Application and Admission

The Woody L. Hunt School of Dental Medicine (WLHSDM) is committed to the recruitment and success of a diverse group of students with excellent academic and personal qualities that indicate their interest in meeting the distinct oral health needs of the greater El Paso and west Texas communities. The WLHSDM will carefully evaluate a candidate’s entire application packet, including cognitive and non-cognitive, or non-academic areas. This will include evaluations of an applicant’s personal statements, letters of recommendation, and other life, extracurricular, volunteer or employment experiences.

Admissions information data are not weighted, but indicate the importance placed on attracting highly-qualified individuals who: 1) can complete the rigorous curriculum in dental medicine; and 2) have demonstrated the motivation, maturity, interpersonal skills, and empathetic qualities necessary for a contemporary health provider.

While evidence of high intellectual ability and a strong record of scholastic achievement are vital for success in the study and practice of dentistry, the WLHSDM also recognizes the importance of the qualities of compassion, motivation, maturity, personal integrity, and effective communication as necessary traits in the health professions. Therefore, the personal interview will focus on non-academic criteria. Interviewers will assess the applicant’s life experiences, motivation to enter dentistry, knowledge of issues in dentistry and health care, personal characteristics, interpersonal and communication skills, and problem solving ability.

No single factor will be used exclusively to admit or eliminate an applicant to the WLHSDM. Admissions policies will apply to all candidates, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disabled status, sexual orientation, or expression of gender identity. The Admissions Committee will examine each candidate for overall suitability. The Admissions Committee will strive to select a class with varied backgrounds, interests, and life experiences to provide a stimulating and broadening learning environment for all students. Disadvantaged and/or underrepresented minority background and interest in the border region are among the considered factors. With equal qualifications, preference may be given to residents of El Paso, the U.S. border region, and West Texas.

Application Requirements:

• For all dental schools in Texas, you must begin with the Texas Medical and Dental Schools Application Service on TMDSAS.com. You will be provided with step-by-step instructions on how to apply to dental schools in Texas. Link to Out-of-State and In-State Applicants
• Official Transcript(s)
• Dental Admissions Test
• 2 Letters of Evaluation or Health Advisor Packet Evaluation
• Patient Exposure - There is not a minimum number of hours required for admission. However, the admissions committee prefers evidence of depth and breadth of patient exposure and dental shadowing. For more information, see the FAQ tab.
• Fee through TMDSAS - It costs $200 through TMDSAS. This one fee allows you to apply to all 4 dental schools in Texas. TMDSAS does not grant application fee waivers.
• Baccalaureate (at least 90+ Undergraduate Credits), Complete

Admission Requirements:
It is preferred that applicants for admission to the Woody L. Hunt School of Dental Medicine (WLHSDM) at Texas Tech University Health Science Center El Paso will have completed an undergraduate curriculum and been awarded a baccalaureate degree or its equivalent before matriculation into the WLHSDM. However, exceptionally mature students without an undergraduate degree, who have outstanding academic records, superior performance on the Dental Admission Test, and highly desirable personal qualifications may be considered for admission. These applicants must have completed a minimum of 90 semester hours (or 134 quarter hours) at a regionally accredited US or Canadian college or university.

Pre-requisite courses for admission to dental school must be completed with a grade of C or better. Courses taken Pass/Fail or Credit/No Credit will not count towards meeting the requirement. Advanced placement credit is accepted only if the school granting the credit lists the specific course(s) and number of units granted per course on an official transcript. Lump sum credit is not accepted. Please see TMDSAS.com for updated information during spring, summer, and fall 2020 and current information related to COVID-19.

Texas Medical and Dental Schools Application Service (TMDSAS)
TMDSAS is the application service utilized by all Texas residents and non-Texas residents who are applying to a Texas dental school. All required materials are submitted to TMDSAS by the applicant. TMDSAS will transmit the application before transcripts, letters or test scores are uploaded. However, individual applications will not be reviewed by the WLHSDM CDSA until after all required documents have been uploaded to TMDSAS and transmitted to WLHSDM. Each application must be complete in order to enter the review process.

Dental Admission Test (DAT)
The DAT is a requirement for admission. Scores should be no more than 3 years old. The DAT is used by dental schools to measure academic ability, scientific understanding and perceptual ability. It is required by WLHSDM for application review. It measures:

• Natural sciences (biology, general chemistry, and organic chemistry)
• Perceptual ability (two- and three-dimensional problem solving)
• Reading comprehension (dental and basic sciences)
• Quantitative reasoning (mathematical problems in algebra, numerical calculations, conversions, etc.)

