Dentist
Career Overview:
- Dentists ensure patients receive proper and professional oral health care.
- Examine, diagnose, and treat diseases, injuries, and malformations of teeth and gums. May treat diseases of nerve, pulp, and other dental tissues affecting oral hygiene and retention of teeth.
- May fit dental appliances or provide preventive care.
- Tasked with delivering safe and effective dental care to patients, dentists are specialized professionals who diagnose and provide treatments for a variety of oral health issues.
Dental School Requirements:
- Students should have a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 scale. In addition, students should have a science grade point average of 3.25 or higher on a four-point scale.
- Students must have earned a grade of 2.0 or better in each of the following required courses:
- Biology with lab - 8 semester hours
- Chemistry with lab - 8 semester hours
- Organic chemistry with lab - 8 semester hours
- Physics with lab - 8 semester hours
- Biochemistry - 3 semester hours
- Microbiology - 3 semester hours
- English - 6 semester hours
- Students must have earned a grade of 2.0 or better in each of the following required courses:
- 90 credits be completed at the time of application though many students have completed a full baccalaureate degree.
- American Dental Association’s Dental Admissions Test (DAT 19.9 average)
- A completed application through the ADEA Associated American Dental Schools Application Service (ADEA AADSAS)
NSU Dental Medicine Program:
The Doctor Of Dental Medicine's (D.M.D.) four-year curriculum divides into the first two years of fundamentals and the second two years of rotations and advanced study. The rotations challenge you to help underserved and highly vulnerable populations. The entire curriculum is organized around four themes of Patient Care Foundations, Clinical Practice of Dentistry, Public Health and Primary Care, and Human Biology and Disease. You will be trained to function as a highly qualified primary care practitioner capable of delivering comprehensive dental care to patients of all ages. Following graduation, you may obtain advanced education and specialize in such fields as endodontics, oral pathology, oral surgery, orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics, prosthodontics, or dental public health.