A Mini Guide To Dental School Admission 4-5-13

A MINI GUIDE TO DENTAL SCHOOL ADMISSION
by
Doc Toothache
1
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
5
5
6
6
6
6
6
7
7
8
8
8
9
9
9
9
10
10
10
10
11
11
11
12
Introduction
Preparing for Dental School
Job Shadowing
Mission Trips
Minimum Requirements- Prerequisites
Community College and Advanced Placement (AP) Courses
Choosing a Major
Finishing a Degree
Applying to Dental School
Choosing a Dental School
Application Deadlines
DAT Topics
DAT Deadlines/Age of DAT
DAT Retakes
DAT Harder/Easier
Selection Criteria
DAT
Other Selection Criteria
Age Consideration
Early Applicant Advantage?
Credit for Previous Academic Work
Admission- Is Admission Getting More Competitive?
Enrolled Students Topics
Transfers and Withdrawals
International Students-International DS Graduates
International Dental School Graduates
Dental Hygiene to Dental School
Educational Requirements
Educational Level of First-Year Dental Hygiene Students
The Claim for Competitiveness
Miscellaneous Topics
Controversial Posts
INTRODUCTION
There is a vast amount of information on dentistry and dental education. Valuable
information is readily available from the American Dental Association (ADA), the oldest
and largest dental organization in the world and the American Dental Education
Association (ADEA), whose membership includes all US, Puerto Rico and Canadian dental
schools. Since 1950, the ADA has been conducting nationally the Dental Aptitude Test
(DAT) (1, 2), a requirement for all dental school applicants. The ADEA Associated American
Dental Schools Application Service (AADSAS) is the centralized application service for 64
US dental schools and one Canadian dental school (Dalhousie) (3). The only school that is
not on the list is the University of Mississippi (4). Texas residents are required to submit
their application through the Texas Medical & Dental Schools Application Service (TMDSAS)
(5) for entrance to the Texas A&M University system Health Science Center Baylor College
of Dentistry, The University of Texas School of Dentistry at Houston and the University of
Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Dental School.
Anyone seriously considering dental school cannot afford not to buy the latest ADEA
Official Guide to Dental Schools (6). It will, without a doubt, be the single best investment.
There is an erroneous presumption that the information compiled by this author and other
SDN members on the ranking of schools based on the relevant metrics and other
information is sufficient and that the roughly $45 investment is not warranted. Nothing
could be further from the truth. In addition to the statistical data provided therein, the
guide discusses financing the dental education; more than 200 pages of the roughly 300
page guide are devoted to specific information on each US and Canadian dental school
including general information, preparation, DAT, statistics on entering class, application
and selection, demographic of applicants/enrollees, curriculum, special programs and
services, costs and financial aid. The ADA, 2011 Survey of Dental Education-Academic
Programs, Enrollment, and Graduates-Volume 1 (7), which has, among others, a
comparison of examined applications, applicants and first-year enrollment, repeating and
education of enrollees; the 2010-11 Survey of Dental Education- Tuition, Admission, and
Attrition Volume 2 (8) has information regarding topics, such as, the relative importance of
the DAT scores, grade point average, other selection criteria, including interviews, letters
of recommendation, manual dexterity, community service, professional experience,
overcoming personal/financial challenges, transfers, withdrawals, attrition, and
international student, to name a few.
(1). http://www.ada.org/dat.aspx
(2). http://www.ada.org/sections/educationAndCareers/pdfs/dat_examinee_guide.pdf
(3). http://www.adea.org/dental_education_pathways/aadsas/Pages/PDS.aspx
(4).
http://dentistry.umc.edu/students/prospective/predoc/admissions_process/application_pro
cedure.html
(5). http://www.utsystem.edu/tmdsas/dental/homepage.html
(6).2013 ADEA Guide to DS
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=989334
(7). 2010-2011 Survey of Dental Education, Academic Programs, Enrollment, and
Graduates-Volume 1
http://www.ada.org/sections/professionalResources/pdfs/survey_ed_vol1.p
df
(8). 2010-11 Survey of Dental Education- Tuition, Admission, and Attrition Volume 2
http://www.ada.org/sections/professionalResources/pdfs/survey_ed_vol2.pdf
PREPARING FOR DENTAL SCHOOL

