2 answers
Hailey
Student
Palmer, Alaska
3
Questions
Asked
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How do I become a denist?
The school I want to go too, ( Northern Arizona University) has a 2 year dental program. I have asked this question before and the most common answer was to major in biology and then do medical school after. Do I just do the dental program while attending the college, or do I major in biology and then do dental school after? #Fall24
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2 answers
Michael Cadra
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon, physician and dentist
29
Answers
Nipomo, California
Updated
Michael’s Answer
There are no dumb questions Hailey,
We need to clarify some terminology. Dental Schools produce Doctors of Dental Surgery or Doctors of Dental Medicine. Dental Hygiene Schools produce Dental Hygienists. Most dental hygienists do not have bachelors degrees. A certificate in Dental Hygiene allows one to sit for the examinations to become an RDH, Registered Dental Hygienist. Dental hygiene has a limited scope of practice as compared to a dentist. The scope of practice may include: patient screening procedures; such as assessment of oral health conditions, review of the health history, oral cancer screening, head and neck inspection, dental charting, and taking blood pressure and pulse, taking and developing dental radiographs (x-rays)
removing calculus and plaque (hard and soft deposits) from all surfaces of the teeth, applying preventive materials to the teeth (e.g., sealants and fluorides), teaching patients appropriate oral hygiene strategies to maintain oral health; (e.g., tooth brushing, flossing, and nutritional counseling)
counseling patients about good nutrition and its impact on oral health, making impressions of patients’ teeth for study casts (models of teeth used by dentists to evaluate patient treatment needs), and performing documentation and office management activities
The information on the NAU Dental Hygiene Program can be found at https://nau.edu/dental-hygiene/ . The hygiene program is two years following two years of prerequisite classes that may be taken at NAU or another college. It is a highly competitive program and admission is not guaranteed even for those that do the prerequisite classes at NAU. They state that only A and B grades are acceptable.
The NAU program is outstanding if you wish to pursue a career in Dental Hygiene, however if you wish to be come a dentist (Doctor of Dental Surgery or Dental Medicine) you will need to look at Dental Schools. There are none in Alaska, if you are interested in Arizona there are two dental schools in Phoenix. Most dental school applicants apply to many (15 or so) schools without much regard for geographic location. State supported schools often restrict the number of students coming from out of state.
Alaska residents can access arrangements to attend dental school out of state through the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) Professional Student Exchange Program (PSEP), which allows Alaskan students to enroll in select out-of-state professional programs like dentistry that are not available within the state. I do not know if these programs apply to Dental Hygiene school, I do see that U of Alaska has Dental Hygiene programs in both Fairbanks and Anchorage, so I doubt that those scholarship programs would apply,
Consider contacting your personal dentist in Palmer and talk to them about the career choices, dentist vs. hygienist. The are many fine dentists in your area (my brother lives in Houston AK), you may want to talk to several of them.
We need to clarify some terminology. Dental Schools produce Doctors of Dental Surgery or Doctors of Dental Medicine. Dental Hygiene Schools produce Dental Hygienists. Most dental hygienists do not have bachelors degrees. A certificate in Dental Hygiene allows one to sit for the examinations to become an RDH, Registered Dental Hygienist. Dental hygiene has a limited scope of practice as compared to a dentist. The scope of practice may include: patient screening procedures; such as assessment of oral health conditions, review of the health history, oral cancer screening, head and neck inspection, dental charting, and taking blood pressure and pulse, taking and developing dental radiographs (x-rays)
removing calculus and plaque (hard and soft deposits) from all surfaces of the teeth, applying preventive materials to the teeth (e.g., sealants and fluorides), teaching patients appropriate oral hygiene strategies to maintain oral health; (e.g., tooth brushing, flossing, and nutritional counseling)
counseling patients about good nutrition and its impact on oral health, making impressions of patients’ teeth for study casts (models of teeth used by dentists to evaluate patient treatment needs), and performing documentation and office management activities
The information on the NAU Dental Hygiene Program can be found at https://nau.edu/dental-hygiene/ . The hygiene program is two years following two years of prerequisite classes that may be taken at NAU or another college. It is a highly competitive program and admission is not guaranteed even for those that do the prerequisite classes at NAU. They state that only A and B grades are acceptable.
