How many years dds

They prevent dental diseases and use diagnostic measures to evaluate dental problems. Dentists also use tools to treat conditions like broken teeth, misaligned teeth, periodontal disease and exposed tooth roots. It takes between six and eight years to become a dentist.

The exact route to becoming a dentist will depend on a few factors, such as whether you choose a specialization.

Specializations like becoming an oral surgeon or periodontist will require additional training and education.

However, some students who choose not to specialize can shorten their time in school with a combined educational program. The following factors can affect your timeline when becoming a dentist:. Some aspiring dentists will complete four years in an undergraduate program, followed by another four years in a dental program. Dentistry programs that combine the undergraduate degree with dentistry training will typically allow students to complete the program in about six years.

Whether or not you choose to specialize in an area of dentistry will also influence your timeline, as specializations require additional training.

The major that you pursue in your undergraduate program can affect how long it takes for you to become a dentist. For example, students who choose an undergraduate program in areas such as biology, chemistry or pre-med may have to take fewer courses in dental school.

Some students may choose to pursue a double major to further prepare themselves for dental school, but a double major can also take more time to complete. Admission to dental school can be a competitive process. Students will need a good GPA and recommendations from previous professors or employers. Additionally, students will need a minimum score on the state exam. The number of programs that you apply to and whether or not you are admitted into your preferred school can affect how long it takes to become a dentist.

Related: Letter of Recommendation for College Students. Additionally, dentists may choose to specialize in a certain area of dentistry. The American Dental Association recognizes nine specializations within the dentistry industry, which include:.

A general dentist typically works in a dental office in a public health environment. They complete checkups and educate patients on proper dental care practices but they may also sometimes perform surgeries. An orthodontist focuses on the alignment of the teeth. Orthodontists often work with children, teens and young adults in diagnosing and treating misaligned teeth.

Oral and maxillofacial pathologists are primarily focused on the diagnosis and treatment of oral diseases. They may work with dental patients with frequent cavities, periodontal disease, dental trauma or cleft lips. We're highlighting the four main steps all hopeful dentists must take to begin working in this well-regarded profession.

You probably know that medical doctors and lawyers need more years of schooling after their undergraduate degrees. Dentists must also attend at least four years of additional school. Dentist requirements extend beyond education, though. A dental student needs to pass several exams before they get licensure. Some students will even complete more schooling to work as a specialist. In , U. News and World Report ranked dentistry as the second-best career in the U.

The publication assesses the best jobs by looking at salary, work-life balance, and potential challenges. The next four sections will highlight what a person has to go through before becoming a dentist and the credentials to look for when researching your next dental health professional. The first step in considering a dental degree is determining the testing and prerequisites needed during an undergraduate degree.

As the American Dental Association ADA notes, it's typically recommended that students take the DAT at least a year before applying to dental school, usually during their junior year of college. Along with their DAT scores, most students also need to have a good grade point average GPA , experience shadowing a dentist, and excellent recommendation letters. Although an applicant doesn't need a science degree to enroll, they need some dentist education requirements from their undergraduate classes.

Most programs require at least eight hours of biology, chemistry, physical science, organic chemistry, and English courses as an undergrad before applying. Most dental schools are four-year programs. You should take a solid number of these courses, sure—but you should only take the advanced versions if you're pretty confident you can perform well in them; otherwise, you might struggle to keep up your GPA.

Got braces? Then you probably know an orthodontist or dentist you can talk with. As a high school student, you likely go to the dentist or orthodontist fairly often and are therefore familiar with at least one dental professional in your area.

A local dentist can be an excellent resource for teaching you more about dentistry and what kind of career you're envisioning for yourself. See whether you can email or call your local dentist to ask questions you have about the profession and their own personal career path. For example, maybe you're curious about what led this person to pursue dentistry and want to know what they felt was the hardest part of becoming a dentist.

Job shadowing can be useful if you don't know a lot about the field you're interested in. To shadow someone is to spend a day observing them performing their everyday work duties. Job shadowing a dentist means you'd get to watch them consult patients, perform oral exams, drill teeth with cavities, etc.

The best time to shadow a dentist is during the summer when you're not in school and can freely go to your local dental office on a weekday. For more information about job shadowing in high school, check out our in-depth guide. You don't need to go to any particular college to be a great dentist or an impressive dental school candidate, but you should still make an effort to put forward a stellar college application so you can get into a good school.

Here are the most important qualities that make for a superb college application:. Give yourself plenty of time to work on your applications and to write your essay s while also keeping an eye on your college application deadlines.

What not to do when you're stressed in college and planning to work with teeth. Once you've graduated from high school, it's time to start seriously thinking about what steps you can take as a college student to help you forge a steady path to becoming a dentist.

It doesn't matter where you go to college if you're planning on becoming a dentist, just as long as you take and excel in as many science- and health-oriented classes as you can.

These may include classes such as organic chemistry, anatomy, and biology. While you don't need any particular major for dental school, it's a good idea to choose a science major, such as chemistry, biology, or physics. This way you'll get done a lot of the prerequisites you'll need in order to excel in dental school. General prerequisites for dental school are as follows:. If you're struggling to figure out which classes to take or what you should major in to prepare you for dental school, you can consult your school's Prehealth Professions Advisor whom you can find through the National Association of Advisors to the Health Professions.

Of course, make sure you're performing well in your science, math, and pre-health courses. Your grades in these will be most important to dental schools, which are notoriously competitive.

So definitely do your best and try not to overwhelm yourself! The American Student Dental Association ASDA is a group that gives out free advice and publications for dental school students and college and high school students who are interested in becoming dentists.

By joining the ASDA , you'll get access to a community of aspiring dentists and mentors, as well as scholarships, health and wellness resources, and tips for the National Board Dental Examination.

This kind of experience will be especially helpful if you didn't ever get the chance to shadow a dentist back in high school.

Take your job as an opportunity to learn more about the field of health care as a whole and to talk with real health care professionals and dentists. Consider working part-time or volunteering at a local dental office.

The DAT is available year-round, but assuming you want to go into dental school right after college, you'll want to begin preparing for the DAT during your junior year of college and take it at the end of your junior yea r or, latest, beginning of your senior year. The American Dental Education Association recommends taking the test in the spring semester of your junior year.

It's scored on a scale of , with 19 being about average. The summer before your senior year of college is when you should start getting ready to apply to dental school. Here's a list of all dental schools in the US. Where you apply will depend on your own interests and preferences, but some of the best dental schools in the US include the following:.

As mentioned previously, admission to dental school is very competitive , so make sure you're putting together your absolute strongest application. Most dental schools require an interview as part of the application process. Here's what the ADA says about them:.

The personal interview also provides an opportunity to ask about the school. Dental school lasts four years and results in either a DDS or DMD both mean the same thing and do not differ in terms of coursework or skills gained. The first two years of dental school are primarily classroom and lab instruction, with an emphasis on basic health sciences. At the same time, however, it can be very rewarding. Becoming a dentist requires a strict college curriculum, dental school and passing a licensing examination.

Some schools even offer pre-dental programs that put you on track for heading off to dental school. The American Dental Association recommends applying for dental school a year in advance of your start date, as the process can be rigorous and you need to find a good fit.