JOB SHADOWING
(9, 10)
The single most important factor before deciding on any professional career option
is job shadowing, whose purpose is to acquaint the perspective applicant with the
day-to-day routine of a dentist. It is about observing the atmosphere in a dental
office, the interaction between staff, practitioner and patient and, more importantly,
about the procedures performed in a dental office. It is not intended to serve the
function of on-the-job training. Dental schools have a limited number of students
they can enroll and cannot afford to choose those who are ambivalent about their
choice.
MISSION TRIPS
Mission trips (11) have been badly abused by predents, who appear to have
been eager to join in an orgy of providing dental services to unsuspecting
patients. With considerable bravado, they reported performing irreversible
procedures including extractions, restorative procedures and the injection of
local anesthetics. While ignorance of the legality may be in their favor, the
lack of maturity in comprehending that they do not having any training to
justify their action is incomprehensible and inexcusable. More troubling, has
been the lackadaisical attitude by the mission trip organizers and dentist
volunteers, who apparently showed complete disregard for the welfare of the
patients and for the ethics/laws of the country where they were guests by
allowing predents in the free-for-all. In the US, the legal practice of dentistry
is governed by the State Board of Dental Examiners, whose power is vested
by the States Legislature. Outside the US, in most, if not all the countries,
the practice of dentistry is controlled by the Ministry of Health. Anyone who
does not have a license to practice dentistry is considered to be practicing
dentistry without a license, which is illegal. Dental schools are given an
exemption allowing dental students to perform dental procedures under
strictly controlled/supervised conditions. It is presumed that those organizing
mission trips have obtained permission from the competent authorities

allowing trained practitioners to practice dentistry. The endemic abuse on
mission trips has reached both the ADA, who passed a resolution (12) and the
ADEA, who issued guidelines (13).
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS-PREREQUISITES
(14)
1. Biology, chemistry, physics (BCP), English

Biology/lab- one year
General (inorganic) chemistry/lab- one year
Organic chemistry/lab- one year
Physics/lab-one year
2. DAT
3. Letters of Recommendation (LOR)
4. Interview
The number of schools requiring additional courses, such as, biochemistry (33
counts), microbiology (11), anatomy (10), and physiology (8) has increased
dramatically over the previous years. Relying solely on the basic requirements is
likely to place an applicant at disadvantage vis a vis those with the additional upper
division bio courses.
COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP) COURSES
(15)
There are 14 dental schools that flatly do not accept AP courses. Those that do
accept may do it conditionally on having taken additional upper-level courses in the
field in question. While CC courses are generally accepted, there preference is that
prerequisites be taken at a four-year college/university. The major disadvantage on
relying on AP or CC courses is that the applicant may find him/herself inadequately
prepared for additional undergrad upper-level courses, the dental school science
courses and for the DAT.
CHOOSING A MAJOR
While on a national basis, about 65% of the enrollees are science majors
(biological sciences, chemistry/physical science, engineering, math/computer
science) it should be understood that this group also represents about 73%
of the applicant pool. The statistical data provided by the ADEA shows that
the applicant pool of majors roughly parallels that of the enrollees;
engineering major have a slight advantage over other majors (16).
FINISHING A DEGREE
While, in theory, it is possible to enroll in dental school with just the bare
minimum of requirements, from a practical perspective, it is a tough hill to
climb. For 2010-11, 88.8% completed a Bachelors degree and an additional
2.6% completed 4 years of college. The percentage of those with a Masters
degree increased from 6.1% in 2009-10 to 6.6% while those with a Ph.D.
increased from 0.2% to 0.3% during the same time period (17, 7 p 15). A few
SDN-ers took exception to the value of an MS in gaining admission, although
it is not clear why they believe an advanced degree would not be an
advantage.
(9). 2013 Shadowing Requirements/Recommendations
(10). Shadowing-The Seven Stages- Be a guest not a pest.
(11). Mission Trips-The Good, The Bad, The Ugly.
(12). http://www.asdablog.com/asdas-president-on-ada-annual-session/
(13). Guidelines for Predental Students Providing Patient Care During Clinical
Experiences Abroad
http://www.adea.org/dental_education_pathways/Documents/ADEA%20Guidelines
%20for%20International%20Predental%20Experiences%202010%20Approved
%20by%20BoD.pdf
(14). 2012 Prerequisites
(15). 2013 Community College Courses-AP Credit and DS Admission
(16). Trend in Undergraduate Majors 2005-2012
(17) 2013- The MS Advantage-Pre Dent Ed of 1st Yr Enrollees 07-12
APPLYING TO DENTAL SCHOOL

