Pre-Dental Requirements: Courses You’ll Need for Dental School

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What’s Covered:

• What Does Pre-Dental Mean and How Long Does it Take?
• What Other Classes Should You Take as a Pre-Dental Student?
• Popular Majors for Dental Students
• What are the Other Dental School Requirements or Recommended Activities?
• Important Resources for Pre-Dental Students

If you’re interested in becoming a dentist, you may be wondering how you can prepare for your career starting in college. In this post, we’ll cover the pre-dental curriculum requirements before entering dental school.

Typically, becoming a dentist takes 8 years: 4 years of undergrad and 4 years of dental school. However, for students who are set on the career path in high school, joint BS/DDS programs exist that allow students to complete both dental and medical school in as few as 5 or 6 years. If you’re in high school and curious about how to become a dentist, check out this post on steps to take from high school to become a dentist.

What Does Pre-Dental Mean and How Long Does it Take?

Pre-Dental is a career track in college, not a major. Pre-dental classes are often required in order to apply to dental school, but these courses are not a part of a specific major. Each dental school has different pre-dental requirements as well as recommended courses, so you should look into the specific requirements for each college before making your course selections. Generally, however, dental schools may require some of the following classes:

• Biology (8 hours with lab)
• Chemistry (8 hours with lab)
• Organic chemistry (8 hours with lab)
• English (8 hours)
• Physics (8 hours)
• Anatomy (8 hours)
• Mathematics

After completing a major and required coursework for dental school, students must prepare for the Dental Admission Test (DAT). This exam tests students on biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, perceptual ability, reading comprehension, and quantitative reasoning. The test takes 4 hours and 15 minutes to complete.

What Other Classes Should You Take as a Pre-Dental Student?

Besides required courses for dental school as well as your major, some schools suggest that students take calculus or statistics, psychology, and even business or a foreign language. These classes not only show that you are prepared for dental school, but also that you have a well-rounded course load that has exposed you to many different disciplines.

Popular Majors for Dental Students

Students who are on the pre-dental track often pursue science majors, but it is not required. Here are a few of the most common majors for pre-dental students:

• Biology: According to the American College Dental Association, the majority of students considering a dental career major in biology or chemistry. The topics covered in the biology major provide a solid foundation in health and medicine and also prepare students for the biology section of the DAT. Additionally, students in the biology major take classes in anatomy and genetics, furthering their knowledge of human health.

• Chemistry: This is another popular major for pre-dental students. Chemistry can be an excellent major since many classes are lab-based, which will prepare you for classes in dental school. Additionally, chemistry majors are often involved in research at their universities which can look great on dental school applications.

• Biomedical Engineering: This can be another great option for pre-dental students. Students in this major have the best of both worlds–they understand the biological systems and processes as well as the engineering concepts. Biomedical engineers can make great dentists because they understand how inventions in dental technology, such as dentures or implants, impact patients from a biological and engineering perspective. Many students with this major also pursue dental research.