Course Designed to help with Entrance Examinations and Pre Clinical Review courses for the U.S Dental Schools.

Many schools in the U.S. now offer several types of undergraduate positions to foreign-trained dentists.  The programs can be independent, stand-alone programs where there is separation  from the usual 4-year undergraduate in most classes and clinical situations.  There are also International Dental Programs that have separate administrations but the students are largely merged with the undergraduate population.  An Advanced Standing program is another option, where individual students are admitted in the second year or even third year of the curriculum,  but otherwise are not distinguished from 4-year students.

Stand-alone IDP programs include Loma Linda, USC, UCSF and NYU.  These programs range from 16 - 100 students per year, and there are approximately 1000 applicants in the pool each year.  Admissions is based on established education and practice records, NDB I score (and NDC II if required), personal interviews and usually on what you can DO.  There is the chance in these stand-alone programs that the faculty are specifically dedicated to teaching more mature and motivated students.

A variety of entrance examinations are given at different schools, some involving hand-held typodont preparations, some maniken-mounted in patient simulators.  Preparations can be any operative or fixed procedure. 

In order to prepare for these examinations it is important to have a complete and thorough understanding of all aspects of a variety of preparations, why we do them, how they are designed based on the restorative material and tooth characteristics, and HOW to do them.  In order to demonstrate proficiency in DOING, we have learned that comprehension is a key.  Every preparation design requires a strategic approach for doing the preparation.  We will show you how to do safe, fast, precise preparations either hand-held, or in a maniken making effective use of a mirror.  We teach so that you can take the same approach to patient restoration, and this will suffice to give you a stand-out performance in any examination you are required to take.

Many of our students over the years have told us after one or two years in university programs that they actually learned more from DDS in our IDP or RT courses than they have learned to date at their schools!  This is an exaggeration in some areas, surely, but our goal to teach knowledge-driven procedures and skills is certainly unmatched anywhere - and our level of concentration cannot be achieved in overcrowded school curricula.  Also, or course, the dedication and drive of our students is far beyond that demonstrated in typical 4-year undergraduates.

There are few school programs geared to the special and unique attributes and needs of foreign-trained dentists who have made the move to the U.S. to realize their dreams through dental education!

Applicants to U.S. school programs can take several different DDS courses of study, depending upon the amount of time they have to prepare.  The IDP course is a condensed 9-day program covering a variety of procedures in a short period, for those who move here for the course and have a limited time.  This program can meet twice per week for 3 1/2 weeks, or for 9 contiguous days.  Often people put this course off until the Fall, since most examinations are offered in Octover or November.  However, to better insure success, it is always better to begin preparation early!  Of course, it is tempting to wait until your initial application has been reviewed and, making the first cut, you are invited to the exam -  but that is not the best approach.  On the other hand, if you begin your courses early, you can demonstrate in your initial application that you are really motivated, by listing our DDS classes in your resume.  Most schools know our classes well and have seen many students come through that have impressed them with their insights due to participating in our courses.  If you start the course early and can choose an offering that is extended out over a longer time period, you can also have more opportunities to do homework between classes and learn from the experience of having your work critiqued and corrected during the next class!

To the extent that NDBI scores are important, and they are VERY important at some schools you can also avail yourself of our DVD program for NDBI preparatioin!  In it you will experience many university professors covering topics for which they have considerable expertise in knowledge and communication.

We can help you in several ways to look very attractive to the schools you apply to, but it is vital that you begin the preparation process as soon as possible!

We now are instituting a NEW EIGHTEEN DAY program, specifically for those candidates that want to get an early start, and take the time to do everything more thoroughly than we can in the nine day course.  This course outline will be posted soon.  It is particularly important for those planning to take early practical exams during the year, for example the Univ. Colorado exams in May, who feel that their training puts them at a disadvantage.  In this program we can really make a difference in your skill level and entire outlook on conservative dentistry.  You will come to understand and do things that you never thought possible!