About the School

Doctor of Dental Medicine | Post Graduate Programs | Advanced Education in General Dentistry | Implant Program |

Doctor of Dental Medicine

The educational goal of the SIU School of Dental Medicine is to prepare graduates to become the best general practitioners of dentistry in the country. The School's small student body (approximately 200 students) and intimate environment promote an unusually high level of interaction among students and faculty.

The dental curriculum is a structured program that requires all students to participate in a four year course of study which culminates in the awarding of a Doctor of Dental Medicine degree. Patient care is provided primarily in the Main Dental Clinic in Alton with 72 patient care stations for student clinical experience.

Other facilities in Alton include a comprehensive biomedical library, biomedical and clinical research laboratories, a preclinical laboratory and classrooms. A summer research program is available to those students who are interested in gaining research experience.

Rotations to the community based East St. Louis Dental Clinic provide the opportunity to work with dental assistants while providing dental care to patients in an underserved area. Experience in diagnosis, treatment planning, surgery and prosthodontic treatment for implant dentistry are all offered in the Advanced Care Wing of the Main Dental Clinic in Alton.

The SIU School of Dental Medicine assists its students in choosing and pursuing their personal post graduate interests. Approximately half of the School's new graduates enter private practice, while 25 percent choose to continue their education in graduate and specialty programs in hospitals and universities throughout the country. Others pursue options including military or public health service, dental research, dental education, and careers with a variety of government agencies.

Combined Baccalaureate in Biology/Doctorate in Dentistry Program (B.S./D.M.D.)

Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and the School of Dental Medicine offer a unique combined arts and sciences dental curriculum leading to the degrees of Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Dental Medicine. The preprofessional part of this curriculum is completed within three years on the Edwardsville campus. The professional part is completed in four years at the School of Dental Medicine, Alton, Illinois.

I. Upon completion of the first year of the Combined Degree curriculum and having met the following criteria, the Dean of the School of Dental Medicine shall offer conditional acceptance into the School of Dental Medicine:

• composite letter of Recommendation from the Chief Health Professions Advisor
  
• achievement of a 3.2 grade point average (GPA) on a 4.0 grade scale in Biology
  
• achievement of at least a 3.2 GPA on a 4.0 grade scale in all other courses
  
• appointment with an SIU-SDM Admissions representative

Upon receipt of the student's signed letter of agreement for acceptance into this Program, the SIU-SDM Admissions Office will initiate the formal admissions process with the student submitting appropriate data. In addition, the student will be assigned a current dental student to serve as a student advisor.

II. After completing the second year of the preprofessional curriculum and prior to the completion of the third year of this Program, the student will be allowed to continue in the Program by meeting the following criteria:

• maintenance of an appropriate grade point average
  
• updated composite letter of recommendation from the Chief Health Professions Advisor, including evaluations from at least three faculty members, forwarded to the SIU-SDM Admissions Office
  
• successful achievement on the Dental Admissions Test (DAT) by October of the third year (All Program students are encouraged to take the DAT no later than October of the year prior to first year of professional dental curriculum.)
  
• completion of the SIU-SDM application process (AADSAS is NOT required)

This third-year student will be assigned a dental school faculty member as an additional advisor.

Upon successful completion of the first year in the School of Dental Medicine and the recommendation of the Dean, this student will be granted the degree of Bachelor of Science by the Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville faculty at the first summer commencement following the first year of the professional dental curriculum.