will becoming a dental assistant help me get into dental school?

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bsmith21

bsmith21

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I applied last cycle and am currently on the waitlist at OHSU, Roseman and Midwestern-Az, but I'm not sure what my odds are of getting off of the waitlist and into a school.

Im looking into becoming a dental assistant and working in that for a year. Would this be very beneficial or are there better things I could be doing?

gpa - 3.66
sgpa - 3.3
dat - 20 aa
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bsmith21 said:
I applied last cycle and am currently on the waitlist at OHSU, Roseman and Midwestern-Az, but I'm not sure what my odds are of getting off of the waitlist and into a school.

Im looking into becoming a dental assistant and working in that for a year. Would this be very beneficial or are there better things I could be doing?

gpa - 3.66
sgpa - 3.3
dat - 20 aa
Click to expand...

Hello,

Most other SDN users suggest that as long as you break above 200 hrs shadowing/volunteering and another 100-200hrs volunteering, the GPA and DAT will determine everything else (besides the interview)

Do you think the schools put you on wl because of your sGPA? what is the subsection scores of your DAT?
 
I assisted prior to school and in addition to it being a big topic of discussion at all of my interviews, I have found the experiences had and knowledge gained to be extremely beneficial. I'm very pleased with the outcome of my first year and attribute much of that to my base knowledge obtained assisting.

One of my best friends at my school was accepted the second time around, and in the interim he got heavily involved into research with dental materials and product testing for a very respected dentist. That too has served him very well.
 
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italianstallion2008 said:
I assisted prior to school and in addition to it being a big topic of discussion at all of my interviews, I have found the experiences had and knowledge gained to be extremely beneficial. I'm very pleased with the outcome of my first year and attribute much of that to my base knowledge obtained assisting.

One of my best friends at my school was accepted the second time around, and in the interim he got heavily involved into research with dental materials and product testing for a very respected dentist. That too has served him very well.
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Wow

Could you provide more details on product testing...

I'm into that stuff
 
Yeah absolutely. Coming from me it's secondhand info. He's from out west. There's an extremely respected guy in the dental community who publishes a monthly report on all the latest and greatest dental toys. Manufacturers give him all the stuff to test and he writes reviews on how successful a given instrument/technique is. My friend worked in his office and spent his days doing things like stress testing restoration or implant materials, evaluating the effectiveness of different types of endo equipment like apex locators, comparing loupes/lights, played with a bazillion types of impression materials, etc. Had a great time, got into school without any trouble the second time, and by far knows more about dental materials than any of us.
 
italianstallion2008 said:
Yeah absolutely. Coming from me it's secondhand info. He's from out west. There's an extremely respected guy in the dental community who publishes a monthly report on all the latest and greatest dental toys. Manufacturers give him all the stuff to test and he writes reviews on how successful a given instrument/technique is. My friend worked in his office and spent his days doing things like stress testing restoration or implant materials, evaluating the effectiveness of different types of endo equipment like apex locators, comparing loupes/lights, played with a bazillion types of impression materials, etc. Had a great time, got into school without any trouble the second time, and by far knows more about dental materials than any of us.
Click to expand...


Wow

That is awesome....

Maybe one day I could develop my own instrument or improve an existing technology or material....

One day

One day
 
tooth knockn said:
Wow

That is awesome....

Maybe one day I could develop my own instrument or improve an existing technology or material....

One day

One day
Click to expand...

Yeah hopefully one day real soon. Here we're doing all kinds of cool work in stem cell regeneration, as I'm sure is happening in many schools across the country. If you're passionate about it, you can definitely get involved. Maybe within our lifetimes we'll be able to regenerate lost or damaged dental tissue biologically because people like you figured it out.
 
italianstallion2008 said:
Yeah hopefully one day real soon. Here we're doing all kinds of cool work in stem cell regeneration, as I'm sure is happening in many schools across the country. If you're passionate about it, you can definitely get involved. Maybe within our lifetimes we'll be able to regenerate lost or damaged dental tissue biologically because people like you figured it out.
Click to expand...


