Decision between U of T vs. UWO Dentistry?

[pdgfh9819]

Hey everyone! 
Does anyone have advice regarding  choosing between U of T vs Western dentistry? Pros and cons? Would there be any difference in terms of hands-on opportunity at either school or job opportunities/connections after degree completion? Maybe even for trying to work in the US afterward. I'm aware there may be older postings regarding this topic on this forum, but an updated perspective would be nice!

Any advice would be much appreciated  Thank you!

[AncientDentist]

Hey!

Obviously it's hard to offer a complete perspective unless someone has gone to both schools, but I can do my best as a current 4th yr at western.

For me the biggest aspect of the decision was finances. In London I got an apartment for 1k per month (all-included) which was spacious for my wife and I, and within walking distance of school. Other than that, I personally knew that I would hate the hustle and bustle of Toronto, and I'm not really too social, so that whole nightlife thing wasn't that appealing to me. Keep in mind, you'll probably form really close bonds and friendships with your classmates and even a small city won't feel too boring when you're keeping busy with schools and social gatherings with your classmates.

Clinically, I can tell you for a fact that you will not graduate from ANY school feeling totally competent to practice. Toronto and Western are probably pretty comparable in terms of clinical experience, but I would say that Australian and US grads likely have much better clinical experience than their Canadian counterparts. I wouldn't use clinical as a deciding factor, you will find your fair share of issues and frustrating experiences whether you go to Western or Toronto. There is definitely some kind of systemic problem at Western for example that has to do with distribution of resources and access to patients, but they have been making tremendous strides towards equalizing everything - for example, this year they moved from a random lottery of cubicle assignment to a balanced assignment of cubicles to all students. 

One thing is that Western does allow its students to do molar endo (root canals for molar teeth) because they don't have an endo specialty program, but I've heard that Toronto excels in other clinical disciplines as well, so this is something to keep in mind but shouldn't be a huge deciding factor.

I honestly don't think there's any benefit in terms of access to jobs for either school. If you plan to work in Toronto or London, it may be beneficial to consider studying there so that it's easier to apply/shadow prospective jobs, but again this isn't too big of a factor. I don't plan to work in either city, and I haven't found that clinics expressed a preference for one school over the other. It was really down to personality and if you click with the principal dentist at the clinic.

There's a lot more to say, but let me know if there's another specific question you have, and I'll do my best to answer.

Goodluck!