Dental School Ranking?

[elnaz_GW]

Is there actually a ranking system for dental schools?
I have been to 6 interviews so far and can't really decide where to go.
can anyone help?

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[xenomblack]

Is there actually a ranking system for dental schools?
I have been to 6 interviews so far and can't really decide where to go.
can anyone help?

dental schools don't have rankings,

but some good schools are Harvard, Penn, UCLA, UoP (personaly favorite since you can finish a degree in 3 years), columbia, etc.


Good luck with making the best choice!

 

[Istr8nthem]

It all depends on what you are looking for. When i applied and was trying to decide where to go, i took into consideration the feeling i got at the interview, what current students had to say at the interview and whether they were glad they were there, how clinically prepared the students were when graduating (most important to me), board score reputation, large patient population base (if there aren't any patients, you won't gain the practical/clinical skills necessary to succeed when out).

Just some of the things i took into consideration several years ago when i was looking. Hope it helps.

 

[johntara04]

You won't get better clinical experience than at Temple.

 

[CSI Dentist]

only dentists that graduate from Temple know their $h17... lol.. NO offense.

Go wherever u feel like u would like to practice. See if you like the school first, and the ppl, and the city it is located in. U can study in one state and practice in another, but it is much easier to do both in the same state.

And then again, the cost of school + living. It is the most important factor to me. But as of ranking, who cares where u go to school. Most patients don't even know that dentists are doctors. LOL Sad but true.

 

[syn_apse]

You won't get better clinical experience than at Temple.

this is completely biased and untrue

 

[dmonee6]

You won't get better clinical experience than at Temple.

if by "better clinical experience" you mean possibly gettin shot/stabbed by your patients... then i agree, haha. you'll definitely have more experience at self-defense dentistry!

 

[1992Corolla]

whatever. I am a freshman and have already done the following:

13 extractions
7 class II
4 Class I
2 3 unit bridges
2 root canals (anterior)
1 root canal (#3)
and a BSSO


All seriousness: Most school will have you do like two root canals, some extractions, implants, etc. Multiply everything by 2-6 and that is the amount of crap they make you do here.

Check out this link.

 

[dmonee6]

You won't get better clinical experience than at Temple.

if by "better clinical experience" you mean possibly gettin shot/stabbed by your patients... then i agree, haha. you'll definitely have more experience at self-defense dentistry!

 

[RDH2DDS]

Most patients don't even know that dentists are doctors. LOL Sad but true.

This is so true. . .and. .. did you know statistically speaking the number one reason the general public chooses their dentist is based soley on how easy it is to park at their office!!!

 

[ItsGavinC]

You won't get better clinical experience than at Temple.

I believe that you'll get a better clinical experience at Arizona. Because of our mandatory clinical rotations, I believe no school can offer a better structred clinical experience. You'll have the opportunity to work for 5 months in community health centers where you'll treat 12-20 patients each day. It's tough to beat that. At my last rotation I had 2-3 operatories going at the same time, which is invaluable real-world experience.

 

[ItsGavinC]

All seriousness: Most school will have you do like two root canals, some extractions, implants, etc. Multiply everything by 2-6 and that is the amount of crap they make you do here.

See the post right above this one. No matter what Temple requires, you can't beat the clinical experience gained from Arizona. You'll do 20 extractions a week, 10 fillings a day, and 1-2 endos a day while on rotation.

Having said that, I have heard excellent things about Temples clinical education. The numbers of procedures that a Temple graduate will have pale in comparison to what an Arizona grad will have, however.

 

[pre-dentalguy]

whatever. I am a freshman and have already done the following:

13 extractions
7 class II
4 Class I
2 3 unit bridges
2 root canals (anterior)
1 root canal (#3)
and a BSSO


All seriousness: Most school will have you do like two root canals, some extractions, implants, etc. Multiply everything by 2-6 and that is the amount of crap they make you do here.

Check out this link.

