DDS Accepted Student Requirements

Letter of Intent

First, reply to the email that you received notifying you of your conditional acceptance. This way, the Office of Student Affairs is aware of your intentions as soon as possible. Then print the Letter of Intent, sign it, and return it to:

UT School of Dentistry
Office of Student and Alumni Affairs  
6516 MD Anderson Blvd., Rm 155
Houston, TX 77030

Criminal Background Check

Complete the required Criminal Background Check by June 1.  Please review the Criminal Background Check Policy before accessing the steps to submitting the Criminal Background Check.

Official Transcripts

The Office of the Registrar needs official transcripts of ALL college coursework. Even if nothing has changed since you sent transcripts during the application process, you still need to have final official transcripts sent to:

Office of the Registrar
UTHealth 
P.O. Box 20036
Houston, TX 77225-0036

Deadline: June 1

Student Identification Badges

To better assist our incoming classes, we ask that you please send a recent passport-type photo(white background) to be used on your student ID badges. These should be sent electronically to dbphoto@uth.tmc.edu beginning April 1 of the year of entry, but no later than June 1.

Immunizations

You are required to receive certain immunizations before classes start in August.

Please visit the Office of the Registrar for more information or to download the Immunization Record form.

Student Health Insurance

Texas Education Code Section 51.961 authorizes a governing board to require health insurance of students enrolled in health institutions. The University of Texas System, Board of Regents voted Nov. 8, 2001, to include this requirement beginning with the 2002-03 Academic Year.

Students are automatically assessed an insurance charge to their student fee bill for Mega Life Health Insurance. To waive this fee you are required to show proof of current health insurance coverage through another provider by completing the information below before the twelfth day of class for the Fall/Spring semester and the fourth day of class for the Summer semester of every academic year. Failure to provide this information before the deadline will result in forfeiting your option to waive the health insurance coverage and associated fee. Please note that it is not necessary to submit the waiver every semester, as after submitting the waiver in the fall and/or spring semester, the insurance fee will be removed from your bill for the remaining academic year. Please do not complete this form if you are purchasing Mega Life Health Insurance as assessed on your student fee bill.

For more information, or to complete the form, please visit the Auxiliary Enterprise website.

Core Residency Questionnaire

If you are currently not a Texas resident, and you want to claim residency status in order to receive instate tuition, you must complete the Core Residency Form and submit it to the Office of the Registrar (address and fax are on the form). If you are a Texas resident, you do not need to submit this form. ALWAYS PROMPTLY CHECK YOUR TUITION BILL FOR ACCURACY.

Collect teeth

Collection, storage, sterilization and handling of extracted teeth to be used for educational purposes at the School of Dentistry follows Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations and guidelines.

Before being used in an educational setting, extracted teeth must be steam heat sterilized to allow for safe handling. Microbial growth can be eliminated by using an autoclave cycle for 40 minutes.

Use of teeth that do not contain amalgam is preferred in educational settings because they can be safely autoclaved. Extracted teeth containing amalgam restorations should not be heat-sterilized because of the potential health hazard from mercury vaporization and exposure. If extracted teeth containing amalgam restorations are to be used, immersion in 10% formalin, solution for 2 weeks is recommended for disinfecting both the internal and external structures of the teeth.

1. Sources of extracted teeth
   1. Oral Diagnosis Department – Room DBB 3.093. You must wear gown, gloves, mask and protective eyewear when selecting teeth from this source.
   2. Private Practice – Teeth acquired by students from private practitioners must be placed in a holding solution as described below. Teeth must also be submitted for sterilization or disinfection as described below.
2. Holding Solution: Use 0.5% sodium hypochlorite (1:10 dilution of commercial chlorine bleach) in wide-mouthed plastic jars for initial collection and storage medium. This solution is available in the laboratory, DBB B.54.
3. Sterilization and Disinfection of Extracted Teeth
   1. Steam Sterilization - The teeth must be cleaned of visible blood and gross debris and maintained in a hydrated state in a well constructed closed container filled with 0.5% sodium hypochlorite (1:10 dilution of commercial chlorine bleach) until ready for sterilization.
   2. Formalin - Teeth with amalgam cannot be steam sterilized and must be disinfected in a solution of 10% Formalin for a period of two weeks.
   3. All teeth are to be submitted to Educational Support Services (DBB 330) for either steam sterilization or disinfection.
4. Use of Extracted Teeth for Laboratory/Mock Board/Western Regional Examining Board
   1. Sterilization/Disinfection - Before use in the laboratory or in preparation for mock board and the Western Regional Examining board, all extracted teeth must be sterilized or disinfected as described above.
   2. Approval for Use of Teeth – After the extracted teeth have been sterilized or disinfected as described above, they should be submitted to the Educational Support Staff overseeing the preclinical lab prior to using the teeth in lab. Prior to using teeth for Mock Board or Western Regional Examining Board, submit the previously steam sterilized or formalin disinfected teeth to the appropriate faculty members for approval.
   3. Personal Protective Attire – Wear gowns, gloves, masks and protective eyewear any time that you handle extracted teeth.

Invitations

Keep an eye out for your invitation to the Open House and White Coat ceremony, which will take place the Saturday after orientation. You’ll need to RSVP for yourself and your guests (3 maximum).

DDS Entering Guide 2012-13

All entering students are required to read through the DDS Entering Guide. This guide contains information about registration, orientation, accessing the Student UT-Link, tuition, activities, etc.

If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail questions@uth.tmc.edu.