Most helpful major for dentistry?

[RAlec114]

By your experience, can you tell me how helpful your major was?

What do you think is the most helpful major?

I am specifically debating between Biology and Psychology, but I also want to hear other majors' helpfulness

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[dmitriyivanov]

Go with a science major, you will take lots of upper devision classes and will get used to the heavy course load. In psych you will prob study once or twice per week and not do that much work. Plus being a bio major or other science major will be helpfull to prep you for the DAT!

 

[SeattleRDH]

By your experience, can you tell me how helpful your major was?

What do you think is the most helpful major?

I am specifically debating between Biology and Psychology, but I also want to hear other majors' helpfulness

If you don't get into dental school which degree is going to serve you better?

Before I went back to school for dental hygiene I had a bachelor's in music and alot of the people who waited tables with me had psychology degrees (and history, and english, and communications.....).

I would get a bachelor's in engineering.

 

[alanan84]

If you don't get into dental school which degree is going to serve you better?

Before I went back to school for dental hygiene I had a bachelor's in music and alot of the people who waited tables with me had psychology degrees (and history, and english, and communications.....).

I would get a bachelor's in engineering.

I've heard people say engineering or business because you can fall back on it.

With that said, if I had majored in engineering or business I would not be starting up dental school in a few weeks. Check with the school that you are interested in. You may find that they highly encourage a Biology or Chemistry degree (or at least a substantial amount of upper level science courses)

I would not go with Psychology. (Even though it's pretty interesting)

 

[Edentulator]

Whatever you find the most interesting, because that's what will get you the best marks! That's what counts the most. If you major in something like engineering and you have to torture yourself to get B's, then you'll end up as an engineer but will have a really hard time getting accepted at any dental schools.

Admissions committees don't care what your major is (unless there's a specific mention on the admissions page), as long as you have the prerequisite courses. The prerequisite courses (which are listed on the websites of each dental school) will prepare you for dentistry, and probably for the DAT too. Nobody is going to look at your application and say "Wow, so-and-so is so smart because they majored in _____."

If you want to stand out in your interview, major (or double major) in music or history or something that will show that you're well-rounded and genuinely interested in what you studied. Lots of pre-meds/pre-dents major in biology, biochem, molecular biology, or stuff that they think makes them look smart...But really, if you do that, you'll just look like the thousands of other students competing to become dentists and doctors.

If anything, taking classes in the humanities is a better way to build your people skills, which is another big thing that schools are starting to look for. Although you'll need some science experience, someone who does well in the science pre-reqs but also in the arts is going to look better than someone who spent their entire undergrad experience in a lab playing with cells.

 

[dl9006]

go with a major that you'll enjoy and get good grades on.

your major won't matter for dental school if your grades aren't up to par.

unless you're really confident that you'll succeed in any major and get a great gpa, don't do a hard major

 

[Mister Incisor]

I majored in both Biology and Psychology, and it turned out to be a perfect fit for me. The bio portion helped me meet all DS pre-reqs, and take many upper level sciences which will be helpful this upcoming year. The psych portion was a refreshing break from the sciences, and since I found them to be interesting, I was able to achieve good marks in the classes. This definitely helped my application.

However, it is best to take such a major with the mindset that you WILL get into DS. Had I not, it would have been difficult to find work with my degree.

 

[RAlec114]

Thanks for all the responses! They are very helpful.

I don't like engineering so that's not an option.

I was also wondering if business would be helpful? Like for setting up a practice? Is that true? My original plan was to major in psych and minor in business, but if business isn't important (and I'm not interested in business) I might as well as double major psych with biology or minor in biology.

 

[Seahawk]

go with a major that you'll enjoy and get good grades on.

your major won't matter for dental school if your grades aren't up to par.

unless you're really confident that you'll succeed in any major and get a great gpa, don't do a hard major

What about the DAT?

My understanding of it has been that your knowledge from classes turn out to be the #1 thing that help you on the DAT (over the months of studying).

Wouldn't someone who was a music major, or something of the sort, and just took the dental school pre-reqs be at a huge disadvantage over someone who has had a ton of chem/bio/math courses?

 

[dl9006]

What about the DAT?

