dental schools with the best clinical programs

[tooththings]

Hi everyone!

I know there aren't rankings for dental schools. But putting tuition aside, which dental schools do you think produce the best general dentists that are ready to work right out of school and work confidently? I know most schools have a good clinical program but which schools have you heard or experienced prepare their students better?

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[Bigjt1420]

I don't have knowledge of all 60 schools of course, but I do know that UNLV and Midwestern-Glendale (probably Chicago, too) produce great clinical dentists. Midwestern is on a different level than most dental schools, even. My buddy was doing implant cases in the beginning of his 3rd year and he goes to MWU-Glendale.

All that said, don't put tuition aside lol. Go to the school that is the cheapest. Sure, my buddy was doing implant work at the beginning of his 3rd year and I'm only just getting to my cases at the end of my 3rd/beginning of my 4th. However, I will have paid about $140K less than him when it's all said and done. And I can take CE after graduation to learn even more...

If you get into two schools that are equally as cheap, go to the one with a better clinical experience. It's really not that hard, honestly. Good luck!

 

[TrkB]

I've heard great stuff about Creighton!!

 

[tooththings]

I don't have knowledge of all 60 schools of course, but I do know that UNLV and Midwestern-Glendale (probably Chicago, too) produce great clinical dentists. Midwestern is on a different level than most dental schools, even. My buddy was doing implant cases in the beginning of his 3rd year and he goes to MWU-Glendale.

All that said, don't put tuition aside lol. Go to the school that is the cheapest. Sure, my buddy was doing implant work at the beginning of his 3rd year and I'm only just getting to my cases at the end of my 3rd/beginning of my 4th. However, I will have paid about $140K less than him when it's all said and done. And I can take CE after graduation to learn even more...

If you get into two schools that are equally as cheap, go to the one with a better clinical experience. It's really not that hard, honestly. Good luck!

thank you! do you know how UNLV compares to ASDOH clinically?

 

[Bigjt1420]

thank you! do you know how UNLV compares to ASDOH clinically?

I don't, sorry!

 

[ESPN907]

When I was interviewing, MWU AZ had pretty good bragging rights, they talked up Oklahoma as being a close second to them. Creighton has historically been the top before MWU AZ, they mentioned most new schools (like Utah) come to them looking for advice...I’m sure there are many other great clinical programs

 

[Redwing9]

Temple is well known for clinical training, so is the University of Detroit.
I know Temple and have heard from friends. Both TU & UDM take a lot of pride in first training great general dentists ready to practice when they leave the school.

 

[tooththings]

does anyone know more about NYU and Tufts clinically? (I know they're the most expensive, but I'm curious since their tuition is so high how their training is compared to other programs)

 

[PerioDont]

does anyone know more about NYU and Tufts clinically? (I know they're the most expensive, but I'm curious since their tuition is so high how their training is compared to other programs)

If there is any correlation, the higher tuition schools tend to be worse

 

[deleted923283]

does anyone know more about NYU and Tufts clinically? (I know they're the most expensive, but I'm curious since their tuition is so high how their training is compared to other programs)

They both have a reputation for being clinically less-than-average schools. At least for NYU. Less sure about Tufts.
Disclaimer: That's the word on the street. I wasn't a student at either.

The tuition is high for the same reason it's high at any dental school - the federal government signs whatever student loan checks comes its way, and school admins want that $$$ because they know desperate pre-dents will go anywhere.

@PerioDont was joking about a correlation, but it's kinda true. The more expensive the dental school, the less they tend to train their students.

 

[John Muir]

Not the University of Michigan...

 

[DentalExpert]

Not the University of Michigan...

What's the scoop on Michigan? Why are they not great clinically? Do you think all students are going to need to do at least an AEGD or GPR when they graduate?

 

[deleted923283]

Do you think all students are going to need to do at least an AEGD or GPR when they graduate?

