Ready to take the next step?
Empower others. Earn Respect. Find fulfillment in your calling.
Students interested in a career in healthcare can choose from a range of pre-professional pathways offered by Gardner-Webb. Whether your interests lie in helping people get back on their feet, providing care and attention to animals, or another area of healthcare, Gardner-Webb provides the first step.
Dentistry is one of the ten most trusted and ethical professions in the United States. As a combination of art and science, it is a personally rewarding profession that offers a much sought-after balance between professional and personal life. And, with the opportunity to be your own boss and own a dental practice, it promises tremendous flexibility.
The Pre-Healthcare Pathway is not a major; rather, it is a carefully designed plan intended to prepare you to achieve your unique academic and career goals.
Professional program requirements vary widely, especially with regard to advanced biology courses and English requirements. Be sure to check all graduate programs you are considering applying to early during your undergraduate studies for specific prerequisites needed to apply to that school’s program.
Within Gardner-Webb’s pre-professional employment track, you will want to review the Biology Biomedical Sciences Concentration, Chemistry Pre-Health Professional Concentration, Biochemistry Major, and the Exercise Science Pre-Professional Concentration four-year plan as a guide to preparing for Dental School.
The most common prerequisite courses include:
Additional information, including descriptions of specific courses and their corresponding credit hours, is available in the Academic Catalog.
As you complete the Pre-Professional Dentistry track at Gardner-Webb, you will begin to prepare for Dental School. Here are the important steps you’ll need to take:
While it may seem as simple as diagnosing and treating diseases, injuries and malformations of the teeth and mouth, dentistry is a varied and rewarding career. You will find daily opportunities to improve a patient’s appearance, educate patients how to better care for their teeth and prevent oral disease, and empower them to feel positively about their lives. You can even choose to pursue opportunities to perform surgical procedures such as implants, tissue grafts and extractions or to perform research directed to improving oral health and developing new treatment methods. Outside of self-employed dental practices, there are numerous other opportunities for dentists in public health agencies, hospitals, the military and many other clinical or teaching settings.
The collective experience of your coursework will prepare you to:
For more information, visit the American Dental Association’s website.
The department provided me with friends and mentors that, through encouragement and educating, gave me confidence that I could enter the job market or dental school at a competitive level.”
My GWU classes emphasized critical thinking and application, which prepared me for the rigors of dental school. Because most classes at GWU had less than 10 students, I was able to work closely with the other students and professor."
The faculty in the Natural Sciences department were very helpful and encouraging when it came to helping me meet the requirements for dental school, concerning what classes to take and then with the application process."
>80%
of dentists are general practitioners
9
recognized dental specialty areas
~20%
of dentists are dental specialists
