Canadian Eligibilty Exam

[ss23]

Hi Gang,

First time here, love the support everyone gives!

My question is I am currently in Dental School at the University of West Indies in Trinidad. I will be graduating in May, and without practising in Trinidad I want to go to Canada and pursue my career there.
I want to know from anyone who has taken the eligibility exam how difficult was it? Also which Canadian Dental Schools are recommended to apply to? I am looking at the eastern side of Canada, U of T, Western, etc... any advice would be greatly appreciated....
Thanks
ss23

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[ss23]

Where did this girl go to school?

 

[divya]

i was wondering if there is any preperation material available (somethin along the lines of dental decks or previous exam releases) which help u take the eligibility exam.please share ur info.im really at my wits end trying to find this out,coz there is a huge possibility that i may have to move to canada.

 

[daimlerstan]

Hi,
. Have you done the ACFD exam?..If so pls get in touch with me regrading which books/material to use to study, where to obtain previous question papers , study guides etc.

I am just preparing for the ACFD exam..What are your plans so far....I heard its quite hard to get into univ in Canada..Pls update me as t the exam, materials to prepare, how you find it so far..etc...Thanks. . My email is [email protected]. Your help and respone in this matter is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Susan

 

[docsilla]

I've taken the ACFD exams, and though i didn't get great scores, i can share my knowledge with u..... most people use the american dental decks and such stuff, bcos nothing specific to canada is available. part 2 dental decks of course

 

[ss23]

Docsilla,

how was the exam? what types of questions were on the exam?

Do you feel the Dental Decks were of help?

What would you have done differently to get prepared for this exam again?

Thanks for your help.
ss23

 

[docsilla]

i did it in 2002. as far as i remember the questions were easy. u can see a sample paper in acfd website.

i did not have time then to do dental decks. but i heard from others that this is what everyone uses

 

[divya]

hey sylla,
from what info i have gathered so far and what u have said ,i have understood that in order to apply for the international dentist program in canada u need to take this eligibility exam.
after which there is this interview process and most schools have a clinical test which they administer.
here in california ,there are coaching classes which help u prepare for those clinical tests(duggans )
i wanted to know whether there are such coaching classes available in canada too?
another doubt i had is that once u r through with the eligibility exam and u apply to schools ,there are 2 diff options available-
1)degree completion program -which i gather gives u a dds or dmd at the end of the study period
and
2)qualifying program.

i understand that both these programmes ultimately enable one to take the canadian national boards ,but cud u please tell me which will be better in the long run?

besides this cud u throw some light on the admission procedure for an international dentist to apply to canadian schools?(if there is something that i have missed)
please write abt ur interview experiences also so far.
im asking u alot,but ill be most thankful if u cud share ur experiences and opinions.

 

[docsilla]

there is a one week course offered at university of western ontario. details of it are on the school website.
yes, some schools like univ of alberta give u a dds, and some call it the qualifying program. i haven't bothered to find out where u can practise with , etc. etc..... i think each province has its own licensing requirements and we'll need to check with them. of course its best always to have a dds.
also, are u a canadian permanent resident? most schools require that you be one, all except univ of british columbia.
also u will need to take the TSE (test of spoken english) and IELTS, since not all schools here accept just the toefl.
they do look at transcripts but there is no need for ECE evaluation

check out early on the specific requirements of each school, just so u can avoid last minute running

the whole business is rather expensive, there are total of 70 seats all over canada, and competitive as ever. i have not been lucky so far....

do you take the EE in may this year?

 

[daimlerstan]

What was the exam like.

1)Which sections did most questions come from
2) Was it more clinical application type?
3)Which books helped or is useful in studying?
4) Do you have any exams or websites which we can use to study or order material from?
5)Do you plan to take an another exam any time soon?...

Pls keep in touch..Thanks..

Susan

Originally posted by docsilla
there is a one week course offered at university of western ontario. details of it are on the school website.
yes, some schools like univ of alberta give u a dds, and some call it the qualifying program. i haven't bothered to find out where u can practise with , etc. etc..... i think each province has its own licensing requirements and we'll need to check with them. of course its best always to have a dds.
also, are u a canadian permanent resident? most schools require that you be one, all except univ of british columbia.
also u will need to take the TSE (test of spoken english) and IELTS, since not all schools here accept just the toefl.
they do look at transcripts but there is no need for ECE evaluation

check out early on the specific requirements of each school, just so u can avoid last minute running

the whole business is rather expensive, there are total of 70 seats all over canada, and competitive as ever. i have not been lucky so far....

do you take the EE in may this year?

