What does it take to be an Ortho?

[fc3slover]

Hello Guys,


How good should one be to be able to apply for Orthodontics? Should be in Top 5% of class every single time?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Regmata]

A quick search of the forums will get you hundreds of opinions on this

 

[Demeter]

All it takes is weekend 6 month ortho course.

 

[og2]

All it takes is weekend 6 month ortho course.

 

[snsd]

Always try to build up great stats to be competitive. But's it not the only factor in getting into ortho.

Getting into ortho requires a combination of alot of things. Good gpa/rank, good board scores (need over 90 at least to be competitive), research, extra curricular activities, reference, great interview, etc.

We see every year some people with super stats (97/98 on boards) don't end up matching and some people with okay stats ends up matching.

So having great stats is great but it's not the only factor.

 

[KlingonDentist]

you need a charming personality.
If you are a person who thinks you're all that then you risk not matching.

 

[flashlight1]

(need over 90 at least to be competitive)

Not true...I say this from personal experience. A combination of many things is important, but one specific stat will not necessarily make or break you.

 

[og2]

Not true...I say this from personal experience. A combination of many things is important, but one specific stat will not necessarily make or break you.

i agree. this "90" rule no longers seems to be as valid as pre-2007. i personally know of people who received more than a fair share of interviews (think 7+) and matched to highly respected programs with sub 90 and even scores as low as mid 80s. i know the nbde1 score trend is back on the rise recently, and scores in the mid 90s are popping up more and more frequently, but in my opinion, and looking at the experience of successful applicants i have personally known, the test nevertheless seems to be getting less and less respect. the ADA done messed up good when they had the brilliant idea of changing the format in 2007, haha

 

[KlingonDentist]

Not true...I say this from personal experience. A combination of many things is important, but one specific stat will not necessarily make or break you.

Flash, inquiring minds wish to know what yuor stats are.
What combination worked for you?

 

[og2]

Hello Guys,


How good should one be to be able to apply for Orthodontics? Should be in Top 5% of class every single time?

you obviously don't need to be in the top 5% to match, but it certainly doesn't hurt. this may sound generic but i would recommend that you just try as hard as you can without necessarily just trying to do well solely for the purpose of matching (or non-matching for that matter) into ortho. clearly, others may disagree with me and say that if you're interested in ortho you should gun from the beginning because that will give you the best chance of success, but in my mind i think it works out better if you work hard without getting so caught up in the numbers game and then seeing where the dust settles once 3rd year dental school rolls around and you start seriously considering applications to postgrad programs. that's pretty much the approach i had and it worked for me. i started dental school just wanting to do the best i can to keep options open even though i was leaning towards becoming a GP (i didn't know for sure i wanted to do ortho until 3rd year, so i wasn't an ortho gunner from day 1 of dental school), and i honestly never checked my stats/ranking the first two years. i had no idea where i was in relation to my classmates; i just kept my head down and worked hard and thankfully things turned out better than i could've ever imagined. in my opinion when you play the numbers game soooo hard as many students do, it's difficult to not get way too caught up in doing whatever it takes to get ahead and this might do you more harm than good. work hard, try not to stress out too much (i know this is difficult), trust your abilities and things will hopefully work out. yeah, i know for some all this sounds highly unrealistic, but it's what i think.

best of luck to you

 

[flashlight1]

Flash, inquiring minds wish to know what yuor stats are.
What combination worked for you?

Klingon, I'd love to tell you but I'd probably be found dead in the gutter somewhere after some people who didn't match saw them. I also don't like to play the numbers game because I really believe that people make way too big of a deal out of raw numbers--meaning class rank, board scores, gre scores, gpa, undergrad gpa, and any other number we could possibly put on those applications. Students who want to do ortho (or any other specialty for that matter) should really remember this: people pick the residents, not computers. If it were just based on numbers we would all just punch them into a database and a yes or no would be spit back at us. Program directors, chairman, professors, and clinical faculty at these programs are very intelligent people who use their minds, not a calculator, when determining who to rank on their match lists. They want great people in their programs, not great numbers. Sure, great numbers can contribute to their positive opinion of you, and if you have great numbers it can help you get in the door at interviews, but with or without them I really believe that you need to be a well rounded person.

Also, SHOW INTEREST IN ORTHO. Don't be a closet gunner who pops up on the radar screen at the last second. Put yourself in the shoes of those picking the residents--I know I would want someone who has really shown a genuine interest in orthodontics and who has done everything in their power to learn more about the profession rather than someone with perfect numbers but who stumbles over the question "tell me about your experiences with ortho".

Wow, never thought I would write a post this long and I apologize to those of you who sat through my entire soapbox. Of course great scores are fantastic, valuable, and can only help you, but I don't want people to not apply just because they think their scores aren't good enough.

One more piece of advice I'd like to echo from other threads: apply to as many schools as possible! Not only does it increase your chances of getting interviews, but you may find a program that you never really thought of going to is actually a great fit for you! Even with doing research on programs it's hard to evaluate them fully without actually visiting them, meeting the people, and seeing who you mesh well with.

 

[KlingonDentist]

flash, congrats on matching.
I promise you won't be found in the gutter somewhere.
You are posting anonymously and you are not posting what school u're from or where you're matching.

just info on what your winning combination is to help other students.
In addition to your stats, Did u get a super letter from your dean? Your ortho prof? Did u write a great essay? leadership? published? relatives in ortho programs?

Yes people pick residents but in order to get through the first round of impersonal selection most programs look at stats before looking at the person during interviews for their personalities.

So my question is how did you get through the 1st round of selection without great stats (as you stated)?

 

[flashlight1]

So my question is how did you get through the 1st round of selection without great stats (as you stated)?

I didn't say I didn't have great stats, only that I didn't have a board score over 90. The definition of 'stats' to me is expanded to things other than just a board score or any one specific number you can put on an application. All of those things you mentioned in your last post are important (except for I have no one in my family that is a dentist or orthodontist, and I certainly don't think you need to to be successful). I also think that posting stats is just an ego binge--either for the person displaying them to the masses or for the people reading them thinking that they are so much better than that person because they 'beat' them on that specific stat.

I won't post specific stats because I really believe that each person needs to find their own combination to get into orthodontics, just as I'm sure we all had very different routes when getting in to dental school. What I did probably won't work for someone else, just as what someone else did probably wouldn't have worked for me. Find an area that you are passionate about and pursue it wholeheartedly--you've got to show that you love orthodontics, not just the idea of orthodontics, and by really getting involved in an aspect of it you love (be it research, leadership, or whatever) you can show yourself to be the real deal.