OzTREKK - Australian Dental Schools

Curious about studying dentistry? You can study at a world-class Australian or New Zealand dental school and return to Canada to practice! Get an exceptional education and clinical training all in an amazing location. OzTREKK has helped more than 600 Canadians achieve their dreams of studying dentistry.

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Why should you study dentistry at the University of Queensland?

Are you thinking about studying dentistry? Will it be too challenging? Will you enjoy it?

One of the best ways to find out if a program might be right for you is by reading student reviews.

In this article, UQ sat down with brothers (and former OzTREKK students!) Ryan and Sean C, to talk to them about their experiences about being a Canadian studying dentistry at the University of Queensland, what led them to Australia, and what they’ll be doing next.

What were your personal motivations for studying dentistry?

Ryan: Initially, my personal motivation for studying dentistry stemmed from my volunteer experience in Yukon, Canada. Yukon is a region where First Nations members suffer from the worst oral health outcomes in Canada, and only a fraction of First Nations people get access to their health benefits due to their circumstances. Shadowing my dentist, Dr. Yul, during this time really inspired me, and I decided to go into dentistry.

The more I learn and study, the better treatment and results I can provide to my patients. So, this motivates me to always learn and study to become a better clinician.

Now that I’m a final-year student working in Oral Health Centre and Stafford Dental Clinic, I see a lot of patients every day and learn something new every day. I’ve realized that the more I learn and study, the better treatment and results I can provide to my patients. So, this motivates me to always learn and study to become a better clinician.

Sean: My personal motivation for studying dentistry lies in seeing the difference I get to make to appreciative patients. Many patients show up to the dentist with some kind of pain, discomfort or worry, and it is a great feeling when I am able to help them on the spot. I realize that often it can take a lot of courage for patients to see the dentist, and knowing that they have placed their trust in me, I feel motivated to help them to the best of my ability.

See more...

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Meeting the University of Melbourne’s Prerequisites

You’re excited to apply to the University of Melbourne’s Doctor of Dental Surgery or Doctor of Physiotherapy, but then you discover you don’t meet the prerequisites.

Now what?

If you’ve checked the Melbourne’s Prerequisites page and find you don’t meet the prerequisites, don’t worry! You still have a few options to explore.

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About the Sydney Dental School Simulation Centre

The University of Sydney Dental School recently bolstered its dentistry learning experience with $9.4 million investment in new simulation facilities.

Sydney dental students receive immediate, three-dimensional, audio and written feedback from the various simulation modalities on their work on artificial teeth (such as a cavity, crown, and endodontic access preparations).

The advanced technology addresses well-known challenges in dental education to provide objective feedback, such as grading scale, rater calibration, bias, training, grading fatigue, subjective influences as well as the demand for immediate and objective feedback.

Doctor of Dental Medicine at Sydney Dentistry School

The Sydney Dentistry’s 4-year, full-time, graduate-entry Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) course offers you the opportunity to develop skills through practice-based learning and will expose you to new dental technologies and research. The DMD will educate you to draw on evidence to treat patients effectively and respond to the changing oral health needs of the community.

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How to Go from High School to Medical or Dental School

Can you go straight from high school into medical school or dental school?

Thousands of Canadians apply to study in Australia every year, and among them are recent high school graduates looking to pursue a professional degree.

Unlike many countries, Australia offers direct entry into undergraduate medicine or dentistry programs. This means you can apply to medical or dental school straight from high school, without having to do a bachelor’s degree first.

To help give you a bit more info about what you can study and what to expect, we recently held our Study in Australia: Undergraduate Medicine & Dentistry webinar, which featured 1 student and 2 alumni, Nadia, Rahat, and Nick. All three were eager to help future students by sharing their stories and answering questions.

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What is the UCAT?

If you’re applying to study dentistry in Australia, you may have to take an admissions test like the UCAT.

The University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) is an admissions test used by many universities in Australia and New Zealand to help them achieve greater fairness in candidate selection.

Because the demand for medicine, dentistry and some other health science courses is so significant, the Grade 12 GPA required to get in is extremely high. Universities use UCAT as another method for selecting students.

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Studying Dentistry at Griffith University: Make It Matter

Meet former OzTREKK student, Jen, a second-year Griffith University student who moved from Canada to Australia in 2022 to pursue her passion—to become a dentist!

