Dentistry in the USA

My name is Dr. sandeep rathi from india and my friend Mr. Nareend Rathi both we provide you some information about Dentistry in USA and how u go to USA
You are a foreign dentist. Only thing that stands between you and prosperity (dentistry is one of the best paying professions in USA) is the license to practice.
Do you want guidance giving all information about dental Licensure in USA

US Aspirants Please Go through this

Colleges which offer Advanced Standing Program (DDS/DMD) to foreign trained dentists require atleast NDEB Part I. Most of the dental schools which offer this program require atleast 83%. (It is Percentile not Percentage, make sure you understand what Percentile basis is) . To cut down the competition, the number of applicants and various other reasons some dental schools are also asking for NDEB Part II now. US state boards do not care where you get your DDS/DMD as long as you get one they are satisfied. Some states do not require DDS/DMD to practice in their states, BUT.... THESE STATES REQUIRE THAT A FOREIGN TRAINED DENTISTS SHOULD HAVE HAD ATTENDED AT LEAST 2 YEARS OF ADVANCED TRAINING IN DENTISTRY IN US.... which would mean the applicant either should have had completed a specialty program in dentistry which is recognized (permitted) in US. AEGD (Advanced Education in General Dentistry) is a university based one to two year program which is similar to Internship in India. GPR (General Practice Residency) is similar to AEGD but is "MOSTLY" in a hospital setting. As in US, the DMD/DDS program is only 4 years instead of 5 years as in India (which means US graduates of DDS/DMD) do not have to go through one year internship at the end of there course to get an degree. This is the reason why for most dental students opt for these programs after DDS/DMD here in US for experience. ADVANCED STANDING PROGRAM: The dental schools which offer this program have increased in the recent past and also the number of seats is also increasing. Similarly the competition is high and so they look for high scores in NDEB exams. Although ADA web site does not mention the new schools which offer the program, sending a e-mail to the dental school admission office. Bank loans and financial help information is provided by the dental schools. The banks or lender organizations ask for a co-applicant or a guarantor who is a American Citizen or at least a Green Card holder who has a good credit. This requirement is waived if you already have a green card or citizenship of US. The average annual percentage of these loans range from 6.00% to 9.00% presently and is dependent upon the Federal Interest rate or another Federal rates published quarterly in financial reports in US. Also for the people who are either citizens are green card holders of US, are eligible to get Federal Loan. The loans I have mentioned above are private loans. The federal loans charge a annual percentage rate (APR) of around 5% presently. APPLICANTS WHO HAVE HAD ALREADY MASTERS IN DENTISTRY FROM INDIA or ANY OTHER COUNTRY: The licensing rules remain the same for these specialists as mentioned for the BDS graduates. The state rule does not change for specialists if they have done it in another country as for as I know. For more specific info Read on .......... The following points need to be taken care of: 1) For NBDE Part 1: Follow simple rules: Study Kaplan Material, which includes Dental Decks; 10 years Question papers and Review notes. Since new pattern has started from January 2007, make sure you have latest decks and other study materials like Remembered questions, Clinical Vignettes and Illustrations. In case, you don’t understand a topic, always refer your books which you studied during your BDS/MDS.   Apart from Kaplan material, you need a new latest book which is among hottest seller      these days: First Aid to NBDE Part 1. This book is a short concise guide to write your NBDE Part 1. In case of further guidance and how to obtain these books you can always contact me. 2) The cost of appearing in Computerized NBDE Part 1 is US $250. Apart from that Transcript Evaluation costs another US $125. Please have a Visa or Mastercard International Credit Card by this stage, otherwise you are just delaying your long application process by going to banks and wasting your time unnecessarily. Many universities accept only Credit card. So, have one as soon as possible. 