Q: (Initially posted June 21, 2004) FROM STUDENT MEMBER HOLLY Y. IN CA
I have somewhat of an understanding of what medical schools look at when admitting a student--GPA in college, MCAT scores and a well-rounded personality. I was wondering, then what dental schools look at when admitting their students? I don't think that dental students have to take the MCAT...so is there a specific test that they have to take? Also, do dentistry schools look at college grades? I want to go to medical school in the future, but I am also considering going into dentistry. Thank you for your help!

June 25, 2004
A: FROM MENTOR KATHY JEAN, DDS IN IL
Greetings to Holly in California!

There is a great shortage of dentists in the USA (not enough dentists to meet the needs of our population). There are about 33% women dental students (2004 poll by ADA), but only 12% female dentist practicing in the USA. The majority of dentist who own their own practices are still men, but the percentages are starting to change. Dental and Medical business are managed very differently. The initial educational process is rather similar (similar tests, classes), but the outcomes of practice management can be rather very different after graduation. Most dentist are small entrepreneurs! Dentist don't usually work for hospitals or HMOs, etc. Before you decide to go to dental or medical school, think about whether you might want to run your own business, because over 50% of dentists run their own practices.

I am both a female dentist (periodontist) in private practice (run my own dental office) and I am an assistant clinical professor of periodontics at University of Illinois College of Dentistry in Chicago. I can definitely mentor you if you are interested in applying for dental school in the United States. These are some of the list of things that you will have to research or accomplish before you will be considered a good candidate for dental school (and to become a dentist). I have completed many levels of exams and didactic classes to become the professional that I am today. I love to teach my dental students and hygiene students, and I also like to manage my own private practice, which requires some entrepreneurial abilities (which dental schools may not have enough time to teach students in 4 yrs). Some young dentists work for other dentist, and then open their own offices later.

1.) The dental schools require that you take the DAT which is the Dental Admissions Test. You can get more information from the American Dental Student Association (located in the ADA headquarters in Downtown Chicago). Sometimes, you can check out your public library for self help books to prepare for the DAT. The questions as somewhat like the MCAT, but there will be a section which will test you on THREE DIMENSIONAL PROBLEM SOLVING! This part will be the most difficult to prepare, because there aren't courses that will teach you how to solve 3 dimensional puzzles or pictures on a two dimensional page. That part of the test is very intuitive...must come naturally for you. So, try out the practice tests and see if you have natural talent to be a dentist. You must be good with your hands too! Do you do art, sculpting, drawing, etc?

2.) You must take the required pre-requisites in science, english, language, math, etc. Minimum of two years of college courses that fulfull the requirements, but you don't need to have a bachelors degree. GRADES DO MATTER (GPA) very much if you want to get admitted to a very good public dental school. Private dental schools are expensive, some costs more than $25,000 dollars per year for four years, which will cost you about $100,000 dollars for your DDS diploma! Thus, public schools have a much better advantage to attract the most talented students competing to be admitted. Take your required classes seriously and strive for good grades.

3.) Show that you are well-rounded with social skills. Dental professionals must work with real patients, and you need to be emotionally mature to interact with real patients. The interview process with the admissions team will ask you questions regarding why you think that you want to be a dentist...be prepared. My dental school asks many questions, and it helps to distinguish the candidates readiness to take the journey to become a dentist. Are you involved in other extracirricular activites? Any leadership skills? Organizational skills, etc?

After the DAT, the student must pass two other exams while in dental school. Part One National Dental Boards (basic dental sciences), and Part Two National Dental Boards (clinical dental sciences), and then after graduation, the candidate must pass a State Dental License Exam in which each state may be different, creating its own format of the dental license exam. Some dentists choose to continue with postgraduate education (2 to 4 more years) to become a specialist, ie. orthodontist, oral surgeon, pediatric dentist, periodontist, oral pathologist, endodontist, prosthodontist. I am a periodontist (dentist who specializes in gum disease and dental implants). Some states are requiring the candidate to do general practice residencies instead of taking dental license exams (New York). The laws may change by the time you graduate from dental school.

