A key component of your dental school application is gaining a variety extracurricular experiences inside and outside of the field, as well as involved in your community. This experience is gained through shadowing, health care volunteering and/or patient care experiences, and community engagement. Explore the ways to get experience in and out of the field before you attend dental school on this page.
- Shadowing, Volunteering & Patient Care Experiences
- Summer & Abroad Programs
- AEDA Resources and FAQs for Applicants
- Review the sections on "Experiences."
Direct Patient Care Experience
Being a dental assistant can help you to get a job in the dental field and open doors for shadowing opportunities and is a good option to explore if you are considering applying to dental school. Having direct patient care experience can strengthen and diversify the experience on your application; however, it is not a requirement to build an application. As always, we encourage you to check your target schools to see if direct experience in the dental field is required to apply.
The following information is not an exhaustive list of available programs. Students are encouraged to complete their own research for programs in their area.
- Learn more about the responsibilities of a Dental Assistant from the Dental Assisting National Board or the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- ACC Continuing Education, Dental Assistant Program
- College of Health Care Professionals, Dental Assistant Certificate Program
- Search Dental Assistant Schools and Programs (DANB)
- Filter by your location once on the page.
Volunteering
Competitive applicants will have both health care related volunteering and general community engagement volunteering in their application. They both serve different purposes. Health care volunteering allows you to learn about the health care system as a whole and what it means to be a part of that system. Whether you are volunteering in a hospital gift shop supporting patient families or taking vitals at a walk-in clinic, these experiences are vital to understand the multiple roles that make up the health care system.
General volunteering shows your dedication and involvement in your community, as health care professionals ultimately serve the community they work in. The American Dental Education Association also maintains recommendations on community engagement.
Check out some of the opportunities below for recommendations to get started. This isn't an exhaustive list, and we encourage you to do your own research in your local community.
Healthcare Volunteering Opportunities
Healthcare volunteering opportunities do not have to be strictly related to the dental field or direct interactions with patients to be relevant. However, we do encourage finding those experiences where you can. Often times, clinics and hospitals will graduate your responsibilities over time, so it's important to remain committed when you can.
- CommUnity Care Services
- St. David's Dental Program
- Email or subscribe to newsletter for information on volunteering opportunities.
- Texas Mission of Mercy & Health
- People’s Community Clinic
- Manos de Cristo
- American Dental Association Volunteer Opportunities
Community Volunteering Resources
Austin Volunteering Opportunities
This is not an exhaustive list of opportunities in Austin. Please do additional research if there is a community or cause that you would like to support through your volunteering efforts.
- Volunteer Match - Volunteer Opportunity search function, filterable by location
- Do512 - Volunteering in Austin
- Austin Partners in Education
- Central Texas Food Bank
- Habitat for Humanity (Austin)
- Inside Books Project