So, is it really as difficult as everyone says it is?? And how are you doing so many clinicals and you're only a freshman? I thought that most clinicals really didn't start until the end of the second year!

 

[You]

Treat it like angle ranking.

 

[pre-dentalguy]

Treat it like angle ranking.

What the hell does that mean??

 

[Mackchops]

Treat it like angle ranking.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! That is officially on my top 10 list of funniest things ever!

Warning to the OP, don't get caught up with rankings, name recognition, and all that bling. If you know what you want to do with your next four years then just find a school that best lines up with what you need out of a dental education. All the schools are different and offer different things to different people. A generalized ranking would be nothing more than a popularity test and would be a disservice to us predents. What makes people always say that Harvard, Penn, and Columbia are the best dental schools? OOOH!!! Iiiiiivvvvyyyy!!! ...drool.... But I would choose temple over Penn 8 days a week.

 

[drdoodle]

As the saying goes (or, well, my variation on it):

What do you call someone who graduates at the top of their class at Harvard Dental School?

A dentist.

What do you call someone who graduates at the bottom of their class at a dental school most people have never even heard of?

A dentist.

It's all about perspective.

 

[dddsmack]

Just give me any list of schools and I will rank them for you for free. Oh and they are official, according to me.

 

[tissy]

Didn't one of the students recently on rotation just pull out 100 teeth in one day? I heard that during my interview by the dean..wow..

See the post right above this one. No matter what Temple requires, you can't beat the clinical experience gained from Arizona. You'll do 20 extractions a week, 10 fillings a day, and 1-2 endos a day while on rotation.

Having said that, I have heard excellent things about Temples clinical education. The numbers of procedures that a Temple graduate will have pale in comparison to what an Arizona grad will have, however.

 

[SuperTrooper]

whatever. I am a freshman and have already done the following:

13 extractions
7 class II
4 Class I
2 3 unit bridges
2 root canals (anterior)
1 root canal (#3)
and a BSSO


All seriousness: Most school will have you do like two root canals, some extractions, implants, etc. Multiply everything by 2-6 and that is the amount of crap they make you do here.

Check out this link.

Students from temple are so obnoxious.

To all you applicants seriously trying to guage which dental school is best, take note. The quantity of procedures that you perform in dental school isn't necessarily one of the top indicators of the quality of your education. Think about it, you will have plenty of time after you graduate to hone your hand-skills and work up your speed.

In dental school, you should be perfecting/learning the things that are hard to learn once you're on your own. I personally think that becoming an expert in diagnosis and treatment planning (& learning to do quality dental work that will last a long time) is actually a lot more important right now than being able to do a crown prep in 5 minutes 20 times a day (which seems to be the goal at temple ). Consider the level of interaction you have with your faculty, and the school's philosophy.

 

[kxc106]

Come to Case!!
I like the facility here

 

[thedentist2005]

Students from temple are so obnoxious.

To all you applicants seriously trying to guage which dental school is best, take note. The quantity of procedures that you perform in dental school isn't necessarily one of the top indicators of the quality of your education. Think about it, you will have plenty of time after you graduate to hone your hand-skills and work up your speed.

In dental school, you should be perfecting/learning the things that are hard to learn once you're on your own. I personally think that becoming an expert in diagnosis and treatment planning (& learning to do quality dental work that will last a long time) is actually a lot more important right now than being able to do a crown prep in 5 minutes 20 times a day (which seems to be the goal at temple ). Consider the level of interaction you have with your faculty, and the school's philosophy.

I went to the BangKock school of dentistry, it was real a worthwhile experience, I recommend it for everyone

 

[fajitapita]

As the saying goes (or, well, my variation on it):

What do you call someone who graduates at the top of their class at Harvard Dental School?

A dentist.

What do you call someone who graduates at the bottom of their class at a dental school most people have never even heard of?

A dentist.

It's all about perspective.

CORRECTION: You would call the top Harvard graduate a specialist.

 

[DDSY]

CORRECTION: You would call the top Harvard graduate a specialist.