A Bachelor of Dental Health Science/Master of Dentistry student, Jen is passionate about using preventative dental health to help others, in the same way her childhood dentist helped her to regain her confidence.

Originally from Canada, Jen now lives on the beautiful Gold Coast and enjoys the pristine beaches and stunning hinterland in her free time. She’s eager to make the most of her experience at Griffith.

Learn more about studying dentistry.

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Study in Australia? Yup, we can help!

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Griffith dental students to receive more practical experience

Griffith University provides high-quality education to improve health outcomes for local communities. As such, the university is increasing the clinic’s provision of affordable and accessible dental care at the Gold Coast campus with the launch of a state-of-the-art dental clinic expansion, which means dental students will have more opportunity to put their theory into practice.

What this means for Griffith dental students The new clinic delivers cost-effective dental treatment and care is overseen by registered dental practitioners, and Griffith dental students working in the clinic will obtain essential skills and confidence by working closely with Griffith’s qualified oral health professionals. The initiative will expand the provision of essential practical experience for fourth- and fifth-year dental students with on-campus, supervised placement and training.

Read more

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Griffith University Scholarships for Canadian students

Each year, Griffith University offers a generous range of scholarships to support international students in their undergraduate, postgraduate, research and pathway programs.Learn more about studying at Griffith University in Australia

These scholarships recognize remarkable students with outstanding academic achievements and the potential to make a positive contribution to the university and to the community!

Griffith University is proud to support these outstanding international students with a generous range of scholarships in 2023–24:

International Student Academic Excellence Scholarship – 25% of tuition fees for the duration of a program (no application required)

Griffith Remarkable Scholarship – 50% of tuition fees for the duration of a program (application required)

Vice Chancellor’s International Scholarship –  50% of tuition fees for the duration of a program (application required)

Read more about these scholarships.

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Tour the University of Otago Dental School

New building project The University of Otago Council spent an excess of NZ$200 million on a number of capital projects, including a program of redevelopments for the Faculty of Dentistry. This included a new building and refurbishment at its existing site on Great King Street, a new clinic in Auckland, and the establishment of a community clinic in South Dunedin called Te Kāika.

This means you’ll be studying in a brand-new dentistry building that’s tasteful, modern, and energy efficient. It deploys the latest construction methods, and has been designed with great care to ensure they reflect the university’s already world-class campus setting.

Learn more!

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Day in the life of a UQ dentistry student

Are you considering studying dentistry? Then you should meet former OzTREKK student Sean Choi!

Sean is a Canadian student who began the Bachelor of Dental Science Honours at The University of Queensland Dental School in 2018. Here, he gives you a fantastic overview of what to expect as a dental student. And, let’s be honest: It looks incredible!

Keep reading!

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What is the ISAT?

Just like the MCAT or the DAT, the International Student Admissions Test (ISAT) is designed to assess your abilities and intellectual skills, and to see whether or not you have the capability to succeed in your chosen program, like medicine or dentistry.

The ISAT test is a 3-hour computer-based multiple-choice test. It assesses your ability to understand and analyze. Questions typically require you to read and think about a passage of writing, to interpret graphical displays of information, to use mathematical relationships, and to reason about tables of data.

Get more details about the ISAT here.

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Career Advice: Figuring Out Your True Calling

What’s your true calling?Canadian dentist and Melbourne DDS graduate Dr Arora

It’s certainly a loaded question and one we suspect you’ve asked yourself.

We had University of Melbourne Doctor of Dental Surgery alum Dr. Arora share how she narrowed down her true calling. She ultimately landed on dentistry; however, her advice is relevant to anyone considering their future career.

Here are some key takeaways from our chat with Dr. Aurora:

Consider You Values and Skills What do you value? Dig deep. Create a list of things that you genuinely value (as well as those you don’t). Is it family time? Travel? Interacting with people? Do you value sleep? (Does anyone not value sleep?)

What skills do you have? Are you willing to spend hours (and hours) working on them? Be honest with yourself.

Keep reading!

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What does it take to get into an Australian dental school?

The road to studying dentistry in Australia can sometimes have bumps along the way, especially when it comes to being rejected from your dream school, or facing obstacles before you can even get through the application phase.