One day is very likely.... Sooner than later...

3-d technologies, nano-medicine, and genetic based healthcare..... Stem cell research has super amounts of funding, if you can get the equipment and a little team, along with a nice research plan (business plan) you, yourself, could get funding from the gov't......

But

I am not into that biological nitty gritty stuff...

I like more of the concepts relating to increasing efficiency with what is out there...

I have like a whole little notebook with ideas....

This is another reason I like dentistry....

It has a lot of technologies and instruments.... Work week can be customizable...... And the pay, will allow me to hopefully bring my ideas to life.....
 
I'm applying this cycle, I can't say how much impact my assisting will have on getting into dental school. What I can comment on is that I find it very worth it. As an assistant you have the opportunity to see dentistry from a different viewpoint that gives you the ability make better talking points. I also find it much better than shadowing since I like to be working/actively involved.

@tooth knockn.... in reference to the researcher that @italianstallion2008 mentioned, I'm willing to bet that it was Gordon Christensen. His monthly reports are called "Clinicians Reports" and they are awesome! I had the opportunity of using them while assisting, his breakdown of dental materials is exceptionally thorough and written so that even people with basic dental knowledge can understand them. Subscribing to them is probably pricey, but if you happen to know a dentist who subscribes, they are well worth reading.
 
I applied to 7 different school. I think it could be my lower science gpa that is holding me back. I have a lot of shadowing and volunteer hours.

would trying to get involved in research be more beneficial?
 
bsmith21 said:
I applied last cycle and am currently on the waitlist at OHSU, Roseman and Midwestern-Az, but I'm not sure what my odds are of getting off of the waitlist and into a school.

Im looking into becoming a dental assistant and working in that for a year. Would this be very beneficial or are there better things I could be doing?

gpa - 3.66
sgpa - 3.3
dat - 20 aa
Click to expand...

Getting a better DAT score would be more beneficial. If you can do both, that would be fantastic.
 
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20 is around the average for accepted dental students. That being said, the best thing you can do for a low gpa is to have a great DAT score.

What is a great score this cycle? Who knows..Probably 22+
 
A 20 is pretty good if it goes along with a pretty go GPA. Your GPA is on the lower end though so if you could retake the DAT and get 22 or 23 or better, that would probably be a better way to go, and much less expensive. You should also apply to more schools.
 
OP, so many people here throw around the words "pretty good", "you will get in somewhere", etc. These people often sugarcoat(don't know why, they seem to be really passive and hate confrontation/bluntness) what you need to hear when you've already spent hundreds of dollars in the last cycle.

Dental schools care about your academics the most. The thing that you can improve on without **** load of unnecessary money is to retake the DAT and get 21+ on it. Being dental assistant will make you some money, but won't help you as much as higher DAT score.

To other people, people are spending hundreds of dollars and their time in their application, don't sugarcoat **** and tell them what they need to do directly and clearly to improve their chances the most. People will appreciate that way more than some empty and cheap encouragements.
 
3rdgenDDS said:
20 is around the average for accepted dental students. That being said, the best thing you can do for a low gpa is to have a great DAT score.

What is a great score this cycle? Who knows..Probably 22+
Click to expand...

ajj70 said:
A 20 is pretty good if it goes along with a pretty go GPA. Your GPA is on the lower end though so if you could retake the DAT and get 22 or 23 or better, that would probably be a better way to go, and much less expensive. You should also apply to more schools.
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THANK YOU. I thought 18 was the national average, a 20 was well done, and a 21+ was excellent.
 
Incis0r said:
THANK YOU. I thought 18 was the national average, a 20 was well done, and a 21+ was excellent.
Click to expand...

18 might be average for everyone who attempts the DAT, 19-20 is average for people who get accepted(skewed heavily due less competitive schools), not considering other parts of their application, and 21+ is a good score for people with 3.5+GPA.

