Accepted Admissions Blog

So, you want to be a dentist. This post will guide you through the dental school admissions process and offer tips on how to get accepted.

To become a dentist, you will need to obtain either a doctor of dental surgery or doctor of dental medicine degree. It’s the same curriculum. The school that you attend will determine the one you receive. There is no difference between them. Dental education is similar to medical education in that a bachelor’s degree is required to apply to dental school and a dental education is a commitment of four years with the option of pursuing a specialty with additional study.  

Similar to practicing medicine, dentistry maintains the same high ethical standards and long-term commitment to education through continuing education requirements.  

Dental students can pursue specialties in Dental Anesthesiology, Dental Public Health, Endodontics, Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Oral Medicine, Orofacial Pain, Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, Pediatric Dentistry, Periodontics, and Prosthodontics through additional professional training. For more information about these specialties please see the National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards website.  

The best way to determine whether you would like to pursue dentistry and any of these pathways would be to shadow dentists virtually and/or in person, when possible. The Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of the University of Southern California offers a virtual shadowing program. Keep in mind that many schools prefer in-person shadowing hours, but some schools will accept virtual shadowing hours, given the limitations in place because of the pandemic. 

Overview of the dental school application process: Primary, secondaries and interviews

The first step in applying to dental school is registering for a DENTPIN, which is a Dental Personal Identifier Number. This number is required to take the DAT (Dental Admission Test) and to apply to dental programs through the Associated American Dental Schools Application Service (AADSAS) of the ADEA (American Dental Education Association) and any other dental school application systems. This number will be associated with all your subsequent dental exams and licensing and will stay with you throughout your dental education and career.

For those of you who have graduated from a dental program outside the United States, there is a separate application system through which to apply to dental programs in the United States.

The dental application is similar to the medical school application process because it includes three major steps that take a year to complete:

1. Submitting the primary application
   
   
2. Returning secondary applications
   
   
3. Participating in interviews.

General dental school application timeline and information

The ADEA’s AADSAS primary application opens mid-May, with the earliest submission date falling in mid-June.

Once all of your transcripts have been received by the AADSAS, they can process your application, which takes four to six weeks.

It costs $259 to apply to one school and $112 for each additional school. Please note that you can add more schools to your application at any time until their deadline.

You can begin receiving secondary applications anywhere from six to eight weeks after submitting your primary.

Interviews are conducted from September to March at most schools. A few programs start interviewing earlier, beginning in the summer.

You can expect to hear back from schools about their final decisions by December 1st or later, depending on the school.

All dental schools have different deadlines to submit the primary application. Their deadlines range from late September to early February.

School-specific deadlines for the primary application

Dental School	Deadline
University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry	11/15/22
Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health	11/15/22
Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine-Arizona	01/01/23
Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC	02/01/23
Loma Linda University School of Dentistry	11/01/22
University of California, Los Angeles, School of Dentistry	01/01/23
University of California, San Francisco, School of Dentistry	10/31/22
University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry	02/01/23
Western University of Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine	12/01/22
University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine	10/15/22
University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine	12/01/22
Howard University College of Dentistry	02/01/23
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine School of Dental Medicine	02/01/23
Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine	11/15/22
University of Florida College of Dentistry	11/01/22
Dental College of Georgia at Augusta University	09/30/22
The University of Iowa College of Dentistry & Dental Clinics	09/15/22
Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine-Illinois	01/01/23
Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine	11/15/22
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry	12/01/22
Indiana University School of Dentistry	10/01/22
University of Kentucky College of Dentistry	12/01/22
University of Louisville School of Dentistry	01/07/23
Louisiana State University Health New Orleans School of Dentistry	09/01/22
Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine	12/20/22
Harvard School of Dental Medicine	01/01/23
Tufts University School of Dental Medicine	02/01/23
University of Maryland School of Dentistry	12/31/22
University of New England College of Dental Medicine	11/01/22
University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry	12/31/22
University of Michigan School of Dentistry	10/15/22
University of Minnesota School of Dentistry	01/12/23
Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health	12/01/22
University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry	10/01/22
University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Dentistry	10/02/22
East Carolina University School of Dental Medicine	12/01/22
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Dentistry	11/01/22
Creighton University School of Dentistry	02/01/23
University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry	10/01/22
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, School of Dental Medicine	01/31/23
Dalhousie University Faculty of Dentistry	11/03/22
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, School of Dental Medicine	01/01/23
Columbia University College of Dental Medicine	12/31/22
New York University College of Dentistry	02/01/23
Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine	12/01/22
Touro College of Dental Medicine at New York Medical College	01/01/23
University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine	01/23/23
Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine	01/01/23
The Ohio State University College of Dentistry	10/01/22
University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry	09/30/22
Oregon Health & Science University School of Dentistry	01/01/23
The Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry, Temple University	01/15/23
University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine	12/01/22
University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine	11/03/22
University of Puerto Rico School of Dental Medicine	12/15/22
Medical University of South Carolina James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine	12/15/22
Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry	12/15/22
University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Dentistry	09/30/22
Texas A&M University College of Dentistry	11/03/22
The University of Texas School of Dentistry at Houston	10/30/22
Roseman University of Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine - South Jordan, Utah	10/01/22
University of Utah School of Dentistry	10/15/22
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry	01/01/23
University of Washington School of Dentistry	11/03/22
Marquette University School of Dentistry	01/01/23
West Virginia University School of Dentistry	11/01/22
University of Toronto Faculty of Dentistry	11/01/22
University of British Columbia Faculty of Dentisty	10/07/22
McGill University Faculty of Dentistry	10/15/22

