A guide to becoming a dentist

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Lunasly

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Hello everyone,

This is my first time on this forum and after searching around I thought I should just create a thread. I have just graduated from high school with grades which could be better, but I am satisfied with. I finished grades around 92 - 96% from all my sciences classes.

I have decided that I want to become a dentist. Not just a general dentist, but a specialist. I am not sure which one yet, but I am hoping you can all set me on the right path while I am still starting. I was hoping if any one of you could give me a guide or some tips as to what I should as I study to get my BS degree. Should I start shadowing dentists? What type of volunteer work or extra-circular activities should I be involved in? What are some tips to study so that I can achieve an exceptional GPA? What are you tips to manage your time? Anything else I should do ahead of time before I apply to dental school?

I guess besides the tips that you can all give me, I am mainly looking for an all-in-one guide to becoming a specialist in the dental field which starts all the way from beginning at my first year of university.
 
I would say step 1 for you should be shadow a dentist for at least a couple of months and then decide for sure if dentistry is for you. If you do that and know this is what you want to do, then proceed from there. Why get wrapped up in something that might not be for you?
 
Thank you both for the great replies. I have read the article and I will begin shadowing a dentist. 🙂
 
Best advice I can give you for your quest: Be spontaneous and open. Go do things you usually wouldn't do (of course, nothing illegal :laugh:). Control your destiny!! However, just make sure you keep up your grades...

From my experience, I started college with an interest in dentistry, but then I later drifted into other healthcare fields. I pretty much did my research and concluded that dentistry best fits my interests and abilities. Good luck with everything! These next few years will undoubtedly challenge you, but maintain a positive attitude.
 
as a present first year, i recommend u pick up an AP Chem book and READ it over the summer..chem is very hard at some schools..and the profs might automatically assume u have a strong background in chem..which is an absolutely ridiculous thing to do, BUT they still do it
 
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