Three Essential Dental Journals for Pre-Dental Students

Dental school interviews are competitive, and most candidates arrive well-prepared on the basics — GPA, DAT scores, shadowing hours, personal statement talking points. What genuinely separates candidates is often something harder to rehearse: a demonstrated familiarity with the profession as it actually exists, including its research, its debates, and its evolving standards of care. Reading dental journals before your interview is one of the most effective ways to develop that familiarity, and it signals something interviewers value highly — intellectual curiosity that goes beyond the application checklist.

Here are three journals worth your time before you walk into that room.

Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA)

JADA is the most broadly relevant starting point for any pre-dental student. Published by the ADA, it covers clinical best practices, scientific research, public health policy, and emerging issues across the full scope of dentistry. Reading recent issues gives you grounded exposure to the questions the profession is actively working through — new materials, evolving treatment protocols, oral-systemic health connections, and the policy landscape shaping how dental care is delivered and accessed. Being able to reference a specific JADA article or theme during an interview demonstrates that your interest in dentistry extends beyond the desire to have a stable career. It shows that you’re already paying attention to the field you’re asking to enter.

International Journal of Oral Science (IJOS)

For students who want to engage with the scientific foundations of dentistry at a deeper level, IJOS is a compelling resource. The journal publishes research at the intersection of molecular biology, biomedicine, and emerging dental technologies — work that often points toward where the profession is heading rather than where it currently stands. Familiarity with this kind of research signals genuine intellectual engagement with dentistry as a scientific discipline, not just a clinical one. You don’t need to understand every methodological detail — but being able to speak to a notable finding or area of emerging research demonstrates the kind of curiosity that dental schools are actively looking to cultivate in their students.

Journal of Dental Education (JDE)

The JDE is uniquely valuable for pre-dental students because it speaks directly to the educational dimension of the profession — how dentists are trained, how curricula are evolving, and what challenges students and educators are navigating together. Reading it gives you a more realistic and nuanced understanding of what dental school actually involves, which in turn allows you to speak about your preparation and your expectations with greater credibility and specificity. It also provides natural interview discussion points around themes like competency-based education, the changing demands on dental graduates, and the relationship between dental training and broader healthcare reform. That level of preparation communicates something important: that you’ve thought seriously about what it means to become a dentist, not just about the goal of getting accepted.

A Final Word

You don’t need to read exhaustively across all three publications before your interview. A focused, genuine engagement with a handful of recent articles will serve you far better than surface-level familiarity with dozens. The goal isn’t to name-drop journals — it’s to show up as someone who is already thinking like a member of the profession. That quality, more than almost anything else you can demonstrate in an interview, is what makes a candidate memorable.