Question by .: What sciences should i take in highschool to become a dentist?
I made a mistake and took earth science but now i want to become a dentist… ive heard that you have to take physics, chemistry and biology… is this true?
im in the 11th grade
Best answer:
Answer by cliftonstewart11
Chemistry is probably the most important science you will need to know. In college you will have to take organic chemistry, so try to pay attention as much as you can.
Any of the natural sciences are very important to understand when persuing dentistry. Physics is important, but not as important as the natural sciences.
Give your answer to this question below!
Yes this is true. At my university, the majority of the students wanting to get into medicine or dentistry tend to major in biology, with a few of us (like myself) majoring in chemistry. Regardless of which path you choose, to get into dentistry, everyone has to take (and this might vary some depending on the school):
1 year of general biology or zoology with labs.
1 semester of microbiology
1 year of general chemistry with labs.
1 year of organic chemistry with labs
1 semester of advanced organic chemistry or biochemistry (lab not necessary).
1 year of physics with labs
Now these are the general requirements for the dental schools that I am looking into. The ones you look into may vary, but I doubt it would change drastically. But as you can see, biology and chemistry tend to be the big ones. So while you’re in high school, I would say try to get a good foundation going in biology and chemistry.
UPDATE: Nebula D – How do you say I am wrong, when the very courses you mention that dental schools require are basically IDENTICAL to the ones I mentioned in my post? You’re basically telling the asker to ignore my post, and listen to yours, when yours is basically nothing but a repeating of what I had already said. You that desperate for a best answer or something?
I’m a dentist.
The guy who responded above me is wrong. Ignore the information he gave you.
Generally, the more sciences you take in high-school, the better. Not because you will need these sciences in dental school (you’ll get PLENTY of science in dental school), but because they will help prepare you for the sciences you need to take in college in order to apply to dental school.
All dental schools have the following course requirements in order to apply:
-one year of general chemistry with lab
-one year of organic chemistry with lab
-one year of introductory biology with lab
-one year of introductory physics with lab
-one year of english/writing.
Some dental schools also require that you take biochemistry, as well as one year of college-level math. There may even be some other requirements that I don’t know of.
So, as you can see, chemistry, biology, and physics are three courses you’ll have to take in college (unless perhaps you take AP chemistry, AP biology, and AP physics in high school and earn college credit for them–but you’ll need to contact dental schools to see if they will accept AP courses as meeting the requirements). Anyway, as a high school student, you can take regular biology, regular chemistry, and regular physics, all of which will prepare you for the college courses. The better you do in the college courses, the better your chance of getting into dental school.
One other thing you should consider doing: spend some time observing in a dental office, and keep doing it throughout college. That will show dental schools that you are truly interested in dentistry, and that you have an idea of what you’re getting into.
Consider taking a diverse cirriculum of sciences. Check out the American Dental Association’s website. They have a nice section for people considering a Dental career.
earth science is geography. You need to take pure science, like Biology (Botany & zoology), Physics & Chemistry.