You should generally apply to dental school about one year before you plan to start dental school. Most students apply during the summer after their junior year of college if they plan to attend dental school immediately after graduating. It is recommended to apply early in the application cycle, since dental schools often use rolling admissions.

Before applying, make sure you have completed or are on track to complete your prerequisite courses, taken the DAT, and gained experience through shadowing, volunteering, leadership, or research.

The Dental Admission Test (DAT) is a standardized exam required by most dental schools in the United States. It is designed to evaluate the academic knowledge and skills needed for success in dental school.Your DAT score is one of the factors dental schools consider when reviewing your application, along with your GPA, prerequisite coursework, shadowing, volunteering, leadership, and other experiences.The DAT covers several areas, including natural sciences, perceptual ability, reading comprehension, and quantitative reasoning.Most students take the DAT during their junior year of college, although the ideal timing depends on when you plan to apply to dental school.

There is no universal number of shadowing hours required by every dental school. Requirements and recommendations vary, so it is important to check the schools you plan to apply to. As a general goal, many pre-dental students aim for around 100+ hours of dental shadowing. It can also be beneficial to shadow more than one dentist and explore different areas of dentistry.

AADSAS and TMDSAS are application services that allow students to apply to dental schools.

• AADSAS (ADEA Associated American Dental Schools Application Service): The centralized application service used by most dental schools in the United States. Instead of completing a separate application for every school, you can submit one application and send it to multiple participating dental schools.

• TMDSAS (Texas Medical & Dental Schools Application Service): The centralized application system used by Texas public dental schools. Students applying to participating Texas dental schools submit their application through TMDSAS.

If you are applying to dental schools in Texas, it is important to understand which schools use TMDSAS and which use AADSAS, especially if you plan to apply both in Texas and outside of Texas.