4.) From my experience as a professor, candidates that default from Medical school and go to Dental school (because they did not get into medical school) usually end up very disappointed and unhappy. The training to become a dentist is very different when it involves the laboratory and hands-on exercises. The student will have to survive two years of many long hours of laboratory work on models with simulated exams on models before the student is allowed to do serious work on real patients. Manual technique is very important for dentist, besides the academic workload. The laboratory classes teach hand and eye coordination. I still remember my lessons on carving a tooth using a mirror. I still perform alot of dental work using indirect vision (mirror) on my patients.

I hope all of this helps you to decide if dentistry is right for you. Please feel free to contact me if you have any more questions. I truly enjoy dentistry today, and I am glad to a member of this wonderful profession. My education took about 7 years to complete (4 years of dental school at University of Illinois, and 3 years of dental surgical residency at University of California, San Francisco). I hope that more and more women pursue a career in dentistry too.
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June 23, 2004
A: FROM MENTOR MARSHA SEGEBARTH IN INDIANA
Holly, Dental school admission committees look at essentially the same qualifications that medical schools do. Those applying to dental school take the DAT, which stands for Dental Apptitude Test. This is comparable to the MCAT except it probably has more spatial testing. Dental students and medical students take similar courses their first two years. During high school it will be important for you to prepare yourself in the sciences - biology, chemistry, physics. Both applications will be assessed for your well-roundedness, overall GPA, outside activities, etc. Dental schools will look at both your overall GPA and your GPA in the sciences only. The primary science course grade they will look at will be Organic Chemistry (taken during college). You will need a B in this course in order to be competitive. I realize you have time, but you will want to know before taking the MCAT or DAT which course you plan to pursue. Good luck! My daughter is a 4th. year dental student now. She has never regretted her decision. Her father is a practicing dentist for over 25 years. Our son is an Orthopedic Surgery resident. He, too, is happy with his decision! You must make the choice. Examine both careers. Determine which lifestyle suits you better - as well as which looks like more 'fun'. Again, good luck in your decision.
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A: FROM MENTOR KHANH VU IN TX
I was in your shoes 10 ys ago when I was deciding on a profession; so, I applied to both. Applying to dental school is similar to medical school. It's not quite as competitive though. Nonetheless, you are required to fulfill certain college prerequisites for dental school, which are pretty much the same as those for med school. Yes, dental schools do look at closely at your college GPA and extracurricular activities. But you also need to do well on the dental admission test, which is called the DAT. It tests biology, chemistry, physics like the MCAT. But it also has this section on image perception (eg depth) which is definitely not on the MCAT. If I remember correctly, the DAT does not have a writing section (which is part of the MCAT). You can get more information by going onto a search engine and typing in "admission requirements for dental school" or specifically about the ! DAT.

You can do what I did and apply to both. But I think (as cheesy as this may sound) it might be more prudent to sincerely reflect on what you think you'll enjoy most and hope to get out of life. Keep in mind that regardless of whichever path you choose, this will be a life-long commitment. Both dental and medical school will be intense, rigorous, challenging, and demanding. (My sister is a dentist, so I do have some idea of what dental school is like.) Of course, the responsibilities and demands are different between medical and dental school. It's not even over when you finish med/dental school. After med school, you have to do a residency (duration depends on your specialty but minimum of 3 yrs). After dental school, which is also 4 yrs if you were wondering, you may choose to do a dental residency or subspecialty (e.g. orthodontics, periodontics, pedi-dentistry, etc). Becoming a doctor! or dentist is not as glamorous as your preconceived notion may be. Don't let anyone fool you- it's hard work. But, at least for me, it's been incredibly rewarding. I would strongly recommend that you shadow a dentist as well as a physician to help you decide. And if you really can't decide, you can apply to an oral surgery program, and be both an MD and DDS! Good luck with all of your future endeavors.