February 19, 2004
A: FROM MENTOR MARSHA SEGEBARTH IN INDIANA
How exciting that you are considering dentistry as a profession. My husband is a dentist and our daughter is in dental school. As you must know, dentistry requires a strong background in science - as well as great fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination. Many students enter dental school with a degree in biology or chemistry. Some enter with degrees from different disciplines, but all have the required units in biology, chemistry and physics. Some schools have a pre-dental program. During your high school years I would recommend taking all of the biology courses available, chemistry, and physics as well as a fair amount of math. You will need calculus during college. I wish you success in dentistry! It has proven a wonderful profession for our family.