*****Official PASS 2025 Endodontic Residency Interviews/Information***

[SirBrotherJam]

I think it would be better to have an “in” with someone at the AAE that may know a program director and personally introduce you.

Trying to be memorable (pester, because that's what it really is), to a PD is very difficult. I would try to get in good with another faculty member that can in turn "talk you up."

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[rb19]

it’s unreal and tough. An “in” I def agree with in some situations. Reach out to dental schools, see If you can volunteer in the academic setting. Never know who you can meet there that may help you. Take CE, be knowledgeable on up to date trends, topics, and talk to local specialists. Reach out to programs and schedule a “visit or tour” prior to the cycle start (can be like a one on one with the PD before the cycle in some schools).

If you get interviews and not accepted or don’t get any interview, update the programs on the growth of your app. They may respond, may not. Go to the AAE and network and get good CE. Going to just meet PDs is good but from my experience it was awkward waiting in a line with other endo hopefuls, waiting to talk to them and the conversation was not memorable for either party. Or chase them around the venue all day. I’m not one for begging or annoying anyone so I ended up just taking CE. Some people will disagree. I think it would be better to have an “in” with someone at the AAE that may know a program director and personally introduce you. Getting that “in” is challenging but can be done with just getting yourself out there. Sitting in your GP practice doing tons of endo ain’t gonna do it. Unfortunately. Politics.

 

[endooooo]

Amy word from Columbia

 

[redchesus]

How does one secure an "in?" I was thinking of writing a best selling autobiography. Hopefully the story will be compelling enough. Heck, I'll even take depressing and pitiful enough. Shopping some titles. I was thinking, "By word of mouth: the navigation of life's canals"

The year I applied, went to annual meeting, at the party event the last night, ended up chatting with this random endo while standing in line for drinks, turned out he was there by himself, it was his first AAE in a while and none of this co-residents were there, his former PD happened to walk by and they had a little reunion (I'm just standing there awkwardly) and then he turned to me and said to his PD "This is redchesus, he's applying to your program!" PD (who I think was a little tipsy) grabbed my badge and looked at my name then said "good luck!" and wandered off. But I did get an interview there.

Not saying that this a sure-fire method, but it's the wildest way I got an "in"

 

[SirBrotherJam]

The year I applied, went to annual meeting, at the party event the last night, ended up chatting with this random endo while standing in line for drinks, turned out he was there by himself, it was his first AAE in a while and none of this co-residents were there, his former PD happened to walk by and they had a little reunion (I'm just standing there awkwardly) and then he turned to me and said to his PD "This is redchesus, he's applying to your program!" PD (who I think was a little tipsy) grabbed my badge and looked at my name then said "good luck!" and wandered off. But I did get an interview there.

Not saying that this a sure-fire method, but it's the wildest way I got an "in"

I visited a program the week before COVID shutting the country down. PD liked me and said this encounter could count for my interview. Offered me a spot right there. That's just how that PD operated. I can't define how to get an "in", but maybe being in the right place at the right time is more accurate. Going out and meshing with residents and faculty, AAE stuff, CE and visiting programs increases the chances if you are not a traditional applicant with amazing grades etc. I feel like we are repeating ourselves a lot.

 

[endomaster]

UNC PD has been fired.

 

[Dentalfixer]

UNC PD has been fired.

Is that official? I heard the rumor but didn’t know if it was true. How are they doing clinics then?

 

[WannabeEndo]

I visited a program the week before COVID shutting the country down. PD liked me and said this encounter could count for my interview. Offered me a spot right there. That's just how that PD operated. I can't define how to get an "in", but maybe being in the right place at the right time is more accurate. Going out and meshing with residents and faculty, AAE stuff, CE and visiting programs increases the chances if you are not a traditional applicant with amazing grades etc. I feel like we are repeating ourselves a lot.

you just gotta know a guy who knows a guy that knows another guy

 

[theendodon]

Is upenn class full?