Source: ADEA webpage

Academic requirements (Courses, GPA, DAT)

The academic requirements for dental programs vary from school to school. Below I’ve included a list of courses that all programs require along with a list of requirements that some, but not all, schools include.

Required courses generally include:

• 1 year Biology with lab
  
  
• 1 semester or two quarters of Biochemistry (1 year recommended)
  
  
• 1 year Physics with lab
  
  
• 1 year General Chemistry with lab
  
  
• 1 year Organic Chemistry with lab

Some programs also require: (semester hours)

• 3 hours Microbiology
  
  
• 6 hours of Human Anatomy
  
  
• 6 to 8 hours of English
  
  
• 6 hours of Mathematics
  
  
• 30 hours Non-Science Courses

Check each program’s requirements to make sure that you meet them. They do change over time so check them regularly as you begin preparing your application(s). Keep in mind that majoring in science is not required. You can apply to dental school with a degree in any subject—as long as you complete the prerequisite coursework. 

The minimum GPA required to apply ranges from a 3.0 to 3.3 for many dental programs. For the dental programs that do share matriculation data on their websites, the average GPA for accepted students ranges from a 3.41 science GPA to a 3.75 cumulative GPA. In general, a 3.5 cumulative GPA or higher is considered competitive.

Dental admissions test (DAT)

After you complete the prerequisite coursework, you can take the DAT. Please note that the only subject that is required but not covered on this test is Physics. (Phew! Sigh of relief!)

The DAT is a multiple-choice test with four sections:

1. Biology, general chemistry and organic chemistry
   
   
2. Perceptual ability
   
   
3. Reading comprehension
   
   
4. Qualitative reasoning which includes mathematical problems and applied word problems (which include statistics, calculus and precalculus problems)

It takes five hours and 15 minutes to complete it. The exam costs $495 (2021). If you have to reschedule your exam, you will have to pay a fee that increases the closer you get to the exam date. If you are experiencing financial hardship, partial fee waivers are available, with 50% off, if you submit forms on their website for fee assistance.

You can retake it 90 days after each attempt; however, after three attempts, you must request special permission to retake it a fourth time. If your request is approved, you can only take it once a year.

The DAT is required by all the dental schools in the United States that participate in the ADEA’s AADSAS.

Your score cannot be more than three years old when applying to dental programs. A small number of schools, like Howard University College of Dentistry, will not accept DAT scores that are two years or older.

The deadline to submit DAT scores for many programs is December 1, but due to the pandemic, some schools have extended the period for which they will accept them. Be sure to check each program’s deadline to submit yours on time.

DAT scores range from 1 to 30, with a national average of 19. The average DAT score for accepted students is 21 for the academic portion and 20 for the perceptual ability section. A score of 20 or higher is considered competitive in each of these sections. A score of 18 or lower is not sufficient to move your application forward.

Experience requirements for dental school

The vast majority of dental schools do not have any requirements for shadowing or clinical experience. This approach allows them to be flexible when considering applications since they are reviewing a wide range of experiences and activities. At the same time, shadowing and clinical experience are highly valued. I recommend shadowing at least 60 to 100 hours, or more. Some programs are accepting virtual shadowing hours due to the pandemic.

When possible, in person clinical experience and/or community service is going to help your application the most since it is impossible to provide dental care virtually. Paid employment or volunteer work in a dental office will give your application an edge. The more direct exposure you have in the field, the better.  

