aloha Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 Hi. My name is Aloha. I got some troubles! I know zero people that can help me with this question. How to become an orthodontist? Ok, so i go to university ( i live in Ontario) and I take life science. What Universities can offer that program? U of T, U of Western? U of Waterloo? What courses should I take in high school? Realistically, what mark is that suppose to be? not like, what they say in the University is a good mark, but what is it realistically? Is that true that when applying to university they only look at your 6 high marks? I read somewhere that I must have DDS degree. Is that what I should get after finishing University? DDS degree? After that, I should apply to med school. What courses I need to take in order to get accepted in one of the med schools? Thank you in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehumanmacbook Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 There's a stick on top of both the general premed and dental student forums. Please read those first before asking further questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aloha Posted January 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 There's a stick on top of both the general premed and dental student forums. Please read those first before asking further questions. thehumanmacbook, it didn't help me. I went through all that, visited tons of websites, but they didn't give me a valuable information! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehumanmacbook Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 Orthodontics is a specialty of dentistry. Go to university, finish the pre-reqs and write the DAT to enter dental school. After dental school, you will need to specialize in order to pursue orthodontics. A medical degree is not required. The information to enter dental school is in the faq of the dental student section. I would suggest revisiting it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 You are so patient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mourning Cloak Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 http://www.ehow.com/how_6687035_become-orthodontist-canada.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aloha Posted January 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 thehumanmacbook, yes, thank you for being patient! can someone just answer those questions? Just simply type in the answers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lolelol Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 thehumanmacbook, yes, thank you for being patient! can someone just answer those questions? Just simply type in the answers? Except for OCAD, ALL universities offer life sciences degrees. Yes, universities only look at your top 6 grade 12 courses. Depending on the program/university you want to go into, the minimum mark you need will differ. Aim for at least an 80. You do not need to go to medical school to become an orthodontist. You will need to go to dental school. To get into dental school, you probably need a 3.8+ GPA, go check the forums I'm not sure. To have a minimum of 3.8 GPA you need to have gotten at least 80% in all of your university courses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dassy Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 Hi.Ok, so i go to university ( i live in Ontario) and I take life science. What Universities can offer that program? U of T, U of Western? U of Waterloo? What courses should I take in high school? Realistically, what mark is that suppose to be? not like, what they say in the University is a good mark, but what is it realistically? Is that true that when applying to university they only look at your 6 high marks? I read somewhere that I must have DDS degree. Is that what I should get after finishing University? DDS degree? After that, I should apply to med school. What courses I need to take in order to get accepted in one of the med schools? You can easily find these answers on the forums if you just search...but since you seem to be new to this (I'm assuming you go to high school not university right now?) 1) HS Courses: Google whichever Universities/programs you want to apply to and they'll tell you what prereqs you need (for science, it's usually calc, bio and english?). As far as I remember they only look at your top 6 U marks (but each program can be different - again go to the University's website) --> Marks don't really matter, except for Mac Health Sci...usually mid 80% is good enough to get in anywhere 2) Almost every university offers a type of life science program, so go wherever you want. Check the dentristy schools you want to go to, to see if they have prereqs needed (Cdn schools :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_degree#Canada). Schools generally require you to have a very high average to get in (I'm applying for med so I'm not sure of the actually stats, but above 3.8 would be good?) 3) Write the DAT and then apply to Dentistry School (get your DDS -aka dental degree). After that you can sub-specialize into orthodontics. No med school needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aloha Posted January 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 dassy, yes. I'm still a high school student which is why I'm trying to get some answers. I found them online, and the reason why I made this thread is to make sure I'm on the right track dassy, MeGusta, Thank you for your patients and warm replies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stryke22 Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 dassy, yes. I'm still a high school student which is why I'm trying to get some answers. I found them online, and the reason why I made this thread is to make sure I'm on the right trackdassy, MeGusta, Thank you for your patients and warm replies! lol! 10char Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamIDP Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 1. Do well in highschool to enter good university program (85%+ top 6 courses in grade 12) 2. Enroll into a University program (most people do life sciences in order to complete their requirements to enter dental school) 3. Go to Dental School and do well 4. Perform top of your class and everything is set from here on. The hardest part of your journey is step #2 (getting into dental school). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerpenguin Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 1. Do well in highschool to enter good university program (85%+ top 6 courses in grade 12)2. Enroll into a University program (most people do life sciences in order to complete their requirements to enter dental school) 3. Go to Dental School and do well 4. Perform top of your class and everything is set from here on. The hardest part of your journey is step #2 (getting into dental school). Haha honestly I think #4 is harder. