eli5: Why does dental school take so long?

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All you have to learn about is the teeth, right? And it’s the same length as medical school? Huh?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

It’s the human body, so the basics like biochemistry, organic chemistry, microbiology etc. have to be learned. Typically medical school is 2 years didactic (classroom/lab) and 2 years in hospital clinic which i think is the same for dentistry. Med students then do internship/residencies and dentists can specialize as well. Typically medical post grad education is longer.

FWIW one of the guys who I went to medical school with had a brother who went to dental school at about the same time, and getting licensed as a dentist was a very very big deal and not easy at all. At that time (25 years ago) the majority failed their first attempt.

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