I would really like to study in Ireland, graduate from an Irish school, and then come back to the U.S. for my post grad studies to be an orthodontist. If I study internationally, would I have trouble practicing in the U.S. as an orthodontist? Woud I have to repeat training? What are your experiences? (I posted this message in the "international dental" forum, but I didn't get any replies.)
International study.
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Hi,
I'm not certain of the exceptions, but all the foreign-trained dentists I've met so far had to re-do a certain number of years in a U.S. dental school (ranging from 1 to 4 years) in order to become licensed to practice in the U.S..
I do know that in the Northeast, if you want to be licensed through taking the Northeast Regional Board (NERB), you have to be a graduate (or pending graduate) of an accredited U.S. or Canadian dental school or an advanced standing program ran by those schools.
If I was in your shoes, I think I'd finish dental school here in the U.S. first before going overseas for further study, if practicing dentistry in the U.S. is your ultimate goal.
Good luck!
I'm not certain of the exceptions, but all the foreign-trained dentists I've met so far had to re-do a certain number of years in a U.S. dental school (ranging from 1 to 4 years) in order to become licensed to practice in the U.S..
I do know that in the Northeast, if you want to be licensed through taking the Northeast Regional Board (NERB), you have to be a graduate (or pending graduate) of an accredited U.S. or Canadian dental school or an advanced standing program ran by those schools.
If I was in your shoes, I think I'd finish dental school here in the U.S. first before going overseas for further study, if practicing dentistry in the U.S. is your ultimate goal.
Good luck!
Someone from the "International Medicine" forum said that they "as medical students" had the option of studying internationally, but in order to practice medicine in the U.S. they had to come back to the U.S. for their residencies. Do you think the same exception might be in my case even though I am going to be dental student? Study overseas and then come back for my orthodonist studies? Thanks for all your help! 🙂
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Heya,
Yeah dental education is handled a bit differently than medicine. The thing with dentistry is that a DDS can start practicing without restrictions right away, without having to do a residency after dental school (assuming he passes the licensing boards).
As far as I know (in the states that accept licensure from the Northeast Regional Board) you do need to graduate from a school in the U.S or go through an advanced standing program.. I don't know about the other regions though.
You might want to check with the licensing board in your particular region if they will actually allow you to take the licensure exam with a DDS degree from outside the USA or Canada. I doubt it though.
It definitely sounds like a lot less hassle if you finish dental school here in the U.S. if you plan to practice here.
HTH!
Yeah dental education is handled a bit differently than medicine. The thing with dentistry is that a DDS can start practicing without restrictions right away, without having to do a residency after dental school (assuming he passes the licensing boards).
As far as I know (in the states that accept licensure from the Northeast Regional Board) you do need to graduate from a school in the U.S or go through an advanced standing program.. I don't know about the other regions though.
You might want to check with the licensing board in your particular region if they will actually allow you to take the licensure exam with a DDS degree from outside the USA or Canada. I doubt it though.
It definitely sounds like a lot less hassle if you finish dental school here in the U.S. if you plan to practice here.
HTH!
I think if you finish a US accredited residency (not including GPR and AEGD) you can apply for licensure without retaking your dds.
At marquette we had an Endo instructor who did his dds in Latvia, but did endo at Baylor and took CRDTS with my class and now is practicing outside the dental school. It might be different for different countries but why risk something so costly and timely.
At marquette we had an Endo instructor who did his dds in Latvia, but did endo at Baylor and took CRDTS with my class and now is practicing outside the dental school. It might be different for different countries but why risk something so costly and timely.
Looks like I am arguing with UBTom everywhere I go! 🙂
There are instructors at my school who have completed a non-US/Canada DDS program, and then went directly into specialty training in the US. As you can see from the following link:
http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/specialty/natcert.pdf
it appears state certification is not necessary to enter specialty training. DrRob has given a successful example in his state, but you may have more trouble in a region administered by a different licensing body.
Being a message board buff I've read some of the international medicine discussion, and coming back from foreign med schools and pursuing the specialty of your choice is by no means cakewalk. It seems (may depend on the school) foreign applicants are often at a disadvantage, having to wait their turn after all the domestic guys have picked.
There are instructors at my school who have completed a non-US/Canada DDS program, and then went directly into specialty training in the US. As you can see from the following link:
http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/specialty/natcert.pdf
it appears state certification is not necessary to enter specialty training. DrRob has given a successful example in his state, but you may have more trouble in a region administered by a different licensing body.
Being a message board buff I've read some of the international medicine discussion, and coming back from foreign med schools and pursuing the specialty of your choice is by no means cakewalk. It seems (may depend on the school) foreign applicants are often at a disadvantage, having to wait their turn after all the domestic guys have picked.
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- Dentist
You can be a graduate of a foreign dental school and then come to the US to do your specialty training. Here at UB, we have lots of foreign dentists in our specialty programs because their home countries pay our state-school departments lots of money to train them in those programs. BUT, the expectation is that they will return to their home country to practice dentistry.
