Studies & Degrees in Pre-Dentistry

Choose where you would like to study Pre-Dentistry:

Being a dentist, is indeed one of those professions that is very rewarding as almost everyone visits a dentist, not once and not twice, but on a recurring basis. However, the path to being an illustrious oral health doctor is not a straight one as an aspiring dentist would need first to take a required Pre-Dentistry course before actually the main course is served.

Pre-Dentistry is not necessarily a specific degree. For most schools offering Pre-Dentistry programs, they usually have a list of various math and science courses wherein most subjects or units can be credited if so a student decides to pursue a Doctor of Dentistry or Doctor of Dental Surgery program. However, some schools do offer a certificate or diploma programs for Pre-Dentistry wherein the enrollees are groomed to have a career in the dental industry like dental assistants, dental supplies and equipments representatives and whatever else except being a dentist.

Most colleges who offer a Dentistry program usually would list the following courses as eligible Pre-Dentistry courses: BS Biology, BS Chemistry, BS Physics, BS Social Science/Humanities and BS Biochemistry. Because Pre-Dentistry is a prelude to Dentistry, it is important that students indicate during their admission that their purpose is actually to get admitted to dental school. For example, a student got admitted to a BS Biology program but did not indicate he have plans to pursue Dentistry when he is about to graduate from his undergraduate course. The Office of the Registrar would have no choice but to turn him down because he did not register under the Pre-Dentistry program. This is the reason why Pre-Dentistry, as a program, was instituted in the first place, to filter fickle-minded students who might be bright enough to be admitted but not dedicated enough to finish up to becoming a licensed dentist. So, Pre-Dentistry programs are usually now in most famous universities and colleges because it is also a good way to control the volume of aspiring dentists which literally keep on increasing year-on-year. Usually, the schools require students under a Pre-Dentistry program to maintain a grade level; otherwise, they are withdrawn from the contention of being admitted to dental school.

On the point of view of the students, Pre-Dentistry gives them the luxury of having to focus on becoming dentists but really don’t tie them up to it. Because admission to dental school is a fierce arena, students are given leeway as to make a change of heart and actually pursue other fields of studies or options in life should they find that 8 years (the usual time to students become a stand alone licensed dentist) is not worth the while or later they will realize that extracting teeth and inserting hands on somebody else’s oral cavities, is the life they want would not want to lead. Should they realized that they don’t want to pursue dental school after Pre-Dentistry, then they can do so as they can pursue other fields as they have not actually started dental school yet.

If there is one medical profession that enjoys the perks of the title of being doctors, it is the dentists minus the stress of a patient whose life might depend on an operation. However, to become one, one has to pass Pre-Dentistry.