How to choose where to apply?

There are 72 dental schools that you can apply to through the ADEA’s AADSAS: 67 are located within the continental United States, one is in Puerto Rico, and four are in Canada.

For a complete list of participating programs, visit this website.

It’s also worth joining the American Student Dental Association and maintaining active participation within the organization to learn more about applying and to build your professional network. Click here to access their Guide to Getting Into Dental School.

I recommend that you begin researching schools by location and special interests. Start with the schools in your state. If you have not already participated in any events they offer—in person or virtual—sign up for them now! Subscribe to or follow their social media accounts and posts. Check out their website, watch their videos and read the student handbook. Learn as much as you can about what they have to offer and how they can help you reach your long-term goals in dentistry. Even better, find the programs with areas of emphasis or special training in topics that you are involved in or want to pursue in the future.  

The best approach is to apply to the schools with GPA and DAT averages that are close to your scores. To find this information, you’ll need to purchase access to the ADEA’s Official Guide to Dental Schools. This guide will provide the minimum GPA and DAT scores required for each program, as well as the average scores for students accepted. You will have the best chance at acceptance when your numbers are within this range. Scores are not everything, so make sure your activities, accomplishments and essays are also outstanding!         

Components of the ADEA AADSAS Application

On the ADEA AADSAS application, there are four main sections, as described on their website: Personal Information, Academic History, Supporting Information and Program Materials.

The first section includes your contact information, ethnicity and other personal details. The second one covers your college coursework. The third category includes your personal statement, activity descriptions, honors and awards, licenses, and letters of recommendation. You can have the most positive impact on your application by focusing your time and attention on this section. Equally important is the last section which covers program specific materials that individual schools request. Secondary questions may or may not be included here. Many schools have a separate portal for you to submit those additional essay questions.  

For the personal statement, you have 4,500 characters with spaces to explain why you want to become a dentist. For most people, this will include a description of all the experiences that led to them to choosing a career in this field. Make this essay unique by taking the time to reflect on your life, personality, and values and how they have influenced your decision. No detail is too small. The more time that you take to make your essay unique by showcasing your personality, talents, skills and accomplishments, you will be helping them see what you can bring to dentistry and how you will treat your future patients. Don’t worry if you don’t have a lot of hands-on dental experience, there are other ways to demonstrate the dexterity, problem solving, communication skills and teamwork required to be an exceptional professional in this field.  

For the experiences, you have 600 characters (roughly 100-125 words) to describe each activity. There is no limit to how many you can add. Include everything that you have done during college and after. They should all fit within the following classifications, as described on the application website: Academic Enrichment, Dental Experience, Dental Shadowing, Employment, Extracurricular Activities, Research and Volunteer. Make sure that you list promotions separately. 

There is a separate section for you to list your achievements. They can include the following, as provided on the website: Awards, Honors, and Scholarships. In writing your descriptions of these, keep it short, otherwise is looks like you’re bragging.

If you have any licenses, list each one separately and describe it. It will not hurt you if you don’t have any, but it will only help you if you do. An example of a license could include a Dental Assistant with an X-Ray license. You would describe how and where you completed the training or requirements to obtain the license, along with dates and a description of how you use it.

Recommendations: Whom to ask? What should dental school letters of recommendation include?

Most dental schools require two letters of recommendation from science professors and one letter from a dentist or a community service experience. If your college provides a pre-health committee letter, you’ll need to obtain one and submit your letters as a packet. Most schools have a limit of four letters so it’s not necessary to obtain more.    

To submit a successful application, include four letters in your packet along with the pre-health committee letter/cover letter:

1. Science professor
   
   
2. Science professor
   
   
3. Dentist
   
   
4. Community service supervisor

Strong letters of recommendation will include:

1. A brief history about your relationship with the letter writer—how they met you, how long they have known you and in what capacity.
   
   
2. Description of your character, personality and/or values.
   
   
3. Anecdotes or details about the quality of your work or grades.
   
   
4. Outcomes of any projects or work you completed.
   
   
5. Explanation of why you would succeed in dental school based on their experiences with you.
   
   
6. Opinion of you as an applicant and what you will accomplish in dental school or as a dentist.

The best letters are written by people who work or worked closely with you. Give your professors, mentors, and supervisors the chance to get to know you. Go to office hours! Get involved in professional clubs and organizations! Find a job in a dental office! Volunteer with organizations you are excited to participate in regarding issues that matter to you!    

