We offer several unique programs within our high-end, multi-specialty private practice, The Center for Special Dentistry (CSD). We are located on Madison Avenue in midtown Manhattan. A PreDental Education Program is the appropriate name for what pre dental school students may refer to as a dental internship or dentist shadowing. This is an informal program for high school students, college students and college graduates from around the world who have NOT yet attended dental school. Many choose it for a valuable gap year.
Our unique high-end private practice programs have existed for over 30 years. They are under the direction of preeminent Professor Dr. Jeff Dorfman. Dr. Dorfman has worked with hundreds of predental and dental students. In addition, Dr. Dorfman has previously been a professor at both Columbia & NYU dental schools for over twenty years combined. Apply to both of our PreDental Education & Dental School Admissions Consulting Programs if you want to learn high-end multi-specialty cosmetic, implant & reconstructive dentistry – and you want the best chance to gain admission to a U.S. dental school.
Links for the above table: Program #1 is below. Program #2 & Program #3.
Summary of our three dental school programs
1. PreDental Education Program – This program is described below. “Dental Internship” or “Dentist Shadowing” – teaches all aspects of dental practice to predental students in a high-end multi-specialty midtown Manhattan practice. Students are immersed in all facets of dental practice including education in general & cosmetic dentistry, all dental specialties, psychological management of patients, dental practice management, dental practice software and internet dentistry. Most students in this #1 PreDental Education program also choose to enroll in #3 The Dental School Admissions Consulting Program.
2. Advanced Dental Education Program – This program is described in another section. “Dental Internship” or “Dentist Shadowing” – teaches all aspects of dental practice to dental students & dentists in a high-end multi-specialty midtown Manhattan practice. Our Advanced Dental Education Program is for American-trained and foreign-trained dentists and dental students from around the world who want to increase their knowledge of dentistry. This informal program teaches multi-specialty diagnosis, treatment planning, behavior management and treatment skills. Our focus is on super premium Oral Rehabilitation Dental Reconstruction. Students do not personally treat patients. This program does not offer a school degree, continuing education (CE) credit nor dental license. Most students in this #2 Advanced Dental Education Program also choose to enroll in #3 The Dental School Admissions Consulting Program.
3. Dental School Admissions Consulting Program – This program is described in another section. Offers help and guidance for predental students, dental students and dentists when applying to a U.S. dental school. Consulting may occur in our office, by phone &/or Skype. Students may enroll only in this Dental School Admissions Consulting Program without enrolling in Programs #1 or 2 described above.
About The Center for Special Dentistry® (CSD) Dental Practice:
The Center for Special Dentistry® in New York City welcomes patients from around the world who seek Creative Solutions for Complex Dentistry®. We are a Multi-Specialty Cosmetic, Implant and Reconstructive dental practice that offers super premium dental care quickly and comfortably. We are a “fee-for-service practice” and do not participate with managed care dental insurance plans. The practice also offers dentistry for people who suffer from dental phobia.
Many pre-dental students are in our office each day. It is a fun and stimulating, private practice/academic environment. The headquarters of 1dentist, LLC, the Internet Dentistry company, is also located in this office. 1dentist, LLC owns 600+ worldwide dentist urls and provides over 4,400 pages of free dental content created in-office and seen on this website and, for example, on LinkowLibrary.org. 1dentist, LLC has been online since 1998. Office tour.
About The Pre Dental School Education Program:
There is no formal curriculum. This program allows students to watch, listen and learn how to treat patients; students are not allowed to actually treat patients themselves. A university-based program (which we are not) will typically have a different patient population than our high-end private practice. Understanding the heart and mind of a patient is the first step in treatment. Differential diagnosis, case presentation and the mechanics of dentistry come later. People seeking super premium dentistry typically have different expectations of how they want to be treated; learning what we do at CSD will apply to ALL patients in your future practice.
Students will be immersed in daily discussions on differential diagnosis, radiographic interpretation, treatment planning complex cases, case presentation and behavioral studies in ALL dental specialties. There is no formal curriculum so students can learn at their own pace and enjoy dentistry. Our students are involved in every aspect of our practice. New students are first required to carefully study The Student Handbook and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and HIPAA Compliance Manuals before being allowed to observe patient treatment.
