DDS Rec Letter, required?

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ATX04UT

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Anyone having a hard time with LOR taking forever? I have three professor rec letters and that composite from my HPO advisor which makes that four letters. I asked the dentist I shadowed ages ago, and he still has not sent it in. And he has not returned my calls or emails the last few weeks either. He said he would get around to it, but still nothing. What should I do?

Will I still be able to get interviews or possible accept. without a dentist rec letter? Is the dentist rec letter a significant deal in the application? Is it required? I thought about just volunteering somewhere else to get that DDS letter since the one I shadowed is taking forever. ( I asked him in march)
Any advice or suggestions PLEASE 🙁
 
I think having one is a good idea. So far, the only school that i have seen requiring it was UNLV, but there are bound to be a couple more. I would try visiting him in person to jog his memory. That way you dont seem like you are pestering him. I think he is just a bit of a procrastinator, so you should do something to get a hold of him. Another idea is send all the other app. materials, shadow a new dentist, and get a LOR from him a month or two from now. As long as you get that letter in to the ADCOM office for the interview I think you will be okay.
 
Do you have a good rapport with his receptionist? Perhaps you could call and talk to her/him. Chances are your dentist just forgot and having someone on his staff remind him might help - "Oh, before you leave Dr....." Just a thought.
 
tufts requires 30 hrs volunteer work.. and letter from the dentist
 
Looks like you are from TX so if you want to apply to Baylor you will need one.
 
and also, ucsf requires one.

but, san antonio WILL give you an interview before they get your lor's.

you know, if you are really desparate, i suggest writing your own lor and give it to your dentist to sign and mail out. the only draw back i can think of is that this might rub his/her ego the wrong way. but, desparate times call for desparate measures.
 
If your applying in the east I dont think any require them, and I applied to a lot of schools.
 
I also noticed that Nova indicates that even though a dentist letter is not required, it is highly desired.
 
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