Secondary applications

Of the 65 dental schools located within the U.S., 39, more than half, have a secondary application. Depending on the schools you apply to, you may only have a few or several secondary essays to complete.  

Dental schools that require secondary applications

Secondary essays generally cover the following questions: Why their school? How will you contribute to the diversity on their campus? What meaningful leadership, teamwork or dental experiences have you participated in? Or tell us something about you that wasn’t included in the primary. These essays will take some time to complete. You can either pre-write them using the previous cycle’s questions or write them as soon as you receive them. Returning them within two weeks of receiving them will give you the best chance at receiving an interview invitation.  

Dental school interviews

Interviews are conducted from July to March. Due to the pandemic this year, all interviews were virtual, and they will continue to be virtual for the foreseeable future. There are two main types of interviews: traditional or MMI (multiple mini-interviews).  

Traditional interviews usually involve one interviewer and one candidate.  They can include a panel of interviewers. They can last anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes. 

MMI style interviews involve multiple “stations” in which you answer traditional questions, engage in collaborative activities, interact with actors, and/or discuss ethical issues. MMIs have become less common with the added stress of the pandemic making it difficult to offer this type of interview in a virtual format. In the past, students interacted with six to ten different people, receiving a score from each person, which made it a more objective interview format. MMIs usually last anywhere from an hour to two hours or longer, depending on the number of stations.  

If you have received an interview invitation, it is a good indication that the school is serious about you. The best way to prepare for an interview is to practice interviewing. Mock interviews are often the most helpful tool.

You can expect to see questions on the following topics:

• Why do you want to be a dentist?
  
  
• What have you done to reach your goal?
  
  
• What are your strengths and weaknesses as a student?
  
  
• Do you anticipate any challenges in dental school or in your career?
  
  
• Where do you see yourself in five years or ten years?
  
  
• What specialties are you interested in?
  
  
• Why our school?
  
  
• Do you have any questions for us?

Wondering If Dental School Is For You?

In our 464th episode of Admissions Straight Talk Podcast, Dr. Barry Rothman shares everything students should know about the dental school application process drawing on his knowledge as an Accepted Admissions Consultant and former Health Professions Advisor and Director of SFSU’s Pre-Health Profession Certificate Program.

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Interview with Barry Rothman, Dental School admissions expert

Welcome to the 464th episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Thanks for tuning in. The challenge at the heart of admissions is showing that you both fit in at your target schools, and stand out in the applicant pool. Accepted’s free download Fitting in and Standing Out: The Paradox at the Heart of Admissions will show you how to do both. Master this paradox, and you are well on your way to acceptance.

Our guest today, Dr. Barry Rothman, is the former Health Professions Advisor and Director of San Francisco State University’s Pre-Health Profession Certificate Program, which served pre-med, pre-dental, pre-nursing, and other pre-healthcare students who are preparing themselves to apply to their graduate professional schools of choice. Since 2015, Dr. Rothman has helped Accepted’s clients in all aspects of the application process to graduate healthcare programs and graduate schools and life sciences, including of course dental school, which is the subject of today’s podcast.

How did you get involved in dental school admissions? [2:17]

I think around 1995, I was asked by my university to be the Health Professions Advisor. This was something I had never even thought about. I had been teaching in the Biology Department for nine years at that point. I taught Molecular Medicine and I was interested in Physiology. I had a number of pre-meds and pre-dents in my classes, and I was kind of interested so I figured I’d give it a try.

What I discovered was that there was a huge need at my university, and probably in many universities, to have a Health Professions Advisor who could relate to the students and really give them service. I decided to take it on, and I fell in love with it. I fell in love with being the Health Professions Advisor for all sorts of health professions, including dentistry. Also, I had had some contact with the UCSF Dental Post Bac Program, which was doing well at UCSF, and because I was the Health Professions Advisor at SF State, and UCSF is two miles down the road, we put our forces together and I joined them.

I got to learn how they ran their post-bacc program. Then I took my own ideas about having programs that were extremely supportive of students, and had lots of mutual support, and not competitive, a nurturing environment, and decided after a year or two delay to create my own post-bacc program at San Francisco State, starting with a sort of multipurpose pre-health program mainly for pre-meds and some pre-dents. The students at SF State actually asked me to create this program.

At that time, pre-meds were allowed to be Second Baccalaureates in the whole CSU system, but they weren’t given much in the way of service. It was more like, “Okay, you can take classes, but don’t expect anything.” They were willing to pay more money for a post-bacc program in order to get more service. Over a period of a year, the Dean, the Academic Senate, and I put our heads together and created the program.

