  {"id":100076,"date":"2025-04-22T13:15:40","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T20:15:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sou.edu\/academics\/?post_type=degree&#038;p=100076"},"modified":"2025-04-22T13:15:40","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T20:15:40","slug":"pre-dental-pre-optometry-certificate","status":"publish","type":"degree","link":"https:\/\/sou.edu\/academics\/degree\/pre-dental-pre-optometry-certificate\/","title":{"rendered":"Pre-Dental &#038; Pre-Optometry, Certificate"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Pre-Dental and Pre-Optometry Certificate is designed to ensure that students graduate from SOU with the foundational knowledge and skills required to pursue a Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS), Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) or Doctor of Optometry (OD) degree.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Dentist is a licensed medical professional who possesses expertise in oral health and provides direct patient care. Dentists are trained to diagnose, treat, and provide preventative oral care. Dentists may specialize in areas related to oral health, such as oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics, periodontics, or endodontics. To learn more about becoming a Dentist, you can visit the American Dental Association (ADA) website.<\/p>\n<p>An Optometrist is a licensed medical professional who specializes in eye and vision health and provides direct patient care. Optometrists are trained to perform comprehensive eye exams, diagnose and manage vision problems and other eye conditions, and prescribe corrective lenses. They work closely with Ophthalmologists, who are medical doctors that specialize in eye surgeries. To learn more about becoming an Optometrist, you can visit the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) website.<\/p>\n<p>The curriculum covers essential areas in the physical, chemical, biological, health, and social sciences, ensuring students develop a comprehensive understanding of human body systems, including the oral cavity and the eyes. Coursework in Principles of Biology and General Chemistry is required to enter the certificate program. The certificate requires completion of 36 credits, consisting of required and elective courses.<\/p>\n<p>Upon completion of the certificate program, students will have met the prerequisites needed to apply to most dental or optometry schools. However, it is still recommended to investigate the specific prerequisites for each individual school of interest and discuss additional needs with an advisor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":100077,"template":"","degree-type":[387],"degree-interest-type":[389,394],"class_list":["post-100076","degree","type-degree","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","degree-type-certificates","degree-interest-type-health-and-medicine","degree-interest-type-science-and-math"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v26.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Pre-Dental &amp; Pre-Optometry, Certificate - SOU Academic Programs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pre-Dental &amp; Pre-Optometry, Certificate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Dentist is a licensed medical professional who possesses expertise in oral health and provides direct patient care. Dentists are trained to diagnose, treat, and provide preventative oral care. Dentists may specialize in areas related to oral health, such as oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics, periodontics, or endodontics. To learn more about becoming a Dentist, you can visit the American Dental Association (ADA) website.  An Optometrist is a licensed medical professional who specializes in eye and vision health and provides direct patient care. Optometrists are trained to perform comprehensive eye exams, diagnose and manage vision problems and other eye conditions, and prescribe corrective lenses. They work closely with Ophthalmologists, who are medical doctors that specialize in eye surgeries. To learn more about becoming an Optometrist, you can visit the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) website.  The curriculum covers essential areas in the physical, chemical, biological, health, and social sciences, ensuring students develop a comprehensive understanding of human body systems, including the oral cavity and the eyes. Coursework in Principles of Biology and General Chemistry is required to enter the certificate program. The certificate requires completion of 36 credits, consisting of required and elective courses.  Upon completion of the certificate program, students will have met the prerequisites needed to apply to most dental or optometry schools. 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