HOW HARD IS DENTAL SCHOOL

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
A

asahameed

Junior Member
15+ Year Member
20+ Year Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2001
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
I am going to join TUFTS dental school in AUGUST I just want to get a general feel of how hard is dental school if you have been an average student in your undergrad.
thanks
Members don't see this ad.
 
depends...
an average student from MIT or an average student from an ITT tech institute?
hrm... an average student with a BS in physics or an average student with a BA in sociology?

Don't worry too much about it. If you got what it takes to get accepted by Tufts, you have what it takes to get through it.

It's interesting to see so many people mentioning Tufts, as if almost everyone has been accepted by them.(not that I'm saying it's a bad thing...)
wink.gif
 
Toughness is really a factor of how hard you want to work. Dental school is a PIECE of CAKE if you want to just slip by with a degree... It takes some hard work though to get a decent GPA and actually become a competent dentist!

If you go in with a work hard attitude, you'll be FINE. It's more like running a marathon than running a sprint. It's exhausting not from the pace, but because it just seems to DRAG ON AND ON AND ON....

------------------
Chris Sortman
University of Michigan
School of Dentistry
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Members don't see this ad :)
I hear its very easy. You only have to learn about teeth.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
I think that if you want to be a good professional, it will be necessary to study
hard. The more you know, the more you will
enjoy your future job. On the contrary, you
will not have a great success when you will put yourself on the job market.
So I suggest you the study hard and you will
be always quite satisfied of your choice and job.
Good Luck and take care.
null
 
i just finished my 2nd year and like you i was an average student in college. the second year is worst that the first i spent many says at school from eight in the morning until midnight working in the lab and still had to study for a test or quiz when i left. the best advice i can give is never put off till tommorrow what you can do today it can be your greatest downfall. other than that just study hard and i know that you'll come out on top.
 
I dont know what you all have heard but I as a recent graduate, dental school was much harder than I ever imagined. It is by no stetch of the imagination a "piece of cake to get a degree" at least where I went to school and I have friends at other school who feel the same way. I do agree it is like a marathon rather than a sprint though, just an extremely long marathon. You just have to learn so many different skills and how to handle so many situations that it can be overwhelming. It is not impossible by no means but no one could pay me any amount of money to do it over again and it is not something that I will fondly remember like undergrad.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
jk591
are you from NYU...seem like the prefix NYU gives out on their email accounts. Anyhow, dental school is not a cake walk. If given enough time to study and there were no preclinical nor clinical sessions, it would be somewhat doable, but still hard. Given that we have to study plus do lab work and see patients the same time...quite demanding...it's a lot to manage. It takes a lot of hard work, and time managing skills. In ways, I think it's hard as or harder than med school. In both professions, we both take the same basic science courses the first two years. However, we have additional dental courses and preclinic labs, which makes it even harder to study. First year is bad, but second year is worse, especially at NYU. Anyhow, things get better third and hopefully fourth year. Hope this helps.
 
yeah despite what people might think about dental school... it is pretty hard. i just finish my first year and it wasn't that much fun. i'll tell you this - it's not a walk in the park! lol. but if you've been accepted i'm sure you'll get through it fine. good luck
 
It's easier than I thought, and I was an average student in college. I had pretty ridiculous expectations though, since everyone makes it sound like you'll have absolutely no life. You'll have to make sacrifices for sure, but it's not THAT bad.
 
You know this thread is 5 years old, most of the original posters are probably done with school by now
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Here are my thoughts:
1st year: Pretty chill. I had a lot of fun.
2nd year: Brutal.
3rd year: Kinda chill. Didn't have to worry about anything.
4th year: Sucks. Gotta worry about requirements, boards, residency, jobs. Uber stressfull.

I thought dental school was going to be a cakewalk. I was so wrong. It is the hardest thing I've done so far and I'm sure it'll be the same for 99% of you all. The stress from patients can be very significant. The stress of completing graduation requirements is felt at schools all over (it is the reason for the cheating scandals at NJ and LV) and is a psychological burden.
 
