Dentistry
Dentists diagnose, treat, and prevent diseases and injuries of the teeth, jaws
and other structures of the oral cavity. The professional training of a dentist
requires four years in a college of dentistry to earn the doctor of dental surgery
(D.D.S.) or doctor of dental medicine (D.M.D.) degree.
Specializing in dental public health, endodontics, oral pathology, oral surgery,
orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics or prosthodontics requires one
to four years of additional training beyond the dental degree. Dentists may
pursue careers in general or specialized dentistry, education, research and
administration.
Dental schools generally require at least 90 semester credits (three years)
of college coursework before admission to the professional program.
However, students are encouraged to earn their baccalaureate degrees before
entering dental school. The degree may be earned in any major area of study.
Completing the requirements for a B.S. or B.A. usually requires four years,
but some departments will allow credits from the dental program to be transferred
back to Iowa State to partially fulfill degree requirements. Combining the predental
program with a degree in engineering or business may require five years.
The courses required for admission to most dental schools, including the College
of Dentistry at the University of Iowa, are the following:
- English (ENGL 104, 105)
- General chemistry with laboratory (CHEM 177, 177L and 178, 178L)
- Organic chemistry with laboratory (CHEM 331, 331L and 332, 332L)
- Physics with laboratory (PHYS 111, 112 or PHYS 221, 222)
- Biology with laboratory (BIOL 211, 211L and 212, 212L)
Selection of applicants for dental school is based upon consideration of the
academic record, Dental Admissions Test (DAT) scores, interview, letters of
recommendation and extracurricular activities. Most dental schools use the American
Association of Dental Schools Application Service (AADSAS) for the initial application.
Details about the dental profession and the AADSAS application are available
from the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) website at www.adea.org.
Details about the DAT exam are available at the www.ada.org/prof/ed/testing/dat.asp
website.
For further information, contact tthe coordinator for the preprofessional health
programs in 102 Carrie Chapman Catt Hall, phone (515) 294-4831.
Deadlines to take the DAT and submit the AADSAS are determined by each dental
program. Applicants to the University of Iowa should take the DAT by August
1 of the summer preceding the final year at ISU and submit the AADSAS application
as early as possible during the June 1 – Nov. 1 period.
|
