Schools of Dentistry

The profession of dentistry is an important and noble one. Dentists are considered to be a very vital part of a community. Most people visit dentists on a regular basis for a variety of needs ranging from oral hygiene to dental fixtures. The contributions of the field of dentistry to society are vast and significant. The decision to study dentistry is an important one that requires careful consideration. If you think you have what it takes to become a dentist, you need to carefully choose from the long list of schools of dentistry to study at.

Choosing Schools of Dentistry

There are many things that you need to consider before short-listing the schools of dentistry that fit your requirements. Making the right or wrong choice could very well be a deciding factor in the shaping of your future career. Some of the things to keep in mind include:

Reputation and Rating: Like all other Grad schools, schools of dentistry are also rated and ranked based on methods of instruction, opportunities and placements. There are several sources such as magazines and websites that provide you with information on the best schools of dentistry in the United States. Top 10, top 20 and even top 100 lists are available to make your choice from. Of course, not everyone can make it into the top 10 schools, but such lists are useful to make sure that the schools you select are of good reputation.

Specialization: Different students have different goals for their careers in dentistry. You might want to be an oral surgeon, an orthodontist, or a general practitioner. You might be interested in practice, research or teaching. You would need to carefully consider where your interests lie and choose schools of dentistry that best assist you in reaching your goals.

Facilities and Mode of Instruction: If you aren't looking to apply to the top schools of dentistry, you might want to make sure of the facilities available at the schools you are looking at. The better the facilities are, the more exposure you would gain in the field of dentistry. This could seriously make a difference to your practice in the future. Also, the mode of instruction followed by the schools should be suitable to your learning style. Some schools follow a traditional classroom model of instruction. Other schools follow a problem solving approach.
Location and Costs: Once you find a few schools of dentistry that fit your needs, it's quite likely that they may be far away. You might need to move to a different state, if required. This could involve a lot of financial planning, apart from the course fee itself. Working out a plan to deal with financial and logistical aspects before hand could be of great help.

Applying to Schools of Dentistry

Once you have taken all these factors into account and chosen the schools that you are interested in, you need to go about applying to these schools. Almost all schools of dentistry require that a student submit DAT (Dental Admissions Test) scores along with their applications. Most schools provide information as well as applications for download on their websites.