Dental Medicine

Dental Medicine students in the Health Education Campus building
Doctor of Dental Medicine

About the Program

If you thrive in a hands-on learning environment, have a passion for dental health, and want to make a difference in patients’ lives, look no further than a Doctor in Dental Medicine (DMD) degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine. Here, you’ll experience interdisciplinary training alongside medical, nursing and physician assistant students at our new Health Education Campus with Cleveland Clinic, preparing you for your future of team-based, holistic healthcare. 

You’ll also put your skills to use under the supervision of faculty in our new Dental Clinic—a three-story, 132,000-square-foot facility where our dental students treat nearly 19,000 patients each year. Our school has been around for more than 125 years, and in that time, we’ve seen thousands of students grow into experienced and confident practitioners.

What to Expect

In addition to participating in small-group coursework, you’ll be part of a preceptor group where you learn directly from dentists with years of private practice experience. Plus, you'll work with a patient care coordinator—an individual who will manage your appointments with patients and deal with insurance forms, showing you what a traditional private practice environment might look like. With their help, you’ll mock up a business plan for your prospective practice that will be critiqued.

Throughout your training, you’ll use simulators as you work up to providing care to real patients. Our top-notch simulation labs—among the best in the world—will ease your transition to working with real patients, when you'll complete fillings, crowns, bridges and a number of other dental procedures.

As far as customizing your degree goes, you can opt for a general DMD or try out one of our dual-degree programs. One option is our DMD/Master of Science in Clinical Research program, a five-year track funded by the National Institutes of Health that will equip you for a career in academia, preparing you to further study—and find solutions for—the world’s most alarming dentistry problems. The DMD/Master of Public Health program poises you to effect change as well. In that program, you’ll focus on understanding and promoting oral health in communities around the globe.

Beyond the Classroom

Through our award-winning Healthy Smiles Sealant Program, you will work with children in Cleveland public schools, providing them with access to free dental exams and sealants. You'll have other opportunities to give back to the community in your second year through our Family First program, which helps families identify multi-generational dental issues and attempt to alleviate those problems. Throughout the program, you’ll screen and clean teeth at our on-campus Comprehensive Care Clinic, and will have access to the nearby Circle Health Clinic—another volunteer opportunity that greatly impacts the community.

For those who want to volunteer abroad and see the challenges of global healthcare firsthand, the School of Dental Medicine plans mission trips to underserved areas. Past trips took place in Peru and the Dominican Republic.

You can sink your teeth into countless research opportunities in addition to all of the hands-on experience you’ll get outside of the classroom. Build your resume with co-authored papers on topics such as preventing childhood cavities (or any others that pique your interest). You’ll also be able to partner with students from other disciplines to identify—and attempt to solve—health disparities locally and globally.
 


By the Numbers

19,000

patients served in our dental clinic each year

#53

university in the nation, U.S. News & World Report

#25

research institution in the nation, The Center for Measuring University Performance

#47

most innovative university, Reuters

16

average students per preceptor group

Admission Requirements

Our program thrives when we have students with diverse perspectives and a range of educational, professional and life experiences. We look forward to learning more about you!

The application process requires:

  • AADSAS application
  • $259 application fee
  • $65 supplemental CWRU School of Dental Medicine fee
  • Bachelor’s or master’s degree from an accredited institution with pre-dental science coursework preferred but not required (either already complete, or will be complete before you enroll)
  • Official transcripts
  • Two letters of evaluation minimum
  • Dental Admissions Test
  • Personal interview with CWRU School of Dental Medicine faculty or staff
     

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