3) Obtaining US Visa is the biggest hurdle in your American dreams. Remember, a few tips: Your confidence and the way you carry yourself is number one important factor. The interviewers at US embassy are personality readers and lie-detectors. Be truthful in front of  them and never argue with them. Just answer clearly to whatever they say and never ever try to question their authority. B1/B2 category is for business/tourist visa and F1 is student visa. 4) If you score less than 85 percentile in NBDE Part 1, just forget your results and again take your exam. Admissions these days are highly competitive and you need greater than 87 percentile to stand a chance. Other thing you need to take is TOEFL iBT/ CBT (costing US $150) . Remember, TOEFL scores are valid for 2 years time while NBDE scores have atleast 10 years validity. which are the easiest schools to get in to. 5)   Then follow the rigorous Application process:   At this stage you need: a) Your official NBDE Part1 and TOEFL iBT/CBT scores. You need 100 in TOEFL iBT or 250 in CBT. b) 3 Letters of  Recommendation c) A solid and professional Career Statement or Statement of Purpose d) Transcript Evaluation Reports e) Original Transcripts signed by Dean/Principal of your college/university f) University/ Dental School selection depending upon your NBDE Part 1 scores and your GPA. Each application costs from US $75 to US $150. g) Then if you get a call for interview…boom ….you have a great chance of making it. Again, interview needs strong communication and interpersonal skills. h) In some universities, especially based in California, NBDE Part 2 and clinical skills are required; which needs clinical training. In my opinion, SHORT COURSES by ICDR can be really helpful for that aspect. i) Then, if you get admitted to DDS/DMD program, you’ll need a co-signer (can be a relative or a friend) who is either a US citizen or Green card holder for your Student loan. Loans are very easy and long term like 15-20 years. The loan amount even covers your living expenses and if you have a spouse and children, they cover even that. Typically, yearly expenses are in the range of US $ 80,000 to one lakh dollar. So, a two year program will cost US $1,60,000 to US $200,000. j) But here’s a good news after all the big expenses talk: DENTISTS and SPECIALIST DOCTORS remain the most lucrative and best salaried profession. k) On an average, a dentist in USA starts from $ 100,000  to $ 1,25,000. In 2005, 5% Americans had an annual salary in excess of one lakh dollar or more. So, when you start your career in USA as a dentist, you straightaway belongs to upper 5% income group bracket in USA. That’s a big reward you get for all pains and hardships associated with being a dentist. l) Above all, US unlike UK, has a stable work permit, read H1B, plans followed by Green Card, and then US citizenship. B) The second option is for MDS level dentists or BDS having good amount of work experience and research publications who want to do PG in US. a) If you want to be a practicing dentist in USA, DDS is the only option. b) But, in case u don’t want to do DDS and straightaway wants admission in MSD  or MS in Dentistry in fields like General Dentistry, Pedodontics, Periodontics; Operative Dentistry; Endodontics; Dental Public Health (Preventive Dentistry) ; Orthodontics; admissions are highly competitive , but possible. c) Foreign dental graduates are not eligible for MSD in Oral Surgery. d) Orthodontics is again very tough to get into. e) Majority of PG degree courses have NBDE Part 1 and Part 2 as admission criteria. These courses are equivalent to MDS in India (you can check DCI website) . f) Most of these programs are two to three years on duration and need very strong academic and professional documentation. g) Expenses are less as compared to DDS; range is from $ 20,000 to $ 70,000 per annum. h) Jobs after completing your PG are in dental schools as faculty/research. But believe me, pay scales are even better than DDS…yes, its in excess of $1,50,000 and above. C) The other option for DENTISTS and DOCTORS is to do Masters in Public Health (MPH) or Masters in Hospital Administration (MHA) . These courses don’t cost a bomb but again, salary levels are low as compared to dentists/physicians/specialists. But these degree courses does offer a good living in USA…as compared to rich living associated with Dentists/Doctors (as per US Standards) . The main thing needed is GRE and TOEFL and work experience. The fees for a typical two year course ranges from $ 22,000 to $ 45,000. On getting admission, you apply for F1 (Student visa) . But all this again needs strong documentation. The best part is US Immigration laws permit you to work 20 hrs /week on-campus during fall and spring and 40hrs/week during summer. Effectively, your earnings can take care of your monthly expenditure and also, you can get scholarships also to make your education free of cost, but everything needs to be planned before time and application deadlines are very strictly adhered by universities.