Dental school can be "hard" or it can be "easy" depending on you.

Dental school does take endurance and hard work, but it can be easy if you don't want to specialize in Orthodontics, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Pediatric Dentistry, or Endodontics (all the rest dental specialties are non-competitive). Now if you wish to specialize in the above 4 dental specialties, then prepare your dental school days to be "harder" than many of your colleagues' dental school days.

Example: for you (since you want to specialize in the 4 specialties listed above), you'll try to get 90s on all exams, projects, papers, presentations, and NBDE Part 1 while your classmates only need to pass (70s). They'll study and coast by while you need to study to try to get As.

Above and beyond that, since you want to specialize in the above 4 specialties, you should get involved in organizations, clinical involvements(externships), research, and learderships roles on your free time (after school hours and annual vacation times) while your counterparts sleep, golf, party, hang with their family, eat, work out, masturbate, or whatever they do on their spare time. One can still party, hang with their family, and do well in classes, but again, it's "harder" than those just want to party and hang with their family.

Bottom line, dental school will be more "harder" if you want to be top of your class and/or if you wish to specialize in the above 4 listed specialties. If you don't want to specialize, then dental school is very easy to get by. If you fail dental school for any course(s), then you truly do not belong there.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
its the hardest thing in this world.. thats why 4000+ students graduate every year
 
drhobie7 said:
Here are my thoughts:
1st year: Pretty chill. I had a lot of fun.
2nd year: Brutal.
3rd year: Kinda chill. Didn't have to worry about anything.
4th year: Sucks. Gotta worry about requirements, boards, residency, jobs. Uber stressfull.

I thought dental school was going to be a cakewalk. I was so wrong. It is the hardest thing I've done so far and I'm sure it'll be the same for 99% of you all. The stress from patients can be very significant. The stress of completing graduation requirements is felt at schools all over (it is the reason for the cheating scandals at NJ and LV) and is a psychological burden.
Click to expand...
rocknightmare said:
its the hardest thing in this world.. thats why 4000+ students graduate every year
Click to expand...
This, my friends, is the difference between first year and fourth year.

Drhobie has summarized dental school beautifully.

Rocknightmare, don't you worry, you'll find out soon enough.
 
I don't want to specialize, but I am still aiming for top 10-15% (call me nuts). Make all you future specialists work a bit harder to get your class rank. ;)

Being in the top 10% is a lot of work. My life currently sucks because I hate getting B's. I hope it is still quite a bit of work to "just pass"... but I've never been that person, and I don't like to associate with those people. In my view, you are in dental school for one reason, to learn as much as is humanly possible (without losing your mind at the same time) about dental medicine, and to become as skilled clinically as possible. I haven't yet started treating patients, and I'm sure that is going to be a whole other world of stress and difficulty, but the first 2 years have been a LOT of work. The second year has been by far the most stressful/difficult year of my life. 2 more weeks and 7 more tests to go until 3rd year (and the most needed 2 week vacation ever).

However, there is still usually plenty of time for living a life outside school, even if you are aiming for mostly A's. I know that I don't go out to the bars any less than anyone else in my group of friends.

So is dental school hard? Yes, definitely. Will you survive it? Probably.
 
Dental school itself is not hard, meaning the material is not hard nor is the work.

What is hard is finding time to cover all the material and finding time to do all the work.

If you are good at time management, which is near impossible with the volume of work and material, then dental school is easy.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Sorry to switch gears here...but with all this being said of how hard dental school is... My question is: Did all of you guys live near school? Would you recommend not commuting? I guess after reading this thread, I want to live as close to the school as possible... can anyone share their thoughts?
 
aphistis said:
This, my friends, is the difference between first year and fourth year.

Drhobie has summarized dental school beautifully.

