Dental School Admission ?
Q: I plan on applying to a number of Dental Schools in Britain and
Ireland next year. As a mature student, my application will be
considered on factors such as academic background, career experience,
and personal essays.
My academic experience ok; I have a degree in Engineering, although
this does not help me show evidence of a past interest in Dentistry.
I am posting to this group in the hope that some dental professionals
out there can give some words of advice on how to achieve a
demonstratable level of interest in your profession.
I was thinking of asking my dentist here in New Haven could I spend a
couple of hours a week in his surgery purely to observe his work.
I was also wondering if anyone knows of places associated with
dentistry where I might be able to volunteer on weekends, no matter
how peripheral the role (in the New York City/Connecticut area).
A:I graduated from Manchester
University Dental School 12 years ago, so here's my advice on applying to
schools in the UK (this info is up-to-date):
Learn all you can about dentistry BEFORE any interview - virtually all
applicants are interviewed as the courses are grossly over-subscribed
(approx. 1500 applicants for the 75 or so places in each school!!). If you
cannot tell the interviewer, say, the function and mode of action of
fluoride in toothpaste for example, then don't bother attending.
You MUST be able to prove immunity to Hepatitis B before applying - this is
a mandatory requirement for entry into dental schools in the UK. Arrange
your vaccinations now to give you time to have a 2nd course if you fail to
sero-convert after the first.
Practice your hand-eye coordination - you will likely be assessed on this at
interview / early in the course and can be kicked off for failing.
Examples of the tests I did are: carving a "perfect" 3x3x3 pyramid from a
block of plaster using just a pencil, ruler & knife; bending a length of
wire around a pin board to produce the shape of a spectacle frame; carving a
tooth into a block of wax with just an exploded diagram for reference.
Definitely ask your dentist if you can observe as this will help you a lot,
and