If you want to go to dental school in Ireland, then do orthodontics here and practice ortho here, well, you can't do it like that. In order to practice dentistry in the US, general or a specialty, you have to have an American DDS earned either through the traditional 4 year DDS curriculum, or the 2 - 3 year advanced-standing DDS curriculum available at some schools for international dental graduates. We have a woman in our dental class who trained as a dentist in the middle east, came to Buffalo to train in the Oral Pathology specialty and earned her certification as an Oral Pathologist. However, she has been in our dental class for the last two years because she had to enter the advanced-standing program to earn her American DDS to practice here. And this woman is not the exception. A woman in the class that just graduated did her dentistry in Syria, Endodontics specialty in Buffalo, and then had to do the 3 year advanced-standing program to get her American DDS to practice Endodontics in the US. I've talked to another resident in the Endo program from Syria who was considering going to the advanced training program at Pittsburg for another 2 - 3 years and an Oral Pathology resident from Mexico thinking the same thing.
So you would have to enter an advanced training program in the US to practice here after you did dental school in Ireland and orthodontics here. However, I believe this is a state specific issue, and there are a few states that will let you set up shop and practice without going through the advanced-training program. I remember reading a thread in the Int'l Dentist forum about the handful of states that will allow this. New York is NOT one of those states. There is also some exception about how you can work/teach in a US dental school with a foreign dental degree without going through the whole advanced-training program.
If you want to practice in the US, you should concentrate your efforts on getting into a US dental school because it will make practicing in the US much easier than if you are an international graduate. Many specialty programs hold spots for just for international candidates (like 1 out of 6 positions), but it is with the expectation that they will return to their home country after training.
If you want to go to dental school in Ireland, then do orthodontics here and practice ortho here, well, you can't do it like that. In order to practice dentistry in the US, general or a specialty, you have to have an American DDS earned either through the traditional 4 year DDS curriculum, or the 2 - 3 year advanced-standing DDS curriculum available at some schools for international dental graduates. We have a woman in our dental class who trained as a dentist in the middle east, came to Buffalo to train in the Oral Pathology specialty and earned her certification as an Oral Pathologist. However, she has been in our dental class for the last two years because she had to enter the advanced-standing program to earn her American DDS to practice here. And this woman is not the exception. A woman in the class that just graduated did her dentistry in Syria, Endodontics specialty in Buffalo, and then had to do the 3 year advanced-standing program to get her American DDS to practice Endodontics in the US. I've talked to another resident in the Endo program from Syria who was considering going to the advanced training program at Pittsburg for another 2 - 3 years and an Oral Pathology resident from Mexico thinking the same thing.
So you would have to enter an advanced training program in the US to practice here after you did dental school in Ireland and orthodontics here. However, I believe this is a state specific issue, and there are a few states that will let you set up shop and practice without going through the advanced-training program. I remember reading a thread in the Int'l Dentist forum about the handful of states that will allow this. New York is NOT one of those states. There is also some exception about how you can work/teach in a US dental school with a foreign dental degree without going through the whole advanced-training program.
If you want to practice in the US, you should concentrate your efforts on getting into a US dental school because it will make practicing in the US much easier than if you are an international graduate. Many specialty programs hold spots for just for international candidates (like 1 out of 6 positions), but it is with the expectation that they will return to their home country after training.
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What Griffin04 said. 😀
The bottom line is that if you want to practice dentistry in the U.S., it is ultimately much less of a hassle to attend dental school here.
to Griffin04: Hey there, classmate! Where have you been hiding all summer? Haven't heard from you in a while.
The bottom line is that if you want to practice dentistry in the U.S., it is ultimately much less of a hassle to attend dental school here.
to Griffin04: Hey there, classmate! Where have you been hiding all summer? Haven't heard from you in a while.
Everything you all are saying definitely makes sense. I was looking at the website for Queens University in Belfast (the one I would love to go to), and I found a study abroad progam where you can "take time out from their home universities and spend one or two semesters at Queen's." I think that will be the best bet for going to Ireland to study. What do you think about it? Once again, thanks for all of your help with this. Thanks!😀
well, assuming you are just out of high school, there's nothing wrong with doing an international exchange for undergrad studies. It's doubtful it can be done for med/dents of course. You will also need to make sure they can offer the courses you want over there (while satisfying the requirements for admission to med/dent).
I would have loved to be an exchange student, but fearing it would take a toll on my marks and also not finding a school offering the right courses, I let my chance slip by... 🙁
I would have loved to be an exchange student, but fearing it would take a toll on my marks and also not finding a school offering the right courses, I let my chance slip by... 🙁
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I agree with Frank; studying abroad in undergrad would be awesome. Doing dental school somewhere else is just plain insanity. 😉 Most programs outside the U.S. are 6 yrs. Plus 3 yrs. of a U.S. ortho residency. Plus - if you are lucky enough to place in a advanced standing position - another 2 or 3 yrs. But many foreign-trained dentists end up doing the whole 4 yrs. anyway.
This plan would take you anywhere from 11-13 yrs. And all the while you would be racking up HUGE debts (foreign schools generally charge Americans through the nose for med and dent programs) and earning no income. Don't do it. 🙂
This plan would take you anywhere from 11-13 yrs. And all the while you would be racking up HUGE debts (foreign schools generally charge Americans through the nose for med and dent programs) and earning no income. Don't do it. 🙂