Rocknightmare, don't you worry, you'll find out soon enough.
Click to expand...


right now the boards is a pain the arse! my brain is fried but i need to continue studying
 
I think how hard dental school is...is dependant upon your expectations. I did extremely well in undergrad and graduated with a 3.97 and a 3.92 science GPA, but dental school was hard for me. My preconceived notion was that it was going to be easier than undergrad because I was "already in". I didn't try as hard as I did in undergrad and that mentality bit me in the ass in dental school. By the way, some of the best dental students are the ones who did poorly in undergrad because they feel they have something to prove (either to themselves or to others).Dental school is hard, I don't care what anyone says. I've said this before on other blogs, different people handle the stress differently...some people hide their true feelings with a very cocky and laissez-faire attitude. It's hard on some level for everyone. There is no possible way that you are fantastic at every science and dental class, great with your hands, on top of everything and great with patients from the minute you walk into dental school. Anyone who says it is a piece of cake is full of "it". It is doable. I love the choice I made to be a dentist, beleive me, after dental school. I really appreciate all of the hard work that goes into becoming a dentist. My point is this, dental school will emphasize and bring out your weak areas. If you work to recognize and overcome your weaknesses you will become not only a better dentist, but a better person.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
csortman said:
Toughness is really a factor of how hard you want to work. Dental school is a PIECE of CAKE if you want to just slip by with a degree... It takes some hard work though to get a decent GPA and actually become a competent dentist!

If you go in with a work hard attitude, you'll be FINE. It's more like running a marathon than running a sprint. It's exhausting not from the pace, but because it just seems to DRAG ON AND ON AND ON....

------------------
Chris Sortman
University of Michigan
School of Dentistry
Click to expand...
how true
 
Very good and sincere post.

My B-I-L the dentist who graduated 33 years ago told my husband before he started dental school in 1977, "It will be the worst four years of your life." Dental school is very hard, the number of classes, the amount of subjects and projects. You go from college having 3-4 classes to sometimes 8 plus classes a semester. It is very hard to stay on top of every subject. Lab work is especially difficult in the beginning because you don't have a clue about what they are trying to have you achieve. Just organizing my rolling dental cart and the hundreds of instruments in it that first week of school (I didn't have a clue what each one was for) was a headache. It's a totally new area for most dental students even if you've had a little experience shadowing a dentist. The best students in this area are the one's who's fathers/relatives owned a dental lab or students who had worked in a dental lab themselves. We had a few of these in our class. You will feel lucky to tread water sometimes, but in the end it is doable. Again, Soflamel, yours is a very true and sincere post.

soflamel said:
I think how hard dental school is...is dependant upon your expectations. I did extremely well in undergrad and graduated with a 3.97 and a 3.92 science GPA, but dental school was hard for me. My preconceived notion was that it was going to be easier than undergrad because I was "already in". I didn't try as hard as I did in undergrad and that mentality bit me in the ass in dental school. By the way, some of the best dental students are the ones who did poorly in undergrad because they feel they have something to prove (either to themselves or to others).Dental school is hard, I don't care what anyone says. I've said this before on other blogs, different people handle the stress differently...some people hide their true feelings with a very cocky and laissez-faire attitude. It's hard on some level for everyone. There is no possible way that you are fantastic at every science and dental class, great with your hands, on top of everything and great with patients from the minute you walk into dental school. Anyone who says it is a piece of cake is full of "it". It is doable. I love the choice I made to be a dentist, beleive me, after dental school. I really appreciate all of the hard work that goes into becoming a dentist. My point is this, dental school will emphasize and bring out your weak areas. If you work to recognize and overcome your weaknesses you will become not only a better dentist, but a better person.
Click to expand...
 
I found first year to be pretty tough, and some exams can actually require a ton of time and effort even to "just pass". Then there is practicals, where nerves, misjudgement or a freak slip of the hand can take your prep or restoration from an A to a C in less than a second even if you have done 10 perfect ones in practice. I think how difficult people find d school mostly comes down to each person's time management skills, attention span and stamina and overall attitude (laid back or always worrying).
 