CHOOSING A DENTAL SCHOOL
(18)
Choosing a dental school(s) is not an easy task and does require a

considerable amount of research on the part of the applicant. The best
dental school in the country is the one that extends an invitation for
enrollment.
APPLICATION DEADLINES
(22)
It should be kept in mind that there is great variation in the deadline for
submitting application. The deadline can be as early as September 1
(Missouri KC) and as late as February 1; there are 5 schools with September
deadline, 6 with October, 9 with November, 24 with December, 10 with
January and 8 with February.
DAT TOPICS
In the past, the ADA published on line on a yearly basis the DAT Frequency
Tables (23). This information is no longer available on line. A comparison of
DAT scores for 1988, 1999, 2004 and 2009 is available in the ADA, Dental
Aptitude Testing Program, Report 3, 2011 (24).
DAT DEADLINES/AGE OF DAT
(22)
Attention needs to be paid to application deadlines.
DAT RETAKES
The mean DAT scores for those retaking the test are, in general, 0.5 or less
points (24).
DAT HARDER/EASIER
Contrary to popular belief, the DAT has not gotten any harder/easier (27, 28, 29);
the mean DAT scores have remained relatively unchanged for the past
decade. The only significant change in the mean score is seen with the PAT,
6
which has increased by roughly 3 points since 2004. The mean DAT for the
2011 class for AA was: applicants 18.5 (range 11-27), enrollees 19.4 (13-27);
PAT 19.2 (9-30), 19.9 (13-30); TS 18.4 (9-30), 19.4 (13-30).
(18). 2013 List of US Dental Schools/Websites
(19). 2011 (Entering Class) DS Statistics at A Glance
(20). 2012 Ranking of DS Based on GPA/DAT/Other
(21). 2011 Range of DAT/GPA
(22). 2012 Application Fees/Deadlines/Time to Accept
(23). DAT Frequency Tables Now a SECRET!
(24). ADA DAT Program Report 3, 2011

http://www.ada.org/sections/educationAndCareers/pdfs/dat_users_manual.pdf
(25). 2012 DAT Deadlines-Multiple DAT Consideration
(26). DAT-To Retake or Not To Retake-That is the?
(27). DAT Harder/Easier-The Myth Revisited
(28). DAT Harder/Easier-The Myth Part 2
(29). DAT Harder/Easier: DEBUNKING A MYTH!
SELECTION CRITERIA
(8)
DAT
The relative importance of the various metrics in the selection of applicants
is a hotly debated topic with no scarcity of opinions. Some clearly place an
emphasis on the DAT scores while others rely mainly on the GPA. The ADA
Survey of Dental Education had the rankings as follows:
2007 1st Place Votes:
AA>TS>RC>Bio>QR=OC>GC>PAT
2007 1st /2nd Place Votes:
AA>TS>RC=Bio=OC>GC>PAT>QR
2010 1st Place Votes:
AA>TS>RC>PAT>Bio>QR>GC>OC
2010 1st/2nd Place Votes:
AA>TS=Bio>GC>OC>RC>PAT>QR
From 2007 to 2010, there appears to have been a shift in the relative value
placed on various sections of the DAT. The ranking, however, may have little
real significance since the combined 1st and 2nd place votes clearly shows
that all of the components of the DAT are very close in importance with the
exception of QR (30).
OTHER SELECTION CRITERIA
While community service, professional experience and overcoming
personal/financial challenges have been added to other factors used as
admission criteria, it is not clear how important/relevant these are in the
selection process in spite of their assigned importance. Only one school (AZ)
rates community service and public health experience as very important.
Three school rate research as somewhat important (Puerto Rico and UCLA)
and only one school considers it very important (Harvard). The ranking is as
follows:
1. Interview
2. Science GPA
3. Overall GPA
4. Non Science GPA
5. Letters of Recommendation
6. Community Service
7. Overcoming Personal/Financial Challenges
8. Professional Experience
9. Manual Dexterity
(30). 2012 How US DS Rank DAT/GPA/Other Selection Criteria
(31). 2007 Ranking of Importance of DAT/GPA/Other Selection Criteria by US
DS
AGE CONSIDERATION
For the class entering 2011, over 6% of the enrollees were over the age of
30. Roughly 1/3 of the school had an upper range in the 40s. The oldest
matriculants for the past 3 years were 56 years old.
(32). 2012 Age and DS Admission 2006-2011
EARLY APLPLICATION ADVANTAGE

