How Many Shadowing Hours Do You Need for Dental School?

If you're applying to dental school, one of the most common and confusing questions is: “How many shadowing hours do I need?”

The answer? It depends. But here's what we know for sure: while there’s no universal number, dental schools want to see quality over quantity, and a clear understanding of the dental profession. Something that shadowing abroad can uniquely provide.

In this guide, we’ll break down how many hours you should aim for, what kinds of shadowing count, and how a global internship with Go Elective can give you the edge.

> Explore Go-Electives Pre-Dental and Dental Internships Abroad 

What Do Dental Schools Expect?

Most U.S. dental schools don’t have a strict minimum number of shadowing hours. However, they do expect applicants to have:

• Consistent exposure to clinical dentistry
• Documented hours across different specialties or settings
• Genuine insight into the dental profession
  
  

General Guidelines:

• 100 hours is a safe benchmark for most applicants
• Some schools accept as few as 50 hours
• Competitive applicants often report 150+ hours, especially if applying to top-tier schools

What Counts as Shadowing?

Shadowing is any observational experience where you learn directly from a licensed dentist. This includes:

• General dentistry
• Oral surgery
• Pediatric dentistry
• Endodontics or prosthodontics
• Community or public health dental settings
  
  

To count:

• The experience must be supervised
• You should not be paid for your time
• You must be able to describe what you learned

Where You Shadow Also Matters

Dental schools look for varied exposure—not just watching one dentist for 100 hours in the same clinic.

Experiences in low-resource settings or global health programs can help you stand out. That’s where Go Elective comes in.

Explore Go Elective’s Pre-Dental Internships Abroad

In Kenya and Tanzania, you’ll shadow in:

• Public dental departments serving diverse patient populations
• Clinical settings with limited resources
• Multidisciplinary hospital environments that include oral surgery

This gives you insight not just into procedures, but into health systems, cultural approaches to oral health, and patient access challenges.

What About Virtual Shadowing?

Virtual shadowing became popular during the COVID-19 pandemic—but it’s not viewed equally across all schools.

The ADEA states:

"Virtual shadowing may supplement in-person hours but is not a replacement for direct observation of clinical dentistry."

If possible, use virtual hours as a secondary experience, not your primary source.

How to Track and Document Your Hours

You’ll report shadowing hours in your AADSAS application under the "Dental Experience" section. You’ll need:

• Dentist’s name and license information
• Type of practice or specialty
• Number of hours
• A short description of what you observed

Go Elective helps students keep accurate logs with shadowing hour templates, mentorship debriefs, and program certifications.

Quality Over Quantity: What You Actually Learn

Dental schools want to see reflection, not just repetition.

Can you answer:

• What procedures did you observe?
• What surprised you about patient care?
• How did your experiences shape your interest in dentistry?

Go Elective’s internships include guided reflection sessions to help students articulate what they learned—and how it applies to their future as dental professionals.

Final Thought: Aim for Impact, Not Just Hours

Dental schools aren’t looking for a magic number—they’re looking for thoughtful, informed, and motivated applicants. Shadowing abroad through Go Elective gives you:

• Real-world dental exposure
• Cross-cultural understanding
• Clinical reflection skills
• Experiences that set your application apart

Whether you log 80 hours or 180, what matters is that those hours mean something—to you and to the people you hope to serve.

> Apply Today to Gain Pre-Dental Experience Abroad

Article Details

Categories

Recent Articles , Pre-health, Dental Internships,

Author: Go-Elective Abroad

Date Published: Jul 2, 2025