The Iowa Valley Community District (IVCCD) offers an associate of arts degree in dentistry at Marshalltown Community College in Marshalltown and Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls. This degree requires 42 credit hours in general education and 22 credit hours in electives. Elective courses to choose from include plant or animal biology, general chemistry, precalculus and college physics. College of dentistry applicants must complete a baccalaureate degree after completing this pre-professional program of study. Marshalltown College offers a diploma in its 11-month dental assisting program. This degree requires 12 credit hours in general education and 36 credit hours in program requirements, including dental science, dental radiography, laboratory procedures, dental specialties and dental office procedures.
Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC), located in Ankeny, Iowa, offers an associate degree in pre-dental, a dental assisting diploma and an associate of applied science degree in its dental hygiene program. Pre-dental students preparing to attend the University of Iowa College of Dentistry must have a cumulative GPA of 3.6 for consideration into the school. Pre-dental students must take the Dental Admissions Test (DAT) at the end of their sophomore year as part of the dental school admission requirements. Pre-dental course requirements include cell and molecular biology, general psychology, organic chemistry, trigonometry and college physics. To earn a diploma, dental assistant students must complete all courses with a 2.0-grade point average. Students in the dental hygiene program must complete all required courses and maintain a C or better grade in each course.
Students interested in becoming dental technicians can apply at the Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids. Dental technology specialty areas taught at Kirkwood include orthodontics, dentures, partial dentures, ceramics, bridges and crowns. The program's associate of applied science degree requires 77 total credit hours. Also available at Kirkwood are programs in pre-dentistry, dental assisting and dental hygiene.
Founded in 1882, the University of Iowa Department of Dentistry changed its name to the University of Iowa College of Dentistry (UI) in 1900. UI offers advanced programs in specialty areas, and its outreach programs center on special needs patients, children and seniors. Departments at UI include family dentistry, pediatric dentistry, oral and maxillofacial surgery, operative dentistry, orthodontics, periodontics, prosthodontics, endodontics, preventive and community dentistry, oral pathology, radiology and medicine and dental administration. Prior to admission to UI, in addition to the required DAT test, students must file Associated American Dental Schools Application Service (AADSAS) applications with the American Dental Education Association (ADEA). Students must submit letters of evaluation from a dentist, physician, instructor, academic adviser, faculty member or employer. Students may enter UI through the Deferred Admit Program (DAP) at the end of their first year of undergraduate school if they have maintained a 3.60 overall GPA and a 3.50 GPA in science. Students must submit DAP applications at least two years prior to their enrollment date.