It was a win/win situation. It made me happy. I continued running the post-bacc program, and actually expanded it into dental and into nursing over the next nine years.

What are the prerequisites for applying to dental school? [5:24]

They’re very much like the medical school prerequisites, with some exceptions. You need a year of Intro to Bio with Lecture and Lab, a year of General Chemistry with Lecture and Lab, a year of Organic Chemistry with Lecture and Lab, and a year of Physics with Lecture and Lab. 

Unlike medical school, only some dental schools want you to have Calculus and some of them will take Statistics instead. Many of them, perhaps all, want Biochemistry. That’s something that’s different from medical schools.

Medical schools are happy to see you take Biochemistry, and it’s considered an upper-division elective. But dental schools want it. I think the reason they want it is because there’s a lot of chemistry that goes on in the materials for dentistry, and also there’s chemistry that goes on in the mouth. They want you to have a beginning understanding of Biochemistry. Many of them want you to have taken an English class. Some want you to take Anatomy or Physiology as well, so every dental school has its particular set of prerequisites.

The wise dental applicant looks at the prerequisites for all the schools they’re considering and makes sure that they have met them before applying. If you don’t meet them before applying, it will very much make your application process more difficult.

Dental schools, like medical schools, have an onslaught of many more applications than they handle. One of the easy ways to get rid of applications is to see who hasn’t completed the prerequisites and tell them, “Sorry, why don’t you finish them and apply again next year.”

Listen: Temple University’s Postbac Programs: A Plethora of Possibilities >>

What are the non-academic prerequisites for a successful dental school application? [7:27]

As you might imagine, having some dental experience is very helpful. There are different levels of dental experience. I think of shadowing as the lowest level. It’s still very good to do, but it can be rather passive. You hang out in the office, you watch. If the dentist who’s helping you is being very supportive, they’ll ask you questions, put you on the spot, make you think about things as if you were a dentist. But they could just let you watch and not say a word. So, shadowing is one level.

Becoming a dental assistant is a much better level because you set up trays, and you break down trays. In the COVID era, you sterilize rooms and equipment. In many cases, you’ll talk to patients, get them seated in the dental room with the chair, which dentists call an “operatory.” Being a dental assistant is really good, and you can become a dental assistant through training with a dentist, and then take an exam, or you can actually take dental assisting courses. That’s another level.

You can also get hired in a dental office at even a higher level where you do what’s called “front office” and “back office” work. In the front office, you see patients, you can do insurance work, you can do the scheduling. In the back office, you do the things that I already described. So, being a dental assistant or a dental helper in a dental office is fantastic.

You’ll also need to see different types of dentistry. There’s general dentistry. Those are plentiful. Many, many offices to choose from. When you look at general dentistry though, it’s very important to have some sense of what people without a lot of resources do for dental care. What you find out is that sometimes they don’t do anything for dental care, because they spend their money on medical care and try to put off dental care as long as possible.

Have an idea of the socioeconomic factors that go into people being so “stretched” for money that they don’t get the proper care. One way to understand that is to take some public health classes. Dental schools very much respect students having taken some public health classes so that they have an idea of the socioeconomic factors and maybe can do things to help patients access more dental care. People without a lot of money, instead of getting an expensive crown or root canal will just have a tooth pulled because it’s cheaper. It’s sad. Dentists don’t like seeing a perfectly good tooth, or almost perfectly good tooth get yanked out.

You should also have some kind of experience, it could just be shadowing, in the other dental specialties. There’s pedodontics, which is working with kids. There’s periodontics, which is working with the gums. The gums are extremely important for dental health because when your gums go, your teeth lose their attachment to the bones. They get loose and eventually they fall out. So, periodontal care is extremely important.

There are also endodontists, who take care of root canals, again to salvage a tooth, drill down into the pulp chamber, clean it out, clean out the infection, fill it with an inert material, and your tooth is still good. Orthodontists, many of us have gone through orthodontia, so we know about that.

Lastly, there are oral surgeons. Sometimes they’re called maxillofacial oral surgeons. This often requires extra training, and you can become a maxillofacial oral surgeon through being an MD or through being a DDS or DMD.

What does the dental school application cycle look like? [12:01]

It looks very much like the medical school application cycle. There’s an online application, a single application called the AADSAS. It’s run by the American Dental Education Association, ADEA. It’s an online application that will open up in mid-May and will close around the beginning of February of next year. That’s a nice window of time to get a very complex application filled out.

