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Dentist Career
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Dentist Job Description
A dentist is a professional who is involved with taking care of patient’s oral cavity, namely the teeth, gums and other bones of the mouth. A dentist is also involved in the treatment and management of oral disorders and performs dental surgeries to save teeth from decay under local or general anesthesia.
Based on the type of expertise that a dentist gains, the dentist can specialize in one of the eight different domains of dental care which include endodontist, orthodontist (braces and management of aliment of the teeth), prosthodontist (expertise in artificial teeth), pedodontist (expertise in dental management of teens and younger children), oral pathologist (mouth disease) or oral surgeon (conducting surgical procedures on the mouth and jaws).
The core function of a dentist is to diagnose, manage and treat diseases, malformations and injuries of the teeth and gums. The job also involves utilizing X-rays, using dental instruments and other diagnostic tests. In addition, a dentist needs to be involved in providing preventive dental services to patients along with educating the community and promoting dental hygiene.
Dentist Skills/Duties
A dentist is required to have good interpersonal communication skills and should be patient-oriented. In addition, clinically, excellent diagnostic and evidence based management of cases is an essential aspect of patient management.
Good manual dexterity, good spatial judgment, great visual memory and business oriented approach are some of the additional skills that are required by dentists.
The specific work elements of a dentist’s job would vary depending upon the specialization and the specific domain of patient care. In general, a dentist would need to administer anesthesia, examining patients, create treatment plans based on patients condition, perform surgical procedures, provide advice on dental care, write prescription and create dental health program. In addition for dentists involved in private practice managing the dental office and management of staff will play a crucial role.
Dentist Education and Training
• The bachelor’s program constitutes of four and a half years of training, which is followed by a dentistry related degree to become a doctor of dental medicine or doctor of dental surgery.
• Following this, a dentist may opt for specialization and attend two or four years of additional training or appear for the State Board exam and obtain a license to practice dentistry.
• A license to practice is mandatory across the United States. In order to gain a license to practice dentistry, a candidate would need to graduate from a dental school accredited by the Commission of Dental Accreditation, a wing of the American Dental Association.
• Normally, a dentist, with a license to practice dentistry in one state, may not be allowed to practice dentistry in another state. The dentist may have to give a separate qualifying exam in that state.
Dentist Job Outlook
There are over 150,000 dentists in the United States, with most of them involved in private practice. Some of them may work with research and teaching institutions or may be associated with armed forces or public health service systems. A large chunk of the doctors are general dentists with as few as 15 % specializing in the areas of dental medicine or surgery.
Though, pursing dental education and setting up a private practice is highly expensive, surveys conducted by magazines have indicated that dental offices are the third highest ranked business categories and are most likely to survive. As per the American Dental Association, most of the dentists own a private practice within six years of graduation
Dentist Salary
As per the American Dental Association, average income of dentist involved in general practice is about $ 177,340 per annum, while specialists tend to earn twice this with an average of $ 300,300 per annum.
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