Becoming a dentist from a non accredited US-CA School and Coming back to the States.

Hi everyone, I am currently a senior in highschool in the States. Im planning on going to Pakistan for BDS and coming back to the States. I have done quite a bit of research, so I thought I'd share what I know so far.

In order to practice dentistry in the US or Canada from a NON US or CA accredited school, you have to take a program for 2-3 years(most are 2yrs). These programs are at most major dental colleges in the States and Canada. You are usually placed into the 3rd year of the DDS/DMD program, and after you have completed the 3rd and 4th year, you will awarded you with a DDS or DMD degree, depends on the program.

To get into these programs, you have to give your NBDE(National Board Dental Exam) PART One, you need atleast a 75% to be considered, but the average score you need to get in is around an 85%. Part Two of the NBDE is not required. Most also require a TOEFEL, which shouldnt be a problem for US highschool graduates. Most also require to be a citizen or a permenent graduate, I dont believe they give student visas.
- I spoke with a student in the International Dentist Program at University of Illinois at Chicago, she told me that about half of IDP students had Part Two of thier NBDE passed when they were accepted into the program.(its NOT required, but I think it will boost up your application)

The cost of these programs are all over the place.

• University of Illinois at Chicago: $70,000 per year,Two year program (US Dollars)
• University of Toronto: $25,000 per year, Two year program(Canadian Dollars)

As you can see, it all depends where you want to go,and price will vary for every university.

During the two or three year program, you will also give your NBDE PART TWO, if you dont have it cleared yet.

Also every state has its own licensing exams in order to be able to practice.

I hope I helped some of you guys out. Let me know if you have any questions, or want me to clear something up.

*All information provided is to the best of my knowledge*

good man!! it all sounds right keep it up dude!

thanks for the support bro!

A link that may help you guys out. Its the Names of kids and thier percentages and converted FSC marks, and which dental college they are going to.

HEC- BC Higher Education Linkages Program

you've really been doing your research wasan!!! lol im impressed. my mom went to dental in paki and then she came to the states and went thru this process.

also NYU has a 3 year program now, they changed it. and i think UMD (maryland) has a program. thanks again for takin ur time to get all this info and sharing it!

Thanks Azaynab, There are many programs throughout the US now. Heres a list by the ADA of all dental schools in the US and Canada with International programs

http://www.ada.org/prof/prac/licensure/us_b.pdf

And this is a link for Frequently Asked Questions about Foreign Dental Graduates
http://www.ada.org/prof/prac/licensure/faq.pdf

WOW, and Look what I found, an Official write up guide thingy for foreign dental graduates!! check it out! http://www.ada.org/prof/prac/licensure/us.pdf

Some really useful links here! all you BDS people check them out

wow you've really been doing your research!! these sites are really helpful, thanks again for sharing your knowledge and what u found

Yup, this was my "hobby" you could say for a good 6 months. I call it a hobby because all I did was research this stuff in my free time. I have all my own questions answered. Now its up to you guys to give me more questions and I can have more sleepless nights trying to find the answer to any question or concern you may have.

Just give me a holla and I would be glad to research and answer any other questions or concerns you may have.

this all sounds ridiculously expensive, hard but correct. if u r up 4 it then go 4 it. but it is quite long winded just to become a dentist. u would be better off studying in europe. would save you money n a couple of yrs of ruining your eyes. n e wayz good luck.

Well from what I know about European schools, you have to do 5 years in Europe, then you still have to come back and do two more years in an International Program. The process is all the same to get US licesncure from any foreign dental program.

so if they dont give you a student visa, do you have to be a US citizen?

Individual programs may vary. You will have to look into specific programs for more details. I just checked NYU school of dentistry's site, and I couldnt find any information about what status requirements are.

In my post, I was referring to University of Illinois at Chicago's program, they dont sponsor visa's.

I would recommend looking into other programs, or contact their program directors.