Choosing between dental assisting and dental hygiene

[Doge2022]

Hi. In two to three years time I'll be receiving my US PR through family reunion. By the time I do that, I will have already obtained my dental degree in my home country. In order to continue my work in the dental field in the US, I'll obviously have to get my dental license approved by the American board. Enrolling into one of the Advanced standing programs is my number 1 option. However, I'm afraid I'm more likely to get rejected than accepted given the infinitesimal number of seats that are allocated for these programs and the relentlessness of competition. Therefore, I'm considering other programs that are within the same field, albeit less thorny to enroll in, e. g. dental hygiene or dental assisting. But there is a handful of things that bother me. First, how likely am I to be considered overqualified for these degrees due to my foreign DDS certificate? And second, given the ever saturated labor market when it comes to dentistry in the US, exactly how difficult would it be to find a job as a hygienist or dental assistant? Especially when you consider the number of DDS students or fresh DDS alumni that also compete for these positions. Thanks in advance.

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[PerioDont]

There is an infinite amount of hygiene and assistant positions here in the US.

There are probably a handful of DDS students/alumni across the country that care to compete for spots in those fields.

I wouldn't worry at all about being over qualified.

Do you want to be a hygienist or assistant? If not, I'd really focus on making your app for an Advanced standing IDP program.

 

[Doge2022]

There is an infinite amount of hygiene and assistant positions here in the US.

There are probably a handful of DDS students/alumni across the country that care to compete for spots in those fields.

I wouldn't worry at all about being over qualified.

Do you want to be a hygienist or assistant? If not, I'd really focus on making your app for an Advanced standing IDP program.

Thank you for taking the time to reply. Ideally, I would opt to try the Advanced standing route in order to continue to work as a dentist. Not to sound scornful or anything, but dental hygiene and assisting seem like subpar options for someone with a DDS degree. However, it is also quite likely that my parents won't have the necessary wherewithal to pay for the Advanced standing program. I'm enamoured of the field and don't necessarily want to pursue anything else. That's why I'm basically grasping at straws and consider things like dental hygiene and assisting. Do you have any knowledge of the application process to Advanced standing programs? Exactly how difficult is it to get accepted given that the standard quota is circa 10 to 15 people?

 

[PerioDont]

Thank you for taking the time to reply. Ideally, I would opt to try the Advanced standing route in order to continue to work as a dentist. Not to sound scornful or anything, but dental hygiene and assisting seem like subpar options for someone with a DDS degree. However, it is also quite likely that my parents won't have the necessary wherewithal to pay for the Advanced standing program. I'm enamoured of the field and don't necessarily want to pursue anything else. That's why I'm basically grasping at straws and consider things like dental hygiene and assisting. Do you have any knowledge of the application process to Advanced standing programs? Exactly how difficult is it to get accepted given that the standard quota is circa 10 to 15 people?

There is an international dental page: International Dental

hopefully they can better help as I am unsure of the process