Biogirl361 said:
I found first year to be pretty tough, and some exams can actually require a ton of time and effort even to "just pass". Then there is practicals, where nerves, misjudgement or a freak slip of the hand can take your prep or restoration from an A to a C in less than a second even if you have done 10 perfect ones in practice. I think how difficult people find d school mostly comes down to each person's time management skills, attention span and stamina and overall attitude (laid back or always worrying).
Click to expand...

I agree. I've never had a problem with nerves and exams in the past, but something about a having a timed practical in lab puts me on edge. I swear there were a couple of times I thought I would crack in two. My experience with dental school so far is that it certainly gives you a run for your money.
 
The timed practicals used to freak me out, too. I complained along with everybody else that there just wasn't enough time. It took a while,but I finally figured out that the real problem was they gave us TOO MUCH time.

I would get my prep to where I wanted it and leave the lab like 45min or an hour early. Go play on the internet or read for a while. Then when I came back I would look for any major problems I may have missed, but wouldn't even touch it for minor things. I found my grades went up pretty significantly.

Picking and picking and picking right up to the point that everything is perfect... and then about 2 seconds more to completely mutilate the whole effort - that is what you have to overcome. :D
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
In south africa you go straight into dental school after high school...I was 17 when I started and it wasn't a piece of cake 2nd year sucked...but its all worth it, but physicaly dentistry isn't easy it takes time to gain the skill of the profession learning from a book is easy but the clinical part can be frustrating at times...I remember my first extraction was sweating like a pig but now its a piece of cake...except ima end up with back problems b4 I'm 40..,please do not get into the bad habbit of having bad posture you will pay dearly later when u working in a busy practice
 
My favorite analogy is this.

High school: Drinking water through a sippy cup
College: Drinking water out of a big boy glass.
Dental school: Someone has shoved a hose in your mouth and has turned it on.

The water is how much you have to learn. What the guy said about D1, D2, D3, D4 is pretty accurate from what I've heard from most people.

If you have a background in biology, chemistry, or dental lab work it is much easier. I knew several people who had only took the pre-reqs and were suffering in class.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
This all sounds very interesting. I cannot wait to test my might.

I can imagine the timed practicals are pretty stressful. In my Micro bio class we had timed practicals where we had to ID the bacteria using the least amount of experiments. If we did any extra's or went down an illogical path we got docked a grade. If we missed the ID of the bacteria (we had to memorize a list with all the test results) our grade was a C at best. If we didn't finish in time we got a C at best but depending on how much we did it could be an F.

It was the most stress I experienced during an exam. What is the format of your dental practicals?
 
I found a really neat video from ADEA about how dental school is, and I think if you manage your time well and keep up the good study habits, then it wouldn't be so painful. I think people get laid back and celebrate about getting accepted to dschool in the summer before so much that they get whiplashed when they start dschool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E_R7DBvrK0
 
I have some ocds and I need everything I do to be perfect, I know its a good thing as a dentist, but do you think I will suffer through labs? I redo things again and again til its perfect... Are most dental students like this?

I mean I even take more time than anybody else when I do the dishes because I want them to be perfectly clean...
 
I start school at 7 am and i'm usually there for classes until about 3 pm. We have what you call "guardias", where we have to stay in clinic and assist other students who need our help. On top of that, we have to complete a certain amount of assisting hours every month or so for the first 3 semesters. So the majority of the week I'm in school from 7 am to 7 pm. On top of that, we have to study for exams. We hardly ever get homework, but we get a lot of tests.
To give you a hint about how hard it may be, for my Micobiology class this past semester, about 40 of 70 students failed the class (thank god I was ok). This is the class I would have to bust out many all-nighers for. But if you know how to work hard you shouldn't have a problem. The good news on the other hand, is that almost everyone passed the summer-course for that.
It is hard work but remember, it will definitely pay off in the end. That's my inspiration.
You have to know how to manage your time very well and make the most of it. Dental school is where you will actually come to realize that time really is precious.

