Going to Pittsburgh then practice in CA??

Stay on the east coast man. My dad lives in San Diego and I have friends in LA...every time I go see them there's a dentist office in every shopping mall, it's waaaayyyy too overserved. Unless you're getting an associateship and then buying the practice, I feel like opening up a practice in CA is suicide. Find a nice suburban place to practice in on the east cost, make tons of money and then you can fly to CA on the weekends : )

Oh, i guess to answer your question, it's very hard to take a license exam if it's not offered at your school. You have to arrange to get the chair time and tools AND get your patients that need the apropriate treatments. Also, CA's licensing exam is supposedly one of the hardest in the nation so you wouldnt want any adverse variables to screw you over. If you're 100% set on practicing in CA, you might really consider going to a CA state school (not that it's a big loss as they're all quite good).

 

bump

 

you realize you just mentioned two of the most popular places in california. there are other places to practice in california than san diego and los angeles

but then again, since i'm from california i would like to go back to those places, doh!

 

Of course, there's a ton of underserved areas in california. But if you live in those areas, you lose the advantages of living in california (the beaches, the really nice weather). Now, if you want to practice in such an area for your own personal reasons, it seems like a CA state school would still be a better choice since it would probably include externships (I know UCSF does) to such underserved areas that would probably help you get a feel of what it is like to set up a practice there.