****Official PASS 2025 Dental Anesthesiology Residency Interviews/Information~
Started by dmdtoday
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Below 40
Got some questions on DM …
Jumping in here since I think a lot of people may have similar questions:
1. Dental School Prestige:
Programs generally do NOT prioritize which dental school you went to. That said, a few schools have strong DA programs or support structures like USC STAT team. If you are coming from one of those schools, take full advantage of those resources. But overall, we understand that most people don’t even know they want to pursue anesthesia when they choose a dental school.
2. Boosting Your Application (besides CBSE/class rank/externships):
You should check out the article by Whitmer, Saraghi, and Badner out of Jacobi gives a good overview of what makes an applicant stand out. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jdd.12625
That said, it’s really late in the cycle, so if you haven't already done externships, try to line one up ASAP but don’tt be surprised if some programs are already full. Also, shadow as many people as you can, even if it’s
local or just for a few days. Anything that gives you more exposure to the field and shows initiative helps.
3. Last-Minute Additions (e.g., Research):
At this point in the cycle, research won’t help much unless it’s already ongoing and meaningful. Focus your energy on doing a few things well rather than scrambling to add fluff. For example, I didn’t do every club or extracurricular I just focused on being the best dental student and committed to the few things I actually cared about. Meanwhile, some of the people in every activity were struggling academically and I ended up tutoring them. Quality > quantity. PDs can see cut through a fluffy CV like a hot knife through butter.
Hope that helps!
Jumping in here since I think a lot of people may have similar questions:
1. Dental School Prestige:
Programs generally do NOT prioritize which dental school you went to. That said, a few schools have strong DA programs or support structures like USC STAT team. If you are coming from one of those schools, take full advantage of those resources. But overall, we understand that most people don’t even know they want to pursue anesthesia when they choose a dental school.
2. Boosting Your Application (besides CBSE/class rank/externships):
You should check out the article by Whitmer, Saraghi, and Badner out of Jacobi gives a good overview of what makes an applicant stand out. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jdd.12625
That said, it’s really late in the cycle, so if you haven't already done externships, try to line one up ASAP but don’tt be surprised if some programs are already full. Also, shadow as many people as you can, even if it’s
local or just for a few days. Anything that gives you more exposure to the field and shows initiative helps.
3. Last-Minute Additions (e.g., Research):
At this point in the cycle, research won’t help much unless it’s already ongoing and meaningful. Focus your energy on doing a few things well rather than scrambling to add fluff. For example, I didn’t do every club or extracurricular I just focused on being the best dental student and committed to the few things I actually cared about. Meanwhile, some of the people in every activity were struggling academically and I ended up tutoring them. Quality > quantity. PDs can see cut through a fluffy CV like a hot knife through butter.
Hope that helps!
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drillwithbill
New Member
is above a 40 considered competitive?
No, but at least someone had gotten in with a 40, so you aren’t completely out of chance (won’t immediately reject your app) if you score above 40
It’s going to get more competitive each year. it will trend upward. When the requirement was introduced into omfs the same thing happened. People got into programs with low scores bc the programs knew the applicants had little time to prepare.
I am just curious, do you have any statistics to support your cbse score is higher, as your logic, the OMFS cbse average competitive score eventually reach 100, then, do you think NBME will increase CBSE total score to 150?
drillwithbill
New Member
For this cycle, if someone got in the 40's do you suggest not applying and re-writing?
The CBSE is an exam offered to medical students and they let dental residency applicants and dental students take it via ASDA and AAOMS. The CBSE will
Not change its content and scoring for a very small percentage of their test takers (ie dentists)
I’d encourage you to try. What do you have to lose? Some application fees and some interviews? We have some stellar DAs and residents who didn’t get in on the first try.
So do Wycoff and St. Barnabas not require GPR anymore? I still see it on their websites.
You most likely won’t hear anything and we won’t review anything until after the deadline
DentStudent1
New Member
For those in residency or who completed their residency in New York, could we get some insight into why you liked the program you attended? I am trying to get more information on which programs to externship at since I live out west and am not planning on externing at every residency in New York. Thank you in advance!
If anyone from a residency outside of New York is willing to share what they like about where they are at too that would be awesome!
If anyone from a residency outside of New York is willing to share what they like about where they are at too that would be awesome!
My program in NYC gets by far the most clinical experience of any of the programs and the most mobile experience of any programs as well. That’s why I picked it
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This is an excellent question, and I understand wanting to allocate your resources wisely. The reality, though, is that most programs will not offer you an interview unless you complete an externship.
