Comments | teeth_like_whoa: xposted at dent

ewwen in teeth_like_whoa

xposted at dent_school

May 15, 2008 20:11

Hey, I'm not too sure how active this community is, but I have a couple questions regarding dental school. I currently work in a dental office right now with my dentist whom I've known my entire life. I love it there and the people definitely know what they are doing, but I feel that they are a bit behind the times on the knowhow about dental ( Read more... )

Comments 5

letterperfect May 16 2008, 02:23:54 UTC

While, I cannot comment specifically about dental school, bachelor's degrees in science, or associates degrees, I do think you might want to reconsider not wanting to take out any loans. Every college student I know has loans. Even those with really rich parents. And those are only students who are getting their undergraduate degrees. It takes a very long time to get a Doctorate & I imagine the programs are pretty expensive. It seems inevitable that you'd need to take out loans. I know loans seem scary (I'm just about to start paying mine off), but you can work out a plan that is manageable, & if you're going to be a dentist, a few hundred dollars a month won't break the bank. I think if you know you want to be a dentist, you should just go for it instead of wasting your time getting a degree that isn't really the degree you want (a degree you'd need to pay for). Plus, if you want to pay your tuition in full, you'd have to work as a hygienist A WHOLE LOT in order to do that..

ewwen May 16 2008, 06:02:33 UTC

I appreciate you sharing your knowledge with me, so thanks! :) I admitt that loans are intimidating & you're right, if I really have my heart set on being a dentist, my bills shouldn't be that hard to follow up with.

But just to mention a dental hygienist's average bi-weekly pay check is $1,817.62 w/ taxes removed and a dental assistant's average bi-weekly paycheck is $1,132.68. For being 20 by then, being able to attend college & having a SWEET (& pretty easy) work day, I'd be able to go to school & support myself without taking out a loan. I'm just considering it. Thanks!

bright_smilez May 17 2008, 01:42:42 UTC

Hygienists do go on to dental school, that's not unheard of, but (and I'm a recent dental hygiene graduate) I've heard that dental schools don't like to accept hygienists, they feel if you want to go to dental school, you should go right into it and not use dental hygiene as a stepping stone. This is just what I've heard through my rotations and such, and I'm not sure of the total validity. But I did have two classmates, in the top 10% of our class, who applied and didn't get in. Also, if you find a dental hygiene program that, from start to finish is only 2 years, that's pretty rare. I got a bachelors in a 3 year accelerated program, but even most of the community colleges you have to take a year of prequisites before starting actual program classes.

Also, the numbers you have for hygiene I'm assuming is for full time? I doubt you'd be able to work that much in undergrad or dental school. Dental hygiene is harder than people give it credit for.

torturedlonging May 17 2008, 17:32:37 UTC

Many states do not require DAs to be certified or to have completed a program. If you live in one of those states, you could get an entry level job in a dental office and get on the job training. I worked full time as a DA while I was completing my bachelor's degree and then went on to dental school. It worked very well for me. You definitely can not work and go to dental school at the same time. However, I did go back and assist in my old office on my breaks from school to earn extra cash. There was one former hygienist in the dental school during the time I was there and she worked one Saturday a month. She said that was all she could manage time-wise. I relied on scholarships and my DA salary to get me through undergrad. I took out loans for dental school and they're very manageable to pay off each month. They have not impacted my credit rating negatively and I actually think they boosted my score by around 100 points but I can't really confirm that ( ... )

jumpers May 18 2008, 00:45:13 UTC

What you've described sounds like what most people in my hygiene class who want to be dentists are doing. So I've definitely heard of it. You will need to take out loans. I mean, school is ridiculously expensive; not even factoring in living expenses. There are girls in my class who have already gotten their undergrad degrees (one in bio the other nutrition for the ones that want to be dentists) and as long as you do well on your DAT and have good grades and all the prerequisites I don't see why you wouldn't be a viable candidate to dental schools. Keep your eye on the prize though, DH school is a bitch!