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. According to the ADA , the two degrees are the same, meaning they involve the same coursework and practice methods. The only difference is the name. Look for either degree when confirming your dentist received the proper education or when researching programs for yourself!
Dental school is very hard. The difficulty of dental school is relative and has more to do with the student than it does with the school.
Suffice it to say that becoming a doctor of any kind, including a doctor of dental surgery or a doctor of dental medicine, is very difficult. Is it too late to become a dentist?
No, it is not too late to become a dentist. No school is going to discriminate against you because of your age. So if becoming a dentist is something you really want to do, then you should do it — at any age.
This is not to discourage anyone, but so you can better gauge how long it will take. How useful was this post?
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Being a dentist can be a very demanding profession physically and mentally. While the unemployment rate for dentistry is very low, there are still quite a few things to consider when studying the field, and one of them is how hard it is to become a dentist.
Also, it is important to note that some positions are much harder to get than others. In fact, in dentistry, there is a fair share of employment opportunities. If you want to be a dentist, you are going to have to be determined and motivated about what you do. Another important point to consider is the fact that several factors might play against you and affect the time spent studying.
You might be convinced to be a dentist now, but is it really the right path for you? Sure, dentistry is interesting, however, you will need to be genuinely interested and dedicated to teeth and oral health in general. Also, if possible, go to a dental clinic or hospital to shadow a dentist. The first thing you should know is that it is not the easiest of professions. On average, it takes between six and eight years to become a dentist.
First of all, dental school alone takes 4 years. In addition, the number of years does it take to become a dentist depends on how much you want to be a dentist and how far you want to go in the field.
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