Not a dentist??

 

[DDSMAN2006]

but some good schools are Harvard, Penn, UCLA, UoP (personaly favorite since you can finish a degree in 3 years), columbia, etc.

You gotta be joking dude. Seriously. Don't answer questions you have no idea what ur talking about.

If you want to be a great dentist UNC, Iowa, and Michigan are known to be the top.

Penn is pretty good, and Columbia is ok. UOP has good clinical, but learning is very compressed and you definitely pay for it. Harvard is *not* a good dental school. Very late into the clinics, very old setup, and a bunch of eggsheads get it drilled into their heads they need to specialize.

 

[AnonymousADCOM]

OP, everyone's really opinionated when it comes to rankings in SDN. dont understand why people have to get their panties up in a bunch. my advice to you: google search it. they got rid of the official ranking back in the mid 90s. however, the rankings depend on what you're looking for. want happy? then uop. want clinical? then ASDOH (source: current ASDOH and TEMPLE students) want the best girls? ucla or usc (maybe nova b/c it's in florida?). want to get drunk all the time? marquette. want gay men? unlv's professor or ucsf. want the cheapest living cost? creighton. etc etc etc. basically, every dental school prepares you to do one thing--to say "open wide." plus, search for old posts. now u said u went to 6. out of the 6, which did u like the best? rank them yourself and go to that one. i think it's best to go to the one in the state in which u want to practice in. that'd be hawaii for me.

 

[johntara04]

I believe that you'll get a better clinical experience at Arizona. Because of our mandatory clinical rotations, I believe no school can offer a better structred clinical experience. You'll have the opportunity to work for 5 months in community health centers where you'll treat 12-20 patients each day. It's tough to beat that. At my last rotation I had 2-3 operatories going at the same time, which is invaluable real-world experience.

I know that Arizona has wonderful clinical experience, but Temple students do this as well. I looked/interviewed at a lot of schools, and there wasn't any school that compared to Temple in the sheer number of procedures done by the student....except for Arizona. My opinion is biased, that is why I chose to go to the school that I am at. That being said, I honestly feel that no school will give you a better clinical experience than Temple (but, I also feel that Arizona and USC are the only other schools that even come close. I just liked the price of Temple better than those two schools),

 

[johntara04]

Students from temple are so obnoxious.

To all you applicants seriously trying to guage which dental school is best, take note. The quantity of procedures that you perform in dental school isn't necessarily one of the top indicators of the quality of your education. Think about it, you will have plenty of time after you graduate to hone your hand-skills and work up your speed.

In dental school, you should be perfecting/learning the things that are hard to learn once you're on your own. I personally think that becoming an expert in diagnosis and treatment planning (& learning to do quality dental work that will last a long time) is actually a lot more important right now than being able to do a crown prep in 5 minutes 20 times a day (which seems to be the goal at temple ). Consider the level of interaction you have with your faculty, and the school's philosophy.

How can you possibly say that the quantity of procedures done at school isn't a good indicator of the quality of your education? How is being an expert in Biochem, Histology, Microbiology, Physiology going to help you perform a root canal? How is knowing how to treatment plan for a three unit bridge, 2 root canals, one extraction, and 8 veneers going to help you if you don't know how to do the procedure? And if you do know how to do the procedure but are really really slow, do you think your patient will want you to take 5 hours to do it when I can do it in 1 hour? Do you think your patients that will be paying you thousands of dollars (compared to hundreds in school) will want to spend that much time while you learn how to do procedures more effectively?

While you are honing your skills after you graduate, Gavin and I will be producing $5,000-10,000 a day. If you want to know your biochemical pathways better than me and stay in debt longer, go for it. Just let your patients know that I can do the same procedures you are doing better than you and for the same cost but half the time. Good Luck!

 

[dddsmack]

I guess we are ranking Temple vs AZsdohatsu in this thread.

