U.S. Dental Education
In the U.S. there are approximately 4,000 new dentists graduating each year, but most of these are not ready for independent private practice. Most require additional training, and then upon entering the market-place they find a variety of practical environments, depending on location and demographics. Some dentists are motivated to build upscale practices serving the needs of wealthy, esthetics-driven communities. Some are happy with "bread and butter" practices in smaller, more blue-collar communities.
It is a sad fact of life that dental education, in general, whether overseas or North American, is in many ways inadequate to serve the needs of the new graduate. There are typically not enough patients at the school to guarantee a large range of experiences. Some faculty do not take every opportunity to show students how to do things quickly and with precision. Many subjects that are important in practice cannot be covered with thoroughness during the undergraduate program. The very strict guidelines imposed by the ADA on school accreditation makes it harder every year to cover the clinical sciences adequately. We have courses at DDS that are specifically designed to compensate for these problems.
The Dental Practice
It is important to realize that in many communities there are not enough dentists to cover the needs - in other communities establishing a successful dental practice is very competitive. For many years we at Duggan Dental Studies have helped dentists get licensed to practice dentistry, in California and elsewhere. We have helped dentists develop the skills, attitudes and patient management approach to succeed in Clinical Dentistry Exams - and have seen thousands take what we have taught as a great help in finding their way in establishing practice careers - in any environment.
Relation of Exam Preparation to Practice
In several states, the number of dentists seeking to start practices does not cover
the needs of the communi ty. Several years ago Minnesota reached out to the foreign-dentist community to find qualified practitioners to cover their needs. In California, for decades there has been a pathway whereby foreign-educated dentists can achieve licensure by examination. The California Restorative Technique and Clinical Board Exams have long been thought of as being the most difficult in the U.S. For decades, few graduates trained elsewhere in the U.S. have success on the CA Clinical Exam, and more recently graduates from CA schools have limited success - passing rates of 50% or less are common for CA schools. On the other hand, only foreign dentists need to take the RT exam, and it is even more difficult to pass than the Clinical Exam. DDS has worked with over 3500 dentists to help them pass the RT and more than this, from the U.S. and overseas, to help pass the Clinical Exam. Moreover, the emphasis in all of our courses is not simply the goal of passing exams, but in achieving a comprehension of all principles, concepts, strategies and skills that relate to the dentistry that must be demonstrated to pass. It has long been our contention that a Board Exam is not a test of what you know, but a challenge to you to learn as much more as possible, to extend your reach and grasp of the subtleties of dentistry as much as possible before you take such an exam. At DDS our Mission is to help you do this and we have the very best track record in the field.
Since the "Cal Board" is now discontinued and the WREB is taking its place, our emphasis is in preparation for this exam and for all of the other Regional Dental Board Exams throughout the country - which tend to be graded more easily, but have become, nevertheless, more challenging over the years. The emphasis is on patient selection and we have unique materials and programs to help with this. For the board exams that require manikin preparations, many people need a lot of work in that area - the focus is on much more refined preparations that usually encountered in dental practice.
Continuing Education
At Duggan Dental Studies we also have courses that make up for deficiencies that do not relate to subjects tested on Exams. Our Endodontic Course will show you how to get comfortable performing multiple canal procedures by simulating the patient's mouth as closely as possible. Our Implant-Borne Prosthetic Program is more thorough than any other course in the field, so that no matter what your previous training, you can feel confident in this discipline. Our Gateway Restorative Program goes far beyond simple procedures to look at what skills are really necessary to do the most conservative restorations, whatever the existing conditions and patient needs.
University-Based International Dental Programs
In recent years a new challenge has been added for the foreign dentist - CA has now limited the licensure-by-examination pathway so that few dentists in 2009 - 2010 will have this available to them. This has made the providing of adequate service in many communities very challenging. In response to this unmet need for trained dentists and the desire of overseas dentists to practice in the U.S., many schools have expanded their "International Dentist" programs, whether they be independent programs or Advanced Standing undergraduate programs. Even with this expansion, the increased demand for admission has made entrance very competitive. Practical entrance examinations are designed to evaluate an applicants skills in areas that they hope to learn when attending school - and in most cases didn't have the opportunity to learn at their undergraduate institution. At DDS we have courses specifically designed to help with this, making up for many of the deficiencies of undergraduate training.
Our Mission:
Our mission at DDS is to provide the highest quality educational program available anywhere. In many areas we have succeeded in this and the enthusiastic endorsement of our students bears this out. For 15 years our classes have filled due to word-of-mouth referrals from previous students, often spouses and relatives!
Unlike undergraduate teaching institutions world-wide, at DDS the multifactorial teaching strategy places emphasis on concepts, on faculty showing you how to do precise work and how to precisely improve your work, and on seeing exactly what we are showing you through unique technologies. In achieving this goal we have helped innumerable dentists get licensed, find positions in educational institutions, and come to an understanding of dental principles and practical considerations that will help them in good stead throughout their careers.
Our Uniqueness
Our courses are uniformly designed to start from the beginning, initial concepts, and work logically toward practical skills. If you feel you are a "beginner" these courses are for YOU. Our carefully thought-out and strategic course plans are nothing like the quick weekend "show-and-tell" courses that you find in most areas of study. Our Implant-Borne Prosthetics, our IDP, our Endodontics, and Gateway Programs are particularly unique in the field in their approach, utility, emphasis on one-on-one training, and generation of true INSIGHTS. Our faculty are highly experienced dental school educators who have made their life's-goal teaching from the "ground up" and who absolutely love teaching people with a will to learn. If you have this will, we will thoroughly enjoy meeting your every demand!
And - be sure to check out the ONLINE learning experience you can get at DDS on our DDSeClass.com website. We are working constantly to add new courses to this site. The first is the Clinical Patient Archives - a unique program to help you choose board patients wisely. Our second course will be up in December 2009, the IDP Online - hands-on but not in-house preparation for Advanced Standing Admissions Practical Exams. In January we plan to have our NBDEI course online, which will provide memory-driven material to help you optimize your results on this important exam for International Dentists and U.S. dental students alike.
Best Regards,
D. Michael Duggan
P.S. Please visit our new blog where you'll find a wealth of information, be able to ask questions, and give feedback!
Duggan's International Dentist Blog