An opportunity for graduated dentists to gain a year’s clinical experience in one of Toronto’s major hospitals.
What the residency program involves
You will spend a year working in one of our partner hospitals:
- The Hospital for Sick Children (4 positions available)
- Mount Sinai Hospital (6 positions available)
- Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (3 positions available)
You will be registered as a graduate student at the Faculty of Dentistry and be assigned to a hospital department.
In this time, you will:
- gain supervised clinical experience in hospital dentistry
- be given the opportunity to complete a 3 - 4 week assignment in a Northern Ontario hospital.
- be paid a stipend of approx. $35,000 for the year (CAD)
Eligibility
You must be a licensed dentist to take part.
This means you must have:
- Completed a Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) or equivalent program.
- Obtain either an Educational Certificate or a General Certificate of Registration (licence) to practice in Ontario from the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario (RCDSO) before the residency starts on July 1.
- English language abilities (see ‘how to apply’ below)
If you are a foreign-trained dental graduate, i.e. a graduate of a non-accredited dental program, we would normally expect you to have successfully completed the International Dentist Advanced Placement Program (IDAPP) and the National Dental Examining Board of Canada (NDEB) examinations.
Under exceptional circumstances, we may consider your application without these, based on your individual credentials.
We select candidates based on:
- academic achievement
- motivation
- maturity
- professionalism
- the ability to work as a team member
- experience: we will prioritise those who have not had experience in a dental residency before.
How to apply for the Hospital Dental Residency Program
Stage one: send us your application pack by 29 September
To apply, ensure the Faculty of Dentistry Admissions Office receive the below by 29 September.
- Your completed application form (PDF).
- A one- to two-page biographical statement (details are in the application form).
- A copy of your Resume/CV.
- Two letters of reference in sealed envelopes or e-mailed directly to the Admissions office by your referee.
- The non-refundable $300 CAD application fee, payable to the University of Toronto. Payment may be made by money order or bank draft. We do not accept personal checks or cash. Pay online by credit card on the Student Services Payment page.
- Official transcripts of all your previous university and other post-secondary education. Transcripts must be sent to the Admissions Office directly from the issuing institution in electronic format or in a sealed envelope. If not originally in English, a notarized translation must be attached. If you are a University of Toronto student already, you do not need to send in your official University of Toronto transcripts, we will download them from ROSI.
- If you completed your Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) in a country where English is not the native language, you must provide proof of your English abilities by completing an English proficiency test in the last 24 months. You must request official test scores are sent by the testing agency directly to the Admissions Office using our institution code of 0982.
We recognize the following tests
| TEST | MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS |
|---|---|
| Test of English as a Foreign (TOEFL) |
Paper-based Test (PBT): 600 (out of 677) with the Test of Written English (TWE) 5 (out of 6) Internet-based Test (iBT): 100 (out of 120) with a minimum of 22 in writing. |
| Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB) | Overall score of 85. |
| International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic Module | Overall band of 6.5, with no band below 6.0. |
| The Certificate of Proficiency in English (COPE) | Overall score of 86, with 32 in Writing and 22 in each of the Reading and Listening sections. |
| Academic Preparation ESL, School of Continuing Studies, University of Toronto. | Grade 'B' at the 60/Advanced level. |
Stage two: register for the National Match Service (NMS)
The Dental Match (part of the NMS) is a process used by many graduate dental education residency programs to place applicants into their programs. It uses an algorithm to match the preferences of applicants and those of the recruiting programs.
- You can learn more about the Dental Match on the National Match Service FAQs page.
You must register for the Match service between October 1 and November 13.
Stage three: interviews
If you are successful at this stage, you will be asked to come in for an interview in late October.
This will be with the relevant hospital department, not with the Faculty of Dentistry.
Receiving and accepting an offer
November 20: the results of the match are released by the NMS to applicants and program directors via the website.
You will receive an email on this day from the Program Directors to offer you a place. You must respond as soon as possible.
You will be registered in the program once you pay the full registration fee, which we must receive before the residency starts in June.
The registration fee for 2023-2024 is $850 CAD.