 

[lol105]

How does one secure an "in?" I was thinking of writing a best selling autobiography. Hopefully the story will be compelling enough. Heck, I'll even take depressing and pitiful enough. Shopping some titles. I was thinking, "By word of mouth: the navigation of life's canals"

Work as a part time faculty at a nearest dental school with a graduate endo program. Show your face to the endo department. If your pre-doc clinic faculties do not like to do endo, then you should aim to be known as the attending who can do pulpotomy/pulpectomy. Then get to know the endo faculties at that school. Take CEs and visit their offices.

I think that would be the best "in" scenario if you do not have any connection. Another way would be to get to know your local endodontist, and then expand your connection from there.

 

[Torshammer]

UNC PD has been fired.

Why? Details?

 

[TargetEndo]

Any tips of making my application more competitive next year?


Im 6 years out of school and applied to 15 schools and no interviews.
My GPA in dental school was around a 3.0 and I applied late may this year. No major CE courses or ADAT taken or volunteering

Do you think taking ADAT will help my application? Also considering volunteering at an emergency dental clinic at a dental school and taking multiple CE endo courses. What other suggestions do you guys suggest to do?

Turn back time, do an AEGD/GPR after finishing DDS, and apply immediately after. If this cycle has taught us anything, it's that more and more programs are leaning towards newer grads with 1-yr PG training programs, and oftentimes not even that.

Jokes apart, in addition to what you have already considered adding, I think LORs from endodontists well-known in academia go a long way at at least getting interviews. That could also be the "in" that has been discussed so much.

 

[FutureDent020]

Is that official? I heard the rumor but didn’t know if it was true. How are they doing clinics then?

PD’s come and go. It’s crappy job. As long as the chair is in place and adjunct faculty are around you’re fine. Plus the chair can oversee clinic if they want to. PD is more responsible for lit and curriculum over site. And residents can run that themselves honestly. As long as the article layout has been passed down.

 

[redchesus]

UNC PD has been fired.

Well, no details were disclosed but the couple of UNC residents I talked to this last meeting didn't seem too warm about him so... this kinda makes sense. I hope it gets better for them.

 

[Torshammer]

Well, no details were disclosed but the couple of UNC residents I talked to this last meeting didn't seem too warm about him so... this kinda makes sense. I hope it gets better for them.

UNC has a good reputation as a strong program but I've heard it does have a culture issue

 

[endo135]

Several programs are looking for program directors so this is gonna get interesting… South carolina just got a fresh one

 

[MidwestOwl]

PD’s come and go. It’s crappy job. As long as the chair is in place and adjunct faculty are around you’re fine. Plus the chair can oversee clinic if they want to. PD is more responsible for lit and curriculum over site. And residents can run that themselves honestly. As long as the article layout has been passed down.

yeah, they only make around 150-170 as director/ chair...not a very desirable job, if you ask me...Some do it because they cant survive in private practice...not all are there because they love teaching....I used to want to become a lowly dental school instructor because i love teaching - luckily , i changed my mind...the world of nerds is not easy...they do eat each other alive...

 

[MidwestOwl]

The year I applied, went to annual meeting, at the party event the last night, ended up chatting with this random endo while standing in line for drinks, turned out he was there by himself, it was his first AAE in a while and none of this co-residents were there, his former PD happened to walk by and they had a little reunion (I'm just standing there awkwardly) and then he turned to me and said to his PD "This is redchesus, he's applying to your program!" PD (who I think was a little tipsy) grabbed my badge and looked at my name then said "good luck!" and wandered off. But I did get an interview there.

Not saying that this a sure-fire method, but it's the wildest way I

UNC has a good reputation as a strong program but I've heard it does have a culture issue

to be honest, all endo programs will prepare you to be somewhat competent....the first few years after residency will prepare you more...UNC is 3-year program...so it is automatically considered a way way less desirable...

 

[redchesus]

yeah, they only make around 150-170 as director/ chair...not a very desirable job, if you ask me...Some do it because they cant survive in private practice...not all are there because they love teaching....I used to want to become a lowly dental school instructor because i love teaching - luckily , i changed my mind...the world of nerds is not easy...they do eat each other alive...

The volunteer part-timers seem to enjoy it the best, because the school needs them (free labor) more than they need the gig, and they get to stay out of all the politics of academia. If I were to teach, that's what I'd do.