State Residency
While the Admissions Committee will accept applications from non-Texas residents, applicants will be informed that, as an institution supported by the state of Texas, state law requires the WLHSDM to admit an entering class composed of at least 90% Texas residents.

Additionally, due to federal financial aid guidelines, the WLHSDM will only consider candidates for the DMD program who are either U.S. citizens or who have permanent resident status.

Secondary Application
The WLHSDM does not require a secondary application.

Letters of Evaluation
The following letters of evaluation are required for each applicant:

• Two individual letters of evaluation OR one Health Professions Committee Letter/Packet
• Option to submit one additional letter

Evaluators should know an applicant well to evaluate him/her both academically and personally. It is recommended that the evaluators be current or former professors who can speak to the candidate’s academic ability in the natural sciences, as well as to the candidate’s non-cognitive traits. If you attend a university that provides committee letters or packets, we will accept this in lieu of two individual Letters of Evaluation. For more information on Letters of Evaluation go to:
https://www.adea.org/GoDental/Application_Prep/The_Admissions_Process/Letters_of_evaluation.aspx
OR
https://www.tmdsas.com/PLAN/dental/next-steps/supporting-docs/letters.html

Patient Exposure
There is not a minimum number of hours required for admission. However, the admissions committee prefers evidence of depth and breadth of patient exposure. The more practitioners and community clinics in which you are able to volunteer, the more exposure you will have to a variety of philosophies on modes of health care delivery, patient interactions, and community needs. It is important to demonstrate through your patient interaction experiences that dentistry is the health care field to which you are committed.

Minimum GPA and DAT Requirement for admission
Our minimum GPA requirement is a 3.0 and the minimum score on the DAT is a 17. However, in 2020 in the state of Texas for accepted students, the average GPA was a 3.72, the SGPA was a 3.65 and the DAT was a 21.6.

International/Transfer or Advanced Standing applicants
Due to the unique structure of its curriculum, WLHSDM does not admit transfer or advanced standing students. Individuals who wish to enroll at WLHSDM will be evaluated with all other students applying to the D1 class. Applicants must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

For more information on Woody L. Hunt School of Dental Medicine Admissions, go to: https://elpaso.ttuhsc.edu/sdm/admissions/default.aspx

International Applicants
At this time, WLHSDM does not have an international program. Applicants must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

Application Timeline
Woody L. Hunt School of Dental Medicine follows the TMDSAS timeline found at: https://www.tmdsas.com/PLAN/references/deadlines.html

Standards for Curricular Completion

Purpose
This document provides information about the technical skills that are required to provide oral health care services and complete the curriculum at Hunt SDM. All prospective and currently-enrolled students, as well as all faculty, should review these standards, as they are integral to the successful completion of our program. They also serve as a guide to understanding the various characteristics necessary to become successful clinicians. Hunt SDM will assist students with disabilities and who are otherwise qualified, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Hunt SDM expects each student to demonstrate knowledge, skills and attitudes prior to graduation that are deemed essential to the practice of dentistry by the faculty at Hunt SDM. The curriculum has been designed to ensure that graduates achieve the level of competent clinicians, and the following standards are meant to clarify essential functions to fulfill this goal. Since the treatment of patients by students (under faculty supervision) is a significant part of the Hunt SDM curriculum, patient safety is a primary reason for developing these standards. Therefore, an essential standard is that students are able to provide safe patient treatment within a reasonable period of time.

The performance standards are described below in several broad categories, to include observation and sensory, communication, motor function, knowledge integration and application, and emotional, behavioral, and professional skills. Matriculation and continued enrollment through graduation is predicated upon these performance standards.

Observation and sensory
Each student is expected to acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes through observation of demonstrations, presentations, experiences, and clinical environments. These interprofessional experiences may include biomedical sciences, simulation activities, anatomy labs, clinical encounters, and electronic presentation techniques, and may incorporate various health care viewpoints. Knowledge acquisition is expected from the following sources in support of patient care: paper, video, slide, cadaver, and imagery, as well as through auditory, visual, olfactory, tactile and somatic sensation. The expectation of accuracy is not related to close or distance observation. Interpretation of non-verbal communications is expected during all clinical interactions. The student must be able to execute gross and fine motor movements, see fine detail even during patient movement, focus at a variety of distances, and discern variations in color, texture, shape and depth. They must be able to gather clinical information by palpation or transmittal of sensation through instrumentation. Clear vision resolution is required to accurately read records and handwriting, examine imaging and small detail, and discern depth, width, and angulation. The ability to work well and efficiently in a bustling, noisy environment, and to communicate effectively with patients in these situations is expected.