 

[docsilla]

since i took it in sept.2002, my memory is foggy...but it was mainly clinical and very basic pre-clinical stuff. main thing i remember after the exam was that it was far easier than ndeb -2. there was no case analysis, and the questions were all mixed up i.e. no separate section for diff subjects like u have in ndeb-1

i'm not the 'smartest' person to ask, or else i'd be in school by now. let me see if i can find some information from people who have been called for interviews this year.

good luck with ur studying....

 

[divya]

hey sylla,
sorry for not replyin earlier.i had a problem accessing the site a couple of days back.
wel im not a canadian resident at the present .
there is a possibility that i may have to move over there.......never know


i havent yet decided wen to take the eligibility exam.
what is considered a good (competitive)score in order to get into school over there.
what else do they look for in a prospective candidate besides the obvious (marks and dexterity tests??)

dont ever say that u are not smart enough or anything like that......coz after a while it is ust plain ol luck.
hope lady luck smiles on u and u land urself a nice sweet seat in a school of ur choice.

 

[mommyr]

a competitive score is a minimum of 80. i just got 75 when i took the acfd exam in oct 2002. i applied to u of t twice and later learned that what they look for mainly is your gpa from school so if it's not high they suggest rewriting the acfd exam to be more competitive

just study the detal decks and past ada exam questions mostly part 2

 

[yasi]

I just want to know did you pass nbde of usa and your scores
I just want to know about the difference between the exam scores in canada and usa exam
thank you

 

[mommyr]

i got 82% for ada part 1 and 84% for ada part 2

75 for the canadian dental eligibility test

 

[yasi]

thank you mommyr

 

[yasi]

mommyr
did you apply for any advance standing?
just because my scores are almost as yours

 

[Henna]

Originally posted by docsilla


i'm not the 'smartest' person to ask, or else i'd be in school by now.

aww...c'mon, Canada has very few schools, that's one of the main reasons its so difficult to get in.
No reason for you to put yourself down.

 

[mommyr]

I ONLY APPLIED AT U OF TORONTO BEC. I LIVE HERE AND SINCE I THOUGHT I WAS TAKING THE BENCH LAST MAY AND I HAVE SPENT SO MUCH AT DR. DUGGAN'S SCHOOL PREPARING FOR IT I HAVE NO FUNDS LEFT AND THE MOTIVATION TO APPLY IN OTHER CANADIAN SCHOOLS.

AGAIN MY EE SCORE IS NOT COMPETITIVE ENOUGH SO IF NOTHING HAPPENS IN CALIFORNIA NEXT YEAR I AM REWRITING THE EE TO GET AT LEAST 80 OTHERWISE IT'D BE A WASTE APPLYING TO OTHER CANADIAN SCHOOLS AND NOT HAVING A COMPETITIVE SCORE

I HAVE BEEN A RESIDENT HERE IN CANADA FOR 2 YEARS. I HOPE TO GET MY CITIZENSHIP NEXT YEAR SO IN CASE I PASS THE BENCH AND CLINICAL IN CALIFORNIA IT'D BE EASIER TO GET A WORK PERMIT.

I CURRENTLY WORK AS A DENTAL ASSISTANT AND I AM NOT TOO KEEN ON GOING BACK TO SCHOOL AND INCURRING MORE DEBT. IF GOD WILLS IT I HOPE I CAN DO IT THE SHORTER WAY.

 

[yasi]

hi mommyr
as i am in canada too can i ask you did you pass special course to work as a dental assistant or is it better to work as dental hygiene .it's great help cause i'm new here

 

[mommyr]

it depends which province you are. in ontario dental assisting is not regulated. i just faxed my transcript to the ministry of health and long term care to get my HARP (Healing Arts and Radiology something?###...) which is a requirement to operate Xrays

they have diff. levels of assisting here level 1 are regular assistants and level 2 which is the highest level in assisting allows you to take impressions, place matrix bands, dams and do coronal polishing etc. and other expanded functions and for that i just submitted my credentials to the National Dental Assisting Examination Board and they allowed me to sit for the exam for level 2 and so i didn't bother going to any assisting school

dental assistants depending on your employer earn anywhere from CAD 10 - 20 per hour. I just started assiting 5 months ago and I earn CAD 15 but if I chose to work for a specialist which ususally needs a level 2 asst. i believe the starting rate is a min. of 18

i am trying to stick it out here until i hear from california hopefully by jan. next year

new hygiene grads earn CAD 35 an hour up tp 40. it's a 2 year program and the tuition is about CAD 20,000. it's very competitive to get in and I was thinking i'd rather spend 2 years getting recertified as a dentist than going to hygiene school

check the websites of NDAEB and hygiene for more info.

 

[yasi]

thank you mommyr
your information are very useful but i tought may be we can work as hygienist only by passing exams
anyway thank you so much

 

[Henna]

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