Do dental schools do rolling admissions like medical schools? [12:41]

Dental schools can start admitting people in December. They have to work hard to process the applications and get their interviews set up, and then make admissions decisions. There’s a lot for them to do in that period of time. It seems like a lot of time, but remember, they have 11,000 applicants to dental schools.

How many spots are there for dental school each year? [13:21]

There are 66 dental schools and I think there are about 5,000 spots. It’s similar to applying to medical school where you have about a 40% chance of getting into an MD school. You have about a 50% chance of getting into a dental school.

It’s pretty tough to get in, but you know, half of the people who don’t get in, don’t get in because they haven’t even fulfilled all of the requirements. It’s not that their application isn’t good. It’s just that they actually did not fulfill all of the requirements. Looking at the requirements is extremely important to be a viable applicant to any dental school.

Is it common for applicants to take gap years before dental school to fulfill the necessary requirements? [14:25]

Yes, it’s really hard to finish your senior year with all of the requirements, often full-time requirements, and then get everything together for dental school. I highly recommend taking a gap year to finish everything and be a strong applicant. It’s much better to spend an extra year getting it together than to apply prematurely, go through all the torture of not getting in, and then still have to reapply. I very strongly advise my students and my clients to apply late. Not late in the cycle, but to give themselves time to really have a strong application. 

What factors should applicants consider when choosing which schools to apply to? How do they determine where they should apply? [15:24]

That’s an interesting question. First of all, I wanted to clarify that the dental school applications are mainly supplemental applications now. In other words, when you choose the schools that you’re applying to, on your AADSAS application you’ll see a link to that particular school’s requirements. There will be a tab that has general information, a tab that has the questions they want you to address, and then a tab that has documents that they want you to upload. The whole secondary application process has become morphed into a supplemental application that’s part of the AADSAS application. Some schools still send secondaries. In that case, they wouldn’t have a supplemental with the AADSAS. They would instead revert to a secondary.

When you’re applying for dental school, let’s say School Number One, if you complete their requirements and complete their supplemental application, you can hit the submit button. You don’t have to hit the submit button for every dental school at the same time. You can work on each in succession. Otherwise, the application process would be even more horrible.

Dental schools vary. Some are very public service oriented. They want to train you to be a general dentist who’s working with people of all different socioeconomic statuses and keeping the general population happy. Dentists love to see people with nice smiles. That’s what really motivates them. Many people who apply to dental school talk about the sheer pleasure of fixing somebody’s smile, and increasing their confidence. That seems to be a big source of satisfaction for many dentists, which is to see somebody leave their office with a smile that’s been improved and with more confidence. Any dental school can train you to do that, but some will focus on general dentistry and working with people who are disadvantaged. 

Others are more research-oriented. Some schools, like UCSF, UCLA, and Penn, are very research-oriented universities. Their dental schools actually turn out quite a bit of impressive dental research. In choosing your schools, I’d say take geographic area into account and consider the percentage that is accepted in-state versus out-of-state. That’s going to be really important in deciding. Then look at their average GPA and their average DAT scores.

I don’t see huge amounts of difference among the dental schools. The average GPA is around 3.5, and the average DAT score is around 20. That doesn’t mean you have to get those to get in. Your personal circumstances can have a lot of weight, but those are the averages. If you’ve had extenuating circumstances, if you’re very disadvantaged, dental schools will note that if you tell them about it.

What is Dental School really like? >>

Is manual dexterity an important quality for getting into dental school? [20:28]

Yes, these are called “hand skills.” They’re very important. I’m really glad you brought this up. Things like playing the guitar, knitting, painting, doing woodwork, ceramics, fixing your car, all of those things that show manual dexterity are very helpful. In fact, there’s a question on the AADSAS application about your manual dexterity. These skills are extremely important. 

There’s also a part of the DAT called the PAT, Perceptual Aptitude Test, which supposedly measures your ability to see three-dimensional shapes and fold them and unfold them in your mind. People have gained the PAT, so there are some standard ways to learn how to solve PAT problems, which involve counting sides and faces, and things like that on these geometrical figures they’ve shown you. 

