dental school admission and dentistry advice....

[ktamimi]

Hello everyone.. i was wondering what exactly does a dental student do after 4 years of dental school? i hear alot about residencies but i am not really getting the picture. and also if i want to be a pediatric dentist what do i do when i first enter dental school.?

right now i will be done with my dental pre reqs by summer 05. i hear that you do not really need physics to pass the DAT. is that true?? if it is then i will be done with organic chem 1 and 2, inorganic chem 1 and 2, english 1 and 2, biology and zoology by spring 05.

what should i do?

take the DAT sometime in the spring 05?
or wait until i finish physics 2 by summer 05?


thanks alot!

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[msf41]

The best way to know if you are ready to take the DAT is to but a prep book. The Kaplan DAT prep book is good. It has a CD-ROM with practice DAT's. Taking a practice test could be helpful, but even picking up the book and thumbing through the sections would give you an idea of where you are at.

When I started looking at the Kaplan book I found out in about 10 minutes that I really need to go back and refresh (relearn) some zoology stuff. Good luck.

 

[Biogirl361]

Hello everyone.. i was wondering what exactly does a dental student do after 4 years of dental school? i hear alot about residencies but i am not really getting the picture.

after dental school you can either go right into practice (get hired as an associate with another dentist(s), or start your own practice) or you can do a general dentist residency for a year or two, which gives you more experience and clinical exposure before jumping into practice. if you did well enough in dental school you also may have the option to do a specialty program/residency for 2 to 3 years.

and also if i want to be a pediatric dentist what do i do when i first enter dental school.?

first of all you should wait until you are already in dental school and have had exposure to all of the different specialties before deciding what you want to do. an admissions director once told me that tons of people enter dental school wanting to be pedo's, until they saw what it was really like, and then changed their minds in a hurry! or, you might do a few root canals and decide that you LOVE endo! can't know until you try everything. to answer your question though, as a new dental student you don't need to do anything except work real hard and get killer stats and build good relationships with prof's, and maybe do some shadowing at pedodontist offices in your spare time. later, in 3rd or 4th year (not sure exactly when), that is when people start matching/applying for specialty programs.

right now i will be done with my dental pre reqs by summer 05. i hear that you do not really need physics to pass the DAT. is that true?? if it is then i will be done with organic chem 1 and 2, inorganic chem 1 and 2, english 1 and 2, biology and zoology by spring 05.

what should i do?

take the DAT sometime in the spring 05?
or wait until i finish physics 2 by summer 05?

physics is not covered on the DAT. take the DAT after all your chemistry and biology classes are done and after you have studied enough that you feel comfortable taking it. whether you take it in late spring or early summer, you can still apply early for the 2006 cycle (applications come out in mid may).