Some Common Questions and their Answers
Question :I have done four years BDS but has not completed internship. Got married and went to USA, what are his options now ? Can he join a DDS or any other pg course ?

Answer: You must complete your internship without it your degree is not complete and technically you are not a graduate.

Question : I am doing dentistry in India, can I write national board in US before completing internship?

Answer: Dental students in USA can write national boards part 1 after their 2nd year but part 2 can only be done after degree. I suggest that it is best that person does complete the degree and do the part 1 as this is a crucial score and a person must score 95 percentile or more for better future.

Question :sir right now i am in year 2 of bds.i was goingthrough nbde exams and various procedures one has to undertake for migrating to usa. sir i looked at the course for the nbde part1 exams it pretty much covers the course one studies till 2nd year in bds course here. so sir is it recommended that i clear the nbde part1 exam after i clear my year 2, or give part 1 and part2 after i finish my bds here. second query that i have, is that can one migrate to usa as a dental hygienist and after one gets citizenship and ndbhe for dental hygienists in usa,is there any lateral entry for people to do bds course.

Answer: I recommend taking National boards after BDS and preparing really good for it and it is better to score really high if one has to get in Dental school here for DDS program. Coming to USA as hygienist is not acceptable. You can immigrate to Canada as a denturist and then after green card of canada you can come to USA. For now concentrate on BDS in and have good understanding of the Dental subjects.

Question: My sister completed her BDS from India. She is planning to pursue her career in the US and hence plans to appear NBDE. I live in Dallas, Tx. My family will be visiting me this August. Can my sister appear NBDE on a visitors visa? I have heard that 2 IDs are required for appearing the suggest me the way out.

Answer :Visitor visa is no problem for National Boards. Second ID could be issued by Taxas state afetr you show your passport, You can also try a credit card with picture or an International driving license or try Indian driving license. State ID will be the best.
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ARITCLE HOW ENTER INTO USA Dentistry In US :RxBDS

DENTISTRY IN USA

I am wriring this article about dental studies in USA with regard to so many requests from the dental students from asia mainly from india.

To start with one has to generally know what types of studies are generally available in dentistry in USA.

1) Graduate studies which are basically research programs.

2)Clinical programs which includes advanced DDS/DMD program.

3)Preceptor sgip/externship where you can enroll fro an internship for a duration of six months or one year.

4)Advanced education in graduate dentistry which includes a whole set of package of oral and maxillofacial surgery,esthetic dentistry,endodontics,prosthodontics etc.


As soon as u take a look into these four categories you may start thinking of your pack up to US. The main climax of studing there ends when you will fell the difficulty in getting the visa or a study progam with financial aid.

Let me speak a few lines about the above mentioned courses and what they are and what type of eligibility requirements are drawn for international dentists.

GRADUATE STUDIES;
The best option to enter into US is through graduate studies.The graduate programs are generally focused on research and no sort of clinical work will be allowed to do. Some of the graduate programs are oral biology,biomaterials,dental public health...
Oral biology comes as either five years package leading to Phd degree or a two year program leading to MS degree.Students who are mainly interested in research in dentistry can opt this. Many dental schools in US provide these MS/Phd degress in oral biology which can accessed through the website http://www.dentalsschools.com/
Reguirements:
The main requirement is gre and toefl. A part from these score reports you need your transcripts,your mark sheets,provisional certificates,proff of financial support etc.
I shall clearly elucidate the preparation stuff for gre and toefl at the end of these four options.

CLINICAL PROGRAMS;
DDS/DMD are the avaiable programs on the clinical side and once you finish this you can practice as a dentist after clearing your state licensure qualifying exam...

Requirements:
Entry into dds requires national board scores (NBDE). This exam has three parts each of which has to be written only in USA. An important and most entity regarding these exams is that you should have enough luck to get visa as embassies turn into slaughterhouses rejecting visa"s who do go for clinical studies from foreign countries.You could have prepared the entire part 1 of the national board but its very difficult to get visa when you say to the visa officers that you are leaving to write the exams for your entry into US.
The next difficulty in taking DDS is its so much costly that it cannot be put up in words. Only the most affluent people can afford it.


ADVANCED EDUCATION IN GRADUATE DENTISTRY
These are usually certificate courses which sometimes are combined with a MS degree like MS in prosthodontics,MS in endodontics etc...


Requirements:
Again the same national board scores part 1 and 2.

PRECEPTORSHIP:
A few schools in US offer preceptor ship or externship programs where you don't require gre or national board scores except the toefl. This usually lasts for six months or one year....

Requirements:
Your transcripts, recommendation letters, other certificates etc.


I can see aheavy sigh from people reading till now. Just hold on and still lots more you have to understand regarding this. If these are the only options then how can I enter into US? Of course I have my dollar dreams and it has to come true!This should be the question of everybody now.




TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES IN APPROACHING NATIONAL BOARD:

As an international dentist we are hapless to get visa to write the national boards. You may cheat the visa officer saying you are about to travel places in USA or visiting a few relatives there , otherwise the chances of visa issuing is very less.
Now I shall advice a better option of taking the graduate studies in dentistry as option. You can opt for oral biology,biomaterials,dental public health or public health (MPH) which is the most common option taken by the medicos. You can prepare enough for National board here and once you enter US for a Masters/PhD degree in oral biology or anything like that you are free to write the board exams with no tensions and tortures. Believe only your national board scores will fetch you a seat for DDS. But still you may ask if I don't have enough money or if I am not opulent enough what shall I so? And yes you may continue for PhD which may fetch you a good job as a faculty or in pharmaceutical industries in US. PhD is deed difficult as the length of the program is 5 years but your hard work never fails.
GRE AND TOEFL;

You can believe me that there are hundreds of doctors going for Masters in public health simply by writing
GRE and TOEFL
If you have decided to do such courses, the next option is start preparing for GRE.



Graduate Record Examination as thet are abbreviated consists to three partsthe verbal section, the quantitative section and the analytical section. There are a huge lot of study materials for Gre. The verbal part totals for 800 marks and the quantitative part for another 800 marks. The total points in gre are 1600 and the analytical section is scored from 1 to 6 separately. The verbal part is of course difficult where you have to memorize at least 3500 new English words which you wouldn't have come across inlifetime. But continuous practice with study exercises will fetch you marks. the quantitative part consists of mathematics which you would have read in your eight and tenth. Never bother for mathematics as they are generally easy as they are of eight standard syllabus. You don't need to struggle for trigonometry, calculus etc. Math's part questions cover topics like mensuration,arithmetic,statistics, etc. analytical section has two parts the essay part and the argument part.
Study materials for gre are widely available in all leading book stores, the preferable materials are barrons gre study book, Kaplan gre books and big book. The study materials, the exam pattern can be accessed through the official website for gre http://www.ets.org/   .
This website generally shows you various examinations. You can pick up http://www.gre.org/ and http://www.toefl.org/   .
The minimum time requirement for preparation for GRE is 4 months. You can finish it in 5 to 6 months.


TOEFL;
This is the easiest exam which is nothing but your high school grammar. It has three parts listening, reading,wriring/structure. This requires a fifteen days preparation the marks for toefl is 300.

Preparation for the exams requires a greater acumen and diligence.

Registration for the tests:
The registration for these tests cost's around 140$ and you can book dates for the exam in the official website of ETS. These exams are to be written in computer.


AFTER GRE AND TOEFL;
Normally US universities prefer a score from 1100 to 1600 . But still lower scores have been given admission for some courses.
After the exams you require a set of transcrips (which is nothing but your four year marks issued by the university),provisional certificates,statement of purpose (in which you have to write about your interests in the field of study), Your resume and three set of recommendation letters.

APPLYING;
you should able to select schools with regard to your gre scores.
Some websites where the graduate programs are listed are
http://www.gradschools.com/
http://www.medschools.com/
http://www.dentalschools.com/
http://www.asph.org/
http://www.ceph.org/
the last two are related to public health unsiversities.

The university website usually informs you the minimum score requirement fro admissions etc.
Admissions:
Once you are admitted you can start your visa procesing. Of course there are pros and cons in each step.Many get reject and also any get visa acceptance. It all depends upon the luck of the individual.

I shall provide you a list of websites for each of the following steps.
1)gre  - http://www.gre.org/

2)toefl-www.toefl.org

3)university selection http://www.gradschools.com/
                                http://www.petersons.com/
                                http://www.dentalschools.com/
                                http://www.medicalschools.com/
                                http://www.ceph.org/

4)ranking of the universities
                  http://www.usnews.com/

5)visa slot booking
                  http://www.vfs.co.in/




To conclude every individual has to get well versed into this artical. this is general outline of easy route of entry into US. Still self search also teaches an individual a lot . I have provided enough correct information's to an extent. If as such any new modifications or regulations are included in any of these things please check it out with the appropriate website.


GOOD LUCK
RATHI NAREEND GOTAM
DR. SANDEEP RATHI  (BDS)
DR. PREETI  RATHI    (BDS)
DR. USHA RATHI