Which bachelor degree is the best for dentistry ?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the best undergraduate degrees for pursuing a career in dentistry. Participants explore various educational paths, including engineering and biology, and discuss the relevance of different degrees to dental school admissions and practice.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests mechanical engineering as a suitable background for dentistry due to its focus on materials and practical applications in dental work.
  • Another participant counters that dentists do not typically create prosthetics themselves, as this work is usually done by specialized labs.
  • A participant mentions that their cousin, currently in dental school, pursued a degree in biochemistry, implying it may be more relevant for dental admissions.
  • Some participants note that many schools offer pre-dental programs, often centered around biology degrees.
  • There is a discussion about the effectiveness of pre-dental programs, questioning why students in these programs sometimes perform poorly on admission tests like the MCAT.
  • One participant emphasizes that dental schools generally do not require a specific degree but rather a set of prerequisite courses, which can vary by institution.
  • Another participant reflects on the strategy of choosing easier courses to maintain a high GPA, while others consider their first degree as a backup plan for other career paths.
  • Concerns are raised about pursuing degrees that do not align with personal interests, with some participants expressing confusion over why individuals would choose such paths.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of opinions on the best degree for dentistry, with no consensus on a single preferred path. Disagreements arise regarding the relevance of mechanical engineering and the effectiveness of pre-dental programs.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference specific admission requirements for dental schools, indicating that these can vary significantly. There is also mention of the necessity of taking admission tests, which adds another layer of complexity to the discussion.

a_man
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I am a 2nd year university student. I want to go into dentistry after I get my bachelor but I am not sure which degrees would be the best for it.

I am thinking of mechanical engineering because material(silicons and metals) background is useful. Also, part of dentistry to make client's teeth so I think mechanical background would be helpful again.

Please let me know. As soon as I know what degrees to pursue, it would be life changing !
 
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a_man said:
I am a 2nd year university student. I want to go into dentistry after I get my bachelor but I am not sure which degrees would be the best for it.

I am thinking of mechanical engineering because material(silicons and metals) background is useful. Also, part of dentistry to make client's teeth so I think mechanical background would be helpful again.

Please let me know. As soon as I know what degrees to pursue, it would be life changing !
Dentists, at least in the US, do not make teeth or other prosthetics, that work is sent to labs that specialize in making them.

I would suggest that you find out more about which line of dentistry you wish to go into, family dentistry, cosmetic, periodontist, prostodontist, orthodontist, etc... and then speak to your school counselor to get suggestions for appropraite undergrad courses.
 
I don't see how mechanical engineering would be much useful to get into dentistry. My cousin is actually taking his DDS at the University of Toronto and got his degree in Biochemistry.
 
Here are the admission requirements for his school. No wonder he took biochemistry lol http://www.utoronto.ca/dentistry/admissions/DDSLit2011.pdf

You will also need to take a specific admission test before applying.
 
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A lot of schools offer Pre-dental programs, which are usually biology degrees.
 
NanjoeBot said:
A lot of schools offer Pre-dental programs, which are usually biology degrees.

I've always had a question about these pre- schools. They're suppose to prepare you for specific future studies, yet then how come there are often these stats showing that pre-meds and pre-law students are usually the ones that do worse at MCATs and LSATs respectively?
 
Sometimes it's interesting the breadth of questions that come up on these forums. One might wonder how physicists would be in a position to give advice about the entrance requirements for dentistry... but I guess there are a lot of students or previous students who have explored the options available to them.

Like medicine, for dentistry you generally don't need a specific degree to get in. Rather, you have to complete a set of prerequisite courses. These are likely to vary from school to school so it's worth your while to look them up at a few dentistry schools that you might be interested in attending and cover your bases. Beyond that, the degree is up to you.

Some people use a strategy of taking the easiest courses they can beyond the prerequisits to bump up their average and don't really care what they're learning so long as they get an A average.

Others look at the first degree as an an opportunity to establish a backup plan. Their path may not be as easy, but if they don't get into dentistry/medicine/law/grad school, they have a field they would be happy to enter - and sometimes even discover that other field is really where they belong anyway.
 
Choppy said:
Sometimes it's interesting the breadth of questions that come up on these forums. One might wonder how physicists would be in a position to give advice about the entrance requirements for dentistry... but I guess there are a lot of students or previous students who have explored the options available to them.

Like medicine, for dentistry you generally don't need a specific degree to get in. Rather, you have to complete a set of prerequisite courses. These are likely to vary from school to school so it's worth your while to look them up at a few dentistry schools that you might be interested in attending and cover your bases. Beyond that, the degree is up to you.

Some people use a strategy of taking the easiest courses they can beyond the prerequisits to bump up their average and don't really care what they're learning so long as they get an A average.

Others look at the first degree as an an opportunity to establish a backup plan. Their path may not be as easy, but if they don't get into dentistry/medicine/law/grad school, they have a field they would be happy to enter - and sometimes even discover that other field is really where they belong anyway.

Yeah, I agree with you on the last paragraph. I entered civil engineering because I want to do masters of architeture at UofT after I graduate from University of Waterloo.

But I think architeture is more close to art than engineering, and I am not really an artist.
Right now civil engineering is more of a backup plan, but it is not something I would like to do in the future.
 
Jokerhelper said:
Here are the admission requirements for his school. No wonder he took biochemistry lol http://www.utoronto.ca/dentistry/admissions/DDSLit2011.pdf

You will also need to take a specific admission test before applying.

Thank you so much. How did you find it ? I even contacted the UofT admission ppl and they did not even mention anything about this.

Is there I should know more if I want to go into dental school ?
 
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  • #10
I don't understand why someone would get a degree in something they don't like. That is just beyond me.
 
  • #11
hadsed said:
I don't understand why someone would get a degree in something they don't like. That is just beyond me.

Because they know better in the 1st place. lol It is true and pretty common in many programs
 
  • #12
Alright then. Have a nice life doing something you don't like.
 
  • #13
a_man said:
Thank you so much. How did you find it ? I even contacted the UofT admission ppl and they did not even mention anything about this.

Is there I should know more if I want to go into dental school ?

http://www.utoronto.ca/dentistry/
 
Last edited by a moderator:

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