If you study a decent amount of time and you're not lazy, you should be fine.
it's a wonderful career, good luck on your decision.

p.s.... just read the date on that first post... WOW. i'm an idiot
 
Last edited:
There will be times when it is mind-numbingly easy. There will be other times when it is slash-your-wrists hard. The assessment from above is pretty good, although i would modify it a touch:
1st year: like undergrad except harder
2nd year: effing hard
3rd year: effing harder at first, then gets easier
4th year: easy peasy at first, and then get crazy stressful as you do WREB (or whatever clinical exam), boards part II and all your other graduation requirements.

WREB was the single most stressful experience of my life, and i am in my 30's and have 4 kids.

as a whole, dental school is HARD.
 
csortman said:
Toughness is really a factor of how hard you want to work. Dental school is a PIECE of CAKE if you want to just slip by with a degree... It takes some hard work though to get a decent GPA and actually become a competent dentist!

If you go in with a work hard attitude, you'll be FINE. It's more like running a marathon than running a sprint. It's exhausting not from the pace, but because it just seems to DRAG ON AND ON AND ON....

------------------
Chris Sortman
University of Michigan
School of Dentistry
Click to expand...

I agree with this answer. Remember, some dental students you talk to will brag and exagerate how hard their schooling is. When I started d-school last fall, I was prepared for the worst and the worst never came. In fact, without papers to write or major lab projects to work on, I found d-school to be a lot easier than my undergrad. Moreover, unlike undergrad, I didn't have to stress so hard about bad grades!

I think most people get hung up on the manual dexterity stuff. Many people don't learn that in college and you can't learn it out of a book. You have to practice until you get it right. So if you want to see how easy d-school will be for you, grab a pencil and paper and a tooth (or any subject it doesn't really matter just as long as it has a smooth surface with rounded angles like a coffee mug or something) and sketch it to see how well your eyes can comunicate what they see to your hands via your brain. Being able to shade and blend the "smooth surface effect" will be a good indicator as to how well you will be able to do a class IV composite because it takes the same skill set. This is hard and it takes practice. Start practicing.
 
Hello
I'm a high school student (grade 11) interested in dentistry but I confused about how it works. From what I hear, you have to take 1-4 of pre dentistry and then obtain a university degree from a dental program and then get licensed by the provincials? Can you guys just explain a bit more about the process after high school? Where do I apply? What do I apply to? As well, what does it take to be a dentist. I am currently just looking around for what I may be interested in, so if you could reply it would be great! Thanks:):):):)
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
ibgirl said:
Hello
I'm a high school student (grade 11) interested in dentistry but I confused about how it works. From what I hear, you have to take 1-4 of pre dentistry and then obtain a university degree from a dental program and then get licensed by the provincials? Can you guys just explain a bit more about the process after high school? Where do I apply? What do I apply to? As well, what does it take to be a dentist. I am currently just looking around for what I may be interested in, so if you could reply it would be great! Thanks:):):):)
Click to expand...
Typical route. Take 120 credits within 4 years to graduate college with an average of 15 credits/semester. Average accepted GPA is near 3.6. Obviously the higher the better. Major in whatever you want but you have to take a bunch of biology, chemistry, a few physics, and other classes as part of the requirement for getting into dental school. Take the DAT after you take courses in the tested subjects and try to score at least in the 90 percentile or 20 academic average. Get 100 hours of shadowing a general dentist. Build typical resume and extracurriculuar activities. Get letters of recommendation for professors and dentist. Apply typically right after third year of college. Interview. Get in, get wait listed or rejected. Get into dental school. Take 28 credits a semester. Stress out. Graduate. Spend next decade or so paying back on average $200,000 in loans. Find out that dental school didn't teach you enough. Sign up for continuing education courses. Teach yourself. Stress out. Find out that you have to deal with business and employee management. Stress out. Pay off student loans. Yay! Borrow more money for practice. Boo! Stress out. Borrow more money for house. Stress out. Work. Work. Babies. Work. Die.

