How to Become a Dentist

Series Summary

Careers in the medical field are vast and varied, ranging from physicians, nurses and surgeons to dentists, optometrists and speech pathologists. Requiring many years of intense education and training, medical careers are a lifelong pursuit, usually requiring not only a bachelor's and master's degree, but also a doctorate in a specific field. Medical careers are ideal for the individual who holds a passion for helping and healing others in a very specified and personal way. In this free video series on career information, a practice administrator discusses several medical careers and their respective requirements. Learn about what kind of undergraduate education is necessary to become a doctor, a neurosurgeon or a registered nurse. Find out specifics about getting into medical school, and calculate the number of years one must commit to formal education for different medical field careers. Find the right path to take to pursue a career in the world of medicine.

Video Transcript

"Hello, my name is Mark MacBayne. I'm a practice administrator for hematology oncology and adult bone marrow transplant at UC San Francisco Medical Center. I'm going to talk today about how to become a dentist. First in becoming a dentist you need to attend a four year college or university. Typically one would study a course of science whether that be biology or chemistry or physics, something in the sciences although that is not necessary. However, if one chooses a major not in the sciences, you would need to complete all the required prerequisites for a dental school. Typically this consists of a year of chemistry, two years of biology, a year of physics and a year of calculus. Then when you are near completion of your undergraduate studies, you would take the DAT. That's the entrance exam for dental school. All students applying for dental school must this exam. It's a standardized test that's used to rate relative performance of students. You'll also want to insure that you keep your GPA high during your undergraduate career. Applications to dental school are very competitive and one will be, can be judge primarily on your GPA and your undergraduate GPA as well as your scores on the entrance exam. Having completed the entrance exam, you'd apply to dental school which is a four year commitment. Upon completion of your four years of dental school, you would typically do some training under a existing practicing dentist and then are ready to take the licensing exam and practice in the state of your choice. Again, my name is Mark MacBayne, practicing administrator for hematology oncology and adult bone marrow transplant at UCSF Medical Center."