are there residency requirements to dentistry

[kent100s78]

i have 2 quick questions i hope you all could help me with. when you complete dental school are there residency requirements after school likes MD's have to go through or can you go straight to work? like for example oral surgury.second question, im all over this site posting questions in medicine, PA ect. but i see some dental schools out there do not require you to have a degree to get into dental school some like nova and one school in AZ. ask for 90 credits am i correct i hope. i mean im a bio. major and have 3 years to go i will be 29 when i graduate and i figure i would be pretty old in dental school i asume a year will help me out alot, im no spring chicken and being married does'nt make it easiar lol.

thanks all for listening to me and i hope you all can answer my questions.

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[UBTom]

If you wish to practice general dentistry, you are not required to do a residency after dental school.

If you with to specialize, yes you do. Since you mentioned oral surgery, that particular specialty requires 4 years of postgrad training (6 years if you wish to get an M.D. as well in the bargain).

Even though you do not need a Bachelors degree to apply to dental school, you still do need to fulfill the dental prerequisite course requirements.

HTH!

 

[kent100s78]

well what is involved in genral dentistry when you have a DDS yyou capable to do surgury i assumed. what if i wanted to do cosmetic dentistry would that fall in the genral practice or again a residency.

 

[UBTom]

As a general dentist, yes you can indeed perform oral surgery procedures if you are confident you can do it. However, you will be held to the exact same standards as a specialist if you do. i.e. if you screw up, "I'm not a specialist" is NOT a valid excuse.

You have a professional responsibility to refer out procedures which you are not trained for or proficient at.

That's why if you are a general dentist fresh out of dental school, you will most likely NOT perform procedures like Lefort-I Osteotomies done by board-certified oral surgeons. 😀

"cosmetic dentistry" is not a specialty in dentistry, and most procedures involved would fall under restorative dentistry (techniques for which you will learn in dental school), so you will be able to do that as a general dentist without additional post-grad training, yes.

 

[kent100s78]

tom thanks for answering my questions.like i said im a bio. major and am looking to get in the medical field but am not sure where yet why i post all over the forum.

are there any other specialists in dentistry that you may get into and how long are there residency also lol whats some of there salaries?

where is the job market now in dentistry, do you have to have a practice are there other oppertunities in dentristry?

again thanks alot im 25 and a am a bit old and need to decide where to go.

 

[UBTom]

Dentistry currently has eight recognized specialties:

Endodontics, Orthodontics, Periodontics, Oromaxillofacial Surgery, Radiology, Oral Pathology, Pediatric Dentistry, and Prosthodontics.

To become a specialist in any of those fields, you will have to undergo post-graduate training after finishing dental school. The length of the programs vary-- For example, some perio programs are 2 years while others are 3.

There is talk of adding another specialty to dentistry-- Dental Anesthesiology. It's being debated in the ADA right now.

As far as the job market is concerned, you can buy your own practice, buy a stake in a group practice and become a partner, or you can just work for a practice as an associate. General dentists can expect to earn 100K a year, more for specialists.

HTH.

 

[kent100s78]

well i assume you get paid while in residency for example Orthodontics during there 2 years am i correct.

which specialty do you see getting the majority of the patients.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Actually, you don't get paid for the majority of PG (post-grad) training you go through. Orthodontic programs (in general) will NOT pay you, rather you pay them because it is education.

Oral surgery residencies usually have some sort of payment to the resident attached with them.

For most other residencies (with the exception of certain programs here and there) you pay the tuition because you are still in school, albeit a post-graduated education is what you are obtaining.

 

[Joshua Tree]

I used to sit on an admissions board and they "recommend" a degree, in case you don't get in, but if you have the requirements, and the scores, then you can get in. This applies to a majority of schools, not just a few...

Good luck...

JT

 

[larryt]

Originally posted by UBTom
Dentistry currently has eight recognized specialties:

Endodontics, Orthodontics, Periodontics, Oromaxillofacial Surgery, Radiology, Oral Pathology, Pediatric Dentistry, and Prosthodontics.

Add: Dental Public Health

 

[boyan]

I have another question: How hard is it to get into a specialization program? As long as I know it is very competitive to get into Ortho program, but what about the others? Are there any general requirements? Which specialty is most easily approachable?