The intention of this program is to increase the knowledge and skills of students: 1) So they may confirm their interest in dentistry as a career, 2) So they may possibly enhance their application to dental school, 3) So that they may become very well prepared to enter dental school, and 4) So they may become very well prepared how to practice dentistry upon graduation. Please visit our Dental School Admissions Consulting Program described in another section if you are specifically and only seeking dental school admissions help.
Some of the responsibilities of our pre dental students include:
- Learn dental terminology, instruments, materials and procedures.
- Acquire and apply new dental knowledge and skills including working carefully & safely.
- Exemplify punctuality, reliability, cleanliness and initiative.
- Recognize that the office can quickly change, demanding flexibility & organization under pressure.
- Perform and track several tasks simultaneously with accuracy.
- Learn dental practice management and related software.
- Understand how to prepare treatment rooms for all dental specialties.
- Understand how to assist all dental specialties.
- Understand and implement all procedures to help make patients comfortable.
- Clean and disinfect treatment rooms and sterilize instruments.
- Learn how to stock required materials for all aspects of dentistry.
- Take full mouth series x-rays quickly and efficiently and take digital photos.
- Learn to read and understand radiographs.
- Learn how to perform diagnosis and treatment plan patient cases
- Learn how to offer varying case presentations.
- Know how to set up Nitrous Oxide units.
- Help with lab work including pouring up good study models.
- Learn how to deal with dental labs and dental lab technicians.
Our PreDental Education Program alone may, or may not, help our students get admitted into a U.S. dental school. Interested applicants may view what some of our
Our Academic Calendar:
The expected duration of our educational programs can vary based upon individual needs. Starting dates can occur throughout the year. Some students choose to study with us for two or three years because they enjoy the greater depth of their learning or they have predental prerequisites to fulfill. Please note that we typically work a four day week so students have long weekends from Friday to Sunday to enjoy all that New York City has to offer – or to study for the DATs – or get a part-time job. We also take many full weeks off – especially during the summer – so it is the student’s responsibility to plan their visits with this in mind. We also have students attend for only the summer. We cannot guarantee the type or amount of dentistry that will be seen during any time period. We reserve the right to terminate any student studying with us at any time for any reason.
Application:
Please read this information and our website carefully. Applicants must intend to attend dental school to apply to this program..
There is not an application form. You may send your resume, three recommendations and photo via email, US mail and/or fax (212) 754-5731. If using email please send your resume and recommendations contained within the body of your email; only your photo may be a jpeg attachment. We don’t open attachments from unknown sources.
Your references must not be from family or friends. An invitation to interview does not imply acceptance into our program so applicants should make travel plans accordingly. It is possible to arrange a remote interview via Skype, and/or have a family member or friend visit our office, if the applicant is unable to visit us for an interview.
Application Fee and Tuition for the Predental Education Program:
A $35 application fee should be made to 1dentist, LLC and sent via US mail before your application will be processed. We receive a lot of applications each week. This fee is necessary to help reduce the quantity of non-serious applicants.
Tuition fees start at $2,000 per month paid on the first day of each month ($3,000 per month in June, July or August) or $20,000 for any 12 consecutive months paid in full on the first day of attendance. Tuition fees are based upon each calendar month and not split, for example, from mid-month to the next mid-month. Students may study with us for less than one month however all fees begin at the appropriate one month rate.
Tuition fees for high school students start at $3,000 per month paid on the first day of each month ($6,000 per month in June, July or August) or $30,000 for any 12 consecutive months paid in full on the first day of attendance. Tuition fees are based upon each calendar month and not split, for example, from mid-month to the next mid-month. Students may study with us for less than one month however all fees begin at the appropriate one month rate. Any applicant who is either in high school or has not yet attended college is defined here as a high school student.
Payments may be made via check from a U.S. bank, credit card or bank wire transfer. Checks should be made out to 1dentist, LLC and sent via US mail or FedEx. Payment must be made before your application will be processed. Alternatively you may call us to pay via credit card or wire transfer. Wire transfer or other fees may not be deducted from the payment. The application fee is necessary to help reduce the quantity of non-serious applicants. Note that your email may not be secure so call our office if necessary to make your payment.
Tuition fees are due the first day and will allow students the opportunity to participate within our program. The fees cover the basic expenses incurred by your participation during these time periods and will not be prorated over differing time periods nor refunded for partial attendance. For example, attending our program for only six weeks during the summer or three days a week anytime during the year does not result in a discount off the fees listed above.
Tuition discounts, though rare, are possible with documented financial need. This can be discussed privately if you are invited to an interview.
