Contributed by J.Y.A. with notes from AccessOMFS
Does the dental school someone attends affect their chances of matching into oral and maxillofacial surgery? This is a question many pre-dental students consider when deciding which school to attend, and an important one to consider. As a disclaimer, this article is simply my opinion. It is not necessarily the opinion of the AccessOMFS administrator or a Program Director. Keep in mind that many professors and upperclassmen in dental school will tell you that it is too early to consider a specialty. While this is true for many students, the sooner someone knows they want to specialize in OMFS, the better prepared they will be to apply.
As with all guest posts, no content has been changed from the original. My commentary is only meant to emphasize certain points, or give an alternative viewpoint for the sake of discussion. The choice of dental school can be a big decision, and there are a lot of variables at play such as cost, goals, location, family, etc. There is obviously not a cookie cutter approach, but there is some good news. No matter which dental school you go to, you can match into OMFS. Similar to those deciding on their rank lists, when in doubt go where you feel comfortable. There are plenty of considerations, but have the comfort of knowing that it’s possible at the end of the day.
Many predental students are lucky if they get a single dental school offer on December 1st. If you are one of the few with multiple offers, congratulations! For the aspiring surgeons, this is when your journey to become an OMFS starts. You should read through multiple websites (AAOMS and others found in the Resources Page) including this one, to familiarize yourselves with what it takes to match into OMFS. Learn about OMFS residencies and life as an OMFS. Shadow and talk to surgeons. The sooner you get to know the specialty, the better. This research was important as it helped me to decide which school was best for me.
Agreed. Educate yourself from many different sources. Don’t take any single source as the ultimate authority, including this one. You are the one most aware of your situation, so figure out what you need to consider and make it work for you.
The first factor I considered when choosing a dental school was the cost of attendance. The cost of attendance is often the main argument people use when saying the school one attends does not matter. Cost is indeed an important factor everyone should consider. However, in my opinion, it should not be the deciding factor. Some schools simply produce more specialists than others, and if a slightly higher cost of attendance can allow you to attend that school, I believe you should go for it. At the same time, make sure you really understand what it means to take on a debt load of nearly half a million dollars. If attending a 6-year residency in the future, you will also be responsible for at least two years of medical school tuition and living. You will eventually have to pay this debt back. Minimizing your dental school debt will only make that easier.
Although it should not be the ultimate factor, I believe it should play a very large role in deciding where to go. Dental tuition has risen to the point that it can have a significant impact on your life. If you go to private school for undergraduate and dental school, your debt load can easily be greater than $500k. Even the average dental school debt is $261,149 according to a 2016 survey by the ADA. This is a significant amount of money. Although OMFS pays well, having a debt load that high can still shape your decisions, especially when you may have to take on more debt in a 6-year program. Imagine how much more freedom you have when it comes to your rank list and where you want to go/ how you want to train or practice when you have negligible debt?
For example, consider two students. Student A decided to go to a private dental school in a high cost of living area. Student A will graduate with $500k worth of debt. Student B decided to go to their state dental school in a medium/low cost of living area. They will graduate with $150k worth of debt. Both students want to go to residency for OMFS. Both students are now in the same position when looking at residency as they were when deciding on dental schools. Can Student A afford to go to a program that’s another 4/6 years in a high cost of living area or do they need to find a cheaper option? Obviously, Student B has more flexibility and the ability to take on more debt to train where they want if necessary. Student A could still go to one of those areas but getting up to $750k-$1M in debt will severely impair your ability to earn in the future.
The second factor I considered was whether the dental school took the biomedical science classes of the first two years with the medical school. This was an important factor for me as the CBSE is an exam made by the NBME, not the NBDE. It was made for medical students preparing for the USMLE Step 1. The sciences in most dental schools are watered down to make time for the dental specific classes and the lab work required of dental students. This is understandable as residencies are not yet required for the general dentist, and he or she needs to have the hand skills to practice dentistry after 4 years of school. The aspiring oral and maxillofacial surgeon has a slightly different path. The dental background is just as important as the medical background for the surgeon. This is why applicants are required to take the CBSE and all the USMLE Steps (if attending a 6-year residency). To make the preparation for the CBSE easier, I wanted to be sure I took all my pre-clinical sciences with the medical school. I believed this would give me a solid foundation for when I study for the CBSE.
I have to admit that when it comes to the CBSE, it is not a level playing field. Students from schools that are integrated with the med students are much better prepared to take on the CBSE. Most of these schools tend to be the more expensive ones. At a school where the basic sciences are watered down, you can still do well. Your job may just be more difficult. Put it this way, would you pay yourself an extra $250k(potential cost of going to one of those schools) to study for a test? I know I would. If you can find somewhere cheap that prepares you well, then that would be ideal. This info is hard to find, but I would try to ask students from these schools when you interview how they felt about their basic science education.
The third factor I considered was the amount of time off the dental school offered. It is highly recommended that an applicant for OMFS attend as many externships as possible. The externships can vary in length, but the shorter ones are 1-2 weeks. If your dental school does not offer longer breaks, it could be difficult to find the time to do these externships. Longer and more frequent breaks can also give you more time to study for the CBSE.
Simply put, some schools give you time off to attend externships, others don’t (these students go on their summer/spring/fall breaks). It’s an easy question to ask. Also, how rigorous is the curriculum? Do you have time to study for the CBSE or are you so worried about tests every week that do not enable you to study for the CBSE or extern?
The last factor I considered was the reputation of the dental school. Does the school have a history of matching students into OMFS? This is an important question to consider. Some dental schools are known to pump out more OMFS residents than other schools. This is often because the residencies know that the students that come out of those dental schools are well prepared for the rigors of 4-6 years of residency. A student who applies from a newer dental school is a wild card. The CBSE scores and class rank only tell so much about an applicant. Going to a school with a solid reputation and history can only help. Highly reputable dental schools also often have a reputable OMFS department. When applying for residencies you are going to need letters of recommendation from surgeons. Having surgeons at your school can help you to get to know them and will result in stronger letters. Research projects in OMFS will also be more available if the school has a reputable OMFS department.
I would like to really emphasize this point, but argue that the OMFS program reputation matters more than the dental school reputation, although one does tend to go with the other. Being able to surround yourself with a good residency program and the resources it can provide are invaluable. The OMFS world is very, very small. Program directors and chairmen talk to their counterparts at other schools quite frequently. If you have impressed them and formed a good relationship with them it can go a long way in the form of a letter of recommendation. Additionally, by spending time in your home program, you are preparing yourself for residency, especially if it is a good one. Lastly, I would avoid a dental school that doesn’t have an OMFS program altogether (if you have options). No connections and a poor dental school OMFS experience puts you at a serious disadvantage.
These are some of the major factors I considered when choosing a dental school. The importance of these factors will vary between people and you may have other factors, such as location or family, to include. Use these factors simply as a guide and not as something written in stone. I hope that this article will help the aspiring surgeon choose the best dental school for matching into OMFS. In the end, the determination and commitment the student shows toward the specialty along with their work ethic will say the most about the applicant regardless of the school they attend. Good luck!
So what do you think? What are some of the factors you considered when applying to dental school with OMFS in mind?