Hi guys;

One of my friend recently graduated from BANGLADESH IN DENTISTRY. HE WANTS TO COME TO USA FOR FURTHER STUDIES. I HAVE SOME FRIENDS DOING THEIR MDS OUT HERE IN THE US, WHO LIVE IN DIFFERENT STATES. WHAT ARE THE PROCEDURES TO GET INTO DDS PROGRAM IN THE US?I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE THE INFO.

Where did he study? Dhaka Dental College || Pioneer Dental College || City Dental College || University Dental College || Any other Dental college ?

cyrus

Your friend a boy or a girl?

Check

www.ada.org

Man! it is gonna be tough. For those who have completed MBBS, they can look for residency in the US hospitals and Universities and get paid. But for those who did BDS, they have to study couple of more years and then apply for the job. Unfortunately, it is costly. FYI, log on to http://www.dental-resources.com/dented2.html

why dont u check these sites:
http://www.nyu.edu/Dental/,http://dental.columbia.edu/,http://www.sdm.buffalo.edu/,http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/(highly recommended)

Here are some of the things that I compiled

The “Foreign” Dental Graduates in the US do not enjoy the same privilege as the “Medical” graduates in the US. The Medical Graduates can take exams like ECFMG and apply for residency. The Dental Graduates have to go back to school for 2-3 years depending upon the school ( I have heard most schools want to make it four years) and take more exams- Regional Board to be able to practice in the US.

Here are some steps to be able to go to a dental school for DDS or DMD. (this does not apply for MS or Certification)

1. National Board Examination: Take National Board Examination. There are two parts. The first part is the basic science like Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Dental Anatomy etc. Some schools accepts application when you pass part I. The minimum score is 85%.

( I was going through the statistics and there are more than 5000 individuals taking this exam and hardly 250 get into dental school. This is becoming more competitive. Some schools demand 90%. They do not consider at all if you don’t have this kind of score. )

2. National Board Examination Part II- Some schools demand Part II (e.g. Tufts University) for your application to be considered with minimum of 85% score.

3. Tuition: Most of the universities charge around 40-60 thousand dollars per year for Tuition alone. There are more costs associated like living, transportation, books, sterilization, gowns, instruments etc may add to huge amount (60-100 K per year).
You can apply for loans provided that you have a co-signer (a US Resident or Citizen) but may not be guaranteed.

4. Scholarships: Generally are not available in DDS and DMD. However once you are a student, you may get partial scholarships.

5.Work: Foreign Dental Graduates are allowed to work as Dental Assistants in the US. Being a full time students and to work to pay for the tuition may be impossible. However, to cover other expenditure, foreign students may be able to work 20 hours a week, provided that they can prove financial hardship. If you can find a way to a Universty, one can obtain LIMITED LICENCE to practice dentistry without valid US DMD or DDS

6.Alternatively: There are Universities that offer DMD or DDS to retain the faculties. That means one has to be a faculty in the University for certain amount of time and prove that s/he will be a important and valuable member to the university. This is a lengthy procedure but one gets tuition waived and the courses are individually designed so becomes easier. In the mean time, one can practice dentistry within the University with limited license and your position in the university is retained. This information may be difficult to obtain as they do not want to encourage as there may be many faculties already in the queue.

More information can be obtained from www.ada.org (a good resourceand find out which schools offer International Programs) or individual schools that offer for DMD or DDS.

Email to xyngh@hotmail.com if you have more questions
also check www.tufts.edu, www.bu.edu, university of pacific
apart from New York University, Columbia, SUNY etc

The easier option is getting married to a person who has Green Card or Citizenship so that, at least, the finance part is taken care of.

Thanks a lot everyone for your valuable suggestions.

Good lick to your friend cyrus.

I agree with Shirish ji.

Almost all the states in the U.S. require DDS before they issue professional licenses to practice dentistry. BDS graduates from Bangladesh or anywhere in the world will have to do further studies. DDS program takes 4 years but foreign dental graduates can enroll in accelerated program, which shortens the time from 4 years to 3 years. Unfortunately, not all dental programs accredited by the ADA have that – so you’ll have to contact each to find out (http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/programs/search_ddsdmd_us.asp). The great thing about the accelerated program is that you don’t have to take DAT (equivalent to GRE, GMAT, LSAT and MCAT) but you might have to take the Board’s Part 1 exam (NBDE Part 1). You can take Part 2 once you enroll in the DDS program. Those exams are required to obtain a dental license. This ADA site provides information for foreign dental graduates, http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/students/foreign.asp.

For a Nepali, there are several challenges pursuing DDS in the U.S. First, the number of dental schools is very small – I think it’s fewer than medical schools – so it’s very competitive (Shirish ji has provided the dismal statistics). Second and more importantly, the cost is exorbitant – runs into hundreds of thousands of dollar. The cost is slightly lower in state schools but then you’ll have to prove your residency. If you are not a U.S. citizen or a Greencard holder or don’t have a superrich benefactor ;-) financing your DDS education would be almost impossible. The high cost of education is probably justified by the earning potential – the median salary of a typical dentist in the U.S. is about $120,000.

A Nepali with a BDS can seek a job as a dental assistant but it is not as easy as it sounds. Many employers don’t want to train dental assistants and seek experienced assistants or those who have graduated from dental assistant programs in the US. Also there are licensing issues such as one needs license to operate x-rays etc.

It is true that foreigners can apply for medical residency in the US with just MBBS but the other requirements are not easy (according to my understanding). Before foreigners can take Part 1 of the Board, they must have completed their medical internship and have practiced for at least one year in their home country. Also, residencies offered to foreigners are usually not in the best location – I guess that’s the compromise foreigner graduates have to make.

Gaule_hero

How come you know so much about Dentistry?

With my personal experience, 75 % of the students in the accelared DMD DDS Program, are Indians.

One More thing:

Since getting admitted is very competitive, its better for the candidate to have some extras like research experience.

Prople do have tendency to look down upon research but it may be a very advantageous during the selection process.
Plus the personal statement also matters a lot.

Who you know in the field can make the admission process hurdle less.