Should students who are retaking the DAT and expecting test scores in July or August still apply this cycle or what until next year? [21:58]

I think it really depends on the individual’s situation. If you’re getting 15s on the DAT, it’s not going to be very competitive. If you’re getting 18s, then you’re within the average, but a little below. So, you’re a viable applicant. It really depends on the schools you’re applying to, and how thoroughly you studied for the DAT. If you got 18s and you actually didn’t study that hard, well maybe you could really bump them up into the 20s. If you really, really study methodically and you wind up with 18s, maybe it’s not worth going through retaking the DAT.

The DAT is an independent gate that you have to get through. No matter how high your GPA, and no matter how much dental experience you have, if you have low DATs it’s going to be difficult.

I think of those three as the major gates: dental experience, academic performance, and DAT scores. One doesn’t compensate for the other.

You mentioned that some universities really like to see research in the applicants because they’re research-oriented programs. Is it necessary for other dental schools? [23:25]

I think for dental schools that are aimed as public service dental schools, it’s not that important, especially if they’re not conducting a lot of research themselves. If you haven’t done any research, it’s okay. It’s not a deal killer. Just pick your dental schools wisely.

What is the role of supplemental or secondary applications in the dental school admissions process? [24:01]

Each school gets to tailor make them. There are many commonalities, but each school might have a unique question. Some of the common questions are, “What did you do during the COVID pandemic?” You might separate that into what was happening in your personal life, what was happening in your professional life, and what was happening in your academic life. In the medical school world, I’ve seen that secondary question almost from every school.

Another popular one is, “How will you contribute to the diversity of our school?” There’s a way to break that down into two different parts, if not more. One is, growing up, have you experienced discrimination or oppression? Are you part of a minority group? Did you witness minority groups having a difficult time? Then also, how will you contribute to the diversity of the school? If you are from a minority background, mention that. Then also, talk about your cultural competence. How much exposure have you had to other groups, other socioeconomic groups, and other ethnic groups?

That’s really important because to be a well-functioning dentist, you really do have to have the ability to communicate and make people comfortable even if they’re not part of mainstream culture. A lot of trust can be lost by patients when someone who’s clumsy does not treat them well in a dental setting, or any health profession setting.

What advice would you have for a dental school applicant who’s invited to interview? [26:23]

Practice, practice, practice. It’s really important to practice. Not many of us were born with an interview gene. So you have to develop the skill. How do you develop the skill? You practice under many different circumstances. There are many standard questions you should be able to answer. For example, “Why do you want to be a dentist?” If you say, “Oh, that’s an interesting question. Let me think about that.” That’s not going to go very well in an interview.

You should know why you want to be a dentist. Saying, “I want to help people,” is not a very deep answer. You have to dig deep and think about what is it about dentistry that fits you and your particular personality, style, and needs. That’ll be different for everybody. Just as an example, one thing might be, “I really like to relate closely to patients. I like to see their lives improved.” That could be used as one of many reasons for a medical school interview, or a dental school interview.

But there can be very unexpected questions. You also have to practice fielding weird questions, or questions that you would never anticipate. You can’t anticipate every question. You can anticipate maybe 20 or 30 standard questions, and you should practice, practice, practice those. Then learn to be flexible and agile so that when you get hit with that zinger question, then you’ll be able to handle it. 

One thing that’s important is to be able to say, “I don’t know.” If somebody asks you, “What are the main proteins in the inner membrane of the mitochondria?” Maybe you know. Maybe you don’t. If you don’t, you can say, “You know, I studied that in my Biochemistry and Intro to Bio class, but I’m not remembering any of those proteins right now.” It’s okay. You don’t have to know everything.

Do you have any suggestions for dental school re-applicants? [29:24]

Yes, dental schools are pretty forgiving of re-applicants. When I work with pre-medical students who are re-applicants, after around the third time of applying, their application is pretty tarnished no matter what. 

When you reapply, you actually should improve your application, not just reflexly reapply. What happens often is that you don’t realize you’re not getting in until the end of the cycle, so you don’t have a lot of time.

Unless you were already preparing ahead of time for reapplication, you really haven’t had a lot of time to do anything. That’s where the gap year comes in. It’s okay. In fact, I think dental schools really respect the idea of taking an extra year, or even two years, to get everything together and to realistically assess what went wrong. Maybe you didn’t have enough dental experience. Maybe your application was not written very well. Maybe you didn’t have a letter from a dentist. There are lots of things that could be deal-breakers in a dental school application.

You need to get help from somebody else because it’s really hard to know from one’s self what the problem was. You can call a dental school. Sometimes they’ll tell you. Of course, you’re welcome to work with us. We have a Rejection Review package that’s rather reasonably priced. You can do that. Definitely find out what went wrong, and then address each of those points specifically. 

