Dentistry College Essay

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While dentistry comes with many rewards and a beneficial income, one must take many tedious, difficult, and costly steps in order to reach the level of an actual dentist. The journey to become a dentist begins with the completion of a bachelor’s degree. Dr. O’Leary suggests graduating from a highly respected school such as Notre Dame, Duke, Chapel Hill or any other school held in high regard (O’Leary). Having a solid education and doing well in an important school shows that a student has put in a maximum amount of effort and would succeed if accepted into a dental school. Each school has different requirements to graduate with a bachelor’s degree. Some classes that serve as prerequisites to dental school include: Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, …show more content…
Once accepted into dental school, the student must complete the next step in the process, the Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) or Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry (DMD) degrees. The State Licensing Board accepts both DDS and DMD degrees. In order to complete these degrees, students choose to focus on certain areas of study including: Anatomy, Biochemistry, Physiology, Microbiology, Pedonotics, Restorative Dentistry, Endodontics, Oral Surgery, and Oral Diagnosis. These areas of study will help a dental student to learn the necessary skills used in dentistry. Dental schools such as the University of California at Los Angeles School of Dentistry (“UCLA”), the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry (“UNC”), and the MUSC: James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine (“College”), all offer these areas of study. The average cost of these three dental schools comes to about $96,000 per year which one can pay for through scholarships, loans, and possible military options …show more content…
The complete list of the nine dental specialties recognized by the ADA include: Dental Public Health, Endodontics, Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, Pediatric Dentistry, Periodontics, and Prosthodontics (“Specialty”). The final step in becoming a dentist requires that he or she wishing to obtain their license, passes the national as well as state licensing

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