(33). Acceptances with Pre and Post Dec. Interviews 2009
(34). TMDSAS- Early Applicant Advantage? Myth?
CREDIT FOR PREVIOUS ACADEMIC WORK
(35). 2012 Credit Allowance for MD, Ph.D, DH, Other

ADMISSION-IS ADMISSION GETTING MORE COMPETITIVE?

Every generation likes to think of itself as has having had the most
competitive time during the application/enrolling cycle. While it is possible to
see an increase in competitiveness, there is some of lack of understanding
on how this is achievable. Both the DAT and gpa scores follow a Bell curve
distribution. (To be completed.)
(36). 2011 Range of DAT/GPA
(37). DS Admissions-"Is We Getting More Competitive?"
ENROLLED DENTAL STUDENTS TOPICS

TRANSEFER AND WITHDRAWALS
For the 2010 class, there were a total of 11 transfers, with 9 of them
transferring after the first year of dental school. Clearly transfers are not
encouraged and are only acceptable under extreme circumstances. This is
no surprise, since no Dean wants to be accused of raiding another schools
student body.
(38). Transfers and DS
(39). 2012 Transfers/Withdrawals US DS 2012
(40). Ranking of DS-Repeating 1st Year/Withdrawals
Http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=657375
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS AND INTERNATIONAL DENTAL

SCHOOL GRADUATES
International students made up 7% of the first year students of the US dental school
for 2010-11. Of these 2.1 % were Canadians.
(41). 2011 International Students/US DS Admissions

(42) 2008 International/Canadian-DS Admission
(43). 2011 Canadian GPA-DAT
International DS Graduates
For 2010-11, there were 591 international dental school graduates there
were admitted to US dental school. Distribution was 101 (1 st year), 174 (2nd
year), 251 (3rd year) and 65 (4th year) (8).
(44). 2012 International DS Graduates and US DS Admission
Dental Hygiene to Dental School
(45)
There have been a few posts regarding dental hygiene/assisting as a prelude to DS

admission. The gamut ranged from DH in progress, AA, BSDH to BS in another
discipline. There is an assumption that a hygiene program is not only very
competitive, but also makes the transition to dental school nothing short of a
10
breeze. Considering the investment in the training, dental hygiene is one of the best
fields in terms of cost/benefit ratio. However, it should be clear to anyone within ear
shot that a background in dental hygiene, by itself, isnt exactly at the educational
level of most applicants/enrollees in dental schools; the exception would be those
with a Baccalaureate in DH, who would be regarded no differently than other
applicant with a B.S. degree. Let us examine the DH programs detail. More detailed
information can be obtained from the American Dental Hygienists Association
(adha) (46) and especially from the ADA 2010-11 Survey of Allied Dental Education
(47).
At the present, there are 334 dental hygiene programs in the US. (48). Of these,
more than 83% are Associate degree and only roughly 10% are Baccalaureate
degree programs. There are 81 programs (25%) through a university or four year
college, 181 at a community or junior college, 36 at a technical college/institute, 12
at vocational schools, and 13 at other for a total of 242 programs (75%).
Educational requirements
It should be understood that, the prerequisite for admission to dental hygiene
programs are introductory course in chemistry/biology at 3-4 credit hours and
should not be confused with general chemistry and biology courses offered for
science majors or for pre dental/pre med students. Similarly, the dental hygiene
curriculum courses in anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, microbiology, pathology,
pharmacology and periodontics, to name some, are not at the same level as those
offered to dental/medical students.
(45). Dental Hygiene to DS
(46). http://www.adha.org/careerinfo/dir_education.htm
(47). http://www.ada.org/sections/professionalResources/pdfs/survey_allied.pdf
(48). http://www.adha.org/downloads/edu/Ed_Program_Map.pdf
Education Level of First-Year Dental Hygiene Students

