Non-Traditional -> Dental Hygiene -> Dental School

[xkc9126x]

Hello!

I am a new member of this forum! I am currently seeking help from everyone; I'd appreciate all criticisms, advice and encouragements.

I am a non traditional student looking to start/pursue my interest in dentistry. I have not graduated college yet - I was previously majoring in design, with 2 years left until graduation. After 2 years of working at the dental office, I felt I should give it a try in applying for the dental field (I was interested since high school but I was always living in fear and scared to start any applications). Why live in fear right? We'll just end up asking what if's and regret the chances we didn't take. However, because I don't have a bachelor's degree yet (or sci pre-reqs, only english, math and bio are complete), I am in the process of applying to transfer into the prerequisite track of the bachelor's degree at NYU for the DH program Spring'16 (I know this may waste a bit more time, but I have some liberal arts credits that may be transferable. I am a perceptive learner so I feel like it is best for me to start with the DH program rather than applying for DS after design). At first, I decided to continue the design degree and then apply for DS after, but as of now, I feel it's leading me further way from my goal, hence why I want to switch over.

1) Does anyone know if the BS degree of the NYU DH program serve as a bachelor's requirement for Dental School?

2) Are there any members here in the forum that are in the NYU BS Dental Hygiene program? Or CUNY City Tech's? How was your first year?

3) Is it required for BS degree DH students to go into the educational aspect of the field post-grad? Can they take the boards and practice after 2 years of the BS? Is 2 years (AA) really enough for someone to become licensed as a hygienist (I am not trying to doubt the profession, but I would like I understand how the curriculum is able to prep all the students for their career in just 2 years)?

That's all the questions I can think of. Thank you for your time and answers!

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[ajj70]

Personally I would skip the DH program and just complete a degree, any degree, and get your pre-reqs done at the same time. It's easiest to do with a bio major so which ever major works best for you to get the pre-reqs done is the way I would go. I would also find a less expensive school to attend. NYU is crazy expensive!!! Tuition alone is $45,000 a YEAR!!! It's just not worth the debt or the expense even if you have the cash to pay for it. Save it for dental school!!

 

[xkc9126x]

Thanks for the reply @ajj70! Additional comments and insight would help!

 

[xkc9126x]

Bump

 

[RDHreadytobeDDS]

Hey I am currently a Dental Hygienist and I will be applying to dental school. I don't think it is a bad idea getting into the hygiene program first. Especially if you need to finish a degree. Why not, if you have two years to go anyway why not complete the 2 years in the hygiene program? I say go for it. The hygiene program is rigorous, you will def be able to get a feel if you can handle dental school, yes dental school is much harder but the hygiene program isn't a walk in the park either. Plus you'll gain a lot of experience. Worse case scenario you can always fall back onto hygiene. Great pay and a rewarding career! Hope I helped.

 

[sochers]

My dentist was formerly a hygienist. Having a hygiene degree will do nothing but help you, though it is a bit of extra time

 

[xkc9126x]

Hey I am currently a Dental Hygienist and I will be applying to dental school. I don't think it is a bad idea getting into the hygiene program first. Especially if you need to finish a degree. Why not, if you have two years to go anyway why not complete the 2 years in the hygiene program? I say go for it. The hygiene program is rigorous, you will def be able to get a feel if you can handle dental school, yes dental school is much harder but the hygiene program isn't a walk in the park either. Plus you'll gain a lot of experience. Worse case scenario you can always fall back onto hygiene. Great pay and a rewarding career! Hope I helped.

Thank you for the reply!!! It means a lot! Did you have another bachelor's/any degree other than hygiene? Did you need to take additional pre-req classes for the dental school app?

 

[xkc9126x]

My dentist was formerly a hygienist. Having a hygiene degree will do nothing but help you, though it is a bit of extra time

Thank you for replying as well!

 

[dhyg]

I am a hygienist applying to dental school now. I'm also canadian so maybe my situation wouldn't be pertinent to you but heres my 0.02.

Looking back I'd rather get a bachelors in general science than doing my hygiene degree, and there are a lot of reasons:
1. My hygiene degree did not allow me to take the prerequisites for dental school during the normal school year, so I had to jam all the prereqs into my summer terms
2. The rigours of a hygiene degree left me with a less than stellar gpa, around 3.5-3.6. I believe if I had regular science courses without having to worry about patient care and skills training while I was 18, my gpa would be much more competitive
3. The tuition for hygiene school is staggering vs a normal degree, and you'd have to factor that in

I guess it depends on what your position is. If you are absolutely confident you can get into dentistry and you know for sure dentistry is your end goal, skip hygiene and just do regular science. If you have doubts about your ability to get a competitive application going, then hygiene is a sweet gig, awesome pay, and rewarding work to fall back on.

