Major
	None
Professional degree
	Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) from the College of Dentistry
Competitive Admission
	80 students per year
Honors
	Yes
Links
	Web Site Courses General Catalog

Dentists provide basic treatment and preventive care that helps their patients maintain health and well-being. After earning the Doctor of Dental Surgery degree, some graduates continue study in one of the specialization areas recognized by the American Dental Association (ADA): dental public health, endodontics, oral and maxillofacial pathology, oral and maxillofacial radiology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics, and prosthodontics.

Dentistry is a professional degree program at Iowa. It is not offered as an undergraduate major.

• Why Study Dentistry at Iowa?
• Faculty and Students
• Admission
• Course Work
• For More Details
• Student Activities
• Facilities
• Careers
• Scholarships

Why Study Dentistry at Iowa?
Iowa's College of Dentistry is the sixth oldest in the nation and was the first to be established west of the Mississippi River. It is the only dental school in Iowa offering a degree program that prepares students to practice general dentistry. It also is the only dental school in the nation that offers advanced education in all dental specialties recognized by the ADA.

The college conducts cutting-edge research in all major areas of dentistry, and it is one of the few institutions that receive top funding from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. Its location on the University's health sciences campus is ideal for its collaborations with other UI health sciences colleges, which have resulted in the development of internationally recognized programs in diagnostic testing, research, and patient care.

In addition to offering patient care at the Dental Science Building, the college maintains clinics at University Hospitals and Clinics, one of the nation's largest public university teaching hospitals, and at the Iowa City Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Faculty and Students
The College of Dentistry's faculty includes generalists and specialists in every discipline of dentistry. Some have PhD degrees in biological sciences or related fields. The college's student-to-faculty ratio is 3-to-1, with around 100 faculty members teaching about 320 DDS students.

Dental students are bright, motivated individuals with well-rounded backgrounds who want to enter a major health profession and work with people. They're looking forward to being in business for themselves, and they appreciate the potential for good income.

The college's diverse student body is about 45 percent women and 15–20 percent minority students.

Iowa’s dental students consistently win high ranks from the ADA national certification boards.

Admission
Dental admission at Iowa is competitive. Each year approximately 1,000 people apply for one of the 80 spots in the class.

The College of Dentistry accepts applicants from a wide variety of undergraduate majors. Choose a major that genuinely interests you, and consult frequently with your undergraduate academic advisor to develop a study plan that will give you good background for dental school. You should complete these courses as part of your undergraduate study:

• English: the composition, rhetoric, and speech courses required for a bachelor’s degree
• Physics: one year with laboratory work
• Chemistry: two years, including one year of organic chemistry with laboratory work
• Biology: one year with laboratory work
• Electives: courses in business, history, mathematics, philosophy, social sciences, and world languages

If possible, include courses in biochemistry and gross anatomy.

Although the minimum academic requirement for admission is the completion of 90 semester hours (s.h.) of study at an accredited college, most students complete a bachelor’s degree before entering dental school. You don’t need to be a straight-A student, but grades are important for admission. The mean college grade-point average for entering dental students at Iowa is about 3.75 (on a 4.00 scale).

Many colleges and universities around the country offer preprofessional programs for the health sciences. Students enrolled in these programs usually do well once they're admitted to a dental program.

Deferred Admit Program

Iowa residents may apply to the college's Deferred Admit Program (DAP). Those accepted enter the DAP at the end of their first year of college. They incorporate dentistry prerequisite courses through the remainder of their undergraduate study.

Even though completion of of an undergraduate degree is not required for admission to the College of Dentistry, DAP students must complete the amount of credit required for a degree at their undergraduate institution and maintain specific academic standards before they may enroll in the College of Dentistry.

Course Work
The University of Iowa’s comprehensive DDS degree program will prepare you to begin professional dental practice immediately after graduation.

The first year of study emphasizes the basic sciences—the biological foundation of the dental profession. You'll also take dental technique courses and have patient-care experience in preventive dentistry.

The second year builds on the basic science courses and involves experiences in more advanced patient procedures. You'll provide restorative and preventive dental care for patients in a clinic.

In the third year, you'll do five-week clinical rotations in each of seven clinical disciplines. These in-depth studies occur in concentrated five-week periods. By the end of the year, you'll have developed skills in every area of dentistry.

During the fourth year, you'll use the skills you've developed when you work with patients in the Family Dentistry Clinics. You'll practice in a simulated office setting, providing comprehensive dental care to patients and building management skills. You also might work in one of several programs outside the college, including a mobile dental unit, hospital dentistry, and the Special Care Clinic, where many elderly persons with complex problems and patients with disabilities receive treatment.

For More Details
See Doctor of Dental Surgery in the UI General Catalog to learn more about the DDS degree, including curriculum and admission requirements.

Student Activities
During your fourth year, you'll have international exchange opportunities in London, England; Nijmegen, Netherlands; and Arhus, Denmark. The College of Dentistry also has an active chapter of the American Student Dental Association, which sponsors speakers, produces the publication Probe, and holds numerous social events.

Facilities
Recent renovations at the Dental Science Building have created some of the most advanced teaching facilities in the nation, including clinical facilities, teaching and research labs, educational media services, the Dows Institute for Dental Research, and a $3.7 million simulation clinic. Dental students also have access to the University's Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, which is located on the health sciences campus.

Careers
Graduates have a bright career outlook. The average net income is more than $198,000 a year for general practitioners and more than $304,000 for dental specialists. Dentists’ income ranks in the top five percent of all professions in the United States. Some graduates choose careers in academics or research.

Scholarships
The College of Dentistry offers several scholarships based on academic strength, research interests and experience, community service, leadership qualities, and diversity. One example is the Dental Tuition Scholarship, which ranges from $10,000 to $15,000 a year for up to four years. Scholarships are awarded to entering students and are renewed automatically for the duration of the student’s dental education, providing academic performance is maintained.