My understanding of it has been that your knowledge from classes turn out to be the #1 thing that help you on the DAT (over the months of studying).

Wouldn't someone who was a music major, or something of the sort, and just took the dental school pre-reqs be at a huge disadvantage over someone who has had a ton of chem/bio/math courses?

maybe for bio taking more courses equates into a better performance on the DAT since bio covers so many random topics.

but for the other topics (pat, chem, math, and reading), taking upper level science courses will not help you at all.

the science portion of the dat is basic and doesn't require you to have a degree in those topics.

upper lvl chem courses such as quantum mechanics or polymer chemistry is completely useless for the dat.

just take the pre-req courses and know your material well. you can also take some of the upper lvl science courses if you think they'll help you on the dat. you don't need to major in that field.



i much rather have a high gpa from an easy major than a deflated gpa from a hard major with a decent dat score.

 

[bannanse]

Personally, I'd recommend taking as many upper level science courses as you can, regardless of what your major is. In particular, take anything related to the human body, such as: physiology, histology, genetics, bio-chemistry, embryology, etc. You'll definitely get information in these classes that is irrelevant and you'll never actually need. However, all of these subjects are taught in dental school, and quickly at that. So, I found it very useful to have a good foundation in these subjects. It seemed that my classmates who struggled with these subjects in dental school had not taken any of the upper level science classes beyond the general pre-req's. I appreciate the stress of keeping a high GPA and the idea of choosing "easier" non-science classes may be appealing. However, this is information that you will not only need to know for dental school, but also for the national boards, which are unbelievably detailed. Hope this helps...

 

[whlee84]

Biology, or Chemistry, or any other major that requires you to take a boatload of science courses will be helpful for dental school because you will take a boatload of science courses in the first 2 years of dental school so it's good to have a solid background in the sciences, instead of a couple of my friends who majored in economics and never took a science course in their lives suffer through the first year of dental school.

Now, to GET INTO dental school, you could be of any major. Most schools actually like to accept a diverse group of students. But a science major will help you tremendously once you're IN dental school.

 

[Seahawk]

DL,
I understand where you are coming from and it makes sense.


But you are not going to convince me that someone with just the basic prereqs is going to be as prepared as someone who has a degree in chemistry.

 

[dl9006]

DL,
I understand where you are coming from and it makes sense.


But you are not going to convince me that someone with just the basic prereqs is going to be as prepared as someone who has a degree in chemistry.

obviously someone with a chem degree will have had more practice with the concepts and thus may do better but i think taking 2nd yr chem courses is enough for the dat.

if you prepare enough for the dat, you don't need to take upper lvl courses. when i was studying for the dat, i focused most of my effort on bio and ended up doing better in bio than chem even though im a chem major. (i don't recommend doing what i did. lol). my point is that you don't have to major in bio or chem to do well on the dat.

this is my opinion and if you want to take upper yr courses, feel free to do so.

i'm just saying that there's an easier way to get into dental school than to bust your brain doing a hard major.

you'll have to find a balance between taking courses that will help your gpa so that you can get in vs taking courses that will help you once you're in dental school.

good luck

 

[Elite]

My wife is currently in dental school and she majored in Biochemical Cellular and Mollecular Biology from the University of Tennessee. She has talked a lot about how it did a good job of preparing her for her classes in dental school. Good luck to you whatever you decide.

 

[DrReo]

I did a chemistry degree along with some biology courses (genetics, anatomy, physiology, etc). My undergrad institution was largely problem solving based with chemistry. Those who were biology were used to memorize slides and slides of information. It took me a while to get out of the application mindset and start memorizing the information. Biology is probably the most convenient way. However, in hindsight, I would have taken a lot more business courses since that is what I found interesting. I only took accounting.

 

[Seahawk]

I see. The whole practice/concepts thing was all I was thinking would give you the advantage.

How did you like being a chem major? BA/BS?

 

[DrReo]

I see. The whole practice/concepts thing was all I was thinking would give you the advantage.

How did you like being a chem major? BA/BS?

Dental school is about memorize and regurgitating bullet points. There were a few courses that had an application component (occlusion and physiology come to my mind).

