HighschoolDentist Posted December 24, 2017 Report Share Posted December 24, 2017 Hi, I'm a high school student applying for university. I am a US citizen and plan to work in the US as a dentist. My question is that if I earn a Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) not a Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) outside of the US and Canada will I have to attend university for an internationally trained dentist program afterwards, or can I just do the license exam NBDE and immediately work as a dentist in the US? Any help would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookiemonster99 Posted December 25, 2017 Report Share Posted December 25, 2017 from my knowledge: any school that is outside of north america you will have to go through the internationally trained dentist program in order for you to quality to work in the US Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighschoolDentist Posted December 25, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 25, 2017 Thank you so much for replying! That is what I heard, you can't work with a degree outside of America and Canada, but the reason is because most universities internationally give a BDS (Bachelors of Dental Surgery) which is not sufficient to work with in America and Canada. However there are a few universities outside of US and Canada that do give a DDS degree, and it seems to be a weird concept to graduate with a DDS degree internationally and then study a few more extra years in US//Canada to receive the same DDS degree you already had. If anyone has been in this position, or knows anything about circumstances like this please do reply, Any help would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ostracized Posted December 25, 2017 Report Share Posted December 25, 2017 It has nothing to do with the degree type. It has to do with the ability of the dental education regulators to perform accreditation of the schools. Just because a school offers a DDS does not mean that it is teaching the correct depth and breadth of knowledge to be equivalent to US or Canadian schools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighschoolDentist Posted December 25, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 25, 2017 Oh I see, Thanks for replying. Would you by any chance have a link to the site which states this, because I can't seem to find anything on it. Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ostracized Posted December 25, 2017 Report Share Posted December 25, 2017 Depending on where you want to work you would have to check with the local dental regulator and see what their requirements are for licensing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3booodi Posted December 25, 2017 Report Share Posted December 25, 2017 My parents graduated from overseas, so I know the process. If you were planning to work in the US and want to attend a dental school outside of North America you will have 2 options: 1) Go to a dental school anywhere in the world straight from high school (granted that the school is not accredited in the US board of dentists), obtain your degree (BDS or DDS, it doesn't matter, they don't give two shits) come back to the US, and go through the long and painful equivalency process ( I only know of Canada's equivalency procedure). 2) Complete your undergrad in any degree, get the pre reqs courses completed of the designated international school ( that is accredited by the US board of dentists) you want to attend, get your degree, come back to the US, and do a single exam (quick, and relatively way easier; not a lengthy process) and practice. The same exact procedure applies to Canada. If you were to go to a non accredited school, and you want to come back to Canada, you have 2 options for degree equivalency: 1) The direct examination route: You do three exams, and they are difficult, not going to sugar coat it at all, and then you do the OSCE exam, and you're set. 2) Attend the last 2 years of dental school in Canada. You do this by doing the very first exam of the three exams mentioned above, apply as an ITD ( you should show a proof of English language etc.), get interviewed, finish the last 2 years, and you're set. Lastly, I am not sure of how accurate this statement is, but US equivalency process is far easier than the Canadian one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighschoolDentist Posted December 25, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 25, 2017 Thanks for replying! Ok so option 2 is to 55 minutes ago, 3booodi said: get the pre reqs courses completed of the designated international school ( that is accredited by the US board of dentists) but I heard that no international dental school is accredited by the US board of dentists. So what I understand is, the only option is that I do the following to be able to work as a dentist in US/Canada: (4 year undergrad in any course) + (4 years dental school in US/Canada) + (the NBDE license exam) = can work in US/Canada Is that correct? Also can you please explain what OSCE exam is for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3booodi Posted December 25, 2017 Report Share Posted December 25, 2017 1 hour ago, Purplelel said: Thanks for replying! Ok so option 2 is to but I heard that no international dental school is accredited by the US board of dentists. So what I understand is, the only option is that I do the following to be able to work as a dentist in US/Canada: (4 year undergrad in any course) + (4 years dental school in US/Canada) + (the NBDE license exam) = can work in US/Canada Is that correct? Also can you please explain what OSCE exam is for? As to Canada, there are. Check out the atlantic bridge program and oztrekk dentistry to see what unis are accredited by the Canadian board. One thing to watch out for is that although these schools are accredited by Canada, it doesn't necceseraliy mean that they are accredited in the US. Now if you want to have the freedom to work in the US and Canada, I am pretty sure that your best bet is to attend dental school in one of those countries. If you're a US resident, it is a tad bit easier to attend school there due to the greater volume of dental students these schools can receive. and as you mentioned in your formula, this is the way to go. The OSCE exam is a licensure exam you take when you finish dental school. Based on what I've researched, the passing rate is ridiculously high (obviously), so it's something you really shouldn't care about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coronaxtra