WOW THIS THREAD IS OLDER THAN 9/11
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 8 users
:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

sgv said:
Get into dental school. Take 28 credits a semester. Stress out. Graduate. Spend next decade or so paying back on average $200,000 in loans. Find out that dental school didn't teach you enough. Sign up for continuing education courses. Teach yourself. Stress out. Find out that you have to deal with business and employee management. Stress out. Pay off student loans. Yay! Borrow more money for practice. Boo! Stress out. Borrow more money for house. Stress out. Work. Work. Babies. Work. Die.

WOW THIS THREAD IS OLDER THAN 9/11
Click to expand...
 
ibgirl said:
Hello
I'm a high school student (grade 11) interested in dentistry but I confused about how it works. From what I hear, you have to take 1-4 of pre dentistry and then obtain a university degree from a dental program and then get licensed by the provincials? Can you guys just explain a bit more about the process after high school? Where do I apply? What do I apply to? As well, what does it take to be a dentist. I am currently just looking around for what I may be interested in, so if you could reply it would be great! Thanks:):):):)
Click to expand...

Takes a high school student to dig up a thread this old.

Think about it. This girl was around 4 years old when this post was made.

But to answer your question, you go to college for years, major in whatever you want, just have the prerequisits done, make sure your GPA stays high and take the DAT, shadow dentists, do some research, volunteer, etc, etc. Finally apply for dental school and graduate from your college.
 
Haha.
 
Last edited:
It's hard to say because something being hard or easy is relative. Some people may be hardened and think any hardship is easy compared to what they faced. Some people may be sheltered and freak out about any sign of adversity.

But, IMO, easy to pass but tough to compete and get all A's.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Haven't read the previous posts so I apologize if this has been stated already.

All dental schools do not want their students to fail because it's a huge investment ($$$) on their part as well.

Hardest part is getting in!
 
more_golf said:
Haven't read the previous posts so I apologize if this has been stated already.

All dental schools do not want their students to fail because it's a huge investment ($$$) on their part as well.

Hardest part is getting in!
Click to expand...
This!
 
Lo
more_golf said:
Haven't read the previous posts so I apologize if this has been stated already.

All dental schools do not want their students to fail because it's a huge investment ($$$) on their part as well.

Hardest part is getting in!
Click to expand...
lol try telling that to the kids that get held back for failing certain classes... Or the kids that have to makeup failed classes in the summer, or the ones who drop out for hands skill issues. This is defintely not the norm but I really don't like the phrase "the hardest part is getting in", because at least at my school i don't agree with that-- if you don't put in a fair amount of effort you will fail and will be held back.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Really dont think the hardest part is getting in.

While it is a huge investment on their part, putting their name and approval on an incompetent, ill-prepared dentist is worse. Not sure if it effects their accreditation.
 
theleatherwalle said:
My favorite analogy is this.
High school: Drinking water through a sippy cup
College: Drinking water out of a big boy glass.
Dental school: Someone has shoved a hose in your mouth and has turned it on.
Click to expand...
If we subbed beer for water, dental students would say: Yeah baby! Bring it on!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

Teeth and Titanite
Is clinic hard for everyone?
Replies
4
Views
1K
yappy
Y
G
How hard are the actual exams in Dental School
Replies
36
Views
11K
Dentist_T
Dentist_T
B
How hard is it to get into Texas schools as in state?
Replies
4
Views
2K
jdav_7
J
D
What was the hardest topic to learn D1 year?
Replies
14
Views
3K
baigern
baigern
C
taking cast off of hardened alginate impression
Replies
3
Views
1K
cavityhereIcome
C
Top