The level of education completed by 67% of the first year dental hygiene students
ranged from GED/high school diploma (45%), less than 1 year of college (2.4%), 1
year of college (12.8%, 2 years of college (31.6%) and Associate degree (16.1%).
The remaining 33% were with 3 years of college (12.4%), 4 years of college (6.8%),
Baccalaureate degree (12.2%), and other (1.7%). It might be of interest to note the
other category included advanced degrees, 5-8 years of part-time college work,
and international dental/medical graduates.
11
THE CLAIM FOR COMPETITIVENESS

Claims have been made that programs are very competitive, with some applicants
needing to wait 4-5 years to gain acceptance. While there is no doubt that any and
all fields are competitive, there is a need for some clarification. For the 2010
entering class, there were 34,117 applications for the 9.821 enrollees. Since the
number of applicants was not given, it is not possible to determine the
applicants/enrollees ratio. It is unlikely, however, that dental hygiene applicants
apply to only one program. Moreover, the data available from 2006-07 to 2010-11
shows that there has not been a single year, in that time frame, when the first year
capacity were at the same level as the first year enrollment in the combined the
dental hygiene programs Thus, in 2006-07 the capacity/enrollee numbers were
7,898/7,420 and for 2010-11 they were 9,185/8,007.
MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS
(49). The gender advantage!?
(50). Rejections. The why?
(51). Multiple acceptances-The likely cost of holding multiple spots.
(52) How Difficult if Dental School?
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=984597\
(53) How Difficult is DS? Part II-Schedules Year 1-4
CONTROVERSIAL POSTS
12
(52). "Affirmative Action"-The Myth Behind the Impact on DS

Admission. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=563953
(53). Canadian DS-The Hoopla over "HIGH" Admission Stats.
(54). Canadian DS-The Hoopla over "HIGH" Admission Stats-Part II
(55). D.D.S.<>M.D.<>D.O.<>DPM<>Pharm D-An Update1
(56) Head to Head Combat-Medical/Dental Schools
(57) Medicine, Dentistry, Vet-The quest for Top Dog Status
rev 4-5-13
13

A Mini Guide To Dental School Admission 4-5-13

Загружено:

Сведения о документе

Исходное описание:

Оригинальное название

Авторское право

Доступные форматы

Поделиться этим документом

Поделиться или встроить документ

Параметры публикации

Этот документ был вам полезен?

Это неприемлемый материал?

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

A Mini Guide To Dental School Admission 4-5-13

Загружено:

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

A MINI GUIDE TO DENTAL SCHOOL ADMISSION

(7). 2010-2011 Survey of Dental Education, Academic Programs, Enrollment, and

PREPARING FOR DENTAL SCHOOL

mission trips have obtained permission from the competent authorities

1. Biology, chemistry, physics (BCP), English

(17) 2013- The MS Advantage-Pre Dent Ed of 1st Yr Enrollees 07-12

APPLYING TO DENTAL SCHOOL

Choosing a dental school(s) is not an easy task and does require a

DAT DEADLINES/AGE OF DAT

Attention needs to be paid to application deadlines.

(18). 2013 List of US Dental Schools/Websites

(24). ADA DAT Program Report 3, 2011

2007 1st /2nd Place Votes:

2010 1st Place Votes:

2010 1st/2nd Place Votes:

EARLY APLPLICATION ADVANTAGE

CREDIT FOR PREVIOUS ACADEMIC WORK

(35). 2012 Credit Allowance for MD, Ph.D, DH, Other

ADMISSION-IS ADMISSION GETTING MORE COMPETITIVE?

ENROLLED DENTAL STUDENTS TOPICS

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS AND INTERNATIONAL DENTAL

(41). 2011 International Students/US DS Admissions

Dental Hygiene to Dental School

There have been a few posts regarding dental hygiene/assisting as a prelude to DS

Education Level of First-Year Dental Hygiene Students

THE CLAIM FOR COMPETITIVENESS

(52). "Affirmative Action"-The Myth Behind the Impact on DS

Вам также может понравиться