I did the BS route. I really enjoyed the mathematics portion of chemistry and the opportunity to take calculus.

However, when I was taking quantum and instrumental analysis, my buddies were taking pharmacology and microbiology, I knew that those courses would be a lot more practical/relevant to dental school.

I wish I took a marketing course. Some of the principals are interesting.

 

[yappy]

Psy degree + Business minor = great set up for HR.

PS. Don't do engineering. Great profession - bad prehealth major.

 

[Edentulator]

I majored in neuroscience, two credits shy of a double major in an arts subject. I took everything from the hardcore sciences to astronomy to creative writing to French. There were bits and pieces that were helpful when I saw them again in dental school, but there was nothing that I couldn't have picked up from the DS lectures.

The other science courses I found helpful were the intro anatomy, physiology, and cell biology classes, which were prerequisites (for a reason). I found that the upper level stuff got really specific, and wasn't that useful. For example, I took an entire upper level course on cell signalling in the retina...Which probably helped in the 15 minutes we spent in DS talking about it, but I wouldn't recommend choosing upper level classes because you think you'll find them useful. For the most part, anything you need to know will be taught in dental school or in the prerequisite courses. If you don't believe me, ask for a calendar and check out the descriptions...You aren't going to find any upper level undergrad classes that prepare you for the meat and potatoes of dental school like drilling preparations, dental anatomy, occlusion, oral pathology, etc, and the first year classes aren't so detailed that you need advanced preparation for them to do well.

There is such a broad range of disciplines covered in dentistry that are mentioned that regardless of what classes you take, you'll probably find something relevant, and lots that isn't. Dental school has material that ranges from psychology to chemistry to business and everything in between, so no matter what you take you'll find areas that you know well and others that you don't. That's why I recommend taking the prerequisites and then filling your schedule with whatever else you enjoy.

This is the last opportunity you'll have to choose what interests you and explore all areas, so you might as well take advantage of it. You can approach education in one of two ways--You can see it as a means to an end, or you can get every experience you can from it along the way.

 

[RAlec114]

I majored in neuroscience, two credits shy of a double major in an arts subject. I took everything from the hardcore sciences to astronomy to creative writing to French. There were bits and pieces that were helpful when I saw them again in dental school, but there was nothing that I couldn't have picked up from the DS lectures.

The other science courses I found helpful were the intro anatomy, physiology, and cell biology classes, which were prerequisites (for a reason). I found that the upper level stuff got really specific, and wasn't that useful. For example, I took an entire upper level course on cell signalling in the retina...Which probably helped in the 15 minutes we spent in DS talking about it, but I wouldn't recommend choosing upper level classes because you think you'll find them useful. For the most part, anything you need to know will be taught in dental school or in the prerequisite courses. If you don't believe me, ask for a calendar and check out the descriptions...You aren't going to find any upper level undergrad classes that prepare you for the meat and potatoes of dental school like drilling preparations, dental anatomy, occlusion, oral pathology, etc, and the first year classes aren't so detailed that you need advanced preparation for them to do well.

There is such a broad range of disciplines covered in dentistry that are mentioned that regardless of what classes you take, you'll probably find something relevant, and lots that isn't. Dental school has material that ranges from psychology to chemistry to business and everything in between, so no matter what you take you'll find areas that you know well and others that you don't. That's why I recommend taking the prerequisites and then filling your schedule with whatever else you enjoy.

This is the last opportunity you'll have to choose what interests you and explore all areas, so you might as well take advantage of it. You can approach education in one of two ways--You can see it as a means to an end, or you can get every experience you can from it along the way.

Ah I see. Thanks. All these responses are helpful.

 

[tooth hurty]

I'd think about majoring in Spanish, or at least taking a good amount of courses in it. Knowing Spanish well and being able to treat Spanish-speaking patients will make you a very marketable dentist in many parts of the US! 👍

 

[armydds]

THe best general major to do is Biochemistry

If you can take courses in neurosci, pathlogy, histology, anatomy then you will be solid when beginning dental school. It seems as if the most troubled subjects encountered by most dental students are the ones listed above. Why? because everyone has taken physiology, basic biology and chemistry (they are pre-reqs for admissions)! DUH