International Dentists in US - Orientation - Posting#1

International Dentists - Posting #1

This Blog Set is directed specifically to dentists who were graduated overseas and are looking for the opportunity to practice in the U.S. It is estimated that there are approximately 1000 dentists per year who fall into this category. Considering the range of experience and performance on standardized examinations, foreign graduates can hope to enter dental school in the U.S. during the third or junior year.

Admissions to U.S. dental schools with advanced-standing status is extremely competitive – there are approximately 400 places available each year. Performance on National Board Dental Examinations must for many schools be better than the national average of U.S. dental students, proficiency in English must be demonstrated, and for most of the positions a competitive practical examination is required.

At Duggan Dental Studies, our goal is to help in whatever way possible the foreign graduate to successfully navigate the challenges to dental school admissions. Our NBDE I program will be online in coming months – we already have 65 DVDs of recorded and edited material for this exam. Our Fundamentals of Restorative Techniques course has been widely popular to help with the practical examinations. We are about to expand our FRT program to another, 18-day offering, for those who can stay longer and further refine their skills and understanding. Also, international dentists who gain acceptance into an advanced-standing program must be aware that in most schools these are provisional acceptances, dependent upon performance in a “summer review” program. Once “accepted” it is very useful to work on advancing skill levels further, to guarantee excellent progress in these school reviews. If you have already taken one of our FRT programs, our 18-day clinical dentistry review is deal preparations for whatever your admitting school might throw at you – virtually guaranteeing the making of a very favorable impression during your first months.

Most of the foreign graduates that work with me at DDS have never done a crown on a patient before, or very few. Most have never been taught to do preparations with a strategy so that the least tooth structure is removed and the remaining structure is very refined in form. Most have never been taught the rationale for materials selection and for preparation decisions based on the nature of the problem and the characteristics of the available materials. Most have never been taught how to LOOK and what must be SEEN while doing a dental preparation. Most have never been taught how to use a handpiece and bur with the kind of precision that gives pleasure each and every day of your life in dental practice. We make up for all of this with our FRT program.

Posting #1 is for general questions about dentistry in the U.S., dental schools in the U.S., how dental faculty think, what the 4-year traditional students are like, what a teaching career is like, what dental practice is like, and anything else that comes to mind. Other posting threads will cover: #2. Schools with Advanced Standing Programs and their requirements; #3. Practical Examinations at various schools; #4. Detailed questions about class II amalgam preparations; #5. Detailed questions about full gold crown preparations; #6. Detailed questions about porcelain-fused-to-metal crown preparations; #7. Detailed questions about partial veneer crowns – including ¾ and 7/8 crowns; #8. Detailed questions about gold onlays; #9. Detailed questions about class II composite and class III composite restorations.

We will attempt to use these postings both as question-answer sessions with me providing the answers, and also where responders can contribute their own input – perhaps about what particular schools are looking for, what they gave on the last exam, etc. Postings #1, #2, and #3 will often be seen to work like forums.

All questions regarding preparations in the Postings #4 – 9 will be answered in words as completely and well as possible, but some mental image of the preparations will be very helpful. This can either be obtained from a standard textbook on the subject, or from our models with DVDs that are available. These are articulated models with a variety of preparations done in a manikin , using a mirror, and recorded with a loupe-mounted video camera so you can look in the mirror with me! We will also be posting pictures and short videos to further illustrate some of the points made.

We also have an online course which was recorded from a Fundamentals of Restorative Techniques program given a few months ago. All lectures and presentations are presented as well as demonstrations and evaluations and modifications of student work, done with the recording “point-of-view” camera, developed at DDS. We are planning that this online course will be ready for registration before the end of September.

At DDS and its precursor company, Duggan Study Institute, we have trained over 3500 international dentists for various examinations throughout the country. It is likely that no one in the world has worked on as many preparations with students as I have – and I would very much like to add you to the rolls of successful graduates from our programs. We proud of our record over the last 17 years and still get most of our students as referrals from those who have studied with us before.