Are you stuck and wondering about your options?

We’ve put together some of the most common hurdles our students face, and what you can do if you find yourself in one of these situations.

You don’t meet the prerequisites

The University of Melbourne DDS prerequisites are quite strict and require that students have completed approved courses in human anatomy, human physiology, and biochemistry to be eligible to apply.

The anatomy prerequisite in particular tends to be the largest barrier for many of our students. A class with a lab component with human cadaveric materials is required. Because of this, only certain anatomy courses are approved and not every Canadian school offers approved courses. This is especially true for students on the west coast, as there are no approved courses at UBC, SFU or uVictoria. Don’t fret, though—we’ve got some an alternative pathway for you:

Enroll in an approved course Although you cannot apply unless you meet the prerequisites, Melbourne allows you to enroll in these courses during the application season. These courses can be taken as non-award classes or open studies and don’t need to be taken as part of your degree to count toward meeting the prerequisite requirement. This means you can submit your application early in the year with your interim transcript and proof of enrollment in the class. Once you complete the prerequisite course, you will need to submit an updated transcript as proof of completion.

Prerequisite Subject Assessment If you find that the anatomy, physiology and/or biochemistry courses that you have completed are not found on the above chart, you can have these courses assessed by submitting a Prerequisite Subject Assessment Form. You’ll need to include full course outlines for each course you want assessed. If needed, we recommend you do this as soon as possible in advance of applying so you can plan accordingly as you may end up needing to enroll in an approved subject as per above.

Dental Aptitude Test  or Dental Admission Test

If you haven’t written the DAT, you still have dental school options. OzTREKK represents 6 programs that do not require the DAT. The undergraduate-entry programs (JCU, Griffith, CSU, and UQ) are open to applicants who are applying directly from high school and to those who have partially or fully completed one or more post-secondary degrees. The University of Otago (our first dental program in New Zealand) offers a Bachelor of Dental Surgery program that is open to applicants who have a completed bachelor’s degree and have met all the mandatory prerequisite courses.

Your DAT does not meet the minimum requirements To be eligible to apply, you must meet the DAT minimum requirements for each program. If one or more sections of your DAT does not meet these requirements, but you are keen to apply to the graduate-entry programs, you will need to rewrite the exam. DAT reports are valid for 2 years.

The DAT is now offered throughout the year at professional test centres across Canada. OzTREKK’s university partners will also accept the American DAT in lieu of the Canadian version of the test.

Get more tips.

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From Calgary to the Gold Coast: Griffith dentistry student chats about her experience

Oh, we love it when our students succeed in their studies in Australia!

Brittani Kwok is a former OzTREKK student ambassador and a current Griffith dentistry student who swapped the snow for the sand earlier in 2020 to pursue her dream of becoming a dentist. Prior to joining Griffith, Brittani completed a Bachelor of Science from the University of Calgary.

Here's what she had to say about studying dentistry at Griffith University:

What is your dream job? I would love to be a clinician practicing dentistry, possibly specializing (although I’m not sure what yet!) and professor (I would love to eventually teach dentistry).

How is Griffith University helping you achieve that dream?  Griffith has some amazing facilities such as the anatomy learning centre that really help solidify my knowledge which will eventually help me to be the best clinician I can be!

Why did you choose to study at Griffith University? I was accepted into five different dental schools in Australia and had a very difficult time deciding which one to go to. I eventually chose Griffith for a number of reasons. One was that Griffith has state-of-the-art facilities such as the Simodont machines which help to provide students with hands-on practice. Another was that Griffith was the only school that was offering credit for prior learning. I ended up saving a lot of time and money on tuition this way, which ultimately allowed me to travel a lot during my first year and explore Australia.

How has Griffith made you feel supported on your student journey? Griffith University has such an amazing community including the international student advisors, professors, and students. The international student population (and the Canadian students in particular) is quite large and therefore, I never feel alone. Everyone is really supportive because we’re all going through the same struggles of missing home and the uncertainty of not knowing when we will get to go back home again. Thankfully though, the community at Griffith makes me feel comfortable and supported.

How would you describe the teaching staff at Griffith? I received credit for eight classes at Griffith so I really was only in two classes in my first year! Therefore, I can’t speak to the breadth of teaching staff at Griffith (yet!). However, the professors that I did have were really great and eager to help. They’re all really passionate about what they do, and that shines through in their teaching.

