What to do for Prostho residency?

[SDMITE]

Hi Friends,
I am 3rd year DMD student with a keen interest in Prosthodontics residency. my current GPA is around 3.6 with few chances of improvement and part-1 score of 87. Can anyone please guide me what should i do to improve my profile to be competent for prosthodontic residency? What is the good enough GPA? How about Prosthodontics externships?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

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[HupHolland]

Prosth ain't all that competitive to get into. I think you'll be fine with those scores. I would just concentrate on getting some good LORs from prosth faculty at your school.

Hup

 

[mike3kgt]

Prosth ain't all that competitive to get into. I think you'll be fine with those scores. I would just concentrate on getting some good LORs from prosth faculty at your school.

Hup

Well funded prostho residencies are very difficult to get into. Keep your grades up and at this point, get great letters of rec, and possibly enroll in a prostho honors program or see what you can do to get your undergraduate prosthodontics award.

We have one resident who was #1 in his class and a 95+ Part I board, one who was top 10%, student government president, >90 Part I and practiced for two years and one who was also top 10%, cast 150 inlay/onlays in dental school, and presented at a major implant meeting.

Those coveted funded program positions are fewer and fewer these days and the applicant pool is increasing. This by nature will make the programs that don't have tuition and pay stipends very competitive. The programs that have high tuition and are not funded, however, are very easy to get into. If you speak English coherently and your tuition is being paid for by a country with lots of oil revenues, you basically are guaranteed a spot .

 

[HupHolland]

Well funded prostho residencies are very difficult to get into. Keep your grades up and at this point, get great letters of rec, and possibly enroll in a prostho honors program or see what you can do to get your undergraduate prosthodontics award.

We have one resident who was #1 in his class and a 95+ Part I board, one who was top 10%, student government president, >90 Part I and practiced for two years and one who was also top 10%, cast 150 inlay/onlays in dental school, and presented at a major implant meeting.

Those coveted funded program positions are fewer and fewer these days and the applicant pool is increasing. This by nature will make the programs that don't have tuition and pay stipends very competitive. The programs that have high tuition and are not funded, however, are very easy to get into. If you speak English coherently and your tuition is being paid for by a country with lots of oil revenues, you basically are guaranteed a spot .

Mike - where did you do prosth?

And sorry, my post wasn't slamming prosth or their residency programs. Just on average, they are not as competitive to get into. I actually think prosth is the most challenging residency, with the exception of maybe OMS. If I were to specialize, it would be prosth; but for now I'll just be a Pankey GP

 

[mike3kgt]

Mike - where did you do prosth?

And sorry, my post wasn't slamming prosth or their residency programs. Just on average, they are not as competitive to get into. I actually think prosth is the most challenging residency, with the exception of maybe OMS. If I were to specialize, it would be prosth; but for now I'll just be a Pankey GP

I didn't take it that way . I worked for a guy who was an exquisitely trained Pankey/Dawson/AACD general dentist. He still does much better work than most prosthodontists I know, including myself (in 3 months ).

It's a dedication, philosophy, and gut thing. If you want it bad enough and seek the additional training, a well-trained GP is just as good if not better than the average prosthodontist. The difficulty I saw when practicing GP was that to get there took 1) 15-20+ years of CE, 2) over $300k in travel, CE tuition, and lost practice revenue (maybe more?), and 3) you are still a 'weekend warrior' in a growing 'specialist world.'

I saw the opportunity for a funded (i.e. no cost and they pay a stipend) prosthodontic training program during an anemic economy. I couldn't resist and it's been a great ride.

And BTW, when the OS residents come by they always comment how much we work and how they're amazed at how difficult our program is. But in reality, they're both difficult but in vastly different ways. I hung out with the OS residents during a few days of their case load and it's a ball-buster so I can understand why people say OS is very difficult. I do laugh when the ortho residents think that their program is much more difficult than our prostho program...

 

[SDMITE]

Thank you very much for the valuable input.. Well, in fact i don't belong to oil producing country so, cant improve that in my profile.... but what I am right now looking for is an opportunity for a valuable prosthodontic externship either this summer or the winter.. Any suggestions??

 

[yellowg]

Hi Friends,
I am 3rd year DMD student with a keen interest in Prosthodontics residency. my current GPA is around 3.6 with few chances of improvement and part-1 score of 87. Can anyone please guide me what should i do to improve my profile to be competent for prosthodontic residency? What is the good enough GPA? How about Prosthodontics externships?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

I am also applying for prosthodontics for 2013. Only two universities have ask for GRE but i am not sure if having that test would be a great difference. I am an international trained dentist but will also hold my DMD from an US accredited dental school. How many universities will you apply for?

 

[Mackchops]

I think only a couple programs ask for the GRE and that's only if you're applying for a masters I think (san antonio is one... maybe UCONN?). You might do well to contact the program(s) you're considering and ask if they want you to take the GRE. Also look at the acp website for a complete list of programs.

Good luck! Sitting here with my fingers crossed hoping for interviews!