental students have overcome countless hurdles and challenges and relied on one another more than ever to successfully navigate these past two years. 

In March of 2020, as COVID-19 escalated, my classmates and I naively celebrated an extended spring break; little did we know what was to come. As we started our distance learning, this meant my classmates and I — who were used to spending hours together in lectures and the simulation lab — were stuck behind our computers as tiny squares on a screen. Initially, the school-from-home lifestyle was fun and relaxing. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be able to stay in their pajamas for a lecture? But the weeks dragged on, and we as students became fatigued. We felt the effects of being separated from one another and from being unable to have our normal support system during these challenging times. 

Luckily, we were able to stay connected through modern technology. At the end of lectures, we would stay on the Zoom call to talk about TV shows we were watching, share our quarantine baking and cooking recipes, and talk about how weird it was to not be all together. Students were creative in finding ways to stay connected outside of lectures as well. Friend groups would have virtual game nights on Zoom each weekend. Those who were quarantining in Seattle would organize safe, socially distanced picnics at local parks as the weather improved.  

There has always been an incredible sense of community and support among us students and it is something we depend on. Honestly, the pandemic has only strengthened that. Despite being isolated and scattered from our UW home base, students were able to rally together and maintain that strong sense of community.  

Once the school announced we would return to in-person instruction starting in the summer quarter, students were excited and nervous. Each class was able to finish up nearly all the lecture components from spring quarter classes. However, there was still significant lab and clinical work to be completed for each class. Fourth-years needed to stay on track to graduate, third-years needed to finish up preclinical requirements to start seeing patients, and first- and second-years needed to catch up on the foundations of their preclinical work.  

This transition back to lab and clinic was completely uncharted territory for both the school and the students. As COVID protocols and guidelines kept updating and changing, so did those of the school. Like everyone in dentistry, we wanted to keep our patients, providers, and staff as safe and protected as possible. The clinic operations staff would meet weekly with student leadership to talk through the changes and updates that were constantly coming in. We would brainstorm solutions to problems that were coming up in the clinic; listen to feedback from faculty, staff, and students; and work hard to help make sure this uncertain transition was as easy as possible. Through collaboration with staff and faculty, as well as imaginative solutions from students, UW dental students were able to rise to the challenge of providing our patients the best care possible during a time when they needed it the most. 

While this pandemic has been so devastating for all of us, there has been so much added to the education of dental students during this time. We have learned how to be adaptable, patient, and understanding when things might not go exactly as planned. These are skills that students of this era will carry with us throughout our careers, and that we will use to be better providers than we would have been without the hardships of COVID-19. 

It has been almost two years since our lives were turned upside down. However, the sense of togetherness, the care for one another, and the pure resilience that the dental students of UW have shown throughout the course of this unprecedented time have given me undeniable hope and assurance about the future of the dental profession.