Dental School: Preparation, Survival and Success Now Available

My new book, "Dental School: Preparation, Survival and Success" is now available.

Many times on this blog, people have asked questions about the dental school experience.  They have asked, "How do I get into dental school?"or, "What courses should I take?"  I have compiled answers to these and many more questions into my new book.  It will be available on Amazon starting about February 1st 2012.

Have you ever wanted to become a Dentist or Orthodontist?  This book covers not only how to get in, but what dental school is really like, how to excel, and how to succeed the difficult years of study. Postgraduate residency in specialties like Orthodontics, Oral Surgery and Pediatric Dentistry are covered in addition to business aspects of the profession and options after graduation including sitting up a practice and employment opportunities.  I have also included a section on The Internet, Dentistry and Social Media.

If you or anyone you know is considering dental or medical school, or you just want to find out what it takes to become a dentist, this book will provide lots of answers.  I have included data on tuition and financial costs, the DAT, in addition to personal experiences and advice.

The foreword is written by Dr, Nido Qubein, the president of High Point University.

Please purchase the book and write a great review!  Here is the link:

"Dental School: Preparation, Survival, and Success"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0615507891

How Hard Is It To Get Into Dental School?

How competitive is it to get into dental school?  I have addressed this in my book in some detail, but want to add this interesting chart (I hope you can see it-click it to enlarge slightly):

This is a long term view of the popularity of dental school.  The red line is the number of applications, the blue line is the number of positions available.  In the year 2010, there were 12,202 applications for 5089 slots.  There are times where applications fell and other times where the number of applications rose.  You can see the overall trend that there are more applications per opening now than in the recent past.  So, is this a more competitive environment?  Yes.  However, this is data can be somewhat misleading if you are to conclude one has no chance.  Decisions on entrance are made one student at a time.  If all the additional applicants in recent years have a less attractive resume than you, then it does not matter as much whether there are more applicants or not.  The striking thing to me is the greater desire of students to select dentistry as a career and the rather limited number of slots in dental schools to meet that demand.

I have talked to many a physician, and have seen medicine become a less attractive field than it might have been in previous years.  Also, in times of economic downturn, the stability of a profession like dentistry becomes more attractive--and more competitive.