12 Dental Internships for High School Students

If you are a high school student interested in pursuing dentistry or related fields, undertaking an internship while still in high school can be worth considering.

College admissions committees often look for practical experience in the field, with internships being a great way to gain this exposure while improving your skills and exploring available avenues and specializations. Some such specializations include orthodontics, odontology, oral and maxillofacial surgery (facial reconstruction), cosmetic dentistry, dental public health, oral medicine, anesthesiology, endodontics, pediatric dentistry, geriatric dentistry, special needs dentistry, veterinary dentistry, and more.

In addition, a high school internship can give you insight into the field’s demands and rewards, not to mention you will be able to connect with professional dentists, experts, and peers. If you want to get started, take a look at the following list of 12 dental internships for high school students. Note that some of these are university programs with an emphasis on providing learning opportunities and hands-on experience.

1. Ladder Internships—Healthcare and Medicine/Health Tech Track

Location: Virtual
Eligibility: High school students who can contribute 5-15 hours/week for 8-16 weeks
Application Deadline: Multiple deadlines throughout the year.
Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year, including summer, fall, winter, and spring.
Cost/Stipend: Cost starts at $2,490 (financial aid available)

Ladder Internships is a first-rate global internship program founded by Harvard alumni. The program matches around 70-100 high school students with leading startups (like IPMD and JuneBrain) and allows them to work on a real-world project. Selected interns will attend weekly meetings with mentors from the startup while receiving support from a Ladder coach. After working on deliverables and projects at the company, students will present their final projects at the end of the internship.

Students interested in dental care can opt for the healthcare and medicine or the health tech track.

2. Stanford STaRS Internship Program

Location: Stanford, California
Eligibility: High school students who are at least 16 years old
Application Deadline: Applications usually close in November every year.
Dates: June 17 - August 2
Cost/Stipend: There is no cost to participate, but students will need to cover any applicable costs (such as housing, travel, and meals) on their own. No stipend is offered.

Stanford University’s Science Technology and Reconstructive Surgery (STaRS) internship program accepts around 20 high school students every year and allows them to work in laboratories with clinician/scientist mentors on a research project in their area of interest. While applying, you should indicate your area of interest and the mentor you would like to work with, several of whom hold specializations in dentistry or orthodontics.

Alongside laboratory work, you will receive safety training, read research papers and scientific literature, access advanced technology and resources, attend lectures, participate in social events, and deliver final presentations.

3. High School Summer Internship Program (HS-SIP) by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Location: NIH campuses: Bethesda, Baltimore and Frederick, MD; Research Triangle Park, NC; Hamilton, MT; Framingham, MA; and Phoenix, AZ.
Eligibility: Juniors and seniors of high school who are at least 17 years old at the time of application can apply. Students should live within 40 miles of their respective NIH campus. Confirm the additional eligibility requirements for your respective cohort program—HiSTEP and HiSTEP 2.0.
Application Deadline: Applications usually close in February.
Dates: July - August (8 weeks)
Stipend: No cost to participate. Students will receive a stipend of $2,300-2,530 (if you are currently in high school) or $2,570-2,840 (if you have graduated high school). No housing is provided, but there is free parking on campuses. Some campuses also offer a Transhare program.

The National Institutes of Health’s HS-SIP allows high school students to work in the institute’s Intramural Research Program. While applying, you can indicate your preference for one of NIH’s Institutes and Centers (IC), with the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) being the best choice for students looking for dental internships.

Students will work in research groups under a Principal Investigator's (PI) supervision on a basic, translational, or clinical research project. Additionally, interns will receive access to professional development programs, educational and career advising, and presentations at the final Summer Poster Day.

4. Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) School of Dentistry’s Research Internship Program

Location: Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), Portland, Oregon
Eligibility: High school (and undergraduate) students who are at least 16 years old
Application Deadline: Information on the application deadline is not available at the moment.
Dates: Minimum 8 weeks during the summer (June-August)
Cost/Stipend: No cost to participate, but out-of-town interns will need to pay for housing. Interns will receive a stipend (amount not specified).

OHSU School of Dentistry’s Research Internship Program aims to establish clear paths to research in dental, oral, and craniofacial projects and equip interns with the required skills and knowledge to conduct such research. If selected, you will receive one-on-one mentorship from skilled researchers and access to cutting-edge technologies and resources to explore and complete your research project. At the end of the internship, you will present your research findings to your peers and mentors.

You can conduct your research at the university’s laboratories in research areas like clinical orthodontics, oral microbiomes, biomaterials, tissue engineering, and dental public health.

5. University of Connecticut’s High School Student Research Apprentice Program

Location: University of Connecticut, Mansfield or Central Connecticut State University, New Britan, Connecticut
Eligibility: Connecticut high school students from traditionally underrepresented groups who have completed their junior year of high school with a ‘B’ average or better and are U.S. citizens or permanent residents
Application Deadline: Applications typically close in early April.
Dates: June 17 - July 19 (5 weeks)
Cost/Stipend: No cost to participate. Students will earn a stipend (amount not specified).

The University of Connecticut’s High School Student Research Apprentice Program is a program for 11th-grade students who wish to obtain medicine, dental medicine, or biomedical research experience in a basic science or clinical laboratory. Interns will receive mentorship from professional researchers and faculty to formulate research questions, execute the research, analyze the findings, and deliver presentations.

You will also receive access to excellent facilities, workshops, lectures, and social events. Note that this program is highly selective and only accepts around 5-6 interns each year.