 

[MidwestOwl]

The volunteer part-timers seem to enjoy it the best, because the school needs them (free labor) more than they need the gig, and they get to stay out of all the politics of academia. If I were to teach, that's what I'd do.

yeah, when i was in dental school..the ones that treated the students welll were either the parttimers or the lowly paid clinical instructors...the higher ups dont really care much...they care more about getting promoted....etc..

 

[FutureDent020]

The volunteer part-timers seem to enjoy it the best, because the school needs them (free labor) more than they need the gig, and they get to stay out of all the politics of academia. If I were to teach, that's what I'd do.

Yeah, we had a 2 day week retired endodontist. Made like $80K to just joke around with us and teach us little anecdotal aspects of endo. He loved it. I’d strongly consider that to just help pay for a vacation home or something.

 

[mainNXI]

Anyone know if USC spots are filled?

 

[MidwestOwl]

Yeah, we had a 2 day week retired endodontist. Made like $80K to just joke around with us and teach us little anecdotal aspects of endo. He loved it. I’d strongly consider that to just help pay for a vacation home or something.

just have to be careful with those guys...some are too old to even teach...we have a faculty that all of us tried to avoid...he perf patients' teeth left and right

 

[princeafrica]

just have to be careful with those guys...some are too old to even teach...we have a faculty that all of us tried to avoid...he perf patients' teeth left and right

Now you get to learn to repair perfs lol

 

[Lasvegaspreendo]

I hope me volunteering at my dental school will help me get in for residency. I just do one morning a week in our endo clinic, but we don’t have a program here. Otherwise it’s just the head endodontist overseeing like 10 students, so he’s always swamped. I hop in and lighten the load, and can take care of any simple issues. Really it’s probably the best thing on my application aside from speaking Spanish.

 

[Cellly]

Anyone know if USC spots are filled?

Yes all filled

 

[Mary1984]

Yes all filled

How do you know?

 

[Torshammer]

Now you get to learn to repair perfs lol

That's the right mentality when you are in residency lol

 

[ktbur]

Yes all filled

That's wild. I called USC yesterday and she said that they haven't sent out anything yet because the PD is away but offers should be sent before October. Don't even know what to believe 😕

 

[Cellly]

I misread it as UCSF, dk about USC. Sorry about the freak out

 

[TargetEndo]

UOP offers made.

 

[Spotted Cow]

UOP offers made.

Wow, they just had their interview, and offers were made already? (This is not a question, this is an exclamation lol)

 

[TargetEndo]

Wow, they just had their interview, and offers were made already? (This is not a question, this is an exclamation lol)

They have the candidates picked by the time their reception/dinner rolls around.

 

[Spotted Cow]

They have the candidates picked by the time their reception/dinner rolls around.

I see I see. BTW their dinner looks sooooooo good 🤤

 

[AAdentist]

curious to know what is a good GPA for endodontics application in general? maybe the residents here can tell me ?
mine is 3.6, no school rank.
is that low or average? any thoughts???

-endo PD told me for ADAT they are looking at 540 and more. GPA is 3 or more (I doubt that !!).
-A friend applied to orthodontics and she has GPA 3.6 and the program director told her all the applicants have GPA above 3.7 and can not give her an interview for that matter.

 

[princeafrica]

curious to know what is a good GPA for endodontics application in general? maybe the residents here can tell me ?
mine is 3.6, no school rank.
is that low or average? any thoughts???

-endo PD told me for ADAT they are looking at 540 and more. GPA is 3 or more (I doubt that !!).
-A friend applied to orthodontics and she has GPA 3.6 and the program director told her all the applicants have GPA above 3.7 and can not give her an interview for that matter.

The PD and Chairs Ive talked to that put an emphasis on GPA usually like 3.8+. But if you have a 3.6 and your rank is top 20 then that's good. This is for coming straight out of school or recent grad.

 

[AAdentist]

The PD and Chairs Ive talked to that put an emphasis on GPA usually like 3.8+. But if you have a 3.6 and your rank is top 20 then that's good. This is for coming straight out of school or recent grad.

Will that be different for 5 plus years experience?

 

[rb19]

Will that be different for 5 plus years experience?