This seems to be true for 90% of people at all schools with two exceptions...
1) You were a foreign-trained dentist.
2) You have a parent/mentor practicing in dentistry who you are joining.

I'm curious if in the future more states adopt the model of NY: No longer recognize a regional exam and instead require a residency.

 

[John Muir]

What's the scoop on Michigan? Why are they not great clinically? Do you think all students are going to need to do at least an AEGD or GPR when they graduate?

The administration is so focused on research and the grad residents that the DDS students and their clinical education seem like an afterthought in my honest opinion. I am not sure if it is worse because of covid or if it has always been this minimal. The main areas of deficiency seem to be endo, complex/surgical OS, peds, CADCAM/digital dentistry (we have like, 4-5 scanners for the whole building... - during the renovation they didn't improve that at all). Any real complicated restorative case gets transferred to Grad restorative also.

If you want to practice a lot of high-end general dentistry, you will need an AEGD or GPR to feel comfortable I imagine.

 

[tooththings]

This seems to be true for 90% of people at all schools with two exceptions...
1) You were a foreign-trained dentist.
2) You have a parent/mentor practicing in dentistry who you are joining.

I'm curious if in the future more states adopt the model of NY: No longer recognize a regional exam and instead require a residency.

I have heard that a lot more people are doing AEGD or GPR and that it won't be surprising if it does become required at some point. Is there a way to find out what percent of dental students from each school attend general residencies after graduation?

 

[PerioDont]

I have heard that a lot more people are doing AEGD or GPR and that it won't be surprising if it does become required at some point. Is there a way to find out what percent of dental students from each school attend general residencies after graduation?

Many schools post stats. You can ask about it from the admissions office if that info is not on the website

 

[projector123]

Here is an excellent resource for comparing clinical experience of all the dental schools: https://ignitedds.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Dental_Guide_5_5_2020.pdf
In case the link changes, just go to Ignite DDS and find their pdf on dental schools. Its super good. It compares how many crowns, removable, extractions, etc. each school does on average as well as a bunch of other stats.

 

[macsak]

Here is an excellent resource for comparing clinical experience of all the dental schools: https://ignitedds.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Dental_Guide_5_5_2020.pdf
In case the link changes, just go to Ignite DDS and find their pdf on dental schools. Its super good. It compares how many crowns, removable, extractions, etc. each school does on average as well as a bunch of other stats.

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[bracketbuster68]

Here is an excellent resource for comparing clinical experience of all the dental schools: https://ignitedds.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Dental_Guide_5_5_2020.pdf
In case the link changes, just go to Ignite DDS and find their pdf on dental schools. Its super good. It compares how many crowns, removable, extractions, etc. each school does on average as well as a bunch of other stats.

Pretty accurate for my school, lol!

 

[tooththings]

Here is an excellent resource for comparing clinical experience of all the dental schools: https://ignitedds.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Dental_Guide_5_5_2020.pdf
In case the link changes, just go to Ignite DDS and find their pdf on dental schools. Its super good. It compares how many crowns, removable, extractions, etc. each school does on average as well as a bunch of other stats.

Thank you for this!!

 

[DentalExpert]

@John Muir Would you say this is accurate for the University of Michigan? https://ignitedds.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Dental_Guide_5_5_2020.pdf. Trying to gauge where they are at clinically

 

[Middle Age DDS]

Back when tuition was manageable at most dental schools you really had to look hard at schools that did not have graduate programs. Because of this you could come out of the gate being a competent dentist. Creighton really fits the bill for that. Maybe Detroit-Mercy. I haven't heard anything about about Midwestern other than it is uber expensive. But that is good that the students are getting something out of being on the hook for a crippling amount of money.

Sadly, now you just have to go to the cheapest school you can get into and hopefully a young dentist will have enough interest to take a lot of CE.

I am a big fan of a GPR/AEGD if you can swing it. Escalating tuition is going to kill our profession along with proprietary dental schools.........to just name issues on the education front.