Pre-Dental instead of Pre-Med now

[mahnster13]

Recently I have done more research and actually talked with my family physician and my family dentist, and I think the field of dentistry interests me more. Obviously I am not even done with college yet so I can't be sure, and I know the pre-reqs are virtually the same, but is there anything I need to know about my switch from pre-med to pre-dental?
What kind of grades, shadowing/volunteering, and extracurriculars do I need to get into dental school? What do I need to know concerning the DAT over the MCAT?
There are many reasons for my switch, but mostly I just like the feel of the dental industry a little more. And I have a bit of a personal connection I guess you could say, I have horribly crooked teeth, and I know how much damage that can do to your self esteem. So I am kind of interested in orthodontistry, but I really love the feel of general dentistry as well.
Any info or referrals to other threads would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[ohohitsmagic08]

If you were taking courses and upholding your grades with your goal on med school, you should be fine for dental school

 

[TedyBearSuicide]

MCAT vs. DAT: The science portion of MCAT is comprised of passages and standalone questions. The entire science portion of the DAT is made up of standalone questions, there are no passages.

MCAT: Biology, Organic Chemistry, General Chemistry, Physics
DAT: Biology, Organic Chemistry, General Chemistry, and NO PHYSICS

Browse through the DAT forum to see what are good prep-books, practice tests, etc.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=70

For dental schools, you will have to shadow a dentist. Preferably, more than one. Also, you will have to obtain a recommendation letter from one dentist. The number of hours to shadow varies from school to school, however in my opinion 30-40 hours are fairly enough.

Also keep in mind that every dental school is extremely hard to get into, there is no DO business with dentistry.

 

[license2kill]

Recently I have done more research and actually talked with my family physician and my family dentist, and I think the field of dentistry interests me more. Obviously I am not even done with college yet so I can't be sure, and I know the pre-reqs are virtually the same, but is there anything I need to know about my switch from pre-med to pre-dental?
What kind of grades, shadowing/volunteering, and extracurriculars do I need to get into dental school? What do I need to know concerning the DAT over the MCAT?
There are many reasons for my switch, but mostly I just like the feel of the dental industry a little more. And I have a bit of a personal connection I guess you could say, I have horribly crooked teeth, and I know how much damage that can do to your self esteem. So I am kind of interested in orthodontistry, but I really love the feel of general dentistry as well.
Any info or referrals to other threads would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys!

How does it feel?

Welcome to the dark side~!

 

[PreMedHopeful]

I'm considering switching in order to have an easier, enjoyable life with less stress....can someone please give me advice if I'm making a good decision since all my life I have only thought about medicine and my family has only encouraged me to follow my dreams but as I think about it deeply, I'm truly wondering if I should become a dentist and take the DAT instead of MCAT next year....Please help!

(I'm also terrible in physics, stressed out with MCAT, and just want my life to be easier and enjoyable with my wife and family/friends in the future.)

PLEASE MESSAGE ME WITH ADVICE, SUGGESTIONS, FEEDBACK...

 

[mahnster13]

i am pretty sure that dental school itself will be just as hellish as med school, i dont see how that in itself is going to be much easier. yeah life afterward might be, but thats the trouble with my decision. i know they will both be challenging, and they will both be extremely rewarding in their own ways. i really want to be an orthodontist, but thats supposed to be pretty damn hard to get into, and medicine just offers so many more options. i am leaning more towards dental right now, but im really banking on being able to become an orthodontist, which is not a good thing to do at this point.

 

[xiphoidprocess]

Pre-dents rock. Screw them pre-meds. We do it better in bed.

 

[Cofo]

Research shows dentists are 1.8 times cooler than physicians. Definitely something to consider before applying.

 

[Innulja]

Pre-dents rock. Screw them pre-meds. We do it better in bed.

 

[Chrono]

Pre-dents rock. Screw them pre-meds. We do it better in bed.

At least we do it at ALL.

 

[PreMedHopeful]

haha predents have oral sex and thats about it, sorry if this discussion is getting off topic bordering inappropriate but we shouldn't talk about sex on SDN...in my opinion

stick to the facts about careers/opinions/advice, I was only joking earlier

 

[TedyBearSuicide]

haha predents have oral sex and thats about it, sorry if this discussion is getting off topic bordering inappropriate but we shouldn't talk about sex on SDN...in my opinion

stick to the facts about careers/opinions/advice, I was only joking earlier

After having some two hundred and fifty or so post, you decided that today would be a great day to troll!

however it's kind of boring and sometimes disgusting...but dentists have great sex

 

[PreMedHopeful]

sorry, I just wanted the focus to get back to dentistry...that's all...

 

[ToldYouSo]

sorry, I just wanted the focus to get back to dentistry...that's all...

I would suggest shadowing both a dentist and doctor to see what really interests you before committing to a field, if you change your mind 500 times it takes away your credibility.

 

[mahnster13]

Thank you very much ToldYouSo, I completely agree and I will have to do that. Kinda why I switched my status to just pre-health lol.

I don't know though, with what people are saying about the UW (where I am going this fall), I don't know how likely it is that I could get into either :/ I'll still work my ass off, but from what I hear UW sucks for pre med, pre dent, or pre any grad school really :/