Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) Program

The Time is Now.

Oral health care is changing rapidly. So is dental education.

When choosing the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Adams School of Dentistry Doctor of Dental Surgery program, you are not just committing to being an exceptional care provider after four years.

By becoming a part of UNC Adams School of Dentistry, you are agreeing to be someone who shapes the future of oral health care.

You are committing to embracing our emerging DDS curriculum, ACT, and ensuring that after you leave our program, you continue practicing its Advocate-Clinician-Thinker framework. You are saying “yes” to a career advocating for your patients, providing clinical care at the top of the profession, and staying mentally agile so you can critically think while determining a course of care.

As a student, you will work with groundbreaking technology like Simodonts and digital dentistry to better serve patients. You will get the opportunity to provide care across the state to underserved populations in a variety of practice settings. You will collaborate in interprofessional practice with the best and brightest minds across the health professions.

When you join the Adams School of Dentistry, you are accepting the charge to ensure you left dentistry better than it was when you became a dentist. You are rising to the occasion. You want to guide the transformation of our profession.

You want to ACT.

Contact the Office of Academic Affairs with any questions 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday-Friday at (919) 537-3348 or email ddsadmissions@unc.edu.

Click here to view the course catalog, or click here to learn more about the ACT Curriulum.

Why Carolina?

You can get your dental education anywhere. So what makes the Adams School of Dentistry different? Hear from our students why they choose Carolina.

  • Mylan Young

    UNC's prestige, beautiful school, and rigorous academics are what first drew me to Carolina, but it was my interview day that solidified it for me. At my interview, the faculty and upperclassmen were so welcoming – I could feel that they sincerely wanted us to be there. The student culture is really like a family and you get so many wonderful experiences here with student organizations, mission trips, volunteer clinics, faculty mentorship, research, and so much more. I often get asked if I would still choose UNC Dentistry again, and the answer is yes!

    Mylan Young, DDS 2023
  • Carolina stands for many things: a few of which are hope, opportunity and growth. The doctorate program is very difficult, however hard-work, and relentless support by the best faculty and staff makes it all worth it. Also, this is where you meet the most amazing people, your classmates!

    Babek Yousefi, DDS 2022