May 8
Mailbag: Studying Dentistry in the U.S.
Every Friday we’ll open the myUface.com mailbag and answer a question or questions from international students. Here’s how it works: you send us a question at blog@myuface.com, we research your question thoroughly, and then we provide an answer. So if you have a question about anything, send it to us and we will do the work to answer it.
Today’s question:
I am interested in mastering in the dental field at an American university. How should I send the program of my college to American dental schools?
From your question I understand that you’ve already received an undergraduate degree from a university in your home country, and you want to come to the U.S. to get an advanced degree in dentistry. Unfortunately, this is one of those situations where American higher education probably won’t help prepare you for work in your chosen field (dentistry).
A “Master’s” for Dentistry doesn’t really exist in the U.S. Dentistry is clinical training, which means more or less that it’s not broken up along the lines of the degree systems common in other parts of the world. Every American state varies, but in general, although it is possible to continue studies in the dental field, it is extremely complicated.
There is no such thing as master’s in dentistry or 2 year residency in dentistry (which is common abroad). Pretty much, a student would have to come over take some undergrad courses to prepare himself for DAT (Dental Admission Test). In other words, the student pretty much starts from scratch. Even if you are a dentist who is already practicing, when coming to the U.S. you will still have to basically start over or be in school for another 3 or 4 years depending on the state. So if you have already finished your undergraduate work in dentistry, the U.S. may not be a good destination for continuing study.
Have a question? E-mail us at blog@myuface.com.
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Tags: clinical training for international students in the U.S., international student dentists, questions from international students, research about study in the U.S., studying dentistry in the U.S.
