Dentistry

Dentists do more than diagnose and treat problems of the teeth, mouth, tongue, lips, and jaws.  They are sometimes the first health care professionals to identify a health problem and guide patients to additional medical care.  A variety of specialties allow dental students to tailor their career to their talents: some—like oral surgery—are largely medical; others—like cosmetic dentistry—require aesthetic capabilities.  From pediatric to geriatric dentistry, there are many opportunities to improve the health and quality of life for patients.

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Required Classes for Dentistry

Required courses	Chem 464 - Biochemistry I & 464L
Entrance exam	DAT exam
Suggested courses	Biol 488 Molecular immunobiology  BIOL 487 Diagnostic parasitology BIOL 498 -- Undergraduate research BIOL 423 -- Pathogenesis (we don't currently offer this but we should bring it back; Dr. Racz would like to teach it) Emerging and re-emerging diseases (no course number yet)
Shadowing hours	50 hours of dental shadowing generally required

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Required Classes for All Medical Majors

Biology courses	BIOL 151 -- General Biology I & 151L Lab - 4  BIOL 153 -- General Biology II & 153L Lab - 4 BIOL 221 -- Human Anatomy & 221L BIOL 326 -- Biomedical Physiology & 326L BIOL 331 -- Microbiology & 331L 381L Lab - 4 BIOL 371 -- Genetics & 371L Lab - 4
Chemistry courses	CHEM 112 -- General Chemistry I & 112L Lab - 4 CHEM 114 -- General Chemistry II & 114L Lab - 4 CHEM 326 -- Organic Chemistry I & 326L Lab - 5 CHEM 328 -- Organic Chemistry II & 328L Lab - 5
Math courses	MATH 123 -- Calculus - 4 MATH 281 -- Introductory Statistics - 3 or Math 381 Probability and Statistics
Physics courses	PHYS 111 -- Introduction to Physics I & 111L Lab - 4 PHYS 113 -- Introduction to Physics II & 113L Lab - 4
Social Science courses	PSYC 101 -- General Psychology - 3 SOC 100 -- General sociology
English courses	Met through SDBOR general education requirements
Suggested electives	BIOL 375 Current Bioethical issues Epidemiology (no course number yet) SOC 411 Licit and Illicit Drugs SOC 420 Alcohol Use and Abuse

Student Resources

Professional Schools, Application, and Entrance Information

• American Dental Education Association (ADEA)
• Dental School Application Information
• Accredited Dental Schools
• American Dental Association (ADA)

Entrance Exam

Dental schools require the Dental Admission Test as an entrance exam. Learn more about the DAT here.

Selected Regional Programs

• Creighton University School of Dentistry / Omaha, NE
• Oregon Health & Science University School of Dentistry / Portland, OR
• University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine / Denver, CO
• University of Iowa College of Dentistry / Iowa City, IA
• University of Minnesota School of Dentistry / Minneapolis, MN
• University of Nebraska Medical Center, School of Dentistry / Lincoln, NE
• University of Nevada School of Dental Medicine / Las Vegas, NV
• University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry / Oklahoma City, OK

Important Note:

Consult the admissions/application web pages of the professional programs for information on required pre-requisite courses and admissions tests, application procedures, and application deadlines. Some professional/graduate programs will not accept AP or CLEP credits, online courses, or correspondence courses for the core science and math pre-requisite requirements. Many programs also require that all pre-requisite coursework be completed within a certain period of time, e.g., within 5 years prior to application. Policies vary by school and program. Be sure you know the requirements.

Contact Us

If you have questions about any of our pre-med programs, call (605) 394-2447.