11 Easiest Orthodontic Residency Programs to Get Into

It’s never too early to start planning your residency program, and for this reason, in today’s article, we will go through some of the easiest orthodontic residency programs to get into.

First of all, let’s see which are some of the orthodontics residency requirements. Usually, there is a residence form that must be filled in, which can be found at the website of the institute or university you would like to complete your residency. Not to mention, you need to have a great GRE for orthodontic residency as well. You will also need to provide undergraduate and dental school GPA, scores from National Board Exams. In some cases, you would need to provide excellent letters of recommendations, and so on. Definitively a lot of documentation.

GPA, or Graduate Points Averages are very important in the application process. Of course, it is in your interest to have the highest GPA as possible regardless of residency programs. But, concerning orthodontic residency,  research has shown that the average GPA for orthodontic postgrads is between 3.44 and 3.8. For foreign students, there are even more requirements, such as TOEFL or some other proof of English proficiency. And, since we are here, you might check some of the Best Dental Residency Programs for Foreign Trained Dentists.

However, having good grades and scores will not be enough to get an orthodontic residency. According to students’ opinions, even though orthodontic is not among the most competitive dental residencies, we have seen it is very hard to get into one such, especially since the number of accepted applicants is very low.  Usually, only a few very lucky (and the best) ones get the opportunity to get into the residency program – you really need to be at the top of your class. Also, even being a perfect student, you would (in most cases) need to pay a ton of money for each year of the residency.

But, as this is not a guide on how to get into orthodontic residency, and rather which one is easiest to get into, we did some research on this matter. We went through a list of accredited orthodontic programs in the US and Canada, where we got some valuable info on the number of accepted residents, duration of the program, and tuition fees. So, according to all previously said, these were the most important factors by which we ranked the easiest orthodontic residency programs to get into. We weren’t able to gather information on how many applicants each university usually has and then to really see which is the easiest when you take into account the number of applicants and the number of accepted residents, so we had to only rely on the number of residents. In case of a tie (when two or more universities accept the same number of residents), we would rank them by the height of the fees. Interestingly, it turned out the higher the fees the easier to get in, because with the higher fees there are fewer applicants. Of course, to those who are not able to pay the higher fees, this criterion won’t work, but this is the list of the easiest orthodontic residency programs to get into and not the most affordable ones. So let’s take a look at them.

But nevertheless, take a look at some of the easier orthodontic residency programs to get into we have picked out for you.

11. New York University College of Dentistry

Accepted residents: 8

For $66,670 per year in the duration of 3 months, 8 lucky applicants will be able to have their residency at the College of Dentistry at New York University.

10. The University of The Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry

Accepted residents: 8

The number of accepted applicants for the Master of Science/Certificate in this university is 8. Residency duration is 27 months, or 3 years, and tuition fees are $90,696, $111,592 and $22,088 for each year respectively.

9. Montefiore Medical Center / Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Accepted residents: 6-8+

Among the easiest orthodontic residency programs to get into is Montefiore Medical Center, with 6-8 applicants received for the Certificate program, and several applicants for the Master of Science program.

8. Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine

Accepted residents: 8+

Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine accepts 8 applicants for Master of Science/Certificate degree program and several more for Doctor of Dental Science/Certificate program. Minimum length of the residence for the MSc is 36months, while for the PhD it is 60 months. Tuition fees are $70,700 for the first year, and around $63,000 for the next years of residence.

7. Tufts University School of Dental Medicine

Accepted residents: 8+

A total of 8 applicants are accepted for the Certificate degree program, while the number of Master of Science degree program applicants varies. Tuition fees are around $77,000 for the first two years of the residency, while the final year is around $72,000.

6. The University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry

Accepted residents: 9 +

This university accepts 9 applicants for the Master of Science/Certificate degree program, while the number of Doctor of Philosophy/Certificate degree programs varies. However, the total amount of fees is around $115,590 for the duration of the whole residence which is 60 months for a PhD program, and 34 months for MSc.

5. Roseman University of Health Sciences

Accepted residents: 10

Roseman University accepts 10 residents for a 35-month long residency for MBA/certificate degree program. The tuition fee is around $74,000 per year, while stipends are available, being around $20,000 annually (plus full health benefits).

4. University of Texas Health Science Center At Houston

Accepted residents: 6+7

In this residency program, 7 applicants are accepted for a certificate program while 6 are accepted for the Master of Science program. Tuition fees are also among the lowest – $16,970 for year one, $11,990 for year two and as little as $1,380 for year three.

3. Saint Louis University Center for Advanced Dental Education

Accepted residents: 14

This university accepts 14 residents for a combined Master of Science/Certificate program in the duration of 30 months. Interestingly, tuition fees are not as high as in other easiest orthodontic residency programs, even though they are pretty high of course. The first two years would cost you around $35,700, while the last year would be around $17,850.

2. Jacksonville University School of Orthodontics

Accepted residents: 14 +1

Jacksonville University accepts 14 residents in a certificate degree program and one applicant for the Master of Science certificate in the duration of 24 and 36 months, respectively. The tuition fee is around $80,000 per year.

1. The University of Colorado, School of Dental Medicine

Accepted residents: 15

This residency program ranks as the easiest orthodontic residency program to get into for obvious reason – the highest number of accepted residents. The length of the program this university offers is 30 months or three school years. As for the tuition, the first year would cost around $53,673, second $54,517 and the third $56,425.