Manual Dexterity

A dentist must have superior manual dexterity skills. Stop and consider for a moment the size of the average person's mouth. Dentists must exercise very fine motor control and possess excellent hand-eye coordination. Dentists must perform detailed, meticulous procedures on a minute scale. If you aspire to a career as a dentist you must engage in deliberate activities through which you can develop these abilities.

Dental school admissions committees expect that applicants have developed these skills prior to admission. When you apply to dental school, you must be able to do more than say, "I'm good with my hands." You must be able to demonstrate to an admissions committee that you have systematically engaged in activities through which you have developed the necessary manual dexterity skills.

Activities that are particularly helpful in building these abilities include playing a musical instrument (piano, guitar, flute), or producing three-dimensional artwork (jewelry-making, ceramics, sculpture). Working in a biology lab performing fine detailed tasks such as dissections can also be an excellent way to develop manual dexterity skills, as can be working in a dental lab.

You should choose an activity that you will enjoy and participate in it on a consistent basis over an extended period of time, preferably throughout your college years. It is helpful if you can find a way to document the level of skill you have developed for an admissions committee, such as taking courses for college credit, performing in a concert, providing samples of your artwork, or obtaining a letter of recommendation from your teacher in an art or music class, or your supervisor in a biology lab.