Pre-Dental Information

Each accredited dental education program has its own application process and set of admission requirements. Please contact the programs you are interested in directly.

Undergraduate Preparation

Pre-dental courses may be completed at any accredited US undergraduate college or university. Professional or vocational courses, such as pharmacy, nursing, dental hygiene, etc., do not carry transferable credit and may not be used as prerequisite subjects or units. Summary courses in the sciences do not satisfy any part of pre-dental science requirements.

Foreign students must have completed a minimum of one full year at an accredited US undergraduate institution before submitting applications for admission, and must, in addition, complete all the requirements as listed above.

Majors

Although most applicants major in biology or chemistry, the school does not consider other major fields in any way unacceptable. In fact, it may look upon students majoring in other subject areas as perhaps more well rounded intellectually, and prepared to deal with the diverse aspects of a people-oriented professional career. Applicants who select non-science majors should complete at least one science course each quarter or semester to keep attuned to the specific disciplines required in scientific training.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Application

Applicants are advised to apply early, to submit all materials as requested, and to resolve promptly any problems or questions that may arise.

1. Applications are processed through the American Association of Dental Schools Application Service (AADSAS) . These applications are generally available from AADSAS after May 1 and must be returned to AADSAS no later than January 1 of the year of intended enrollment. The school will not accept AADSAS applications that fail to meet the January 1 deadline .
   
   Submit to AADSAS official sealed transcripts from all post-secondary schools you have attended. Unofficial copies and/or unsealed transcripts are not acceptable.
   
   You must also send to AADSAS three letters of recommendation , two of them written by a college science professor and the third one by a dentist with whom you have volunteered, or an advisor/ researcher/ mentor. Or, you may have one composite letter sent from a pre-professional health advisory committee to suffice for all three required letters.
   

Dental Admissions Test (DAT)

The Council on Dental Education of the American Dental Association (ADA) , in cooperation with the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) , has developed a nationwide dental aptitude testing program. A battery of aptitude tests is administered at over 500 locations in the United States and Puerto Rico. These tests are also given in foreign countries by special arrangement.

Please click here to obtain more information about the test .

Links:

DDS/DMD Programs in the US
http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/programs/search_ddsdmd_us.asp

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