Best Dental Schools
There are many very good dental schools in the US and all are
required to give you the same basic education. That being said, some
are much better than others. While investigating schools to attend
some factors to keep in mind:
Specialty training - Is the school interested in churning out
general dentists or do they support specialty training
Location - Some school's are in crappy locations and cities.
Tuition - In-state tuition at the average school can cost ~$10-15 K
per year while out of state can to~$40K.
Student happiness - Talk to students from each class and find out
the pros and cons
With regard to specialty training, the ones most difficult to get
into are those with the best lifestyle ie Orthodontics and
Endodontics. Both are good specialties and pay very well, but the
work can become monotonous after many year. Pediatrics is a good
choice and easier to get into and is rewarding working with
children, but can be difficult because many kids can be scared.
Periodontics is a specialty of the past in that when people get
severe periodontal disease we don't try and heriocally save them
anymore. Dental implants have really changed this practice.
Prosthodontics is thriving in the face of the dental implant
revolution. Finally Oral and Maxillofacial surgery is the most
diverse, dynamic and challenging of the specialties. Its scope of
practice ranges from dentoalveolar surgery (wisdom tooth
extractions), trauma (broken facial bones ie noses, jaws), cancer
surgery, orthographic surgery, facial cosmetic surgery as well as
temporomandibular joint surgery. You can choose to practice in one
or all of these fields, work in or out of the hospital setting and
work as many or as few hours as you desire. If you choose you may
also earn an MD degree in addition to your DDS to further augment
your training and hospital presence.
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