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surprised Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 I've heard the dental school program is brutal once you're in... so the assumption that you can be top of the class is a huge leap (ie the idea of specializing post dentistry should be left until you're actually in dentistry - the idea of getting into a specialty, like has been stated, is a huge leap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aravis Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 I PM'd her this but I think I should post it here just in case anyone else is wondering... Hey Aloha, The big picture for you is: high school (4 years) --> undergrad (3-4 years hopefully) --> dental school (4 years) --> (optional general practice residency - 1 year) --> specialization (~3 years) There are SEVERAL Ontario universities that offer life science programs. You're basically looking for any university with a science faculty. That way you'd be able to take the necessary prereq courses dental schools are looking for (bio, chem, physics, organic chem, biochem... etc). It's really your personal decision on which university you decide to attend. You need to look at factors such as cost, dorm, and campus life because you'd be planning to study there for 3-4 years. Keep in mind that a science degree (Bachelor of Science aka BSc) in life sciences isn't ncessary as long as you have the prereq courses dental schools are looking for. It's just the typical route. Check out which university programs you're interested in and make a list of the high school courses they're looking for. These would typically include a combination of math and science courses. It's been a number of years since I've been in high school so you're probably more of an expert on this than me. Just make sure you do well in these courses. You'd usually be aiming for an 80-85+ average in high school to get in to university. Ask your guidance counselor if you have more questions on getting into university. That's their job and they're the experts. Once you get into university, you need to keep your grades up (85+ average or 3.85+ GPA) to be competitive for dental school. It's going to be a huge adjustment, so make sure you stay focused. The typical pre-dent spends 3-4 years working towards a BSc degree. A DDS degree is a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree. This is what you get once you've completed dental school. Dental school is 4 years long. It's extremely competitive to specialize, especially for orthodontics. I read the thread you started, and the people are right. It is very very hard to specialize into ortho. You need to be the top of the class. Keep in mind that your class will have the brightest students from undergrad. Once you've been in undergrad, you'll know how competitive it is. Med school is not in the typical route to becoming an orthodontist. I'm not sure if you're confusing this with dental school... If you are seriously considering becoming an orthodontist, I would get in touch with one and become familiar with the profession first. There's no rush though, like I said, it would be wise not to think about specializing until you get into dental school. I hope this helps, aravis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pchan123 Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 1. Do well in highschool to enter good university program (85%+ top 6 courses in grade 12)2. Enroll into a University program (most people do life sciences in order to complete their requirements to enter dental school) 3. Go to Dental School and do well 4. Perform top of your class and everything is set from here on. The hardest part of your journey is step #2 (getting into dental school). I agree with powerpenguin; that list is in increasing order of hardness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luzzati Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 Look forward to shadowing a dentist and orthodontist as well now or during undergrad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aloha Posted May 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2013 It has been so long since I posted this thread. Basically, 2 years had past. Now I am more confident. Thanks to everyone. Since dentistry is highly competitive, I now realized I may have a higher chance in becoming a family doctor. It does not mean I will not be trying for dental school. I will, but am more focused on medical school rather than dental. My average in high school is a 93% and I recently received an admission from university with a scholarship. Hopefully I will do good. Thanks to everyone again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uwodesperate Posted May 1, 2013 Report Share Posted May 1, 2013 It has been so long since I posted this thread. Basically, 2 years had past. Now I am more confident. Thanks to everyone. Since dentistry is highly competitive, I now realized I may have a higher chance in becoming a family doctor. It does not mean I will not be trying for dental school. I will, but am more focused on medical school rather than dental. My average in high school is a 93% and I recently received an admission from university with a scholarship. Hopefully I will do good. Thanks to everyone again! :confused: ??????????? sorry to burst your bubble but getting accepted to med school is not a walk in the park... follow your passion and not what you think would be the easiest route... you don't want to have any regrets 5-10 years down the road! good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCATwannabe Posted May 1, 2013 Report Share Posted May 1, 2013 Lol getting into dental school is as competitive as medical school I say, specifically if you live in non-urban environment. But Ortho, is definitely a lot harder than family medicine. From what I've heard, Medical school itself is pretty much pass/fail. Such is not true for dental school. We get %s, and a lot of work is both didactic and practical, whereas medicine is a lot ore didactic. We also have a lot more classes. In short, to get a spot at most specialties, you need to be in top 5-10 percent of the class of smart people. For instance, you may get a 92 in an course, but when the class average is 85 or 90, you don't stand a chance in being top 5%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmathematics Posted May 2, 2013 Report Share Posted May 2, 2013 It is not a question of which one is more difficult ...they are just different. For example, for dental schools in ontario you need a super high gpa if you are applying with an undergrad (like high 3.8s at LEAST).... BUT I know people who got into medical school at mac with a 3.6. This does not mean that it is easier to get into medical school. The key is: it is a different process. Does everyone understand? Hope this put this old, old "debate" to rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.