Starburst

@HopefulDDS Got it spot-on. If you're deciding between Australian schools or US schools, pick the US schools. It's slightly more expensive but getting a US dental license is a nightmare if you're graduating from a school outside the US. @c5555 I would add NOVA to that list. I would also recommend applying wisely.For example, UPENN is considered an Ivey league school and they will likely not consider you if you have a 17 in Chem.

Although most Canadian schools mainly care about GPA, it's a good idea to get familiar with the dental field through shadowing or partaking in extracurricular activities during the summers. It becomes especially helpful during interviews when you can mention them and incorporate them into your answers.

Thank you! That's consistent with what I have been hearing from everyone.

Every school uses a different scale so you have to look at the school that you apply to. For the most part, you want to aim for 90%+ for Canadian schools.

One of my friends in undergrad did this and she got into Schulich despite her first 2 years were covered with C's and B's. So it's definitely possible as long as you have a competitive GPA in the last 2 years (90%+). Good luck

Has anyone taken the NBDE here? If so, how many weeks did you prepare? I'm looking for some guidance on whether to take it or not since the INBDE is coming out soon. Thanks

I go to UMichigan and we have faculty that are internationally-trained OMFS. So I believe you can but it might be tougher. I don't know how it works in Canada.

I asked the same question to my mentor earlier this year. It varies for each specialty but here in the US it's more dependent on your class ranking, not GPA to my understanding.

In short you should focus on getting good grades (top of your class) if you want to specialize. If you want to own a practice, perfect your hand skills in sim lab. It's not easy, I learned it the hard way this year. For resources, dental town, face book groups, or podcasts are the best way to go as someone mentioned here.

It depends on the program and residency. I know some will actually pay you a stipend (very low, like 50kyear) while others you'll be paying $50-70k/year. Most of the times, you'll have to get another loan from your bank or get a co-signer. Correct me if i'm wrong.

You need to screen patients using radiographs to find these specific lesions. So unless you have relatives who are dentists, you're out of luck. Correction: It was 3 states (Colorado Washington and Minnesota)

You can but it's very tough. There is a national board exam (part 1 and part 2) and then regional exams (CDCA/ADEX). The regional exams are the brutal ones since you need real patients with specific lesions to show up on the day of your exam. That means you have to find 4-5 patients with those lesions, fly them from Canada to the US, pray they qualify on the day of the exam, and then pass. If you fail any section, you have to redo that section. Basically it's an uphill battle unless you graduated from a US dental school. There's only 4 states that don't have these regional exams.

It depends where you practice. I have a few friends in Alberta that just graduated and are taking home $20-30k/month working 30min away from a major city and 2 friends in the GTA taking home $10-15k/month. It also works differently here in the US where I live. In Michigan, associate dentists get paid daily salaries ("minimum guarantees") by corporate companies and it's usually $600-700 USD per day, meaning that you have potential to make more. Here is a detailed catalog of how much dentists make in the US based on location: https://www.bls.gov/oes/2017/may/oes291021.htm. If you notice,

It depends on you and what you value. If you have competitive stats, it might be worth staying and apply 1 extra year.

That's not entirely true. You have to still write the WREB or CDCA to practice in California even if you practiced in another state.