What has been your favourite weekend outing or holiday experience since you arrived in sunny Queensland? I have done a lot of travel within Queensland since I’ve been here! One of the reasons I wanted to come to Australia in the first place was to explore!

So far, I have been on a trip to Noosa and a trip to the Whitsunday Islands and Airlie Beach. Noosa National Park was absolutely stunning. I went whale watching, swam in the fairy pools, ate gelato on the beach, watched the sunset from Laguna Lookout, and walked along the beautifully lit up Hastings Street at night. In Airlie Beach I went snorkelling on Hook Island, saw the beautiful swirling sands of Hill Inlet, relaxed on Whitehaven Beach, and went jet skiing around the islands. Next week I am actually headed to Cairns to get my diving certification on the Great Barrier Reef! There truly is no shortage of amazing experiences to be had here in Queensland.

What do you love most about life in Queensland? I think this is an unfair question. I don’t think I could pick one thing… I love the sunshine, the beaches, the Great Barrier Reef, the waterfalls, the endless amounts of things to do, the ease of transport between cities… If I had to pick one thing, it would be that it feels a lot like home, but with more sunshine and more sand!

Check out Brittani’s Australia bucket list!

Read more of Brittani's blog here!

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How do you pay for dental school?

How do you pay for dental school?

It’s a question we get asked more than you’d think.

Of course, this typically isn’t a subject everyone wants to talk about—but most students want to know the answers!Melbourne DDS graduate Alannah

Wanting to study dentistry in Australia is one thing, but how do you actually pay for it?

Funding a career in dentistry is expensive, but lots of Canadian students find a way to do it.

Meet Alannah, a former OzTREKK student and now a recent University of Melbourne Doctor of Dental Surgery graduate. Here, she chats about her experiences and breaks down how you can make it happen. There are many factors to consider when you’re thinking about studying abroad: tuition, living arrangements, utilities, groceries and entertainment—just to name a few.

Alannah details her expenses into three categories: tuition, living expenses, and entertainment for the duration of her four-year degree.

She discusses how she was able to apply for provincial loans, and offers financial tips and tricks to consider before deciding if Australia is right for you!

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Melbourne Dental School’s state-of-the-art facilities

If you’re interested in studying at Melbourne Dental School, then you’re considering one of the most up-to-date dental schools in Australia!Learn more about Melbourne Dental School

The Melbourne Dental Clinic was established by the University of Melbourne in 2013 to provide excellence in clinical education for the next generation of dental professionals and increase access to comprehensive dental care for members of the public.

A purpose-build teaching clinic designed to promote high-quality care and effective teaching, treatment is provided by students of the Doctor of Dental Surgery, Doctor of Clinical Dentistry, and Bachelor of Oral Health at the University of Melbourne. The clinic complements the simulation laboratory, which consists of 50 sophisticated workstations integrated with computer-aided learning suites with simulated patient dummies.

Students’ work at the clinic is checked at various stages of treatment to ensure the same level of patient care expected from a fully qualified dental professional. And in a pioneering concept, a number of suites are installed with advanced clinical microscopes featuring in-built video cameras, allowing complex dental procedures to be filmed and then viewed by students and staff for training and research purposes.

Students have access to the latest equipment and technology, which allows them to provide the highest standard of service and convenience. Ten general, four multipurpose, and 37 specialist chairs make up the clinic, all used for training in six specialist areas:

Orthodontics

Endodontics

Periodontics

Prosthodontics

Pediatric dentistry

Special-needs dentistry

About the Melbourne Doctor of Dental Surgery Program

The Melbourne Dental School offers the Doctor of Dental Surgery program which incorporates all aspects related to the provision of advanced general dental care to patients as well as teaches students to prepare, develop, execute and write for publication a small research project.

As part of the four-year, full-time degree, you will spend significant time in provision of patient care, and clinical methods, as well as undertake a two-year research project in oral health. In the final year, you will have the unique opportunity to experience working in a private practice setting, where you will learn how to run a small dental clinic.

Program: Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) Location: Melbourne, Victoria Intake: January each year Duration: 4 years Application deadline: Variable; usually the end of July

Learn more about the Melbourne DDS and how to apply.