Communication
Each student must respectfully and sensitively communicate with faculty, residents, staff, students, other health professionals, patients and their families, community organizations, and leaders. It is expected that the student have sufficient communication skills in the English language to obtain and share information from any venue, such as publications, lectures and their supporting materials, written or electronic testing, other patient care members, and patient interviews. Data and material may require retrieval from patient records, backgrounds, unspoken behaviors and posture. The student must be able to communicate with the patient and their parents, families, guardians, and community partners to assure compliance with various preventive and treatment recommendations. Communication includes speech and writing, and must be effective for overall success in this program, as well as for the delivery of oral health care and its accurate documentation.

Motor Function
A student must be able to repetitively position around a patient for prolonged periods of time, whether sitting in a chair or standing. The student will be required to have functional physical mobility and coordination of both gross and fine motor skills (including facility of vision and touch), in order to safely and efficiently use various types of dental instrumentation. Some examples include, but are not limited to, the following: the use of hand instruments, scalpels, high- or low- speed suction and rotary handpieces; image capturing and restoration-producing equipment; operation of foot pedals and task- operating buttons and pads; and a variety of other electronic devices. A student must also have the ability to perform palpation, percussion, auscultation, basic laboratory tests and other diagnostic procedures. A student must be able to respond to clinical situations in a timely manner and provide general and emergency dental care. Likewise, a student must be able to perform basic life support, including CPR; assist in movement of patients (including children and those with special needs); physically restrain those patients with lack of motor control; and support co-workers in delivering care. Students must adhere to universal infection protocols and meet established safety standards applicable to inpatient and outpatient settings and other clinical activities. Collectively, these skills require not only the coordination of gross and fine motor skills, but also require the student to function under stress and develop the endurance for physically taxing workloads. All tasks must be performed within a reasonable time period, as determined by faculty, to accommodate an atmosphere of patient-centered care.

Knowledge Integration and Application
A student must be able to analyze, integrate, and synthesize information to solve a variety of problems. Additionally, they must be able to apply this knowledge to understand structures spatially, including two- and three-dimensional relationships. Problem-solving skills must include the ability to address new difficulties in a timely, sometimes rapid, manner.

Emotional, Behavioral, and Professional Skills
A student is expected to demonstrate psychological and sociological health, including the attributes of maturity and emotional stability that will enable them to succeed despite strenuous workloads, stressful situations, time limitations, and a variety of environments and venues. Collectively, this requires the full use of intellectual abilities, good judgment, prompt completion of tasks and skills, and professional communications and relationships with others. The clinical care of patients can present uncertainties and unusual circumstances, and the student must respond with compassion, integrity, empathy, effective personal and interactive skills, and an overall passion for working in the health care arena. Patients can present with a variety of moods and behaviors, and the student must be able to assess and manage the patient without provoking them. The student must also be able to relate to patients and other health care workers with professionalism (which includes honesty, integrity, respect, and acceptance of diversity). A student must always act in the best interests of the patient and society, and this supersedes the student’s self-interests. The student must be a responsible and trustworthy professional at all times. The student must refrain from any actions, including personal appearance and social communications, which may detract from the profession and/or this educational institution. These includes actions, attitudes, and communications at all university-sponsored events, educational locations, and off-campus clinical sites. The Hunt SDM expects students to maintain the ethical and professionalism standards outlined in the American Dental Association’s Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct, the American College of Dentists Ethics Handbook for Dentists, the Texas State Board of Dentistry, and the Code of Professional Conduct at Hunt SDM.

Disclosures
The Hunt SDM has determined that these essential skill functions are necessary. Applicants who can perform these functions with or without reasonable accommodations will be considered. The Hunt SDM does not inquire about disability prior to admission, and each applicant will be considered based on the published criteria for admission. Should an applicant disclose a disability during the admissions process, they may be asked for documentation, which should be sent to the Director of Admissions. With matriculation throughout the program, any student disclosing a disability and requesting accommodation is asked to provide documentation of their disability to determine the appropriate accommodations. In order to matriculate through the curriculum, a student must be able to perform all these essential functions with or without accommodation. An inability to perform these essential functions will lead to a withdrawal of offer of admission, enrollment, or dismissal. Requests for accommodations by matriculated students should be sent to Hector Noriega, Office of Academic and Disability Support Services, Texas Tech University Health Science Center El Paso, 5001 El Paso Drive, El Paso, Texas 79905, hector.noriega@ttuhsc.edu, 915.215.6018.