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The 'DMD' degree, referring to 'Doctor of Dental Medicine' denotes one of a few degrees that are awarded for dentists, the others being Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS), Bachelor of Dentistry (BDent), or Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS)or(B.Ch.D), all of which are equivalent degrees for the practice of Dentistry.
The first use of the DMD degree (which stood for "Dentariae Medicinae Doctorae") was in 1867 by the Harvard University Dental School (now known as the Harvard School of Dental Medicine), which the ADA describes as "the first university-affiliated dental institution." ^[1]

Contents

Pre-Dental Education in the US

Dental Education/Training in the US

Dental Specialties

Licensing Exams

References

Pre-Dental Education in the US

In order to earn a dental degree at most US dental schools, at least some undergraduate education is required (although nearly every dental school requires at least a bachelor's degree). There is no mandatory course of study while an undergraduate other than satisfactorily completing the requisite "pre-dental" courses; these typically include one year of organic chemistry, general biology, chemistry and physics) and a single year of English. Although the majority of dental schools only require the aforementioned courses, other schools have requirements beyond these, such as a single year of calculus, a single course on biochemistry, anatomy, physiology or microbiology. In addition to the core prerequisites and recommended courses, the Dental Admissions Test (DAT) is also required. The DAT is usually taken during the spring semester of one's junior year. Almost every dental school requires an interview before admissions can be granted. The interview is designed to evaluate the motivation, character and personality of the applicant. It is often a crucial step in the admissions process. The vast majority of dental students majored in a science (biology, biochemistry or chemistry); however, this is not required and many students elected to major in a non-science related field such as, English, Art History, Business, History, Sociology or Psychology. Dental school is becoming increasingly harder to get into. Nearly 12,000 applicants applied for the class of 2011 for approximately 4,300 spots. The average dental school applicant admitted in 2006 for the class of 2010 had an overall GPA of 3.52 and a Science GPA of 3.44. Additionally, the mean DAT Academic Average for the class of 2010 was 19.29 and a Perceptual Ability Test (PAT) score of 18.42; however, many dental schools expect much more. The following is a small list of the statistics for the class of 2010:

Dental Education/Training in the US

Dental school is four academic years in duration and is similar in format to medical school--consisting of two years of basic medical and dental sciences, followed by two years of clinical training (with continued didactic coursework). Before graduating, every dental student must successfully complete the National Board Dental Examination Part I and II (commonly referred to as NBDE I & II). The NBDE Part I is usually taken at the end of the second year after the majority of the didactic courses have been completed. The NBDE Part I covers anatomic sciences, biochemistry, physiology, microbiology, pathology, and dental anatomy and occlusion. The NBDE Part II is usually taken during winter of the last year of dental school and consists of operative dentistry, pharmacology, endodontics, periodontics, oral surgery, pain control, prosthodontics, orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, oral pathology, and radiology. NBDE Part I scores are of importance when considering residency training after graduating from dental school.
After graduating, the vast majority of new dentists go directly into practice while a small percentage of dentists apply to a residency program. Some residency programs train dentists in advanced general dentistry such as General Practice Residencies and Advanced Education in General Dentistry Residencies, commonly referred to as GPR and AEGD. Most GPR and AEGD programs are one year in duration but several are two years long or provide an optional second year. GPR programs are usually affiliated with a hospital and thus require the doctor to treat a wide variety of patients including trauma, critically ill, and medically compromised patients. Additionally, GPR programs require residents to rotate through various department within the hospital such anesthesia, internal medicine, and emergency medicine to name a few. AEGD programs are usually in a dental school setting where the focus is treating complex cases in a comprehensive manner.

Dental Specialties

There are 9 recognized dental specialties in the US, Canada, and Australia. To become a specialist requires one to train in a residency or advanced graduate training program. Once residency is completed, the doctor is granted a certificate of training. Many specialty programs have optional or required advanced degrees such as (MD or MBBS specific to Maxillofacial Surgery), MS, or PhD.

★ Orthodontics: 2-3 years

★ Endodontics: 2-3 years

★ Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery: 4-6 years (additional time for MD/MBBS degree granting programs)

★ Periodontics: 3 years

★ Prosthodontics: 3 years (a Prosthdontist may elect to sub-specialize in Maxillofacial Prosthetics which requires an additional year of training after completing a prosthodontic program)

★ Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology: 3 years

★ Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology: 3 years

★ Pediatric Dentistry: 2 years

★ Dental Public Health: 1-2 years

Licensing Exams

To practice, a dentist must pass a licensing examination administered by an individual state or more commonly a region. There are a handful of states that maintain independent dental licensing examinations while the majority accept a regional board examination. The Northeast Regional Board (NERB), Western Regional Board (WREB), Central Regional Dental Testing Service (CRDTS), and Southern Regional Testing Agency (SRTA) are the four regional testing agencies that administer licensing examinations. Once the examination is passed, the dentist may then apply to individual states that accept the regional board test passed. Each state requires one to pass an ethics/jurisprudence examination as well before a license is granted. To maintain one's dental license the doctor must complete Continuing Education (CE) courses periodically. This promotes the continued exploration of knowledge. The amount of CE required varies from state to state but is generally 10-24 CE hours a year.

References

ADA Website