6. Virginia Center for Orthodontics (VCO) Summer Internship

Location: VCO, Arlington, Virginia
Eligibility: Middle or high school students
Application Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until all internship positions are filled.
Dates: One week during the summer (June-August)
Cost/Stipend: No cost, although students will need to pay for their own transportation and housing (if applicable). This is an unpaid internship.

The Virginia Center for Orthodontics (VCO) is a weeklong observational internship where you will learn about concepts like orthodontic mechanics, sterilization guidelines, braces materials and bonding, diagnosis of clinical conditions, panoramic X-rays and pathology, malocclusion terms such as Class II and Class III, and courses of graduate schooling and residency needed for orthodontics. In addition, interns will complete a thesis project in quality improvement, small business management, or patient experience.

Only 3 interns are annually selected for this internship, making it highly competitive and selective.

7. Monmouth County Vocational School District (MCVSD) High School Dental Assistant Program

Location: Monmouth County, New Jersey
Eligibility: High school students who still have 2 years to go until graduation
Application Deadline: Applications close in April.
Dates: 2 years in high school (shared hours with school), including 5-week internships every spring
Cost/Stipend: Not specified

The MCVSD High School Dental Assistant Program is a 2-year program, allowing students to attend high school classes alongside vocational dental assistant classes. This 2-year program includes 5-week spring internships at dental offices where you will gain valuable practical experience and skills. Throughout this program and internship, you will learn about various dental careers, including dental hygiene, dental assisting, laboratory technician, dentistry, and dentist office management.

You will further learn skills like patient care and professionalism, chair-side assistance, pour and trim models, record and chart conditions of the oral cavity, instrument and material preparation, dental cement and impression materials preparation, sterilization, and more.

8. Anchor Future Dentist Program

Location: Anchor Family Dentistry, Commerce Township, MI
Eligibility: High school students in 11th and 12th grades
Application Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Dates: One week in the summer (June-August)
Cost/Stipend: No cost, no stipend

The Anchor Future Dentist Program is a weeklong internship opportunity for high school students to shadow a dentist in a clinical setting. This is a great opportunity to confirm your interest in the field while observing procedures and consultations, allowing you to establish basic skills and an understanding of what dentistry entails. It will further emphasize the importance of patient confidentiality.

In addition to shadowing, you will also get an opportunity to perform a hands-on impression technique by taking an impression of a typodont and pouring up a model in stone.

9.Texas A&M University’s Summer Pre-Dental Enrichment Program (SPEP)

Location: Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
Eligibility: Dallas-area high school students in grades 10 and 11 with a minimum 2.75 GPA and U.S. citizenship or permanent residency
Application Deadline: Applications usually close in May.
Dates: July 15 - July 19
Cost/Stipend: No cost to participate. A stipend is provided to cover the costs of food, transportation, and other expenses.

Texas A&M’s SPEP is a noteworthy work-learn opportunity for high school students who wish to learn about dentistry. The program includes lectures, seminars, lab work, projects, discussions, and social activities. Selected students will get a chance to learn about preclinical dentistry (including lectures and hands-on lab exercises using dental materials) and investigation dentistry (investigating a dental topic and presenting findings). A cultural competency seminar will also be held.

The program will supply clinic and laboratory supplies as well as other instructional materials.

A separate program for high school seniors is also available.

10. Harvard University’s MEDscience@HMS Dental

Location: Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts
Eligibility: Students in grades 9, 10, 11, or 12
Application Deadline: This information is not available at the moment.
Dates: June (one week)
Cost/Stipend: $2,650 fees (includes scrubs, program materials, snacks, and lunch). Housing and travel are not included. A stipend is not offered.

Harvard University’s MEDscience@HMS Dental Program is an immersive summer program wherein students learn essential skills in oral healthcare, attend workshops and classes, and meet dental professionals and students. You will learn how to evaluate, diagnose, and treat oral health and dental diseases by working in the HMS MEDscience high-tech simulation lab alongside dentists, physicians, and dental students.

Additionally, you will learn hand skills like suturing, placing IVs, tooth carving, taking impressions, digital scanning, and filling tooth cavities. College preparation and professional development workshops are also offered.

11. University of Washington School of Dentistry’s Community Health Professions Academy (CHPA)

Location: University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
Eligibility: Underserved high school students (grades 9-12)
Application Deadline: Applications typically close in December.
Dates: 6 Saturday sessions between February and May
Cost/Stipend: This is a free and unpaid program.

Created in 2014, the CHPA aims to inspire youth from underserved communities to pursue careers in healthcare, particularly dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy public health, and social work. The program takes place over six sessions and teaches students how to place sutures on simulations, replace tooth structure, learn about traditional medicine, talk to health professionals, and learn about college preparation and the field as a whole.

Further, you will receive guidance in public speaking, mentorship from health professionals, and access to hands-on activities. You can look at the 2024 flyer here.

12. Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Dental Scholars Program

Location: Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Eligibility: Greater Richmond area students in grades 9, 10, 11, and 12 with a minimum 3.0 GPA and U.S. citizenship or permanent residence
Application Deadline: Applications typically close in November.
Dates: Selected days January to April
Cost/Stipend: This is a free and unpaid program.

VCU’s Dental Scholars Program is an after-school program meeting twice a month on the aforementioned dates for 90-minute workshops. Selected students will get a chance to attend interactive workshops, carve a tooth from soap, learn to suture, make a dental impression, visit the digital dentistry lab, and lots more. You will further receive access to the university’s state-of-the-art labs and clinics, where all lab supplies and resources will be provided.

Mentorship from faculty and professionals will give you additional clarity about the field. Take a look at the flyer here.