What 77 dental schools actually require.

Every prerequisite below is counted across the 77 dental schools whose own published list we have read for the 2026-27 cycle, which is every programme in the catalog. Each school has its own page with the list and the page it came from.

Lists read: 77 of 77; from each school's own admissions page
Cycle: 2026-27; check each school's page before you rely on a line

99% of dental schools require biology with lab, the most of any subject. Shares are of the 77 lists read. “Required” means the school states it as a prerequisite; “recommended” means it is named but not a gate.

Coursework

Subject	Required by	Share	Recommended by
Biology with lab	76	99%	1
General chemistry with lab	76	99%	1
Organic chemistry with lab	76	99%	1
Physics with lab	72	94%	2
English or writing-intensive	69	90%	2
Biochemistry	63	82%	11
Microbiology	19	25%	58
Anatomy and physiology	18	23%	59
College mathematics	8	10%	0
Advanced biology	7	9%	9
Social sciences and humanities	5	6%	5
Statistics	5	6%	5
Physiology	4	5%	3
Psychology	4	5%	0
Calculus	1	1%	1
Foreign language	1	1%	0
Sociology	1	1%	0
Genetics	0	0%	2

Experience hours

Subject	Required by	Share	Recommended by	Median minimum
Dentist shadowing	55	71%	22	100 hours
Non-clinical volunteering	7	9%	70	100 hours
Research	0	0%	1	none published

Letters

Subject	Required by	Share	Recommended by
Science faculty letter	54	70%	4
Dentist letter	25	32%	14
Faculty letter (any discipline)	9	12%	5
Committee letter	3	4%	73
Supervisor letter	2	3%	3
Non-science faculty letter	1	1%	0
Physician letter	0	0%	1

How this was counted: each school’s list is recorded as its difference from the path’s standard set, read from the school’s own page and quoted verbatim. A school that publishes nothing about a subject inherits the standard line for it. You are responsible for checking any figure you act on against the school’s own admissions page; each school’s page here links to it. Nothing here is a substitute for the admissions office.