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At age 65 but in good health at 5'6", 150 Lbs, male, Canadian citizen living in Kingston,ON, born in Toronto with a career as formerly a chiropractor and now currently still practicing as a naturopathic doctor registered/licensed in Ontario for 30 years is there a possibility of being accepted as a student into a Canadian dental school? This burning desire has developed as the result of my almost 40 years of front-line work as a health care provider, having realized that, like farmers involved in animal husbandry, most overall health maladies begin in the teeth. What options are available to me in this endeavour?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated since I wish merely to help people more than I can already and I am very good at manual tasks using my hands. Dentistry is the missing other half of my 'calling'. Thanks, Rick

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Interesting question!

 

Can you? Sure. Should you? Well...it depends. First of all you're going to need to gain acceptance to a school. If you don't have any university transcripts from the last decade or two you may be required to complete prerequisite requirements. So expect that to take even up to 3-4 years prior to being able to apply.

 

Then you should consider that as an Ontario resident your dental tuition is going to be no less than $40,000 per year for four years.

 

By the time you are done you'll be over 70 at least and have spent more than $200,000 (as much as $500,000 depending on the school).

 

If it's worth it to you than I'd recommend talking to admissions departments at a few dental schools and ask them if what they think. Personally I don't think it is worth your time unless you are independently wealthy and are only doing it for the 'fun' of it. This will almost certainly be a huge money pit and dental school is a marathon endurance run.

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i advise against the idea.

 

I once knew a retired MD, at age 63 yo, wanted to learn more about computer so he enrolled in a bachelor degree program in computer science. He was no doubt smart and clever for being where he was, and was definitely hard working. However I was told he was struggling to pass the courses.

 

Personally, I think you should be at the stage of your life where one should enjoy the life. I wouldn't consider dental school an enjoyment

 

What options are available to me in this endeavour?

 

options are dentist, hygienist, certified dental assistant.

Again, i don't think it's a good idea.

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I think it's a fantastic idea!

 

If you have the energy to study and are willing to sacrifice the money, enjoy the journey!

 

You never know unless you try, and the worst that can happen is that they say no...which is the answer to many twenty-somethings too.

 

You might try contacting your local university and chat with an advisor to find our more about what it all entails.

 

Best of luck!

 

Tracy

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I originally posted a message about how this is a bad idea. I deleted it. But I still think it's a bad idea. Dentistry school is subsidized. These subsidies are intended to make a long term return on investment for society. Short term return will not cover the cost. This obviously creates deadweight loss. It's unfair to society if you go to dentistry school just because you're rich and want to have some fun trying dentistry. In the end life isn't fair so it's your choice.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Woah woah. Lot of accusations here. why do you assume the man is rich? and further that he wants to have fun? jus saying.

 

I originally posted a message about how this is a bad idea. I deleted it. But I still think it's a bad idea. Dentistry school is subsidized. These subsidies are intended to make a long term return on investment for society. Short term return will not cover the cost. This obviously creates deadweight loss. It's unfair to society if you go to dentistry school just because you're rich and want to have some fun trying dentistry. In the end life isn't fair so it's your choice.
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