Dentist School in Washington - WA

By an allied health world contributing writer
Published: August, 4 2010

Find the right school for you

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The State of Washington has a number of well-regarded dental schools, and students consistently score in the top tiers of the National Dental Board examinations and the Western Regional Examining Board (WREB) examination. Students have the opportunity to extend their dental education and specialize in fields such as endodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, oral pathology, orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics, and prosthodontics.

A number of medical facilities such as the University of Washington Medical Center, Swedish Medical Center, Sacred Heart Medical Center and Harborview Medical Center have hospital dentistry clinics where dental students have the opportunity to participate in community outreach programs as part of their training.

Washington also has some of the leading research dental schools, where wide-ranging research is going on in the areas of children and the origins of disease susceptibility, older adults and intervention to prevent disease, orofacial pain, immune response to oral bacteria and tissue repair and regeneration.

All dental schools in Washington require prospective students to take the Dental Admissions Test (DAT), which consists of four parts: natural science, perceptual ability, reading comprehension and quantitative reasoning. There are study guides and workshops available to help students prepare for the DAT.

Most dental schools in Washington participate in the Associated American Dental Schools Application Service (AADSAS), which facilitates the application process if you are considering applying to more than one school.

Keep in mind that admission to dental school is highly competitive, and an excellent scholastic record, professional recommendations and a background in volunteering and community service will help your admission chances.