5 answers
1
Question
Asked
699 views
What major in college would best help me get to Dental school.
I plan on becoming an orthodontist #college-major #dentistry #dentist #dental-hygienist #dentistry
Login to comment
5 answers
Updated
Carmín’s Answer
Hi Madison!
You can major in any undergraduate degree. However you need to make sure you take all of your pre-requistes required for admission to dental school which is why the majority of incoming dental students major in Biology, chemistry, etc. Some other great undergrad degree options would be like nursing, engineering, computer science etc.
During your third year you would start studying and prepare to take the DAT (dental admissions test) and apply to dental school after you take the exam. You want to make sure you study and score well! Dental school is now currently more difficult to get into than medical school but don't let that stop you! I would recommend you also shadow local dentist, work as a dental assistant and join your college pre-dental club. You also want to engage in extracurriculars that improve your hand eye coordination as a lot of dentistry is working with your hands and being artistic. Dentistry is the only health care profession that is a perfect blend of artistry and medicine.
Once you are accepted to dental school, you have four years of dental school. After completing your four years of dental school, you will need to apply to an orthodontic residency program. Ortho-residency is the most competitive residency program for dentist and you will need to take the GRE as the majority of residency programs require it.
Pathway:
High school --> 4 years of college (take DAT) ---> 4 years of dental school (take boards exams and GRE)---> 3 years of ortho-residency
Best of luck to you! It is a lot of hard work but a very rewarding career!
You can major in any undergraduate degree. However you need to make sure you take all of your pre-requistes required for admission to dental school which is why the majority of incoming dental students major in Biology, chemistry, etc. Some other great undergrad degree options would be like nursing, engineering, computer science etc.
During your third year you would start studying and prepare to take the DAT (dental admissions test) and apply to dental school after you take the exam. You want to make sure you study and score well! Dental school is now currently more difficult to get into than medical school but don't let that stop you! I would recommend you also shadow local dentist, work as a dental assistant and join your college pre-dental club. You also want to engage in extracurriculars that improve your hand eye coordination as a lot of dentistry is working with your hands and being artistic. Dentistry is the only health care profession that is a perfect blend of artistry and medicine.
Once you are accepted to dental school, you have four years of dental school. After completing your four years of dental school, you will need to apply to an orthodontic residency program. Ortho-residency is the most competitive residency program for dentist and you will need to take the GRE as the majority of residency programs require it.
Pathway:
High school --> 4 years of college (take DAT) ---> 4 years of dental school (take boards exams and GRE)---> 3 years of ortho-residency
Best of luck to you! It is a lot of hard work but a very rewarding career!
Updated
Mary Jane’s Answer
You can major in anything you like as long as you complete the needed prerequisite courses. Because prereqs include a lot of science courses, many people do major in something like biology or biochemistry because there is a lot of overlap between the requirements for applying to dental school and those majors. Having said that, if you are passionate about psychology, sociology, Spanish, or art, you can still major in one of those and work with your academic advisor to make sure you have a strong foundation in the sciences to satisfy dental school prerequisites. You might also think about taking some art classes because dentists need to have good eye-hand coordination, a good sense of what objects look like when rotated, flipped, or upside down, and a good eye for what constitutes a well proportioned smile that's attractive to the human eye.
Updated
Brayden’s Answer
Hello!
I would think a degree in stem studying something in the realm of biology, chemistry or something adjacent would be a great start in order to get into dental school. You will have to pass some type of board exam to get into dental school (either MCAT or GMAT) so those degrees would give you a great baseline of information you could then when prepping to take those exams. Doing some quick searches online I found some links that might help:
https://orthodonticassoc.com/dentistry-articles/becoming-an-orthodontist/
https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-health/adult-orthodontics/how-to-become-an-orthodontist
I would use these as they will be able to ask some of the specific questions you might have.
Good luck!
I would think a degree in stem studying something in the realm of biology, chemistry or something adjacent would be a great start in order to get into dental school. You will have to pass some type of board exam to get into dental school (either MCAT or GMAT) so those degrees would give you a great baseline of information you could then when prepping to take those exams. Doing some quick searches online I found some links that might help:
https://orthodonticassoc.com/dentistry-articles/becoming-an-orthodontist/
https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-health/adult-orthodontics/how-to-become-an-orthodontist
I would use these as they will be able to ask some of the specific questions you might have.
Good luck!
Updated
Sudhir’s Answer
An undergraduate degree in the sciences(biology, chemistry, microbiology, ...) helps you better prepare for dental school.
The following website has a wealth of information on pre-requisites for dental school, application timelines, cost to apply, etc.
https://www.adea.org/GoDental/Application_Prep/Preparing_for_Dental_School/College_major.aspx
The following website has a wealth of information on pre-requisites for dental school, application timelines, cost to apply, etc.
https://www.adea.org/GoDental/Application_Prep/Preparing_for_Dental_School/College_major.aspx
Updated
Chantelle’s Answer
You should consider a bachelors in biochemistry, molecular biology or any biological sciences, or perhaps pre-dentistry studies,