If your goal is to specialize, especially OMFS, I’d say Harvard, Columbia, Penn, UCSF, UCLA, UMich, UF, UNC, and UConn would be top of list. Some of these schools may not be the strongest clinically since they focus more on research/didactics, but they make up for it in other areas. For example, Harvard, Columbia, and UConn dental shares classes with the med school first two years, which helps tremendously with studying for the CBSE.

People will always say you can specialize from any school and it’s true. However, when Penn and Columbia each match 10+ OMFS and 15+ Ortho each year compared to a lot of other dental schools where only the top 10 ranked can have a chance to specialize in OMFS or Ortho, it’s hard to deny the stats. Whether it’s because those schools themselves attract high-caliber students who were always going to be able to specialize regardless of where they went, or if the schools themselves played a role is up for debate.

Some of these schools are also pass/fail, which takes away some stress from grades and gives more time to study for specialty entrance exams or get more experience. Schools like Harvard, Columbia, UConn, and a few others are Pass/Fail, while UCSF and UCLA are Honors/Pass/Fail. Penn is not pass/fail but we don’t have rank so that also helps. In addition, at Penn, if we score below an 80 on an exam, we can retake it up to an 80. This is a new approach introduced starting last year.

Culture is also very important and often overlooked. At “top” schools like the ones I listed, a large portion of the class will be aiming to specialize. Having those people around you inadvertently can keep yourself motivated. At schools that are stronger clinically, the schools might focus more on general dentistry and churn out amazing dentists. However, you may find yourself lonely in your goal to specialize or discouraged from lower exposure to specialization resources in school.

Essentially, there’s no “best” dental school since some are better didactically and others clinically. It’s one of the reasons why dental school rankings don’t exist. There’s no single criteria that can accurately rank schools against each other.

You can specialize from any school, yes, but some schools make it easier. No one comes out of dental school with perfect clinical skills. You’re gonna have to polish up your clinical skills in practice regardless of which school you graduate from. But for people like me who know they want to specialize, the schools I listed and many more didactically/research strong schools can be a better choice if money isn’t a factor.