Question For Dentists, Orthodontists, Or People Training To Be Either.?
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009 at
8:08 pm
Hi guys. Am entering my last year in Secondary School -high school- and i know what i would like to study when i finish school, orthodontics.
I would like to become an orthodontist.
My question is; Do you have to study dentistry and THEN orthodontics, Or would i be able just to study orthodontics and NOT dentistry to become an orthodontist?
Tagged with: Dentists • Either. • Orthodontists • People • Question • Training
Filed under: Orthodontics School
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You have to be a dentist to become an orthodontist…if you are still interested then read the steps below.
You can do orthodontics as a general dentist . However you cannot call yourself a specialist or advertise as such if you choose this route.
1. Since you are in high school, start researching which dental school you might want to attend and look at their requirements for enrollment (they vary from one dental school to the next). If you have picked an undergrad college then talk to a counseler who knows about dental. This will give you an idea of what courses you will need to qualify for dental school as well as a time-line. For most, it will take 3-4 years of undergrad college to get the requirements done. The courses requirements vary at each dental school but most require several biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, anatomy and physiology courses.
2 Once you are in college then go to your counseler and find out what you need to do. Around your junior year you will need to take the DAT (dental admissions test). Unless things have changed, it has biology, chemistry organic chemistry and a section best described as optical illusions as well as reading comprehesion. You can score from 0 to 30 on each section and most dental schools will look at you if you can average aroun 17-18 per section. The higher your average the better chance. Also keep your gpa at a 3.3 or above and your science gpa at about a 3.5 or above. PS you do not need to major in any science or have a degree to get into dental school…you just need to fullfill the requirements which often take you close to a degree
Tips: In school states are much easier to get into and also less expensive. If you will be living off of the loans you can expect dental school to cost around 35k per year including tuition and living expenses. Out of staters typically pay double the tuition.
Once you are accepted into dental school, you are set. Typically the school will help you come up with the tuition and living expenses so don’t worry if you don’t have tons of money lying around. Most programs are year round (not all, though). At my school about 10% dropped out or failed out.
3. After your 2 year of dental school you will take the national board part 1. Thisa is a written test over the sciences and anatomy. Pass this and you are on the right track
4. I am not aware of any accelerated programs so most dental schools are 4 years. In your final year you will take the second part of the national board. Pass this and you are a dentist. (This is also written but pertains specifically to dentistry.) However you can’t practice without a license and this will require you to take a final test which is normally hands on and is either a state or regional board… These can be very tough and the failure rates vary depending on the region. Pass this and you can practice.
As for Orthodontics, It is a 3-4 year program past dental school. You must must graduate in the tops of your class or know someone to get accepted. It may also help increase your chances by joining the armed forces as a dentist…As crazy as itsounds it often helps to have that experience before entering the ortho program. Final tip would be to choose a dental school with an ortho specialty program…not all of the schools have one….reason being is that you will know most of the professors which also can increase the odds of entrance
I would highly recommend shadowing a dentist or orthodontist while you’re in high school. Finally, Very few dentist get selected to be orthodontists. So don’t enter dental school not wanting to be a dentist or not being ok with being just a dentist . Finally, finally
Good Luck with everything and I hope I helped
First you have to get a bachelors degree in a science major (it is best to get the BS degree in a major in case you fail out of dental school or decide later to not pursue it or if you dont get into a dental college. Many people fail out of dental college).
Then you have to take a graduate exam to get into dental school. Then you have to go to college to become a dentist. Then you have to go back to college to specialize in orthodontics. So plan on spending 4 years (under grad degree), then about another 5 years or more to be a dentist then a few more years to be an orthodontist. So plan on Id guess at least 9 years or more in college.
NOTE: If you dont like the sight of blood or the thought of working on dead people (the heads of dead people, might happen) then dont pursue dentistry. Unlike all the jokes, you become a medical doctor that is a specialist in dentistry instead of the whole body. But you have to learn about the whole body to become a dentist. And you have to learn to clean teeth and do fillings, etc before being able to study orthodontics. And you will work on some people with the most disgusting mouths you could never imagine.