- Certain types of classes are required to become a dentist.two dentist image by Andrey Kiselev from Fotolia.com
Becoming a dentist in the United States is similar to becoming a doctor in that dentists, too, need to acquire a bachelor's degree and then complete four years of graduate education. Dentists, however, complete their graduate coursework in dentistry school. Classes that dentistry students take are comprised of general science coursework as well as specific classes around the human mouth and teeth, pharmacy and radiology. Upon graduation a dentist will earn a doctorate of dental surgery (DDS). Dentists must then obtain a license to practice with their state's dental board. - Before you can apply to dentistry school, you must graduate from a college or university with a bachelor's degree. Often, students interested in dentistry will complete a bachelor in science degree that will generally be in a field such as biology or chemistry, but that is not required. Dentistry students can major in most anything, but they are required to take so many science and other courses before they are eligible for enrollment.
For example, the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry requires that accepted students complete six semester units of English, three units of general psychology, eight units of biology with a lab, eight units of inorganic or general chemistry with a lab, eight units of organic chemistry with a lab and eight units of physics with a lab and complete three units of biochemistry. These requirements are fairly standard at most dentistry schools, but you should check with each dentistry school for specific requirements. - During the first and second year of dentistry school students typically take classes in basic sciences focused around human tissues and the molecular, cellular and human organ systems. Students also will be introduced to technical dental coursework, dental literature and ethical concepts.
An example of classes first-year dentistry students take at University of Oklahoma School of Dentistry and the University of North Carolina School of Dentisty include dental biochemistry, applied dental materials, general descriptive chemistry, general histology, oral histology, articulation and occlusion. Other possible classes include course work in orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, clinical endodontics, pharmacology, geriatric dentistry and dentures. - The third and fourth years of dentistry school expose students to the physical application of dentistry. Students are mentored in a dentist setting, and are instructed and mentored as they work on actual patients. Students can practice dentistry in a small office setting or in a hospital at this point, but they are still considered to be in training until they complete their graduate studies and receive their DDS. Example classes during this phase of dentistry school are comprehensive care clinic, oral radiology clinic and hospital dentistry clinic rotation.