 

[endo135]

Dont worry about something you cant change (gpa). Even if you get an interview itll be the candidate with the best story/connections that gets in. Focus on that

 

[AAdentist]

I applied to many programs and I had couple interviews this year. during my interviews: PD asked me if I use microscope and if I did apical surgery!! one of the interviewer told me I do not want high grades! I am looking for passionate applicant!.
one of the program picked their applicant with more than 20 years of experience (doing high end procedures).
but most of the programs picked their residents with one year practice experience and high grade! I heard the PDs care about residents passing the board exam, cares about school reputation. it is not hard to find couple good cases out of 150 cases for the board exam presentation!
looks like experience does not matter like before in previous endo applications.
BUT how you are going to like endo with only doing 10-20 root canals !! I really want to do endo after many root canals procedures, perforations and broken instruments !!

 

[Talonslash]

Genuine question: why is endo the only residency that wants its applicants to have a ton of experience already doing the thing that residency is supposed to teach them? It's not like ortho wants you to put braces on 20 people before even applying, or OMFS wants you to have placed a single implant. But then for endo everyone is like: OMG you've only done 50 root canals?!!!?? Don't you know harder cases exist???!!!? How could you ever know you want to do this???!!?

I understand they want you to have a better understanding of "what is restorable" I guess, but the RCT # gatekeeping is odd and doesn't happen for any other specialty.

 

[TargetEndo]

Genuine question: why is endo the only residency that wants its applicants to have a ton of experience already doing the thing that residency is supposed to teach them? It's not like ortho wants you to put braces on 20 people before even applying, or OMFS wants you to have placed a single implant. But then for endo everyone is like: OMG you've only done 50 root canals?!!!?? Don't you know harder cases exist???!!!? How could you ever know you want to do this???!!?

I understand they want you to have a better understanding of "what is restorable" I guess, but the RCT # gatekeeping is odd and doesn't happen for any other specialty.

It doesn't.
This cycle is evidence that endo doesn't care about experience any more, let alone endo experience.

 

[Talonslash]

It doesn't.
This cycle is evidence that endo doesn't care about experience any more, let alone endo experience.

Maybe some PDs stopped caring, but the sentiment is certainly still there.

Also I'm assuming that is based off vibes and anecdotes since there's like 0 data on nationwide endo applications.

 

[AAdentist]

Genuine question: why is endo the only residency that wants its applicants to have a ton of experience already doing the thing that residency is supposed to teach them? It's not like ortho wants you to put braces on 20 people before even applying, or OMFS wants you to have placed a single implant. But then for endo everyone is like: OMG you've only done 50 root canals?!!!?? Don't you know harder cases exist???!!!? How could you ever know you want to do this???!!?

I understand they want you to have a better understanding of "what is restorable" I guess, but the RCT # gatekeeping is odd and doesn't happen for any other specialty.

it doesn't anymore!! you can check the current residents on schools website and it confirms that. high grades and if not high ADAT score required.

maybe experience required for all the specialties and for endodontics in particular because endo requires more hand skills for sure! And with microscope it is even more difficult, the more details you see the more you should do better job!! it is even harder in private practice in some cases when you have to do re treat through crowns, deal with ledges, broken files, perforations and...
OMFS: I did more extractions that RCTs during my AEGD, many GPs are doing wisdom teeth extractions and implants by attending courses. for ortho it does not matter that much since it is very different than general dentistry, a whole new world!

 

[AAdentist]

Genuine question: why is endo the only residency that wants its applicants to have a ton of experience already doing the thing that residency is supposed to teach them? It's not like ortho wants you to put braces on 20 people before even applying, or OMFS wants you to have placed a single implant. But then for endo everyone is like: OMG you've only done 50 root canals?!!!?? Don't you know harder cases exist???!!!? How could you ever know you want to do this???!!?

I understand they want you to have a better understanding of "what is restorable" I guess, but the RCT # gatekeeping is odd and doesn't happen for any other specialty.