Visas
If necessary, international applicants who have been accepted into our programs may obtain a letter of acceptance that they may use to apply for a U.S. visa. The letter will state the expected duration of study with us. There is no cost. If however an accepted applicant specifically requests a visa letter then there is an $800 fee. In addition tuition must be paid for the time period specified. There is no guarantee that the visa will be granted. There are no refunds.
For example, consider an international applicant who has been accepted to study with us for the summer and needs a visa letter that says they will be with us for the summer. The fee that must be paid before we will write the visa letter is $800 + the Tuition Fee.
More info:
Our Dental Student Blog – over 75 blogs
Dental School Admissions Consulting Program:
This program provides assistance with U.S. dental school admission
Dental Schools Admissions Consulting Program Contact:
Happy Chief of Staff
The Center for Special Dentistry®
Dr. Jeffrey Dorfman, Director
425 Madison Avenue – Suite 500
New York, NY 10017 USA
Email or (212) 758-1000
Some reviews written by past students:
E.W. said:
I was a full time student with Dr. Jeff Dorfman for about a year and met many students who had stayed for two or three years full time. The Center for Special Dentistry is a unique place that has offered dental internships for 25 years. I don’t know of any other place like it where college students with no experience can be allowed to watch and learn how to treat some of the most complicated cases in dentistry. I’ve been exposed to multi-specialty cosmetic reconstruction that I don’t believe I could have learned elsewhere. There’s a great group of cosmetic dentists and specialists in the office who are willing to teach you. Dr. Dorfman wants to see which students make the most effort before he decides to spend his time teaching them individually.
Do not interview with him unless you are fully prepared and know all about the program and the practice from the website. Otherwise, you might get grilled and won’t be invited back. I said I had some experience working in a dental office. Dr. Dorfman then asked me some questions that I should have been able to answer, such as the name of the final filling material used during root canal treatment(gutta-percha). Though I’m typically very calm and collected during interviews, on this particular day I froze and couldn’t come up with the answer. Dr. Dorfman could tell that my knowledge of dentistry was very limited despite what I claimed. I was fortunate to be invited back, but being honest with your experience and background can go a long way.
Dr. Dorfman can be really nice and funny despite new students being frequently intimidated. He was always willing to help me. He wrote a nice letter of recommendation for my dental school application and even personally called each Dean of Admission before each interview.
P.C. said:
Hi, I am currently an intern at Dr. Dorfman’s Center for Special Dentistry and I also wanted to add a few insights: The intention of the practice is to offer patients extremely high-end dental care. All dentists & specialists in the office are encouraged to take as long as they need to perform dentistry as well as possible. Patients leave happy, well informed and with a new friend; Dr. Dorfman really cares about the patients and their dentistry. You cannot work for what you don’t know exists. I never even considered that a world outside of insurance dentistry existed before I came to this office. It’s a hard thing to achieve, and you have to work really hard to make it work, but it opens up your options as a dentist. Dr. Dorfman has been a pro bono professor (teaching for free) at both Columbia and NYU dental schools for nearly 20 combined years. For over 12 years dental students were legally allowed to treat charity dental cases in the office for extremely low fees; this program ended in June 2010.
A high school mentorship program also exists in the office to help educate inner city kids. I have learned a ton of dentistry and have made some potentially life long friends. Dr. Dorfman offers a great deal on a partnership track to the very best of the former interns after dental school graduation. A small fee is charged to students to cover the cost of their participation, but it is well worth it. I really recommend this program!
D.W. said:
I worked in Dr. Dorfman’s office for 3 years and learned more than I ever could have imagined when I applied for the program. Just like any other job you gain more responsibility and a greater understanding for things as time goes on. You get out of the program, what you put in it. The more days you spend in the office, the more you will learn. Dr. Dorfman observes the learning curve of each of the students and pays attention to your willingness and efforts in the office. When he can, he will share with you what he is working on and introduce treatment planning and educate you on different cases. He practices intelligently and teaches you about the business side of dentistry as well. Before this program I did not realize all that it took to run a practice and am extremely grateful for everything that I have learned. I will use all the skills that Dr. Dorfman has taught me for the rest of my life and implement many of them in my career!
In turn, the students that were more active took advantage of what the program had to offer and got to know everyone in the office. Dr. Dorfman is EXTREMELY giving and wants his students to succeed. I HIGHLY recommend this program and encourage everyone to apply! There is nothing else like it.