When it comes time to decide what school to attend for your dental training, there may be various factors that come into play. Do you want to live at home? Do you want to move out to a new province or even, a new country? Many Canadian students choose to attend dental school in a different country, with the United States being a very popular choice. This can be for a multitude of reasons including the opportunity to living in the United States, higher potential of earning more, getting into a dental specialty, or even increasing their odds at an offer of admission.

This article will focus on American dental schools that are considered “Canadian-friendly” as well as provide you with tips and tricks to make your application process easier.

American Dental Schools

Although there are 68 dental schools in the United States, they are not all considered “Canadian-friendly”. Each dental school has their own criteria when determining which applicants will receive an offer of admission. As such, although your GPA and DAT scores play a significant role, not all schools treat Canadian students equally. Some schools do not accept Out-Of-State or Out-Of-Country students, while others accept several Canadian students each year.

Below is a compiled list of “Canadian-Friendly” schools in America. These schools are known to accept a high percentage of Canadian students each admissions cycle.

• University of Detroit Mercy
• New York University
• Boston University
• Nova Southeastern University
• Case Western Reserve University
• Temple University
• Howard University
• Marquette University
• Midwestern University
• Touro College of Dental Medicine
• Tufts University
• University of Minnesota
• University of Southern California
• University of the Pacific
• Virginia Commonwealth University

Please note, this information is from the 2020-2021 application cycle. This may not be an exhaustive list as admissions information change each year.

Additional Requirements

An important factor to consider when applying abroad is which DAT to write. Canadian-Friendly American dental schools will accept the Canadian DAT, while others that are not Canadian-friendly will require the American DAT. Typically, the schools that accept only the American DAT do not accept Canadians. Due to the differences between the two tests, please ensure that you research each school you are interested in applying to. All 15 of the schools listed above do accept the Canadian DAT. To find more information about the differences between the American vs Canadian DAT, you can click on this link for an in-depth breakdown of the differences.

Another factor to consider is what prerequisite courses are required by each dental school as it varies. For instance, 12 of the 15 schools listed above do not require a microbiology course, however, 3 schools do.

Finally, some schools require the CASPer test as part of their admissions process while others do not. Detailed information regarding admission requirements can be found on each of the respective schools’ website.

ADEA Explorer

A helpful tool for Canadian students who are considering attending an American dental school is the ADEA Explorer. This database can be found within the “Official Guide to Dental Schools” put forth by the ADEA. Each year, the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) releases an updated guide that includes information and guidance on navigating the application process, tips on financing your dental education, and much more.

The most useful tool in this comprehensive guide is the ADEA Explorer. This database provides information including previous applicant and entering-class data (demographic information, mean DAT scores, mean GPA’s), up-to-date tuition breakdowns, and required/recommended courses on all 68 American Dental schools. Notably, the ADEA Explorer database provides a breakdown of how many Canadian and International students have been accepted to each school in the previous application cycle.

The cost to purchase a one-year subscription to the PDF guide is $35USD. For further information, please click here.

Admission's Offices

Dental school admission statistics and information typically change every academic cycle. You will find the most up-to-date information for each school on their respective website. If you have a specific question that you cannot find an answer to, do not hesitate to reach out to the admissions team at that particular school. Their contact information is listed on their Faculty of Dentistry website. Remember, they are there to support prospective students like yourself!

Disclaimer: This information is all based on the 2020-2021 admission cycle with information put forth by each dental school. As admission statistics change each year, we recommend you use this article merely as a guide and thoroughly research each school you are interested in.