 

[DMD2007]

How can you possibly say that the quantity of procedures done at school isn't a good indicator of the quality of your education? How is being an expert in Biochem, Histology, Microbiology, Physiology going to help you perform a root canal? How is knowing how to treatment plan for a three unit bridge, 2 root canals, one extraction, and 8 veneers going to help you if you don't know how to do the procedure? And if you do know how to do the procedure but are really really slow, do you think your patient will want you to take 5 hours to do it when I can do it in 1 hour? Do you think your patients that will be paying you thousands of dollars (compared to hundreds in school) will want to spend that much time while you learn how to do procedures more effectively?

While you are honing your skills after you graduate, Gavin and I will be producing $5,000-10,000 a day. If you want to know your biochemical pathways better than me and stay in debt longer, go for it. Just let your patients know that I can do the same procedures you are doing better than you and for the same cost but half the time. Good Luck!

Good Point.

 

[tissy]

Wow...clearly said!!

How can you possibly say that the quantity of procedures done at school isn't a good indicator of the quality of your education? How is being an expert in Biochem, Histology, Microbiology, Physiology going to help you perform a root canal? How is knowing how to treatment plan for a three unit bridge, 2 root canals, one extraction, and 8 veneers going to help you if you don't know how to do the procedure? And if you do know how to do the procedure but are really really slow, do you think your patient will want you to take 5 hours to do it when I can do it in 1 hour? Do you think your patients that will be paying you thousands of dollars (compared to hundreds in school) will want to spend that much time while you learn how to do procedures more effectively?

While you are honing your skills after you graduate, Gavin and I will be producing $5,000-10,000 a day. If you want to know your biochemical pathways better than me and stay in debt longer, go for it. Just let your patients know that I can do the same procedures you are doing better than you and for the same cost but half the time. Good Luck!

 

[AZ2thDOC]

While you are honing your skills after you graduate, Gavin and I will be producing $5,000-10,000 a day. If you want to know your biochemical pathways better than me and stay in debt longer, go for it. Just let your patients know that I can do the same procedures you are doing better than you and for the same cost but half the time. Good Luck![/QUOTE]

I want to know where you and Gavin are going to be practicing?!!!

 

[tamkhan]

id go with penn as the # 1 school.

but, seriously, your aim should be to choose the school that you would fit in. let me give you a perfect example. i go to the university of toronto (considered to be the best university in canada). I spent my first year at Queen's University (ranked 2 or 3 positions lower than UofT). I transferred to UofT because, really, i wanted to be in a more reputed institution. It was a mistake. UofT is too big for my liking, has too many students (60,000), and just doesnt appeal to me in any way.

so, go for a university that you can see yourself in for the next 4 years. dont think of reputation/ranking. youve been to interviews; youve seen the schools. make a wise decision.

 

[purduephigam]

I was always told, the number one school is the school you choose to attend.

 

[dddsmack]

That is what everyone says, unless it is Uconn. It is funny how everyone's number one school is the only school that accepts them.

 

[ElDienteLoco]

whatever. I am a freshman and have already done the following:

13 extractions
7 class II
4 Class I
2 3 unit bridges
2 root canals (anterior)
1 root canal (#3)
and a BSSO


All seriousness: Most school will have you do like two root canals, some extractions, implants, etc. Multiply everything by 2-6 and that is the amount of crap they make you do here.

Check out this link.

92 Corolla,

Molar endo freshman year? On patients? Why no implants yet? Unless I'm just missing some joke, I don't believe you. When do you take boards if you're so busy in the clinic your freshman year?

Or maybe those were all pre-clinical procedures...I could see that. Just curious.

 

[ElDienteLoco]

To the OP's question...

Go where you think you'll like it. I love it here in Arizona. Some folks can't get enough of the pelvic and rectal exams at Harvard. You will still be a dentist upon graduation and if you work hard, you'll have very similar post-grad opportunities anywhere you go.

 

[SuperTrooper]

How can you possibly say that the quantity of procedures done at school isn't a good indicator of the quality of your education?

Who said that?