You should never be happy with 19-20 unless you are satisfied with not getting accepted to the best schools you can when you are already spending a fortune and 4+ year of your life in education.
 
Last edited:
I want to go to there said:
You should never be happy with 19-20 unless you are satisfied with not getting accepted to the best schools you can when you are already spending a fortune and 4+ year of your life in education.
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Define "best schools." ADEA itself states that there is no reliable ranking of dental schools.

"While there are many publications that rank the dental schools, they are often inaccurate, as there is no level playing field to rank one against another since they all offer programmatic and mission-based differences." -ADEA Website

It is my understanding that each school trains you to become a dentist by giving you the basics and you learn in the real world- that's why they call it dental "practice."

Also, in a previous post you called for people to be blunt...well allow me: I disagree with your presumption that schools schools that have higher DAT averages are necessarily better schools.
 
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Incis0r said:
Define "best schools." ADEA itself states that there is no reliable ranking of dental schools.

It is my understanding that each school trains you to become a dentist by giving you the basics and you learn in the real world- that's why they call it dental "practice."
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ADEA may say that as they are funded heavily by all dental schools. ADEA is like Switzerland, neutral.

People know what dental schools are bad and good and that not every dental school are the same in quality.
 
I want to go to there said:
ADEA may say that as they are funded heavily by all dental schools.

People know what dental schools are bad and good and not every dental school are the same in quality.
Click to expand...

There is a difference between this statement and your previous one where you said that higher DAT = better schools.
 
Incis0r said:
There is a difference between this statement and your previous one where you said that higher DAT = better schools.
Click to expand...

Not sure if there were any contradictions in my previous posts, but...

While not completely accurate, but this is a pretty good guideline:

Low stat schools = bad schools. Medium stat schools = decent schools. High stat schools = all good schools that people choose depending on what they want.
 
I want to go to there said:
18 might be average for everyone who attempts the DAT, 19-20 is average for people who get accepted(skewed heavily due less competitive schools), not considering other parts of their application, and 21+ is a good score for people with 3.5+GPA.

You should never be happy with 19-20 unless you are satisfied with not getting accepted to the best schools you can when you are already spending a fortune and 4+ year of your life in education.
Click to expand...

19.9 was the AA average last year. 20 is good, if you had a 3.6+ sGPA and oGPA.
 
I want to go to there said:
18 might be average for everyone who attempts the DAT, 19-20 is average for people who get accepted(skewed heavily due less competitive schools), not considering other parts of their application, and 21+ is a good score for people with 3.5+GPA.

You should never be happy with 19-20 unless you are satisfied with not getting accepted to the best schools you can when you are already spending a fortune and 4+ year of your life in education.
Click to expand...

What "best school" did you get into and with what stats that you continually cut down other posters for not wanting to go to Harvard?
 
I want to go to there said:
And C is average is college. Average is not good regardless of your GPA.
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No, a C is not average in college, it is the middle score, that is different. The mean oGPA for accepted students last year was 3.65 and the sGPA 3.48....
 
I want to go to there said:
Low stat schools = bad schools. Medium stat schools = decent schools. High stat schools = all good schools that people choose depending on what they want.
Click to expand...

I completely disagree with this.
From my viewpoint, more expensive schools/private TEND (there are exceptions) to have lower stats than less expensive schools as applicants who are more competitive tend to shoot for state schools to minimize the cost of attendance burden.
 
Incis0r said:
I completely disagree with this.
From my viewpoint, more expensive schools TEND (there are exceptions) to have lower stats than less expensive schools as applicants who are more competitive tend to shoot for state schools.
Click to expand...

Expensive schools with low stats are the worst, they are schools that most people tend to go to because they can't get accepted to better schools. There are many expensive schools with good stats.
 
