Dental
What
is it?
A diverse discipline that combines both manual dexterity as well as
knowledge of the human body in helping people in the care of teeth, gums
and the mouth. Academic programs and information. Most dentists have
private offices and can specialize in general dentistry, orthodontics
(specializing in the area of bite and bite integrity) , periodontics
(specializing in the area of gums), endodontic (specializing in the area
of root and surrounding tissues)
Most programs offer the Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) where others
offer the Doctor of Dental Science (DDS) degree. Admission to the DMD
program, require three years of undergraduate studies or preferably a
BSc degree. However, due to the competitive nature of the program many
of the applicants have MSc and even Ph.D degrees.
Usually, the DMD program involves two years of didactic courses
(physiology, pathology, oral biology) and two years of both didactics
and practicums.
Undergraduate programs are usually four year programs (with the
exception of the University of Pacific in California.
Helpful
Tips
- The
Dental Aptitude Test is a requirement. The Canadian DAT and American DAT
are different in structure. The Canadian DAT has a carving component
where as the American DAT does not. The Canadian DAT is accepted in the
US but the American DAT is not accepted by the Canadian schools.
- Extra
curricular activities are becoming increasingly important for admissions
due to high number of competitive applicants. Here are some things you
can do to improve our application:
- Try to get involved in
research and possibly publish
your work;
- Try
to get a MSc in a dentistry related fields e.g. Oral Biology;
- Try to
volunteer with a dentist or a dental specialist General tips
- Try
to enroll in an undergraduate degree where you can earn a high GPA and
be more competitive for Dental School Admissions. Professional Degrees
like Pharmacy may provide a fall-back option in case of rejection from
Dental School. However, it is a trade off as achieving high marks in a
professional degree like Pharmacy is more difficult and may compromise
your GPA making your application less competitive.
- It
is crucial to apply to American Schools early in the application cycle.
The American Dental School admission class works on a ‘rolling admission
basis’ which means one has a much higher chance of getting in if you
apply early.
- One
needs to apply for 15-10 schools in order to receive around 7 interviews
and ultimately one admission. Don’t apply only to your dream school but
also to the school that you have a better chance of getting into.
- Canadian
Dental Schools used to be relatively cheaper compared to the American
Schools. However, in the recent years the average tuition to a Canadian
Dental Schools is between $40,000-50,000. So draw up a good financial
plan beforehand.
Myths
about Dental School Admission
- Admission
committees only look at the last two years of the undergraduate degree
marks. Our experts advise that due to extreme competition, every mark
counts. Study hard from the very
first day and aim to score high
for every course that you take
in University
- Admission
process is fair and unbiased. The reality is that no schools admissions
procedures are 100 unbiased. If there is one more spot to be filled and
you may have a similar application to two or three other applications
you need to have an edge. Having connections in the dental community (i.e
working with a dentist, a faculty member etc) may simply provide you
with that edge.
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