Caribbean Dental Schools

[dentistdream]

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Hi~
What do you guys think about those dental schools in Puerto Rico area. Their tuition is cheap and easy to get in, I guess.
Also, do patients ask their dentists which dental school they have attended?
Any info will be appreciated.
Thank you for your time~
Bye

 

[chocobo]

It seems that most patients do not ask their dentists which dental school they attended. My dentist has been practicing for about 10 years or so and has told me that only one patient has ever asked that question.

 

[dentistdream]

Oh Wow~ I guess patients don't really care which dental schools that their dentists attended, huh?
Well, then, what do you think about the dental schools in Puerto Rico? Do you know anything about that school? It seems like it's pretty easy to get in with cheap tuitions, but I am thinking that I would have to speak Spanish fluently in order to get into that school.......What do you think?

 

[gower]

In Puerto Rico there is only one US accredited dental school: the University of Puerto Rico. All of its students are Puerto Rican residents.

If there are any other dental schools operating in PR, they are either accredited only by PR (and their graduates are foreign dental school graduates for US licensure purposes) or unaccredited by anyone (and their graduates would be ineligible for licensure anywhere).

 

[Mayra]

Just to clear things uo a bit,

Puerto Rico has only one dental school (University of Puerto Rico) and it is US accredited. There are many other universities and colleges in Puerto Rico that are also US accredited. Even though the school's tuition is very cheap it is extremely hard to get. Even Puerto Ricans have a very hard time trying to get in. They accept only 45 students a year!!! It is a very good school, but very hard to get in.

 

[DentalTutor]

Hi:

For foreign dental graduates, I provide online tutoring for the NBDE Part 1. Please visit
<a href="http://gdsingh27.tripod.com/" target="_blank">http://gdsingh27.tripod.com/</a> for details

 

[steiner19er]

I checked out the only carribean dental school that I could find a few years ago. The school was in Trinidad/Tobaggo, in the West Indies. Via the web I requested info and never recieved anything. A few months later the Website was removed. What I remember from the website was that it was called Queens College or something like that. Their website consisted of dozens of help wanted ads, mostly dentists of all types and lab techs. It seemed like a fishy deal.

 

[steiner19er]

searching google <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=dental+school+west+indies&btnG=Google+Search" target="_blank">link</a> i found some info. it looks like they have a new address up (or this could be a different school). They take 25 dental students a year, and 140 MD students.

This is the address of the dental school, but it is fubared <a href="http://www.trinidad.net/dental_school/" target="_blank">www.trinidad.net/dental_school/</a>
This is the address with some more info <a href="http://www.trinidad.net/uwimedsc/" target="_blank">http://www.trinidad.net/uwimedsc/</a>

To be perfectly honest I wouldn't go. It seems they like US $$ and are preying off of persons with DDS dreams. Not to mention if you do graduate you are considered an advanced standing student (go check out their forum). They seem to be having a hell of a time getting in a US dental school to redo their last 2 years, just to get a US license. 😎 Like they say if it seems to good to be true it probably is.

 

[steiner19er]

One last thing: check out DentalTutors website. Then again don't waste your time. Its a: (i'll let you read it) "our online school". An online school!!!!!!. Kick ass, I can learn how to drill and fill sitting in front of my computer. 😛
I know he is selling tutoring for foreign trained dentists, but he is presenting it as a school. So don't be fooled. Just do well in college, get A's and then you can go to the dental school of your choice (in the US of course).

 

[DentalTutor]

Mr. Steiner seems to be unfair in his comments -but perhaps that's because he has no experience of working with an online school that is conscientious and professional in it's approach to NBDE Part 1, as clearly stated. I only wish Mr. Steiner had read the information carefully before making his comments - but I wish the best with his dental studies.

Dr. Dave D.D.Sc. Ph.D. B.D.S.

