About the Pre-Dentistry Program
Dentists are health-care professionals responsible for keeping our teeth, gums and mouth healthy. In order to become a dentist, students must graduate from a four-year dentistry school. Dental schools attempt to have students spend as much time in the clinic as in the classroom. Students wishing to apply to dental school must take the Dental Admission Test (DAT), a comprehensive test over biology, general chemistry and organic chemistry as well as more abstract concepts such as general academic ability, comprehension of scientific information and perceptual ability. Requirements beyond core classes include: ARTZ 240: Ceramics I and BIOL/CHEM 336: Biochemistry.
Representative Coursework
Prerequisite or Co-Requisite: DAY-CHEM 115 or CHEM 208 or CHEM 238. CCPS-BIOL 102.
This course examines the structure and function of nucleic acids and proteins. The molecular mechanisms of replication, transcription, mRNA processing and translation will be emphasized. In addition, regulation of these processes will be explored. Lecture and laboratory. Intended for students majoring in biology or related disciplines.
Prerequisite: Day-BIOL 172. CCPS-Co-requisite: BIOL 181-L. This course will apply the knowledge acquired in BIOL 172 to the inheritance patterns of genetic traits between individuals and within populations. Lecture and laboratory.
Prerequisite or Co-requisite: DAY- BIOL 181. CCPS-BIOL 172. An introduction to the principles of evolutionary biology, including the history, processes and patterns of evolution as well as systematic biology.
A lecture course that covers analytical methods of chemical analysis. Topics include statistical analysis, quantitative chemical analysis, chemical equilibria, eletroanalytical techniques and fundamentals of spectroscopy.
A laboratory course designed to give students experiences with analytical methods of chemical analysis. Topics include data analysis, chemical equilibria (acid-base and complexation), redox titrations and spectroscopy.
A fundamental course in the study of inorganic chemistry. Topics include atomic structure, chemical bonding, molecular structure, nomenclature of inorganic compounds, fundamentals of inorganic complexes and an introduction to the chemistry of main group elements.
A fundamental laboratory course in the study of inorganic chemistry. Topics include the preparation of inorganic complexes, resolution of chiral transition metal compounds, ion conductivity and a preparation of a main group inorganic compound.
Prerequisite: CHEM 238. This lecture course is an in-depth study of organic functional group chemistry of alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, alkyl halides, aromatics and alcohols. Topics include nomenclature, stereochemistry, mechanisms, and theory.
Prerequisite: CHEM 238-L. This laboratory course introduces the organic lab skills and techniques with extensive hands?on experience and organic application of spectroscopy and instrumentation.
Prerequisite: CHEM 315 or CHEM 312. It is recommended that students have completed CHEM 327 in order to be successful in this course. A lecture course that studies the structure and function of biological molecules. Topics include enzyme kinetics, synthesis and degradation of biological molecules, and energy production. Emphasis will be placed on enzyme mechanisms and regulation.
Prerequisite: CHEM 315. This lecture course continues in-depth study of organic functional group chemistry of carbonyl containing compounds and amines. Topics include spectroscopy, mechanisms, theory and an introduction to biochemistry and metabolic pathways.
Prerequisite: CHEM 315-L or CHEM 312-L.
A laboratory course that continues development of organic lab skills and techniques. Topics covered will include multi-step synthesis, open- ended projects involving experimental design and an introduction to enzyme catalysis and stereochemical control.
Prerequisite: DAY-None. CCPS-ENGL 150. Expository writing provides students with valuable opportunities to write in a wide variety of modes of nonfiction, including narrative essays, film and book reviews, cultural analyses and journalistic essays. Students read and discuss published nonfiction and participate in workshops where they respond to one another’s writing in small groups. The workshop format enables students to respond to issues of form, purpose, voice and audience.
Frontiers is the gateway course to Drury’s general education curriculum. It introduces students to academic work at the collegiate level and fosters their discovery within a community of the many educational pathways available to them at Drury. Each course section has its own theme, developed by faculty members from a wide variety of disciplines. Particular emphasis lies on developing students’ skills in writing, critical thinking and information literacy.
It is strongly recommended that students have completed one year of high school algebra in order to be successful in this course. A course to acquaint the student with the basic ideas and language of statistics including such topics such as descriptive statistics, correlation and regression, basic experimental design, elementary probability, binomial and normal distributions, estimation and test of hypotheses, and analysis of variance.
It is strongly recommended that students have completed two years of high school algebra and one semester of high school trigonometry in order to be successful in this course. A study of the fundamental principles of analytic geometry and calculus with an emphasis on differentiation.
