I got an iPad pro 32GB 12.9 +pen ($490+$99+tax) during a BB sale. (New open box $740-$150BB deal-$100 apple student discount) I also got a wireless Apple keyboard and a portable mount for the tablet just in case I needed to type something on the go. As far as handwritten notes, it gives you the greatest and most natural feeling of all tablets+pens I tested. It looks like a pen, feels like a pen, and writes like one. You are still writing on a glass surface, so it lacks that friction you have while writing on paper, but you quickly get used to it. The pen tip is solid, so it won't break or bend like the Surface pen. Pen can be charged in a few seconds for half an hour constant use by inserting it in the charging port of the ipad. In a full charge it is more than enough for a day or two usage.
The most important thing is all your notes are very well organized and you can edit, insert pictures/diagrams/webpages/etc. right along the note you are taking. If you rather type/copy-paste a text to your notes, it's easily done. If your professors provide pdfs/power points you can insert that within your notes and write/type/highlight directly on the pdf. I use Notablity app ($7.99) and it's great, with lots of options. You can even record the lecture while you are writing. If later on you play the recorded lecture and press on each word it will fast forward the recording right to the point you were writing that word during class. There's another app that can recognize your handwriting and make it searchable within the app, but doesn't have the voice recoring capability. Whichever app you use, all your notes are synched to iCloud, Google drive, Dropbox as a pdf or an editable version. You can share your notes with your classmates right after class via email or a link to your cloud storage.
I am staring school this August so I can't tell how useful it would be specifically for dental school, but if DS is similar to undergrad classes as far as note taking and stuff, iPad pro 12.9 will make life much easier and well organized. I know all textbooks in my school are digital, so no more back pain. Just a tablet and a laptop in my bag.
I should add that I always carry my laptop in case I need to do something a tablet can't do. But for note taking iPad 12.9 is great! I have a 9.7 iPad Air too (which I'm getting rid of) and it is too small to write on. 12.9 is optimal IMO.
