Characterization of school of dentistry prerequisite courses and recommendations for admission

Abstract

Purpose There is minimal research characterizing admission prerequisites courses across schools of dentistry. The purpose of this study was to typify didactic and laboratory course requirements and compare requirements based on institution demographics. Methods In July 2019, the researchers evaluated websites from 76 North American dental schools to collect information on required and recommended courses, credit hour requirements, and institution demographics. Sub‐group analyses evaluated differences in course and credit hour differences based on institution funding, degree program, location, and Carnegie Classification. Results The most common required courses were general chemistry (97.4%), physics (93.4%), organic chemistry (92.1%), general biology (90.8%), communication (86.8%), and biochemistry (80.3%). The most common required laboratory courses were general chemistry (63.2%), organic chemistry (59.2%), general biology (55.3%), and physics (51.3%). Several institutions included unique course recommendations such as histology (40.7%), psychology (30.3%), art (18.4%), business (18.4%), sociology (15.8%), and embryology (14.5%). There were few differences based on institution classifications; however, differences were observed most often between institutions within and outside the United States. The study also identified 65.8% (n = 50) of schools have letter of recommendation requirements and 46.1% (n = 35) of schools require or recommend shadowing experiences with programs requesting a median of 60 hours (range 20‐300 hours). Conclusions The study offers a contemporary characterization of prerequisite requirements and recommendations. In addition, the study raises critical questions about whether these standards reflect expectations for entering learners, if these requirements truly relate to learner success, and if these requirements prepare learners to be future‐ready graduates.

Courses that Impact the Terminal Efficiency in the Dentistry Career at the University of Costa Rica (2007-2014)

“…However, even though the basic courses are not part of the curriculum, it does not imply that the failure rate is low. An investigation into the characterization of prerequisite courses for dental schools and admission recommendations in the United States indicates that general chemistry, physics, organic chemistry, general biology, and biochemistry were the most failed courses (20).…”

“…Además, deben de cumplir con 100 horas de observación directa de un odontólogo en un entorno de atención al paciente, y entregar al menos dos cartas de recomendación de los profesores de ciencias que haya tenido el estudiante a nivel universitario (18,19). No obstante, a pesar de que los cursos básicos no forman parte del plan de estudios, no quiere decir que la reprobación sea baja, ya que una investigación sobre la caracterización de los cursos de requisitos previos de la escuela de odontología y recomendaciones para la admisión en Estados Unidos indica que los cursos de química general, física, química orgánica, biología general y bioquímica fueron los reprobados con mayor frecuencia (20).…”

The impact of COVID‐19 on dental school admissions: A student and faculty perspective

“… 4 Some students did not meet the lab requirement of some pre‐dental courses due to quarantine restrictions. 5 …”