Dentists are oral health professionals who practice as clinicians, researchers and teachers. Currently there are more than 166,000 professionally active dentists in the United States.
The Prerequisites:
Most dental schools require the following coursework:
1 year general biology — Biology 111, 112
1 year general chemistry — Chemistry 111, Chemistry 241
1 year organic chemistry — Chemistry 221, Chemistry 321
1 year physics — Physics 109 and 110, or Physics 111 and 112
1 semester cell biology -- Biology 212**
1 semester microbiolgy -- Biology 325**
1 semester anatomy — Biology 321 **
1 semester physiology — Biology 315, which requires Biology 212 (cell bio) **
1 semester biochemistry — Chemistry 361
1 semester psychology — Psychology 101
A 3-D art course or a ceramics course – ART 121, ART 123 — is recommended to demonstrate manual dexterity.
(**the IU School of Dentistry requires 3 of the 4 of these courses)
There is considerable variation among the dental programs with regard to prerequisite biology coursework and English requirements. Students should refer to the ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools, which can be found at www.adea.org, or the individual dental school websites.
In order to sit for the DAT by late spring following junior year, students will need to have at least one year of general biology completed along with one year of general chemistry and one year of organic chemistry.
There is a centralized application service for most dental schools, called AADSAS. For more information, visit the AADSAS section of the ADEA website. The standardized test requirement for dental school is the DAT.
Typically a student needs a minimum of a 3.3 on a 4.0 scale to be a competitive candidate. Students should apply as early as possible following their junior year. Visit the Indiana University School of Dentistry website.
For more information on pursuing dentistry as a career, contact Jill Rogers.