Want To Be A Dentist?

[Timavis10]

Choosing a career is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. If you're considering the profession, it's a good idea to fully understand what a dentist does before applying to dental school.

Dentistry is a challenging career that requires extensive training and preparation. Aspiring dentists must meet stringent educational requirements, including eight or more years of study after high school, and fulfill the licensing requirements of the state in which they wish to practice.

Most dentists practicing today made their career decision in late high school or early college. It is never too soon or too late to begin some serious thinking about your career in dentistry.

The information below will help you explore one exciting career possibility —dentistry.

Reasons to Become a Dentist
Helping Others
Dentists assist patients in maintaining their oral health. They diagnose and treat common conditions such as cavities as well as potentially serious medical conditions such as gum disease and oral cancer.

Multiple Career Paths
While the American Dental Association indicates that about 80 percent of dentists in the United States were general practitioners as of 2012, dentistryoffers nine different specialties from which to choose.

Prestige
Dentistry is a prestigious profession, and dentists are held in high esteem by friends, family members and the communities in which they live and work.

Financial Rewards
Dentistry is a potentially lucrative career. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual income of general dentists in the United States was $161,750 as of May 2011.

Duties of a Dentist
Treatment
A general dentist diagnoses and treats problems with the teeth and gums. The duties of a dentist typically include interpreting x-rays, removing decay from teeth, filling cavities, repairing cracked or fractured teeth, extracting teeth and monitoring the growth and development of the teeth and jaw.

Advice
In addition to administering treatment, dentists also advise their patients on caring for their teeth and gums. They explain to patients how diet, flossing, use of fluoride and general lifestyle issues, such as drinking and smoking, can affect dental health and overall well-being. Dentists offer advice concerning good oral hygiene -- and recommend products that can help patients keep their teeth and gums in good condition.

Management
Most dentists have some managerial and administrative responsibilities, especially those who run their own practices. Dentists who run businesses need to hire and manage staff, look after the marketing of their services and liaise with suppliers.


Specializations
A dentist who wants to practice in a specialty must have a license in that specialty, which usually requires 2 to 4 years of additional education and in some cases, the completion of a special state exam.

Hope this article help you know more about dentists career. Read more: dentalequips.co.uk

[Nanuq]

Is it possible to specialize in denture dentistry? You know, replica teeth?

[dbane883]

I once considered buying a dentist's drill for some case modding. Would come in handy.

[Legend]

I'll take it. PM sent.   

[panerai153]

OK, so now we know all we wanted to know and were afraid to ask about dentistry. Did you also mention, most dentists operate on a  cash only (Cash/ credit debit cards) basis, Pretty handy as the money is directed into their bank account, instantly, they don't have to fill out a mile of paperwork, submit a bill to Medicare/Medicaid and hope that they didn't leave out a period or comma because the bill will be rejected with no explanation. They don't have a hospital affiliation, so they are not obligated to take call on a regular call rotation. I often wonder how it is to be free every weekend and not worry about being awakened in the middle of the night!!  They are not part of medicare and medicaid, so they are not bound buy the thousands of pages of ever changing regulations that we suffer through. Pretty damn good when you look at the pluses as opposed to going to Medical school, spending years in residency, coming out owing something close to the national debt and facing a profession that is making less and less, with more BS paperwork, more time sitting in front of a computer filling out electronic medical records and less time actually taking care of patients. Way too late for me, but for you young guns looking at medicine, I would definitely look at the two D's  Dentistry and  Dermatology. When was the last time your dermatologist was awakened in the middle of the night to come in to see and ER patient!! I'll tell you same as the dentist, never!! AFA the 161K figure, I bet that's because most dentists don't work a full week. Every one of them around here takes at least one full day off each week. Some take every Friday off, what a great job, 4 day work week, every week except for the 4-6 weeks of vacation.

[Beachcomber]

I'm not a dentist but I stayed at the Holiday Inn last night.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[HaydenM]

Well you learn something new every day, I now know all there is to know about dentistry ... but still don't know who makes the best sub