Ortho at UMinn

[Ramzi]

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Hey,

I've always head that Uni of Minnesota is an excellent dental school but does anyone have info about their ortho program? is it good? comptetitive as UIC, UNC, Iowa, etc...? do they accept international students?
the secretary rarely responds to emails and the program director never does, is it becoz they are overwhelmed with applications or are they just mean? 😀

thx a lot for your advice

 

[Tarheel]

I interviewed there and was extremely impressed. Dr. Brent Larson has done great things for their program. It has improved a great deal and continues to improve under his leadership. The residents were all very happy there. I don't remember meeting any international students there, but it was a year ago so I may have forgotten. Although I didn't rank it #1 on my list I would have been very happy to attend there. From the people who interviewed while I was there it seemed that board scores were weighted heavily as a criteria for receiving an interview. It is a two year program with a Masters degree. I really like the clinic setup and the way it was run. They recently spent some money on some nice renovations. A lot of the faculty are younger. I was similarly impressed with UIC. Iowa didn't interview me, but I have heard great things about there program. I wouldn't even compare it to UNC, but I am obviously biased. 😉 Good luck!

 

[Str8Wire]

I interviewed there and was extremely impressed. Dr. Brent Larson has done great things for their program. It has improved a great deal and continues to improve under his leadership. The residents were all very happy there. I don't remember meeting any international students there, but it was a year ago so I may have forgotten. Although I didn't rank it #1 on my list I would have been very happy to attend there. From the people who interviewed while I was there it seemed that board scores were weighted heavily as a criteria for receiving an interview. It is a two year program with a Masters degree. I really like the clinic setup and the way it was run. They recently spent some money on some nice renovations. A lot of the faculty are younger. I was similarly impressed with UIC. Iowa didn't interview me, but I have heard great things about there program. I wouldn't even compare it to UNC, but I am obviously biased. 😉 Good luck!

Wow what kind of stats did you have to get in UNC?? They have a great program!! Congrats.. Did you consider/interview at Georgia, Tenn, Alabama, or Vandy? If so what did you think??

 

[Tarheel]

Wow what kind of stats did you have to get in UNC?? They have a great program!! Congrats.. Did you consider/interview at Georgia, Tenn, Alabama, or Vandy? If so what did you think??

My brother (who hasn't posted on here lately) interviewed at Alabama and was extremely impressed with the facilities, the program, and with Sadowski. Alabama has a very solid reputation. My brother said it also had a very comfortable feel to it and the residents seemed happy. He said they have an excellent balance of strong didactic, solid clinical, and good research.

I had two friends who interviewed at Gerogia and loved it. They said that it has a very strong clinical focus and less of a didactic and research component. (Which is exactly the kind of program they were looking for.) They (and every other person I have ever talked to about Georgias program) also talked a lot about golf. 🙂 The only drawback my friends saw was that they felt that Georgia had a very strong preference for Georgia residents.

You should ask Griffin04 about Vandy. I think she is going there.

I didn't even apply to Tennesse because I heard they spend a lot more time with zero degree brackets than I was interested in. Your screen name indicates you may have a similar preference. I never researched it to confirm the veracity of the rumour though so it may not be true.

Good Luck!

 

[Ramzi]

I interviewed there and was extremely impressed. Dr. Brent Larson has done great things for their program. It has improved a great deal and continues to improve under his leadership. The residents were all very happy there. I don't remember meeting any international students there, but it was a year ago so I may have forgotten. Although I didn't rank it #1 on my list I would have been very happy to attend there. From the people who interviewed while I was there it seemed that board scores were weighted heavily as a criteria for receiving an interview. It is a two year program with a Masters degree. I really like the clinic setup and the way it was run. They recently spent some money on some nice renovations. A lot of the faculty are younger. I was similarly impressed with UIC. Iowa didn't interview me, but I have heard great things about there program. I wouldn't even compare it to UNC, but I am obviously biased. 😉 Good luck!

Thx for the useful info. I've got 94 in part 1 so I'm not sure if this is good enough... I'm applying there anyways so I hope things go well...

As for Alabama, I always hear stuff about the quality of life and safety in that region especially for foreigners, some ppl scared me out! what do you think?

 

[Str8Wire]

My brother (who hasn't posted on here lately) interviewed at Alabama and was extremely impressed with the facilities, the program, and with Sadowski. Alabama has a very solid reputation. My brother said it also had a very comfortable feel to it and the residents seemed happy. He said they have an excellent balance of strong didactic, solid clinical, and good research.

I had two friends who interviewed at Gerogia and loved it. They said that it has a very strong clinical focus and less of a didactic and research component. (Which is exactly the kind of program they were looking for.) They (and every other person I have ever talked to about Georgias program) also talked a lot about golf. 🙂 The only drawback my friends saw was that they felt that Georgia had a very strong preference for Georgia residents.