An externship is critical because this residency is nothing like dental school. For the past 20+ years, you’ve been in a student paradigm — undergrad, dental school, etc. Residency is a complete shift. It can feel like the ground has been pulled out from underneath you, and it’s important to experience each program firsthand so you can make an informed decision about such a significant career move.
The good news is that most programs now conduct interviews virtually, so your externship is often your only in-person opportunity to see the program in action. Before the pandemic, most applicants made two trips — one for an externship and another for the interview. Now, you can often get the same level of exposure with a single trip.
I also strongly encourage you to visit as many programs and apply as broadly as possible. With only a handful of programs nationwide, successful applicants typically cast a wide net.
When evaluating programs, think beyond raw numbers. All accredited programs meet minimum case requirements, but not all cases are equal. Performing 15–20 routine colonoscopies in a day may sharpen certain skills, but that’s very different from managing a 10-hour complex maxillofacial surgery involving airway management of a patient with skeletal dysplasia, intentional hypotension, arterial line placement, and a challenging emergence. Quality and variety of cases matter just as much — if not more — than quantity.
And remember — these patients are more than just numbers. I understand that residents and applicants want assurance of adequate experience, but focusing too much on case counts can come across as entitled and disconnected from the bigger picture. This is a once-in-a-lifetime privilege as a dentist: to be welcomed into the sacred space of the operating room, where you will see people live, see people die, and witness some of the most difficult moments of their lives. They expect you to be by their side — fully present, fully human.
I hope you will think of each patient as a person, not just a tally on a log sheet. Any one of them could be your friend, your family member — or you. And then you’ll want the person caring for you to see a human being, not just a statistic.
I think both quality and quantity matter. Emergencies are rare, and the only way you’ll see emergencies and learn how to handle them is by doing more cases. You need to find a program where you can have a variety of high quality/acuity cases.
I understand this comment is a dig at a certain NYC program, which I find interesting because open airway deep sedation/GA arguably requires more skill than intubating at the start of the case and then sitting back for hours. It also doesn’t really paint the entire picture, because said program also sees a high variety of cases including strokes, craniotomies, plastics, ent, ortho and trauma (just gave 54 units of blood products the other night) to name a few (outside of the 600 to 800 dental cases we do). I think trying to paint a program as just doing “routine colonoscopies” is disingenuous and ill-informed. There’s a reason that groups tell us our graduates seem a year ahead experience wise when we start practicing.
I absolutely agree that it’s about quality, quantity, and variety of cases. This wasn’t a dig at you or your program — I don’t know where you’re training, but I’ve noticed you’ve made thoughtful observations here and I appreciate your punny handle. Feel free to DM me if you’d like to talk offline.
If there was any “dig” in my comment, it’s toward the mindset some applicants have that they can pick and choose programs as if the burden is on the program to prove it’s worthy of them. With so few opportunities in this specialty to begin with, that attitude is misplaced. The reality is that candidates should be focused on showing why they are worthy of the opportunity — not the other way around. Programs will be worthy and demonstrate that. But the flavor changes as dental schools, charging sometimes 100-150k per year have more of a customer service mentality and can cater to the whims of students to placate them in ways that a hospital-based GME funded program would never accommodate.
At the end of the day, the best matches happen when both the program and the applicant approach the process with mutual respect, curiosity, and a genuine desire to find the right fit for both sides.
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Completely agree. I find it funny when we have externs who come to visit or that we meet at conferences who act like it’s not a competitive specialty and that by throwing an application in they’ll be guaranteed a spot. When I applied I knew I would be lucky to match at any program, but I find that not all applicants have this mindset. They will be in for a rude awakening when they start residency and realize that the hospital won’t cater to their wants and instead they will have to adjust to the rigorous nature of working in residency/ a hospital setting.
I have confidence that any DA program will prepare you to be a good, safe anesthesia provider. I’ve met DAs from almost all of the programs and they have all been excellent.
Do everything you can to be an outstanding applicant but understand at the end of the day there are very limited spots and it’s competitive
My biggest piece of advice for applicants is to make sure you understand what residency will be like, and when you do get in be ready to work.. There is nothing worse than an entitled resident who complains and tries to make everyone else bend to accommodate them. Of all the specialties in dentistry, I would say besides OMFS, anesthesia is the most rigorous residency you can go through.
Can you be more specific about the mobile experience at your program? How many weeks/months of mobile does a resident at your program complete by the end of their training?
8-9 months of mobile experience total
Most programs deadlines were sept 1 or 15, but 1 or 2 have deadlines October 1. Typically people will hear back the first or second week of October.
@SuxDrugs&Rocuronium - can I dm you? I want to apply eventually after working for 1 year.
