The core pre-dental course requirements are the same as the core pre-medical course requirements.

The ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools, published online annually by the ADEA (American Dental Education Association), includes information about course prerequisites and admission criteria for individual dental schools in the U.S. and Canada. Common additional courses that are recommended or required by dental schools may include:

• One semester of Biochemistry
• One semester of Microbiology
• One semester of Calculus
• One semester of Psychology
• One advanced Biology course , especially for non-science majors

An excellent way to gain exposure to the profession is by shadowing a dentist. In fact, nearly all dental schools require applicants to have 50-100 hours of observation at a dental practice prior to applying to dental school. You should reach out to your dentist to see if you can spend time shadowing at your dentist's office during your breaks from college. It is a good idea to set up a process for the dental office to track your shadowing hours because many dental schools require a letter from the dentist documenting the total number of shadowing hours as part of your application.

Demonstrating “manual dexterity”: If you enjoy creative arts and working with your hands, dentistry may be the career for you. Dentists need to have great manual dexterity as well as good “3-D” perception. In fact, the dental school application asks questions about hobbies involving manual dexterity.

Summer programs for pre-dental students: There are few state dental schools that have summer programs for pre-dental students; check the websites of your home state dental schools to see if they sponsor any summer programs.

• The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) sponsor a six-week summer program for first-year students and sophomores who are interested in medicine or dentistry.  

Refer to the Gaining Experience section for more information and resources regarding leadership and service, patient centered experience, and research.

All dental school applicants are required to take the Dental Admission Test (DAT) that is sponsored by the ADA. The computed-based test is 5 hours in length and consists of four parts:

• Natural Sciences (introductory biology, general and organic chemistry)
• Perceptual Ability (PAT)
• Reading Comprehension
• Quantitative Reasoning

DAT scores, which range from a low of 1 to a high of 30, are reported for each section and for two composite scores – the Academic Average and the Total Science score. In recent years, the national average DAT score for accepted dental school applicants has been 19-20 for the academic average and PAT sections. You should take the exam by the summer that you start the application process.

The dental school application process generally takes over 18 months from starting to study for the DATs to matriculation in dental school. Approximately 18 months before matriculating in dental school, students usually begin to study for the DATs, request letters of recommendation, and meet with Jodi Domsky to strategize about the dental school application process.

The timetable for applying to dental school is similar to the medical school application timetable, so you can review the medical school application process timeline for an overview.

Most U.S. dental schools utilize the online, centralized Associated American Dental Schools Application Service (AADSAS). Applicants submit the AADSAS application in the mid-summer one year prior to intended matriculation. After submitting the AADSAS application, applicants receive supplemental/or secondary applications from individual dental schools.

Dental school admissions committees start reviewing applications in late summer to begin to invite applicants for interviews. The interview season for dental schools start in early fall and ends by February at most schools. Many dental schools offer admission on a rolling basis with the first offers of admission sent out after December 1 of the academic year prior to the year of matriculation.