Harrison
I just turned 40 years old and still want to become a dentist. Can i first become a dental hygienist then move on to dental school to become a dentist? Would really apreciate your advice given the urgency to me.
Am a citizen of the United States originally from Cameroon(West Africa). I studied Dentistry in the Ukraine(Eastern Europe) and graduated as a dentist before immigrating to the United States to become a citizen. Upon my arrival in the U.S, I made some early attempts but was not successful in the entry exams( Nbde 1 and 2) for internationally trained dentists to get into Dental school here and become a dentist. I was traumatized by my failure and left school for a while. Time has gone so fast and I regret it but now I want to come back despite my old age of 40 and do dental hygiene as a pathway for me to get into dental school here in the U.S fulfilling my dreams of graduating and becoming a dentist with my own practice.
1 answer
Cheryl Lim RDH, BSDH
Cheryl’s Answer
This may take a bit but let me see if I can be of help :)
If you already have a DDS, being a US citizen, depending on where you live in the US, check the programs both RDH and DDS programs and see if they will take any of your credits.
You would still need to get into each program separately. I have a friend who has his DDS from another country, working as a Dental assistant right now, he is now a citizen and is thinking about applying for the DDS program for international dental program (IDP) in our state.
Different Dental programs/Dental Hygiene programs have different requirements to get in even within the state you live in.
What you are planning is great! I give you kuddos for fulfilling your dream! I too went back to finish my BS in Hygiene when I was in my early 40's. School is always there, it isn't going anywhere! Don't let the disappointments get down get to you. I was a student that didn't get into a hygiene program the first time. It is a VERY competitive program to get into nowadays so don't get too discouraged on your endeavors.
One thing you do have is a DDS already so that should help you a bit. You may also want to get some administrative counseling at the school you are interested in to see maybe what is the best way for you to get to your goal. Name and face speaks a lot for a student and the school you are interested in :)
Hope this helped! Hope that your goal will be your success!
Thanks for sharing with me on this topic which makes me at times desperate.
Harrison