How is knowing how to treatment plan for a three unit bridge, 2 root canals, one extraction, and 8 veneers going to help you if you don't know how to do the procedure?

Who said anything about not learning how to do the procedure? You're just being stupid.

Listen, all i'm trying to say is that you don't measure the quality of a dental school strictly by the number of procedures you do. I was responding to 1992corolla's post. Overall, I think your post makes dentistry sound like a thoughtless trade. You're probably gonna become one of those dentists who can't diagnose a simple case of facial myalgia, and ends up doing root canals in an entire quadrant.

 

[rambo2006]

92 Corolla,

Molar endo freshman year? On patients? Why no implants yet? Unless I'm just missing some joke, I don't believe you. When do you take boards if you're so busy in the clinic your freshman year?

Or maybe those were all pre-clinical procedures...I could see that. Just curious.

92 Corolla,

I know many of the admin. at Temple including Brian as I was very serious about attending Temple. I also have the exact same questions to ask? If I'm a patient, do I really trust a D1 to put a highspeed in my mouth....HELL NO.
Have you had Oral anatomy yet in order to know where to find those pulp canals when doing some endo work. Or maybe the patients at temple are all from the same neighborhood that the school is in (terrible area) and dont care or dont know whose working on them. That probably means that Temple studnts in the clinic undure less accountability since thier patient are under the influence bums. And that allows for you hone your skills at the expense of messing up someones teeth. Its ok, jackup thier teeth, if you dont do it now the meth will do it anyway...if they live long enough. What a way to learn...exploit some homeless dude off the street.

 

[1992Corolla]

Man, these predents are so gullible. Guys I was joking. So far we have done 5 wax up practicals (along with our regular wax up projects ~10) and have started to work with acrylic (matrix, block mold, implant project). Tuesday we are getting trained with our high speed. We then start composite and amalgam.

Serious:
Pick the school you like the BEST that costs the LEAST! Dental school graduate = dentist. With that said however, choose a school that will make you a competant dentist. Who DOES want to graduate from a dental school that will only give you TWO root canals before you graduate? Not me. One reason i liked Temple. Gavin said it best. Because they don't have patients near the dental school they go to an out clinic to work on real patients (just kidding Gavin) but he is getting some serious clinical experiance because of this. Temple has recently started an out clinic program similar to this and it is required to do 40 hours of it or so I have heard. All the senior this year who took the NERB passed 100% on the block carving and crown and bridge. This is excellent.

Choose a school (if you can) that will give you this training. There are very good clinical schools out there. Temple just makes you do 2x the amount.

Supertrooper - BITTER BITTER BITTER BITTER! For being so sarcastic all of the time you sure can't take it. By the way, youre lunch comments and hottub party comments about B. Hahn scored me several lunch passes. Thanks for the free lunch

Others. Making 5-10K a day IS very possible. It takes time to get to this point and some people actually hit it the firt year out of school. A competant proficient quality dentist can do this. Temple helps, but other schools do it too. johntara2004 and I are biased because we like Temple. gavin went to AZ, of course he will talk up his program while we talk up ours. Notice NO ONE from harvard ever comes on here and says stuff like 'we did three implants today for a removable. interesting.

/serious

_____________________________________

 

[johntara04]

Who said that?


Um....You did.

Who said anything about not learning how to do the procedure? You're just being stupid.

Listen, all i'm trying to say is that you don't measure the quality of a dental school strictly by the number of procedures you do. I was responding to 1992corolla's post. Overall, I think your post makes dentistry sound like a thoughtless trade. You're probably gonna become one of those dentists who can't diagnose a simple case of facial myalgia, and ends up doing root canals in an entire quadrant.

Look, until you want to have an intelligent, courteous conversation, I am not even going to respond to what you wrote. Take a few years, grow up and then come back to the adults and we'll talk. See you then.

 

[Tarheel]

92 Corolla,

Molar endo freshman year? On patients? Why no implants yet? Unless I'm just missing some joke, I don't believe you. When do you take boards if you're so busy in the clinic your freshman year?