 

[Big_Poppa DDS]

I just wanted to let anyone know who is going to take the NDBE part 1, that if you went to an american or canadian dental school and passed your science courses then you should have no problem passing the exam. If you look on the back of your score sheet, only 2,9% of all test takers score below 75. All you really need to do is review the decks, probably 2x and study some old exams and you should score mid 80's easily. I think I over studied by going through the decks 4 x, but I did score in the 90's.

You can always use your class notes to look up areas you were weak in from the decks and tests. The is don't panic from the amount of material, know one expects you to get perfect on the test and remeber that the score is scaled and ultimately you are just compared to all the others taking the test at that time, chances are if you don't know the answer most of your class and others won't know either and all of you won't fail.

Good luck to whoever is taking the test.

 

[DentalTutor]

Good point. However, for those wishing to take the NBDE part 1, and did NOT go to an American dental school, a simple review might not be sufficient.

 

[trypmo]

Ooh ooh!

A Recent Post!

My best buddy in undergrad was from Costa Rica. I've heard it's REALLY a beautiful place. But going to school with a bunch of 18 year olds? 🙄

 

[busupshot83]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=157238

This answers your questions about the Trinidad school.

 

[OzDDS]

The program in Costa Rica looks pretty sketchy man.. Don't know if I would venture there. The Program in Puerto Rico is a Bona Fide US ada accredited program. The program in Trinidad is a "carribean" dental school. But it is an actual dental school created with a mission statement to train local caribeans to be dentists.. NOT a school created by american buisnessmen as a for-profit company to take advantage or students who couldnt get into US programs like caribean medical schools. The program at Trinidad is a legit program and I think they even have some registration agreements with the UK which make it somewhat easier for them for their graduates to go to the UK to gain further training so then they can come back and serve the needs of the caribean community. I don't think Trinidad University is interested in taking lots of North Americans who are going to get their education and then leave those communities still in need of dental care.

If you want to attend a foriegn dental school, there is talk about some getting accredited.. But this is up to the ADA to decide. There is one mexican dental school already accrediited by the state of California to supply the spanish speaking communities of southern california. Otherwise the only other places I would bother looking outside of the US or Canada would be either Australia or UK.. Because they have programs of similar quality to the US and have good facilities, research, and have some ties with US and Canadian schools.

 

[OzDDS]

You can invest the extra 2-4 years it will take to be eligible as a foreign dental graduate to enroll in a post-bac or even get a PhD to make you competitive for US dental school admissions (although the minimum doctorate programs run ~5-7 years).

This is true.. or another approach would be to attend a foreign school, and just like foreign medical graduates.. "IF" you can gain acceptance to a US/canadian ADA accredited residency training program, then this too will give you the ability to practice in the US. But you do have to keep in mind that most dental residencies are hard enough for US/Candian grads to get into, much less foreign grads. But again, if you are the cream of the foreign crop.. then this may be another pathway. 😀

 

[busupshot83]

The program in Costa Rica looks pretty sketchy man.. Don't know if I would venture there. The Program in Puerto Rico is a Bona Fide US ada accredited program. The program in Trinidad is a "carribean" dental school. But it is an actual dental school created with a mission statement to train local caribeans to be dentists.. NOT a school created by american buisnessmen as a for-profit company to take advantage or students who couldnt get into US programs like caribean medical schools. The program at Trinidad is a legit program and I think they even have some registration agreements with the UK which make it somewhat easier for them for their graduates to go to the UK to gain further training so then they can come back and serve the needs of the caribean community. I don't think Trinidad University is interested in taking lots of North Americans who are going to get their education and then leave those communities still in need of dental care.

I agree. The University of West Indies will most likely NOT be accredited, if ADA started foreign accreditation, because they cater to the West Indies, not North America. I'm Trinidadian, and my uncle, who attended the DDS program at UWI, is a practicing dentist in Trinidad. He says he passed the NBDE parts I and II easily, and that his training was adequate. Still, I would stay in North America, because it is just too much of a hassle when returning.