Procedure for becoming a dentist?

[sarorah]

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Can someone confirm if this is correct? If not, plz add on for me

For an American Student
1) Graduate HS, concentration in sciences
2) Bachelor Degree, preferably in a Biology Related Major
3) Take DAT & Apply to Dental School
4) Dental School - 4 Years
5) Be General Dentist or Specialize
6) Find job/Set up own practice/Etc

For an International Student
1) Graduate HS, concentration in sciences
2) Attend 5 yr faculty of dentistry and obtain a B.D.S?
3) ??

Couple of questions.... when does one start studying for DAT? Apply for DAT? Can someone go into dental school without a bachelor degree? For an international school I was considering since family is moving overseas, here are their degrees they offer in their faculty of dentistry:


The Faculty awards the following degrees:
1- B.D.S. (five years)
2- Intermediate Diploma (Two years)
3- M.Sc. (two years)
4- Ph.D. (three years)

Can someone plz translate how that works? If someone wants to work/specialize in the USA, how do they go about doing that? Can someone work as a general dentist in the usa without specialization (unheard of in the usa)? Is it better to go the usa or international route & why?

Please help me if you can & thank you!

 

[djeffreyt]

Can someone confirm if this is correct? If not, plz add on for me

For an American Student
1) Graduate HS, concentration in sciences
False. Most people don't know they want to be dentists in High School. Concentrate on being a kid. The only school that asks for high school transcripts for Dental Admissions is UCLA
2) Bachelor Degree, preferably in a Biology Related Major
True and False. Nowadays you usually do need to get a bachelors degree done in order to be considered a good applicant, but not necessarily. Also, you don't have to major in Bio or chem or any science, though it makes it a little easier sice most of the classes for prerequisites are biology major courses too.
3) Take DAT & Apply to Dental School
True. Though you usually do this while an undergraduate...you don't need to wait until after you get a degree to do this.
4) Dental School - 4 Years
True, except that Pacific is three years.
5) Be General Dentist or Specialize
Mostly True. You can do other stuff with your life.
6) Find job/Set up own practice/Etc
Pretty much true again. Etc. covers a lot of ground.

For an International Student
1) Graduate HS, concentration in sciences
2) Attend 5 yr faculty of dentistry and obtain a B.D.S?
3) ??

Couple of questions.... when does one start studying for DAT? Apply for DAT? Can someone go into dental school without a bachelor degree? For an international school I was considering since family is moving overseas, here are their degrees they offer in their faculty of dentistry:


The Faculty awards the following degrees:
1- B.D.S. (five years)
2- Intermediate Diploma (Two years)
3- M.Sc. (two years)
4- Ph.D. (three years)

Can someone plz translate how that works? If someone wants to work/specialize in the USA, how do they go about doing that? Can someone work as a general dentist in the usa without specialization (unheard of in the usa)? Is it better to go the usa or international route & why?

Please help me if you can & thank you!

I don't know a lot of international dentists, but if you get a dental degree somewhere else and want to practice in the US, you need to apply to a US accredited dental school for an international dentist position. You then enter dental school and study for 2 years with the upperclassmen of the dental school in order to earn your US dental degree.

 

[lifeisgood]

I believe Harvard requests HS transcripts as well.

 

[Mila]

I believe Harvard requests HS transcripts as well.

So does buffalo.. But I think the point is that there are only a few schools that require it.. and I'm sure that even with those schools, your undergrad work is a lot more important.

Also yes, you can definitely work in the US without specializing and a lot of people do it. If you want to sepcialize you go into a residency - most specialties are 2 years, but it can vary.

 

[t man]

high school transcripts have your SAT score on them also, which is of use. but they're right, most schools don't even ask for it.

also, you can enter most schools without a bachelor's, but it's difficult. you have to be more impressive than someone who has a bachelor's. generally, schools will require a minimum 3.5 GPA in order to be considered.