Or maybe those were all pre-clinical procedures...I could see that. Just curious.

You are calling him out on the Molar endo and you are going to let the BSSO slide? That is pretty funny.

 

[rambo2006]

Man, these predents are so gullible. Guys I was joking. So far we have done 5 wax up practicals (along with our regular wax up projects ~10) and have started to work with acrylic (matrix, block mold, implant project). Tuesday we are getting trained with our high speed. We then start composite and amalgam.

Serious:
Pick the school you like the BEST that costs the LEAST! Dental school graduate = dentist. With that said however, choose a school that will make you a competant dentist. Who DOES want to graduate from a dental school that will only give you TWO root canals before you graduate? Not me. One reason i liked Temple. Gavin said it best. Because they don't have patients near the dental school they go to an out clinic to work on real patients (just kidding Gavin) but he is getting some serious clinical experiance because of this. Temple has recently started an out clinic program similar to this and it is required to do 40 hours of it or so I have heard. All the senior this year who took the NERB passed 100% on the block carving and crown and bridge. This is excellent.

Choose a school (if you can) that will give you this training. There are very good clinical schools out there. Temple just makes you do 2x the amount.

Supertrooper - BITTER BITTER BITTER BITTER! For being so sarcastic all of the time you sure can't take it. By the way, youre lunch comments and hottub party comments about B. Hahn scored me several lunch passes. Thanks for the free lunch

Others. Making 5-10K a day IS very possible. It takes time to get to this point and some people actually hit it the firt year out of school. A competant proficient quality dentist can do this. Temple helps, but other schools do it too. johntara2004 and I are biased because we like Temple. gavin went to AZ, of course he will talk up his program while we talk up ours. Notice NO ONE from harvard ever comes on here and says stuff like 'we did three implants today for a removable. interesting.

/serious

_____________________________________

obviousley It didnt click that you where joking, sorry about that.
I just think that cost and location should be the most important determinants of where to go for dental school. The fact is that dental schools will always give you more then u can handle and so no matter where you go, you will perform to the best of your abilities, not the best of what they offer you. If you can get into your state school, do that, its a lot cheaper. Ok I have to get back and study. We have an anotation practical and wax up of number 3 this week.

 

[SuperTrooper]

Look, until you want to have an intelligent, courteous conversation, I am not even going to respond to what you wrote. Take a few years, grow up and then come back to the adults and we'll talk. See you then.

I thought what I said was pretty courteous. I was responding to your total exagerration of my post. Of course the quantity of procedures you do is a good indicator of the quality of your education - it's just not the most important. Also, of course you need to know how to do the procedures like veneers, crowns, etc.

Why don't you respond to my post in a couple of years once you've actually done some of these procedures. thx.

 

[nanali]

how about dental schools in texas, any good? I meant clinical experience. thanks

 

[dentstd]

From what I hear, the TX dental schools are top notch for black students. well, for any non-white applicants, that is....

 

[Yellow Snow]

By the way, youre lunch comments and hottub party comments about B. Hahn scored me several lunch passes. Thanks for the free lunch

I totally had a role in that post! Well, enjoy the benefits. You can make it up to me by giving me some tips if I get accepted to Temple.

 

[isurus22]

You gotta be joking dude. Seriously. Don't answer questions you have no idea what ur talking about.

If you want to be a great dentist UNC, Iowa, and Michigan are known to be the top.

Penn is pretty good, and Columbia is ok. UOP has good clinical, but learning is very compressed and you definitely pay for it. Harvard is *not* a good dental school. Very late into the clinics, very old setup, and a bunch of eggsheads get it drilled into their heads they need to specialize.

You have obviously never been to Harvard or know anything about them. I think you confused Harvard with Penn. Harvard gets into the hospitals first year with the med students. Problem based learning, with little competition and no grades. My friend is a clinical professor at Penn and he did not recommend it to me at all. He said Temple is a better school if I wanted to be in Philly.