3 years instead of 2

[pjmalcolm]

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Is there any way to cut dental school down to 3 years instead of 2?

 

[DentalKitty]

Do you mean 3 instead of 4? UoP offers a 3 year program, right?

 

[pjmalcolm]

that was a typo 3 years instead of 4 thanks

 

[dentwannabe]

that was a typo 3 years instead of 4 thanks

YES, there is a way to make it 3 instead of 4 years. ONLY ONE WAY. Its called the University of Pacific School of Dentistry and its competitive as hell to get into. It gives a great clinical education, but one downside is that it IS a private school so it is sorta pricey, i believe at the end of 3 years average debt is close to 250k.. someone correct me if i'm wrong.

 

[Fuji]

There's another way: drop out after year 3.

 

[dmd2011]

There's another way: drop out after year 3.

yea but i think the OP still wants to be a dentist after his 3 year program.

 

[coursedirector2005]

I went to dental school between 1977 and 1980. At that time there were quite a few dental schools with three year programs. It was thought that there was going to be a shortage of dentists so the federal government paid dental schools to increase enrollment and go to three years. This never made sense to me as a way to increase the number of dentists as it would only work for one year (the year you start it) as thereafter only one class a year will graduate.

The fact that all those schools went back to four year programs (except one) indicates that it was a bad idea. We started school in mid-July and went straight thru until graduation with only two weeks off at Christmas time and two weeks off around the fourth of July. Our school also had a hard time with students not graduating on time. A very high percentage didn't finish until the end of the summer following "graduation" and some even later.

The thing is there is so much more to learn now. When I was in dental school we didn't have all the range of bonding agents and composites. Light curing composites were just coming out. All the information about infection control was rudimentary. HIV/AIDS wasn't even known then and for most procedures we didn't even wear gloves. There was no time for students to be involved in extras such as research. I just don't see how you can cram in all the things dental students need to learn now in just three years.

I suppose the only good thing is that you only pay three years of tuition but in all probability, the schools will cram four years worth of tuition into three years.

 

[12YearOldKid]

You can't really finish a program early, but I've known several people who've managed to turn a 4 year program into 5, 6 and even 7 year programs.

 

[armorshell]

So as I'm sure everyone expected, the mandatory backlash from a (future) UoP student 😛

I promise I'll try to be civil...

The fact that all those schools went back to four year programs (except one) indicates that it was a bad idea.

I just don't see how you can cram in all the things dental students need to learn now in just three years.

Because you don't understand how it happens, doesn't necessarily mean that it can't. The commission on dental accreditation reports the accreditation status of University of the Pacific is "Approval without reporting requirements" (http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/programs/...ddsdmd_us.asp), which according to the commissions status definitions (http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/accred/standards/predoc.pdf) means they meet or exceed the requirements outlined in that document to graduate dental students. Considering that on the last accreditation visit in 2000, on which the University received 18 superlative commendations with no recommendations, they probably exceed it.

I can also add, that while I'm sure there are several dental schools around the country that have 16 quarter, 30 credit/semester, year round curriculums, I can't seem to find them. Every school I interviewed at and researched besides UoP has a significant amount of "break ", whether it is a lighter class load or straight up time off. The faculty at UoP suggests the majority of their "time crunch" comes from eliminating breaks and vacations, and starting 2-3 months earlier than other school, not from removing essential curricula.

I'm not trying to convince you that UoP is the greatest dental school in the world, but it is a great school.

I suppose the only good thing is that you only pay three years of tuition but in all probability, the schools will cram four years worth of tuition into three years.

You hit the nail right on the head here, we get four years of education, and we pay for it 🙂