Deciding to become a dentist as your job is a wise career move: the hours are good, the wages is even better and, if patients are offensive to you, you get to drill into their teeth and punch sharp things at their gums. On the downside, though, the training needed to become qualified can be long and rigorous. In the US, for example, you need to complete a three-year bachelor’s degree accompanied by four years of dental school, while in the United Kingdom, you will use at least five years of studying. It helps, accordingly, if you’re at a college or university that shines in dentistry and which can make the whole process more tolerable. To help you find one, we have compiled the most recent data from Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), Times Higher Education (THE) and also the Academic Rankings of World Universities (ARWU) and equated their scores out accordingly.
These are the top 10 best dental schools in the world as of 2021.
| Rank | Dental SchoolLocation | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harvard University | Boston, Massachusetts, USA |
| 2 | King’s College London | London, UK |
| 3 | University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA |
| 4 | University College London (UCL) | London, UK |
| 5 | University of Washington | Seattle, Washington, USA |
| 6 | University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA |
| 7 | The University of North Carolina | Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA |
| 8 | University of California | Los Angeles, California, USA |
| 9 | Katholieke Universiteit Leuven | Leuven, Belgium |
| 10 | University of Hong Kong | Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong |
=9. Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Location: Leuven, Belgium
Average school ranking: 20.7
Kicking off our top list in joint-ninth position, the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven – or in short KU Leuven, for short – is a distinguished institution within the oral health sciences world. Regrettably, the dentistry programme is only taught in Dutch, indicating that you will have to scrub up on your language abilities if you want to study here. If you are a non-EU student and your university has an exchange arrangement with Leuven, meantime, it is possible to spend some three months in the department besides a Dutch speaker. Fortunately, many of the school’s master’s programmes are taught in English, so if further postgraduate education in the fields of deglutology, forensic odontology, or algology seems like your bag, then you could be in luck. Due to the provincial composition of Belgian higher education, meanwhile, tuition fees can differ widely depending on where you come from and what your economic background is.
=9. University of Hong Kong
Location: Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong
Average ranking: 20.7
As the highest-ranking Asian university on this listing (pipping both the prestigious Tokyo Medical and Dental School and the University of Melbourne), learners on the University of Hong Kong’s six-year BDS undergraduate curriculum can expect state-of-the-art teaching facilities, a perfect graduate employment rate and a globally renowned, student-focused education. Fortunately, the complete course is taught in English, too, although students must undertake supplementary Chinese and Cantonese language courses in order to communicate with patients. As of 2019–2020, tuition fees for ‘non-local’ students (in other terms, those requiring a visa to be in Hong Kong) is approximately $20,500 (£15,500) per year, including a deposit upon acceptance of $10,250 (£7,750).
8. University of California, Los Angeles
Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
Average ranking: 14.3
Given the passion with an image in Los Angeles, it is perhaps unsurprising that dentistry possibilities there are prevalent. The University of California, Los Angeles or simply the UCLA, as it’s more regularly abbreviated – grants a four-year DDS programme that starts in the laboratory before branching out into clinical environments. With just 88 students on the course, admission to the school is extremely competitive. According to the UCLA’s official admissions website, the average GPA of the present class is 3.80, with 21 students graduating from Summa Cum Laude, 21 Magna Cum Laude and 17 Cum Laude (startled, yet?). Tuition fees, meanwhile, are just above $78,500 (£59,380) per year for non-California inhabitants, although this doesn’t cover living costs and personal fees.
7. The University of North Carolina at the Chapel Hill
Location of school: Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
Average school ranking: 14.0 The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – or UNC-Chapel Hill, for short –it is a public university famous for its dentistry and dental hygiene programmes and, in precise, its state-of-the-art facilities. Certainly, the university’s Koury Oral Health Sciences Center, which began in 2012, is equipped with some of the exquisite technology in the world. Applicants are obligated to have achieved a four-year undergraduate degree (as well as various pre-dental courses), while tuition fees for non-North Carolina homeowners start at $83,790 (£63,380) per year.
