About Dental School

I have had a lot of people ask me similar questions who are unfamiliar with the process of becoming a Dentist so I'll just answer some of those questions here. I want to point out that I am not in Dental School; my husband is. So all of this information is based off outsider perspective and what I remember from the application process. If you are in Dental School and I get something wrong or you disagree, please don't bite my head off. Thanks!


1) How long is Dental School?

Dental School is four years long just like Medical School (though there is one school in California that condenses it into three years). The first two years are a lot of lecture-style classes and studying with a large amount of lab-work mixed in. The last two years are more clinical where you are actually seeing patients under the supervision of other Dentists. Unlike Medical School, however, a residency is not required following graduation. Some Dentists opt to do a residency or work as an associate in another Dentist's office to gain more experience and start paying off their student debt. Others choose to open up their own practice right away. 

If you want to specialize it is usually 2-4 more years after Dental School. Orthodontics, for example, is an additional 2-3 years of school. Endodontics is an additional 2 years. Oral surgery is an additional 4 years. So please don't complain about the cost if you go to an Endodontist for root canal treatment. He/she went to school for 10 years after all! It's not just something you can learn over night.

2)  How does one get into Dental School?

A lot of hard work! Doing your best in undergraduate school is important but for many schools, grades aren't the only thing they look at. Each school is unique but you can usually get a sense of their requirements from their websites. Some place a high emphasis on prior dental experience (like working as a dental assistant or lab technician). Some place a high emphasis on community service and volunteer work. Some like to see a really high D.A.T. (Dental Admissions Test) score. I would guess that all of them like to see proof of confidence, good communication skills, and the ability to deal with stress.

The initial application has you fill in every class you ever took in undergrad, your grades, your volunteer work, your extracurricular activities, your D.A.T. score, etc. You also have to write a personal statement basically explaining why you want to be a Dentist. Many schools have a secondary application with mini essay questions as well before they offer you an interview. The earlier you can get your initial and secondary applications in the better.

After finishing the applications, you may be contacted for an interview. Again, each school is different in what their interview process looks like. Some have a panel of staff members in a single interview. Some have multiple interviews in a day with one staff member at a time. Some even may have you interview with an upper-classman from the school. A good resource that can help prepare you is the Dental School Interview Guide. It gives you a lot of sample questions they may ask, what you need to bring, what you should wear, etc. Try not to memorize word for word what you want to say because it will make you sound mechanical and fake. They really just want to get to know who you are as a person and see if you would be a good fit for their school.

December 1st is the first day schools can start accepting students for the following year. Anytime after that, you will either receive a letter, a phone call, or an email letting you know of your acceptance, your wait-list status, or your rejection. If you are on the wait list, don't lose heart. One of Robbie's classmates was accepted off the wait list the week before school started because someone else decided to go to a different school. If you don't get in, REALLY don't lose heart! I have met student after student who had to apply more than once (one guy in Robbie's class applied 6 times because he just knew he wanted to be a Dentist!). Schools like to see perseverance as well as you taking actions to improve any areas you felt weak (like retaking the D.A.T. to get a better score, volunteering in a Dental office to get more experience, etc.). If you truly want to be a Dentist, don't give up. Show them how persistent you can be! There is no shame in applying multiple times.

3) What is Dental School like once you're in?

Again, this is coming from my limited perspective as someone on the outside looking in. Dental School is hard. DUH! We all knew that. But I think the reason people find it the most difficult isn't because they are not smart enough, it's because of the sheer volume of material and the newness of the skills they are learning. It requires discipline and sacrifice to stay on top of studying for all of your classes. Students tend to be really hard on themselves when they feel like they aren't improving quickly enough on their lab work. This cracks me up because no one would expect to pick up a musical instrument and be able to play amazingly well right away. It takes time to build muscle memory. In Dental School, you have to train your hands to do very minute work, the likes of which you have probably never done before (unless you are into building tiny model trains or something). Work hard, do your best, but give yourself some grace.

A typical day for Robbie starts when he gets up around 6:30 or 7:00 am and gets ready for school. I usually make him breakfast then drive him to school (on warmer days he walks or rides his bike since we live so close). Classes usually start at 8:00 am and he has lunch around noon. If he didn't pack his lunch, I will bring him home to eat or just drop something off depending on what I've got going on that day. Most days he plans on being on campus until 5:30 or 6:00 but if he has a big test or practical that week he sometimes stays later. Some days I will bring my kindle with me to campus after school and just read while he studies.  He has labs about twice a week right now so if he's not studying, he's in the lab working on assignments or just practicing for upcoming practicals. Friday evenings are usually our date night so we'll go grab coffee together or go out to dinner or just stay in and watch a movie. Saturday mornings he likes to go into the lab then study for a little while afterwards. Saturday evenings we frequently spend hanging out with some of our friends we met through Dental School.  

4)  Is it possible to be married in Dental School? Is Dental School hard on a marriage? Should I wait until after Dental School to get married? Will I ever get to see my spouse? etc. etc. etc.

This is by far my favorite topic to discuss about Dental School. I read one discussion forum where someone was asking about marriage in Dental School and one of the responses they received was along the lines of "It's not a good idea. My girlfriend and I broke up after I started Dental School. I just didn't have time for her." My guess is that relationship just wasn't doing so well do begin with and Dental School was simply "the straw that broke the camel's back."

If both people are willing to sacrifice and make some adjustments, being married can be a VERY good thing in Dental School. It gives you a friendly face to come home to each day, someone to talk out your frustrations with, someone to pray for you and encourage you. I know many men want to become Dentists so they can provide for their family. What better motivation is there than to see the person you will be providing for reminding you why it's all going to be worth it? On top of all that, Dental School can be pretty stressful and sex with your spouse can be an incredible stress reliever. Just sayin'.

Marriage takes work no matter what you are doing. Here's my advice if you are married or about to get married during Dental School: Go on one date a week. MAKE time for each other. Try to live close to school so you're not wasting your valuable time commuting. If you are the spouse of a Dental student, read this blog post I wrote about how to thrive while your husband's in Dental School. Tons of people are married in Dental School. Don't put off marriage for four years just because you've heard it's hard work. It could help you more than you think.

This is a tooth Robbie carved out of a solid chunk of wax!

Robbie looking quite dapper in his dental loops and scrubs.