You should ask Griffin04 about Vandy. I think she is going there.

I didn't even apply to Tennesse because I heard they spend a lot more time with zero degree brackets than I was interested in. Your screen name indicates you may have a similar preference. I never researched it to confirm the veracity of the rumour though so it may not be true.

Good Luck!

Wow thanks for taking the time to respond with a well thought out, positive response!! What other programs seem to deal a lot with zero degree brackets? I have no interest in this because it is the "past" and not the future of ortho in my mind. This is the information I have been looking for but it is hard to get since I have been out 2 years and practice as a GP daily. I am a Georgia resident so maybe that will work in my favor!!

Thanks again

 

[boobah]

Since we're on the topic of ortho programs in Minnesota...has anyone interviewed at or know anything about the Mayo Clinic ortho program? It says on their website that over 45 physicians have completed the orthodontic residency. Do you have to be a MD?

 

[TKD]

Since we're on the topic of ortho programs in Minnesota...has anyone interviewed at or know anything about the Mayo Clinic ortho program? It says on their website that over 45 physicians have completed the orthodontic residency. Do you have to be a MD?

Yes for Mayo you need to have an MD. An unstated fact is that most residents have PhD's as well.

 

[Str8Wire]

Yes for Mayo you need to have an MD. An unstated fact is that most residents have PhD's as well.

Are they really training MDs to do orthodontics? Am I missing something here? Like don't they need dental anatomy, etc?

 

[Tarheel]

Are they really training MDs to do orthodontics? Am I missing something here? Like don't they need dental anatomy, etc?

Mayo is a medical institution that includes dental post graduate residencies. Dentists are sometimes referred to as dental physicians or just physicians. Despite the fact that some of our medical colleagues object to us receiving this title, it is ironically in institutions like Mayo that it is most likely to occur. It is a requirement that you have a DDS/DMD or equivalent to train in an accredited US orthodontic residency. This therefore excludes MDs from direct entry. Mayo just lost an excellent orthodontist Dr. Rose Sheats who will be the new Grad program director at UNC. 🙂 Mayo Ortho, as you may have guessed from their screen name is there, you should pm them to see if they will post more about the program.

 

[gryffindor]

Mayo: 1 resident/year. It's good training, if you're the lucky one who gets in.
Minnesota: 6 residents/year. Advantages (in my opinion) - lots of full time faculty, 2 year program. Don't know if they take international dental graduates, they did have some Canadians in the program. The program is definitely competitive, I think they invited like 28 people last year to interview for the 6 spots.
Vandy: 👍 Advantages: very clinical (we were literally thrown into the clinic with our own pts by the third week), broad scope of clinical cases (cleft lip/palate, syndrome pts, lots of orthognatics going on), minimal structure (think few classes, no exams), lots of freedom in clinic & didactic, research can be as little or involved as you make it. This is a good program if you want autonomy. Disadvantages: well, there are negatives but I don't care too much about them b/c I am just happy to be in an accredited program. I'd rather be here than be doing dentures & chasing decay.

 

[TKD]

Mayo: 1 resident/year. It's good training, if you're the lucky one who gets in.
Minnesota: 6 residents/year. Advantages (in my opinion) - lots of full time faculty, 2 year program. Don't know if they take international dental graduates, they did have some Canadians in the program. The program is definitely competitive, I think they invited like 28 people last year to interview for the 6 spots.
Vandy: 👍 Advantages: very clinical (we were literally thrown into the clinic with our own pts by the third week), broad scope of clinical cases (cleft lip/palate, syndrome pts, lots of orthognatics going on), minimal structure (think few classes, no exams), lots of freedom in clinic & didactic, research can be as little or involved as you make it. This is a good program if you want autonomy. Disadvantages: well, there are negatives but I don't care too much about them b/c I am just happy to be in an accredited program. I'd rather be here than be doing dentures & chasing decay.

ya so no MD or PhD needed.
Canadian dental schools aren't considered "international" since their accrediting body is considered equivalent as ours. I learnt that this year, they are eligible for GME funding, etc. So internationals other than Canada are in another category.
Mayo has a phenomenal program, work side by side with faculty. Minnesota don't know much about.

 

[Mayo Ortho]

Since we're on the topic of ortho programs in Minnesota...has anyone interviewed at or know anything about the Mayo Clinic ortho program? It says on their website that over 45 physicians have completed the orthodontic residency. Do you have to be a MD?

So Mayo's program is a 36 month masters program. You are the only one in your class. The stipen is approx $45,000 a year with no tuition. Graduation requirements are to start and finish 150 cases. This is one of the selling points of the residency for most people along with the stipen. If you have any more specific questions I would be glad to answer them.