I want to go to there said:
Above average. I don't want to tell you my exact stat/personal info because I get the feeling you may have something against me.
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No, just that you keep spouting off about other people's stats as 'average' and all the "bad" schools, which is just garbage. I don't believe you have the stats you claim...sorry. My stats are above average as well, so....
 
ajj70 said:
No, just that you keep spouting off about other people's stats as 'average' and all the "bad" schools, which is just garbage. I don't believe you have the stats you claim...sorry. My stats are above average as well, so....
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You are the one who said 19.9 is average. OP has 20 DAT and he failed to get in last year with 3.6 GPA. His GPA is fine, so with all else that I don't know about his app, his DAT score was not enough to offset his other parts of his app and he may never find out what he did wrong. In either case, improving his DAT score will help him get into dental school more than dental assitance job.

If I said someone's stat was average in the past, it was because it was. And yes there are bad schools, just look at another school popping up in NY. If you don't think there are bad schools, you are deluded. Just like in life, there's good and bad for everything. Good food, bad food, good people, bad people, etc. If you choose to blur that line, that's on you.
 
I want to go to there said:
You are the one who said 19.9 is average. OP has 20 DAT and he failed to get in last year with 3.6 GPA. His GPA is fine, so with all else that I don't know about his app, his DAT score was not enough to offset his other parts of his app and he may never find out what he did wrong. In either case, improving his DAT score will help him get into dental school more than dental assitance job.

If I said someone's stat was average in the past, it was because it was. And yes there are bad schools, just look at another school popping up in NY. If you don't think there are bad schools, you are deluded. Just like in life, there's good and bad for everything. Good food, bad food, good people, bad people, etc. If you choose to blur that line, that's on you.
Click to expand...

You are such a :

Hater
Provoker
Annoyance
Good for near nothin
 
Oh lord...if you got wait listed with those stats, I don't even stand a chance Did you apply late? My top priority is MWU IL
 
It'll help once you get into school. As far as will it help on your application? It is questionable. GPA and DAT carry the most weight. Volunteer hours would probably be next most important.

I'd recommend working or shadowing different specialists as well as a couple general dentists. It'll give you more experience and help make dental school a bit easier for you.
 
syedj94 said:
Oh lord...if you got wait listed with those stats, I don't even stand a chance Did you apply late? My top priority is MWU IL
Click to expand...
Nope not really. I applied late june early july primary and secondary
 
bsmith21 said:
I applied last cycle and am currently on the waitlist at OHSU, Roseman and Midwestern-Az, but I'm not sure what my odds are of getting off of the waitlist and into a school.

Im looking into becoming a dental assistant and working in that for a year. Would this be very beneficial or are there better things I could be doing?

gpa - 3.66
sgpa - 3.3
dat - 20 aa
Click to expand...
I would do a masters instead
 
Having a background in dental assisting is about an important a factor in admission as playing a flute or sax.
 
Has anyone experienced a bad dental office where you were assisting? I don't want to create another thread, but how did you approach this problem?
 
Go to a different one, no need to stick with one office, having working with 7-8 different dentists haven helped me to understand the difference on skills and specialities.
 
tooth knockn said:
One day is very likely.... Sooner than later...

3-d technologies, nano-medicine, and genetic based healthcare..... Stem cell research has super amounts of funding, if you can get the equipment and a little team, along with a nice research plan (business plan) you, yourself, could get funding from the gov't......

But

I am not into that biological nitty gritty stuff...

I like more of the concepts relating to increasing efficiency with what is out there...

I have like a whole little notebook with ideas....

This is another reason I like dentistry....

It has a lot of technologies and instruments.... Work week can be customizable...... And the pay, will allow me to hopefully bring my ideas to life.....
Click to expand...

One of the most interesting things for me, aside from the actual concepts underlying clinical practice is the wide variety of material available and that continue to come out. It seems fairly daunting that there is so much constant change in terms of improvements to restorative materials, bonding agents, etc. I have always wondered how dentists that go into practice determine what they should/shouldn't use. I assume it is based on familiarity from school and/or residency along with price.
 
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