Advice for DMD/PhD

[PrimaryTooth]

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Are there any DMD(or DDS)/PhD students out there? I would love to hear your experience in your program to decide if it's something I want to follow through with. The specific schools I'm looking at are UConn and UMaryland. I know the admissions process is very different from the MD/PhD process, and I couldn't find info on this forum regarding this topic, so please PM me if you are in a combined program like this. Thanks in advance.

Also, if it helps, I'll be interviewing at UMB in early Jan and I've been admitted to UConn DMD, with the option to interview for the PhD component.

 

[Kung Foo]

PrimaryTooth -

There aren't many DDS/PhD students in general, nor on this forum - we're a small bunch (with a lot of support from the NIDCR). I'm in year 7 of 7, just finished my boards, and all I have left to complete are (1) clinic requirements and (2) to defend my dissertation, so I'm in a very good place. I don't know anything about UConn's program, but I do know (as in have met a few times) some good people from UMB. IMO, Minnesota and OSU have some of the strongest programs in the country. Some of this will depend on your research interests - being able to find a strong research mentor and a topic you love will drive most of the success of your program.

If it helps, I love what I'm doing, and am staying in research full time when I'm done. I don't know what your situation is, however it was agonizing for me to decide on the dual route after planning on a straight DDS the whole time I was an undergrad. Once I made that decision to go to the interviews, everything fell into place. PM me with any Q's. Good luck!

Oh - and whatever you do, be absolutely sure that you get to talk to 2+ people in any program before you commit to anything. Go back and extra day for lunch/coffee if necessary, bring your list of questions and don't be shy about getting answers to all of them. There's wide variation in the DDS/DMD PhD programs, and some of them go through quite dysfunctional periods (I think a lot of this is the lack of standard structure that the MD/PhD programs benefit from, plus the smaller number of students). I know that this sounds like basic advice, but it shocks the heck out of me whenever we have a new student start who hasn't met anyone in the program yet. It's only your future.