Why aren't there any Dent school rankings??

[Guest Aplusdent]

At least not that I know about... they should, for both Canadian and U.S. schools... it would allow students to use their time more efficiently instead of trying to search for all the important tid-bits of information regarding their schools of interest. Plus it would provide information that an oop/oos/ooc student would find helpful.

 

Although maybe they are so different that it's difficult to make a fair comparison??

[Guest FullMetalDS]

i believe they had rankings before but it fell apart cuz it didn't really say anything about how well the students came out as dentists...but i read this on some forum a long time ago, not sure about the details

 

personally, i believe those rank lists don't say too much about the dent schools either...what would be useful for predents is compiled info about each school (eg. curriculum, tuition, location, class size, selection process, admissions procedure, admissions stats etc) so you could decide which program is best for u...all this info can be put together by urself if u care to search the websites, and i saw a book at the bookstore that has all this info, though it only had 2002-03 info and i don't think it was always accurate

[Guest TheChosenOneDDS]

rank is bad, especially in canada where you have like 10 schools. Seriously, i don't think it matters where you went to school if you want to be a General dentist. As long as you can pass your boards...

 

Going back to my first point. If you have rank in Canada especially, then you will have people flocking to apply to one school and thus to attract more students the other schools will have to lower their standards of acceptances, and perhaps even lower their standards of teaching because the students they get, MIGHT (this is a BIG if) not do as well. Their standards might also be lowered due to less funding. Think about it if you were a corporation wanting to sponser a school for research, you'd want to invest your money into the best school. Although this still exists even without ranking (i.e. U of T gets the most funding) with a clearly outlined ranking, it would create an even greater disparity and the top schools will always remain in the top.

 

At the same time, the general public would probably have preconceived notions about their dentist depending on the school they went to even before they saw them and probably will have a placebo effect on the efficacy of the treatment when they go see them.

For example, if you think your dentist is good, any procedure within reason would seem better than a dentist that you think is bad, even though they might be doing the same thing at the same skill level.

 

In canada for the most part the schools are even. Although I am bias that U of T in terms of reputation and research is #1. The funding is unbeatable and it offers all the specialties not to mention its crazy research reputation...Other than McGill and to a lesser extent Waterloo, the University of Toronto is probably the most prestigious school in Canada and among the prestigious schools in North America.

[Guest icydentist]

I'm pretty sure I want to do my 4 yrs of school then go straight into general practice. Does anyone know what Cdn schools give more hands-on experience? Also, what schools do PBL, which is supposedly better for practical knowledge?

 

Also, Chosen, interesting pt you bring up about the placebo effect. How many people do you think actually even know where their dentist or doctor studied? Yer right, there are only 10 schools here and it's pretty standardized. Assuming UT is the most prestigious school, how impressed do you expect anyone to be if they're told their dentist graduated from there? On the other hand I have heard ppl brag "so and so is a good Dr. ..they went to Harvard." That would impress people not only with dentistry but in any other field as well.

[Guest Audio]

Harvard dental sucks compared to UofT...seriously, I interviewed at Harvard.

[Guest uoft2005]

it's dumb to have a rank for CAD schools b/c your looking at a ranking system of what.. like 9-10 schools??

 

do you really think that this is practical? It makes sense for US to have a ranking system? Why? they got heck of a lot of schools..

 

In Canada, you are happy when you can get in anywhere!

 

 

EDIT: chosendude already said it .:hat

[Guest uoft2005]

harvard may suck for you Audio BUT not to other 1000000 applicants..:rollin :rollin

[Guest Audio]

well, Harvard is AMAZING if you want to specialize and for research. Other than that, it sucks balls. UofT is a much better dental school than Harvard. In fact, most people in the dental community know that Harvard's program is not very good for training good clinical dentists. But, it is the best school in the world if you want to specialize or conduct reserach. Who knows, maybe I'll end up there but that's only if I plan on specializing.

[Guest Aplusdent]

What is so great about Toronto?? If you're not interested in doing research...then why choose Toronto? I love the city...but the school environment is cold and impersonable. The profs are way up there on their pedestals....and the students are graveling at their feet for attention....i've heard the dental school isn't that different...but that's coming from a dentist who graduated from there in the 80s so maybe it changed.

[Guest TheChosenOneDDS]

U of T is good coz you can specialize in the USA with that name. Almost as powerful as Harvard and the other ivy league schools. That is why a lot of people go there, plus the city is nice.

 

Icydentist, USC is the only school that I know of that does PBL dentistry. Honestly, for dentistry, I don't know if PBL is the best avenue, since you need to have labs to develop your technical skills and a lot of it requires a deep understanding of the concepts. If not you're nothign more than a technician.,

[Guest Aplusdent]

What is USC??

