A Fast Track to Dental Careers

Concern about a dental workforce not large enough to reach all Americans is ubiquitous these days. While many solutions are being bantered about, some dental schools are taking a unique approach: a pathway from an undergraduate degree to dental school.

Recently, Indiana University (IU) Fort Wayne announced a new program that provides a pathway for undergraduate dental technology students to enter IU School of Dentistry in Indianapolis. Participants will earn a baccalaureate degree in dental technology while also receiving mentoring, research opportunities, clinic-based learning, and study support for the Dental Admission Test.

Students in the program who complete dental school prerequisites, 100 hours of shadowing in a dental practice, and an admission interview, as well as scoring well on the Dental Admission Test, will receive preferred admission into the dental school.

Other schools offer similar programs including Lyon College’s Dental Early Admission Program, Touro University’s Dental Honors Pathway, and University of North Carolina Pembroke and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Early Assurance Program.

Dental hygienists are also offered pathways to expanding their career options. Loma Linda University and New York University College of Dentistry both offer programs for dental hygiene students to earn the prerequisites required for dental school. Forsyth School of Dental Hygiene and the University of Michigan offer accelerated pathways for students to go from an Associate of Science to a Master of Science in Dental Hygiene.

Dental school applications are at an all-time high and there are not enough dental hygiene schools to keep up with demand for these important dental team members. Will these pathway programs make a difference? That remains to be seen. Click here to read more.