50 RCTs is a good number relatively LOL! for this year at least !!

 

[FutureDent020]

it doesn't anymore!! you can check the current residents on schools website and it confirms that. high grades and if not high ADAT score required.

maybe experience required for all the specialties and for endodontics in particular because endo requires more hand skills for sure! And with microscope it is even more difficult, the more details you see the more you should do better job!! it is even harder in private practice in some cases when you have to do re treat through crowns, deal with ledges, broken files, perforations and...
OMFS: I did more extractions that RCTs during my AEGD, many GPs are doing wisdom teeth extractions and implants by attending courses. for ortho it does not matter that much since it is very different than general dentistry, a whole new world!

Yea, I don’t think they necessarily care about endo experience. I don’t care how many root canals you’ve done because everything will change once you start residency. But it’s nice for directors to get people with experience because they don’t want to spend time helping residents get over the initial hump of just being a provider. Dentistry is hard and the more experience you have the better/ quicker you are going to be at certain things. That makes their job teaching you solely endo a little easier. Plus if you are quick at consulting patients, removing decay, restoring teeth, you’ll be quicker with patients and ultimately be able to study more or see more patients. So it just benefits everyone.

Now experience doesn’t mean everything either. You can have experience and still be really bad at general dentistry and endo. And you can have no experience and come into residency like a rock star. So it depends what experiences directors and chairs have had. My chair just had a military guy come through who was highly recommended who has been brutal so now he’s 2nd guessing that whole route. So one resident experience can make a program pivot on who they accept.

 

[AAdentist]

Yea, I don’t think they necessarily care about endo experience. I don’t care how many root canals you’ve done because everything will change once you start residency. But it’s nice for directors to get people with experience because they don’t want to spend time helping residents get over the initial hump of just being a provider. Dentistry is hard and the more experience you have the better/ quicker you are going to be at certain things. That makes their job teaching you solely endo a little easier. Plus if you are quick at consulting patients, removing decay, restoring teeth, you’ll be quicker with patients and ultimately be able to study more or see more patients. So it just benefits everyone.

Now experience doesn’t mean everything either. You can have experience and still be really bad at general dentistry and endo. And you can have no experience and come into residency like a rock star. So it depends what experiences directors and chairs have had. My chair just had a military guy come through who was highly recommended who has been brutal so now he’s 2nd guessing that whole route. So one resident experience can make a program pivot on who they accept.

Can i use your comment for “WHY YOU ? “ question. !!!
Lol!! Just kidding!
I agree with you.

 

[redchesus]

Maybe some PDs stopped caring, but the sentiment is certainly still there.

Also I'm assuming that is based off vibes and anecdotes since there's like 0 data on nationwide endo applications.

They care about the soft skills you get from practicing, they don't care about endo experience. At least with my PD he doesn't want you to have TOO much endo experience because he wants to teach you the "right" way.

There's also a certain maturity and humility that comes with practicing for long enough to see your own failures come back. We had a resident straight out of school, top of the class, the youngest resident at the time, very confident (gunner in school for sure)... he could NOT take constructive criticism at all, literally could not deal with the fact that he was no longer the best (the rest of residents had been out in practice for 3+ years)... it was a nightmare for the faculty and cringe for the other residents. We don't accept D4s anymore.

 

[TargetEndo]

They care about the soft skills you get from practicing, they don't care about endo experience. At least with my PD he doesn't want you to have TOO much endo experience because he wants to teach you the "right" way.

There's also a certain maturity and humility that comes with practicing for long enough to see your own failures come back. We had a resident straight out of school, top of the class, the youngest resident at the time, very confident (gunner in school for sure)... he could NOT take constructive criticism at all, literally could not deal with the fact that he was no longer the best (the rest of residents had been out in practice for 3+ years)... it was a nightmare for the faculty and cringe for the other residents. We don't accept D4s anymore.

I agree with this 100%.
Also, patient management. As a specialist, you often get patients where the tooth might be easy but not the patient it's attached to. A few years in private practice can, at the very least, give you some exposure to handling such patients. Even if you might not be proficient at it, it gives you a sense of how to handle each individual that you're treating. Trying to learn THAT in residency in addition to endo can make the whole experience pretty miserable because it is a given that you will face "special" patients in residency too.

 

[Torshammer]

It doesn't.
This cycle is evidence that endo doesn't care about experience any more, let alone endo experience.

Sorry, what happened this cycle that leads you to conclude that? Lots of D4s getting accepted this year?