Indiana University has PBL and it doesn't sound that great. I talked with a dentist who graduated two years ago from the program (which was the first year that PBL was introduced at the school). She said that it was ridiculous...your group may focus on aspects of the case that the prof wasn't thinking about...and then when the exam comes along (that includes all the courses)...you and your group are screwed.

 

ChosenOne, since you go to UofT, what is your opinion on the Dental school? If you went there as an undergrad, how would you compare the two experiences? Is the environment more friendly and are the profs more approachable? If one did not want to specialize or do research what would be the benefit of going to UofT (other than the wonderful city)?

 

Merci!!

[Guest FullMetalDS]

ubc also requires the dent students to join the med students in pbl (though i think recently the dent students work separately from med students in pbl, same cases)...my dent friends at ubc aren't too happy about it because it was tailored for med students and not such a fruitful experience for the dentists, and it takes up a good amount of time to study each case...

[Guest ChinaMan2004]

So, chosenone, what happens if you are accepted to other schools in Canada but still want to specialize in the states, do you then get no chance at all?

 

According to some of your posts before, it seemed to me that you need a good grade in undergrad dentistry, and a good exam mark (board exam that is?) to be able to specialize in a prestegious school (like Harvard, Columbia)in US...so now you are saying the name-effect comes into play as well?... have you heard of anyone who is from other CND dental program but also gets accepted into a specialz. program in the states?

[Guest TheChosenOneDDS]

So, chosenone, what happens if you are accepted to other schools in Canada but still want to specialize in the states, do you then get no chance at all?

 

WTF is your question? it's not very clear. You have a chance to specialize in the US from any school.

 

 

 

According to some of your posts before, it seemed to me that you need a good grade in undergrad dentistry, and a good exam mark (board exam that is?) to be able to specialize in a prestegious school (like Harvard, Columbia)in US...so now you are saying the name-effect comes into play as well?... have you heard of anyone who is from other CND dental program but also gets accepted into a specialz. program in the states?

 

Dude who you know is way more important than what you know. Especially for these specialty programs. My friend got into a specialty coz the residents like playing poker with him. Name of the school definitely plays a part. If you grad from harvard, you will be able to specialize anywhere given your board scores aren't too bad. It is easier to specialize if you have good grades and good board exam scores coz you will have more choices, but the name plays a role. Sure , students from other Can schools get accepted to specialties. Just that there are a lot of them from U of T, also because it is the largest school and it is the best lol.

[Guest ChinaMan2004]

ayet~ so at least from all your crapz, i know school name matters, but not as much as grades and board exam~

 

Thanks for your reply, anywayz~ (you see, i dun wait for a whole week for a reply that starts with WTF:hat ) but well, since you answered my question, wut more can I say??lol~

[Guest TheChoosingOneMD]

WOW :eek

That WTF comment from TheChosenOne was really uncalled for and has caused a significant shift in my feelings towards him.

Chinaman...on the other hand...now what a mature, polite gentleman...

[Guest johnwoo19]

here's one for ya: WTF :b

[Guest ChinaMan2004]

LOL~~~

that made my day:rollin

 

And thanks for your compliment, I sure am flattered:lol

[Guest TheChosenOneDDS]

oh good!

 

That's all i can say. I want you to hate me.

[Guest Aplusdent]

You shouldn't want anyone to hate you....they might be your future patients...who knows...dentists need to see dentists too

[Guest TheChosenOneDDS]

you don't even know who i am. besides, if i move to the us, none of you would be my patients anyways.

[Guest Aplusdent]

I was speaking in general...plus I'm sure a handful (at least) of Canadian students will cross over the border as well...after all it's not such a bad place.

[Guest TheChoosingOneMD]

With patients, he'll be on his best *professional* behavior, flashing a friendly smile, asking "what can I do for you today?".....but what he's really thinking is: Eeewwwww WTF is wrong with your teeth???!! :lol

[Guest TheChosenOneDDS]

that's the beauty of this forum it allows me to be an ass without uppance. :rollin

 

personally i think the people in this forum are very anal. much like a lot of the people in my school. Fortunately, none of my patients have ever been. And they all have been satisfied.

[Guest TheChoosingOneMD]

What are the odds of 2 ppl posting at the exact same minute? That's kinda cool.

 

Now let me try and shine some light on what thechosenone is trying to say here...

 

According to Freud, reaction formation is a process through which a person tries to hide or repress his strong feelings by claiming the opposite of what he means. So.....

 

personally i think the people in this forum are very anal. much like a lot of the people in my school. Fortunately, none of my patients have ever been. And they all have been satisfied.

 

= this forum and you people bring me a lot of joy and provide a much needed escape from my boring patients.

 

that's the beauty of this forum it allows me to be an ass without uppance.

 

= I'm not really a mean guy...I just try to come across as one...just so we can lighten the mood & have some fun.