If you didn’t have enough upper-division Bio electives, then take a bunch. If you didn’t have enough dental experience, go get more dental experience. If you didn’t write your application well, then rewrite it. 

I had a student at San Francisco state many years ago who applied to dental school, who was fantastically prepared, but decided to be a rugged individualist and apply on their own without any advice from anybody, and didn’t get in. They had a phenomenal application, they just didn’t point out how many disadvantages they had, because they were sort of embarrassed about them. As soon as we recalculated things, and I encouraged them to talk about their disadvantages and challenges, they got into seven or eight dental schools.

What do you advise for applicants planning to apply this spring and for those who are planning to apply in 2023 or later? [32:42]

For the people that are applying soon, you should start looking at the AADSAS website. You should start looking at all the things that are required from the schools. I was just looking on the AADSAS website today, and they’re not showing a lot of dental school information right now, but they will. Also, you can search each school’s website and see what they want. There are websites out there that consolidate the information in terms of all the requirements for each of the dental schools.

For the people ready to apply now, I would get going on it. One of the early things to do is to arrange your letter writers, to give them time. You don’t have to choose your schools so quickly, but you do need to pay attention to the prerequisites. You have to make sure you really do meet all their requirements. As we mentioned before, don’t assume that you can finish a requirement after you hand in your application. Schools will likely not look at that.

For the person who’s looking a year ahead, that’s a much less tense situation and you’ve got a whole year or maybe a little longer to plan, but you need to still know “What are my goals? What do I have to complete in order to be a viable applicant in a year from June?” You just have more time and more space, but the ideas are the same. You still need to have your letter writers at some point. You still need to take the DAT.

With the year ahead you’ve got some time to take the DAT, and I would say in preparing for the DAT to practice. Take many, many practice tests to train essentially like an athlete. Get up at the same time in the morning that you would take the DAT. Spend as much time taking the DAT on a computer. It’s just more leisurely, but it’s very easy to say “Oh, I’ve got a year. I guess I’ll just wait a while.” It’s better to get going now.

I would say to make sure you take all your science classes at a four-year university, not a community college. You can take English and Public Health, classes like that, at a two-year university or college. Take all your science courses at a four-year university.

How do dental schools look at people who take the DAT more than once? [36:16]

Again, dental schools are very forgiving, more so than medical schools. I’ve seen people apply six or seven times to dental school and finally get in.

I was amazed to see that, but the people who have done that have learned perhaps slowly what they needed to finally get in. I think dental schools are impressed with persistence as long as you’re a viable applicant. If you’re just completely out of reality, then yes, you’ll never get in. If you’re really sincerely trying, and realistically trying, you can try multiple times. That includes taking the DAT multiple times.

What do you wish I would have asked you today? [37:09]

Maybe what it’s like being a dentist?

This is stereotype but I think dentists have a certain personality. They really like their edges square and their Is dotted and Ts crossed. They get great satisfaction out of doing that with your teeth and giving you a perfect smile. If your personality runs in that direction, it can be tremendously satisfying. Also, if you have an artistic side and you’re good with your hands, it can be very satisfying. I think it’s really good to get to know dentists, and hopefully, you will get to know a number of dentists in your process of applying to dental school.

I think their personalities in general are a little different from the personalities of physicians. Again, these are stereotypes, but I think it’s an interesting thing to think about.

One rumor that I think is not true, but I’ve heard countless times, is that dentists have a high suicide rate. When I actually looked at the data, it’s not true. Don’t worry about that. It’s not going to make you suicidal to be a dentist. 

However, being a dentist can be hard on your body because your body has to assume some unnatural positions to lean over a patient, and also the drill gives off very high-frequency sound. Those of you who studied Physics know the higher the frequency, the higher the energy in the waves that are being carried. The high-frequency sound, even though it doesn’t sound that loud, actually has a lot of decibels. You can really hurt your hearing as a dentist. Those are some of the occupational hazards of being a dentist.

Applying to dental school?

For help preparing for your interview or with any part of the dental school application process, you are welcome to contact me and my colleagues at Accepted. I have helped many students get accepted into dental schools over the years. It would be an honor to assist you.  

Related Resources:

• Application Trends to Watch in 2021, and a Look Back at 2020, a podcast Episode 400
• How to Get into Dental School, podcast Episode 464
• Why Should I Spend Money on an Accepted Admissions Consultant?
• Dental School Personal Statement [Sample Essay]