6. University of Pennsylvania
Location of school: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Average school ranking: 13.7
As an Ivy League institution that awards academic excellence in various fields (Wharton, for example, is one of the top business institutions in the world), it is no surprise at all that the University of Pennsylvania – or simply UPenn – makes an impression on this list. The university is interested to make the most of this academic diversity, also, with dual-degree options encouraged (ideal for those looking to link their clinical training with their business goals). Throw in possibilities for hospital externships overseas, student research programmes and summer fellowships, and also UPenn becomes a highly sought-after destination. Tuition fees are set at about $95,000 (£71,860) per year, although this does not value for living costs or personnel costs.
5. University of Washington
Location of school: Seattle, Washington, USA
Average school ranking: 11.7
Based in the trendy north-western metropolis of Seattle area, the University of Washington particularly School of Dentistry (UWSOD) gives students a world-class dental training. On the downside, though, the institution is something of a closed-door shop. According to the university’s admission statistics, UWSOD receives about 1,000 applications per year for 63 places – a slim approval rate of around 6.3% – with Washington and, to a lesser extent, WICHE natives taking the vast majority of those spots. If you’re one of the fortunate few non-residents to clutch in (and some places are reserved for international students), then you can anticipate to pay tuition costs of about $102,000 (or £77,160) per year, not covering personal and living expenses.
4. University College London (UCL)
Location: London, United Kingdom
Average ranking: 10.3
While there is unquestionably the potential for a joke here about the British people and teeth, UCL depicts the first of two UK entries on this list. Certainly, the University’s Eastman Dental Institute – proximate to the Eastman Dental Hospital with which it is affiliated – is residence to one of the finest dentistry research groups in the whole world. Perhaps bizarrely, the school doesn’t really offer an undergraduate course in dentistry; its collection of specialist certificates, postgraduate programmes, and research events make it a more than worthy addition, in any case. Tuition fees differ depending on your selection of course, where you are from and what funding you are qualified for, but on the whole, they are in line with most other UK universities.
3. University of Michigan
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Average ranking: 9.3
Despite its prominence for athletic prowess, the University of Michigan is likewise one of the best scientific research universities in the United states Unsurprisingly, its dental establishment, located on the picturesque campus near Ann Arbor, is a beneficiary of this accomplishment. There are various postgraduate programmes available, with the main dentistry stream following the DDS curriculum, while schooling fees for non-Michigan inhabitants are set at about $68,370 (or £51,720) per year (not covering living and personal costs).
2. King’s College London
Location of school: London, United Kingdom
Average school ranking: 8.0
Amalgamated under the known academic umbrella of University of London, King’s College UK is a research-driven school with the largest dental school in the United Kingdom, graduating about 150 dentists each year. Unlike UCL, it gives the five-year BDS undergraduate programme and presents students with the opportunity to obtain clinical experience in several world-class hospitals as well. Tuition fees for UK candidates are capped by the British government at £9,250 (about $12,280) per year, while all international students are looking at about £43,500 (around $57,720) per year. (These fees don’t cover living or personal costs, nor do they value for additional expenses for travel, graduation and security checks.)
1. Harvard University
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Average ranking: 6.0
When it comes to top university rankings, it appears as though that, no matter what the subject is, Harvard University is a world leader. Dentistry is certainly no different, with the Harvard School of Dental Medicine – based in Boston – offering various postgraduate courses, including the DMD programme. As part of the continuous curriculum – which makes full use of Harvard’s unique teaching techniques – students are also required to develop and complete a research project in their second, third and fourth years, nearly complementing the existing inter-disciplinary approach. Tuition fees are set at about $85,070 (£64,350) per year, although this does not cover living costs, travel, and other personal allowances.
See also; List of best Engineering schools in the US
As you can see here, there are top-level opportunities for studying dentistry all over the world, although when picking a university, you should always take a look at what is the best fit for you – not what everybody else thinks.