Posted December 26, 2017 Report Share Posted December 26, 2017 Your best bet is to go to a US or Canadian school. I was fortunate to make it to a Canadian school and the freedom of movement allowed me to move to the US with ease. No equivalency needed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighschoolDentist Posted December 26, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2017 Thank you 3booodi and Coronaxtra for helping me out. I've had a look at the Irish and Australian routes, they seem to be a good idea, but are quite expensive. Also I do want to keep my options open for both US and Canada, so I think I'll go with applying in Canada for undergrad, then apply to dental schools in Canada and the US, and as a backup could apply to the Atlantic Bridge Program (the 4 year one) in Ireland. And then do the license exam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookiemonster99 Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 On 12/24/2017 at 5:48 PM, HighschoolDentist said: Hi, I'm a high school student applying for university. I am a US citizen and plan to work in the US as a dentist. My question is that if I earn a Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) not a Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) outside of the US and Canada will I have to attend university for an internationally trained dentist program afterwards, or can I just do the license exam NBDE and immediately work as a dentist in the US? Any help would be appreciated. From your original post I highly suggest you go the traditional route of going to a US university for undergrad and going to a US dental school. The other methods are very difficult, expensive, or long for you to work in the US. You are not a Canadian citizen so the chances of you getting accepted into a Canadian dental school is quite slim. (I know some Canadian dental schools on their website say they take international students but I haven't heard of one that got in-maybe someone can prove me wrong or know an international student in a canadian dental school) The australian and Irish routes are more for people that want to work in a commonwealth country I.e australia, ireland or Canada which the US does not belong to. OP: there is no easy route. If there is everyone would take it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookiemonster99 Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 On 12/26/2017 at 3:15 AM, HighschoolDentist said: Thank you 3booodi and Coronaxtra for helping me out. I've had a look at the Irish and Australian routes, they seem to be a good idea, but are quite expensive. Also I do want to keep my options open for both US and Canada, so I think I'll go with applying in Canada for undergrad, then apply to dental schools in Canada and the US, and as a backup could apply to the Atlantic Bridge Program (the 4 year one) in Ireland. And then do the license exam. Sorry didn't see this post. You are a US citizen. You will be paying international fees in Canada for your undergrad. I highly doubt a Canadian undergrad program will be "better" than an american one...... Why not just go to a US university for your undergrad? Fees will be cheaper for you, you'll get government loans, closer to family etc. not sure why you're making everything more difficult...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighschoolDentist Posted December 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2017 Oh I'm sorry for the confusion but I'm a dual citizen for US and Canada, and from what I have seen Canada's education is cheaper. That's why I am going with Canada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookiemonster99 Posted December 29, 2017 Report Share Posted December 29, 2017 On 12/28/2017 at 1:13 AM, HighschoolDentist said: Oh I'm sorry for the confusion but I'm a dual citizen for US and Canada, and from what I have seen Canada's education is cheaper. That's why I am going with Canada. that makes things easier. If you want to do an undergrad in Canada and apply to Canadian and US dental school then that would be your best shot at eventually practicing in the US. Don't go outside of North America to do your dental degree then. The australia/Ireland pathway doesn't work for the US Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighschoolDentist Posted December 31, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2017 Ok thank you for your advice. Also do you (or anyone doing dentistry) have recommendations for a pre-dental program in an Ontario university? I've gotten an offer from University of Toronto for life sciences but have been told by many not to go with it due to it being know for deflating GPA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookiemonster99 Posted December 31, 2017 Report Share Posted December 31, 2017 there are no pre-dental programs in Canada designed to get you into dental school. Just satisfy all the requirements for you to apply to dental school in Canada and the US during ur undergrad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleanup Posted January 8, 2018 Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 On 12/31/2017 at 5:20 AM, HighschoolDentist said: Ok thank you for your advice. Also do you (or anyone doing dentistry) have recommendations for a pre-dental program in an Ontario university? I've gotten an offer from University of Toronto for life sciences but have been told by many not to go with it due to it being know for deflating GPA. You can do well in any school. Some might be generally harder than others, but a better bet is to just go to the school you see yourself enjoying more, whether its because of the environment, people, resources, etc. Visiting campuses would help a lot. I went to U of T and though it's a tough school, my friends and I all made it through. I don't necessarily think that the people who wanted to achieve higher things would have done so had they attended an 'easier' school. It's more about what you want and how much you want it. Your years in undergrad aren't just about getting good grades and getting to that next step. I made the mistake of treating it that way sometimes; don't forget to enjoy your youth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighschoolDentist Posted February 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2018 Thank you for telling me this, I'll definitely look at all the other factors before picking my undergrad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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