Sure the clinical skills you'll acquire in hygiene school would benefit you in dental school, but its not like admissions actively prefer hygienists over regular applicants.

 

[xkc9126x]

@dhyg thank you for the thorough reply!! I am currently taking my first science course (bio 1) since highschool (09) and I received a 93 on our first test i was so relieved bc it's been a long time since I had to take science courses, especially when they're not needed for the design degree. But tbh, it was about cell theory, atoms, all the foundation basic bio stuff so getting a 93 shouldnt be too hard. Now i'm getting worried about the rest of the semester.

Yeah, I was actually thinking about all the reasons you mentioned. I had weighed the pros and cons of the situation too if I were to do the pre-reqs in the summer term during my degree. How many summers did it take you to finish the pre-reqs? Why did you pick hygiene first and not any of the other majors/degree? What inspired you to apply for dental school?

 

[RDHreadytobeDDS]

Thank you for the reply!!! It means a lot! Did you have another bachelor's/any degree other than hygiene? Did you need to take additional pre-req classes for the dental school app?

No I did not do any other degree just associate in dental hygiene then finished my bachelors in dental hygiene. I do have to take additional pre reqs but once your done with your associates in hygiene it doesn't take much longer for you to get your bachelors and I'm sure you can incorporate some classes while finishing up your bachelors. I found the courses to get my bachelors very easy. I graduated with my associates in May got my bachelors in Dec of that same year and I already started working as an RDH fulltime. Right now I am taking the pre reqs. I finished a year of gen chem this past summer. Right now I am taking Orgo I and PhysicsI while working full time but its not going so well. Those courses are VERY hard. All I have left is the 2nd part of orgo and physics and then biochem. Thats if all goes well this semester. Please feel free to reach out to me anytime if you have additional questions!

 

[Pro-Dentite19]

Just my advice but don't get the hygiene degree unless you are planning on practicing for at least a few years before applying to dental school. Dental school admissions officers are not going to like the fact that you got trained as a hygienist and didn't use the degree. Why would they care? Because most Dental Schools also have hygiene schools and they won't like the fact that you took someone else's seat knowing that you didn't intend to practice.

 

[xkc9126x]

Just my advice but don't get the hygiene degree unless you are planning on practicing for at least a few years before applying to dental school. Dental school admissions officers are not going to like the fact that you got trained as a hygienist and didn't use the degree. Why would they care? Because most Dental Schools also have hygiene schools and they won't like the fact that you took someone else's seat knowing that you didn't intend to practice.

Hmm... That makes sense too.... that would also delay everything... because I want to finish DS by 29/30 (I am 24, turning 25 in spring). Back to the drawing board. I have some serious planning to do.... I just feel like I wasted so much time already and I have to rush everything now ><

 

[xkc9126x]

@Pro-Dentite19, but ... If DH route, cant we practice while taking the pre-reqs?

 

[Pro-Dentite19]

@Pro-Dentite19, but ... If DH route, cant we practice while taking the pre-reqs?

In theory yes, especially on the weekends. It can be difficult to work a full time job and take the pre-reqs under a full course load because most upper level science courses are only offered during the day

 

[Dentonymous]

@Pro-Dentite19, but ... If DH route, cant we practice while taking the pre-reqs?

I'm also an RDH (bachelor's) applying to DS. I definitely don't regret going the hygiene route BUT it takes much more time and is not a very easy route to take. As others have already mentioned, it is very hard to finish up prerequisites alongside your regular hygiene curriculum. I had to take both ochem 1 & 2 plus labs, physics and biochem after graduating. I've found it impossible to work hygiene full time while trying to take these classes unless you only take one of them at a time which would take even longer. I'm also not sure what your financial situation is, but keep in mind that once you graduate you are no longer eligible for financial aid from either the government or student loans from banks unless you are in some sort of graduate program. Getting a bachelor's in hygiene was a great experience and will definitely be helpful once in dental school. However, since your worried about time I would recommend going for a degree in biology which would be faster, less time consuming, and cheaper.