The NAU program is outstanding if you wish to pursue a career in Dental Hygiene, however if you wish to be come a dentist (Doctor of Dental Surgery or Dental Medicine) you will need to look at Dental Schools. There are none in Alaska, if you are interested in Arizona there are two dental schools in Phoenix. Most dental school applicants apply to many (15 or so) schools without much regard for geographic location. State supported schools often restrict the number of students coming from out of state.
Alaska residents can access arrangements to attend dental school out of state through the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) Professional Student Exchange Program (PSEP), which allows Alaskan students to enroll in select out-of-state professional programs like dentistry that are not available within the state. I do not know if these programs apply to Dental Hygiene school, I do see that U of Alaska has Dental Hygiene programs in both Fairbanks and Anchorage, so I doubt that those scholarship programs would apply,
Michael recommends the following next steps:
This website will take you to a list of all the dental schools with links to the school's website. https://www.adea.org/dentalschools/
Good luck
Michael Cadra
Michael Cadra
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon, physician and dentist
29
Answers
Nipomo, California
Updated
Michael’s Answer
Hailey, You have received some bad information.
First NAU does not have a dental school. NAU does offer a bachelors degree in dental hygiene. That particular program is considered to be one of the best dental hygiene programs. However it is a four year program which is very structured in the first two years, then assuming that your grades support admission to the hygiene program, you continue into the clinical phase of dental hygiene education for two years.
Second, your choice of major does not matter. There are prerequisite courses that are required, generally at least one year of biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry and physics. Individual schools may have additional requirements in English, communication and others. Once you have the prerequisite courses, you will need to take the DAT (dental admissions test) with will validate your record in the science courses and also test your perceptual motor ability. One of the top students in my dental school class was a business major.
You might want to look into programs such as the University of the Pacific/Dugoni School of Dentistry programs. They will take well qualified students into a 2+3, 3+3 or 4+3 program directly out of high school. One of my partners went to the 2 years of undergraduate education at UOP then 3 years of dental school. My other partner did not receive a bachelors degree, he did three years of undergraduate training and was admitted to Loma Linda University School of Dentistry. Not all schools require a bachelors degree, but that is the most common route to go. There are multiple other schools that offer the combined training, those can be found via the ADA website.
Do not fall in to the trap of concentrating too much in the sciences. You will be taught every thing you need to know in dental school. To have the background to step into those courses it is advisable to really master the content of the undergraduate required courses. Take courses in ethics, art, communication and others that just interest you.
First NAU does not have a dental school. NAU does offer a bachelors degree in dental hygiene. That particular program is considered to be one of the best dental hygiene programs. However it is a four year program which is very structured in the first two years, then assuming that your grades support admission to the hygiene program, you continue into the clinical phase of dental hygiene education for two years.
Second, your choice of major does not matter. There are prerequisite courses that are required, generally at least one year of biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry and physics. Individual schools may have additional requirements in English, communication and others. Once you have the prerequisite courses, you will need to take the DAT (dental admissions test) with will validate your record in the science courses and also test your perceptual motor ability. One of the top students in my dental school class was a business major.
You might want to look into programs such as the University of the Pacific/Dugoni School of Dentistry programs. They will take well qualified students into a 2+3, 3+3 or 4+3 program directly out of high school. One of my partners went to the 2 years of undergraduate education at UOP then 3 years of dental school. My other partner did not receive a bachelors degree, he did three years of undergraduate training and was admitted to Loma Linda University School of Dentistry. Not all schools require a bachelors degree, but that is the most common route to go. There are multiple other schools that offer the combined training, those can be found via the ADA website.
Do not fall in to the trap of concentrating too much in the sciences. You will be taught every thing you need to know in dental school. To have the background to step into those courses it is advisable to really master the content of the undergraduate required courses. Take courses in ethics, art, communication and others that just interest you.
I am more interested in becoming a dentist rather than a dental hygienist. Do I need a bachelor degree for Dental School? And would you be able to list what dental schools in Phoenix you are talking about, when I look them up I get a whole bunch so I am not sure which ones I should be applying too. Thank you very much.
Hailey
Thank you very much! I don't know I'm really allowed to ask another question but I'm going to. I am a little bit confused. How do I go about entering the dental program at NAU. Do I do a random major that interests me, and then on top of that sign up for the dental program? Or is it like the dental program would be my major. I'm sorry I'm a little confused on how college works, so this question may be pretty dumb, I hope that made sense.
Hailey