Co-requisite: MATH 231. The principles of Newtonian mechanics including motion, energy, and force. Calculus with extensive use of vector analysis. Intended for science majors. The modeling-centered, inquiry-based workshop format — integrated laboratory and lecture — emphasizes experiment, data collection and analysis, problem solving, and cooperative learning in both small and large groups. Offered fall semester.
Prerequisite: PHYS 211. Continuation of Newtonian mechanics, including working, 2-d motion, impulse-momentum, and circular motion. Also electrical and magnetic properties of matter, fields and forces, and DC circuits. Calculus with extensive use of vector analysis. Intended for science majors. The modeling-centered, inquiry-based workshop format — integrated laboratory and lecture — emphasizes experiment, data collection and analysis, problem solving, and cooperative learning in both small and large groups. Offered spring semester.
Dentistry
Undergraduate students interested in the density field often major in biology, chemistry, or both. Dentistry is a program and is not considered a major. A Bachelor's degree is highly recommended prior to matriculation into dental school.
DAT (Dental Admission Test)
The Dental Admission Test is designed to measure general academic ability, comprehension of scientific information and perceptual ability. The test is administered on a computer almost daily and is required by all dental schools along with a standard application. It is broken down into four sections: natural sciences, perceptual ability, reading comprehension and quantitative reasoning. Success on the test requires completion of at least one year of collegiate education, including courses in biology, general chemistry and organic chemistry. Dental schools suggest that applicants take the DAT in the year prior to enrollment.
Internships and Clinical Experience
Drury also strongly recommends that students spend time in a clinical setting. The experience that the student gains will not only give them a better understanding of the dental profession, but these experiences allow dental schools to know that an applicant has first-hand knowledge of the profession. A Drury University student has the advantage of contacts with local alumni, who can provide students with both shadowing experiences and, in some cases, internships. Other internships can be arranged through the Office of Career Planning and Development.
Selected Schools
The School of Dentistry is situated a few miles north of the UMKC campus, atop Hospital Hill, a historic area of Kansas City. Students profit from the opportunity of learning, working and interacting with scholars, researchers and professionals in many related areas of health care.
UMKC offers a varied and complete range of educational experiences for students of dentistry. The first-rate faculty is comprised of scholars, scientists and specialists, all dedicated to providing a quality and comprehensive education, individualized to each student’s needs and goals. The school is also a model for technologically advanced administration offices, instructional settings, and clinical facilities.
UMKC offers applicants a special program called the Reserved Admissions Program. Students with a 3.6 GPA and four completed semesters of college credit are eligible for this program. Students accepted into this program are expected to maintain a 3.6 science GPA, score a 19 DAT academic average, and meet the other expectations in order to have a reserved seat in a DDS class without submitting the AADSAS Application.
The Creighton University School of Dentistry offers an excellent clinical education and graduates broadly competent general dentists who are able to provide, without referral, most of the oral needs of their patients. Many alumni are accepted to, and successfully complete, graduate training in all the specialties at some of the top programs in the country.
As one of the least expensive private dental schools in the nation, combined with the affordability and livability of the city of Omaha, Nebraska, the School of Dentistry is an institution all qualified applicants should consider.
Since 1972, the SIU School of Dental Medicine has continued to carry out its mission: to improve the oral health of southern Illinois and the region through education, patient care, scholarship and service. The school has 44 full-time and 43 part-time faculty positions, and offers a nationally recognized dental education to nearly 200 students. Historically, students from the SIU dental school score high nationally on the National Board Dental Exams, Parts I and II. Students graduate with a Doctor of Dental Medicine degree.
Most patient care is provided in Alton, with 72 patient-care stations for student clinical experience. Rotations to the East St. Louis Dental Clinic offer students an opportunity to provide dental care to patients in an under-served area Experience in diagnosis, treatment planning, surgery and prosthodontics treatment for implant dentistry is offered at the Implant Clinic on the SIU-Edwardsville campus.
Missouri School of Dentistry and Oral Health (MOSDOH) is tied with A.T. Still University and is only the second dental school in the state. This new dental school of 2013 strives to meet the critical shortage of dentists in Missouri.
The four-year curriculum begins two years in Kirksville focusing on health sciences, clerkships in general dentistry, and dental simulation exercises. Third- and fourth-year clinical education is based in St. Louis, which provides an adequate population base of patients in need of dental services. During this time, MOSDOH emphasizes patient care experiences through simulation, integration of biomedical and clinical sciences, and problem-solving scenarios.