 

[xkc9126x]

@Dentonymous
@RDHreadytobeDDS
@dhyg

Forgot to say, Congrats to you all on becoming RDH! & thank you again for taking time out to reply to this thread! All of these answers are really helpful especially since I am a dreamer (blaming pisces). I can get over my head with these kinds of goals and aspirations. You guys are bringing me back to what's actually realistic. ** I APOLOGIZE FOR SOUNDING WISHY-WASHY ** no one else in my group of friends/family are going through this, so thank you for guiding me. I talk to the dentists I work with whenever we have a break, but it's nice to hear from others too.

Now, the following may just sound like I'm talking to myself lol... I had thought of 2 options I can do. But feel free to comment on the timeline if I'm getting any of it wrong:

Well, reality is, I'd definitely need to take out loans after my undergrad degree . I have 1.5 years of financial aid left which I am hoping to use and graduate with a bachelor's by Spring/Fall 2017 (I just need to get my head together and figure out how everything can work out with my current credits and future curriculum if I change from Design to Science - I do agree it's the best route. DH was brought up because it's part of the field, that's why I thought that was better than my design degree).

(Option1) continue with the Design BT, finish by Spring 2017, will definitely be covered by financial aid $ -> informal post-bacc for pre-reqs after graduation (no FA, pay out of pocket somehow), take DAT, then apply for 2019 cycle if applicable.

OR (Option2) restorative dental (lab tech) degree (AAS-Fall'17) -> biomed sci degree & DAT (BS - Fall'18) and apply for 2019 cycle? For this, I was able to walk through the halls of the restorative/dental hygiene halls at school and saw what they were doing. For lab tech, I saw a lot of hands-on, precision work like what I would be doing in class currently with my x-acto knives, not exactly relevant but you get the idea.. I like the satisfaction that comes from a completed project/design after putting so much concentration, time and precision into every detail. To me, this sounds like a more interesting and relatable route in terms of dental school and my art background, but I don't want to waste the design classes either... I need to find out how my last 1.5 years of FA will be affected with this route. I hope it covers, if not, whoo, that's another story to unfold. Haven't really planned out the third option to see if I can graduate in the preferred time allotted.)

--- By then, even getting into the 2018 cycle will l be 31 after DS but that's not really my main concern.. After asking for insight for 2 months, I think I won't be going for the DH program, but since my LOR's are done and transcripts are already ordered and sent out, it would be disrespectful of me not to continue my application. Wish I knew more information before I made any impulsive decisions and went to straight pre-dental instead of just staying my comfort zone. I will continue my application to see if I can get an interview (see it as practice run)& acceptance. If I don't get into the DH program at least I will have these as a backup plan; Just need to know if any of the 2 options are probable.

 

[Dentonymous]

Keep in mind that finishing up your design degree isn't necessarily a bad thing. It seems to me that having a degree in biology/chemistry/dental hygiene or whatever it may be is not really an advantage over those that have a degree in design/business etc. What does matter is that you get a bachelor's degree and that you do well in the prerequisite science courses that the schools require. If you show them that you are competent enough to succeed in bio/chem/physics and also score well on the DAT then it shouldn't really matter what the actual degree is for. It sounds like you are/were getting some good hands on artistic experience in your design program which is great for dentistry because it is also very artistic and requires fine motor skills and hand eye coordination. If you're able to finish the science prereqs while finishing your design degree I think that it will set you apart from all of the bio and chem majors and give you some good talking points on your application and during interviews. When it comes right down to it though, I would recommend going with whatever major you can to get prereqs done before you graduate. Paying for tuition completely out of pocket without aid is a complete nightmare, trust me.

 

[Genji13]

I did dental assisting, dental hygiene right after, and now I am working on my BS online full-time, while working full time as a dental assistant/ hygienist. I for sure am taking the longer route and I wish I would have went straight to pre-dental. But things worked out I guess for the best, since my husband and I are now starting a little family due in March. Just do what you have to do and it will work out for you too I am already studying for the DAT here and there but nothing to serious because I already have homework. Good Luck

 

[Lilies]

Hi I am an F1 student who would also want to go to dental school.I am currently a dental assistant in my coutry and hope to get a job in the US part time as I do my Associates in Dental Hygiene.What are the possibilities of getting employment as a dental assistant.Do I have to train?
Also does it mean that when I transfer for mu 2 year upper division I don't have to do continue with dental hygiene but rather finish up pre-requisites?
Can I work after my Associates and still do my upper division at the same time?Plan to start school spring 2016