Dentistry is one of the oldest and most revered professions in the world. In the United States, the American Dental Association is the official organization that regulates the practice of dentistry. Universities will also administer a Dental Admissions Test (DAT) to see if the applicant student is knowledgeably fit for dental school. The toughest part of being a dentist in the United States is one has to go through eight years (because of a four-year prerequisite/undergraduate course) in college in order to be eligible in the taking the national and regional dental board exams and subsequently, a jurisprudence exam. If they want to practice in another state where they have no license, they should be aware that the cooperative agreement between states will have the final say on whether or not they could practice in another state – depending on their credentials/license level.

And the tuition is a very serious matter. The average certified dental practitioner often graduates with at least $150,000 in debt mainly because of the number of years in school and the limited number of accredited universities (which are either private, independent, or Ivy League) that offer dentistry. Another reason why scholastic expenses are so high for dentists is their need to take separate training courses for dental specialties: Endodontics, Pediatric Dentistry, Periodontics, Prosthodontics and Orthodontics, to name a few. You may also notice that dentists often label themselves as “cosmetic dentists” and “general dentists” at the same time—the reason being a cosmetic/general dentistry practice does not require a separate license and one may practice both of these the moment he/she passes the national and regional board exams for dentists.

Today, dentists can earn a degree as either a D.D.S. (Doctor of Dental Surgery) or a D.M.D. (Doctor of Dental Medicine). A century back, a D.D.S. degree was the only degree offered to dentists by independent and exclusive schools in the United States. But at the turn of the 20^th century the D.M.D. degree was offered by only two dental schools, Harvard School of Dental Medicine and Oregon School of Dentistry. But still, D.M.D degrees are offered by a limited number of universities. There is also an ongoing confusion on the part of the public as to which is which between the two degrees. To briefly explain, they are in fact the same in semantics and education, but others claim that D.D.S. dentists specialize in surgical operations while D.M.D. dentists are better in diagnosing dental conditions and treating these conditions through medication—again, these “claims” are NOT true. Dentists, whether D.M.D. or D.D.S., specialize in BOTH the aforementioned areas and the only difference is really only the initials.

Most people ask if dental school is hard. To answer that question, ask your local dentist, and don’t consult the internet for answers, because many people posing to know about dentistry are just actually trolls. Methodically speaking, dentistry will somewhat be hard if you enrolled against your will, but it will always boil down to your aptitude, study habits and more importantly, the perseverance to pass the course. Choose a university with a high passing rate is imperative as well as reassuring.

The final two years of your study will be dedicated to practical applications of what you’ve learned sitting in class. Dedicate that time in improving your professional attitude and make the most out of it while you’re still in school. There are also partnerships between universities and clinics that offer summer undergraduate internships and research courses for students.

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