Dentist

The career I’m choosing to do is a Dentist. There’s so much to learn about this career. A couple of things i’d like you to get from this essay is the general information about being a dentist. Like the job outlook, education required, your skills needed, and much more. Also a very large controversy thats going on in dentistry right now is the issue with amalgam. Is amalgam a filling material really a health risk because it contains mercury? 

Dentists treat problems with teeth or mouth tissue. One of the jobs of a dentist is to remove decay, fill cavities, x-ray, straighten teeth, and so much more. Dentist use a very wide variety of equipment. Dentists use the x-ray machines,  drills, mouth mirrors, probes, forceps, brushes, and scalpels. Dentists wear masks, gloves, and safety glasses to keep them safe from any diseases. Dentists also help people learn to get good hygiene, so they can keep their teeth clean. (Dentist 1)

The job outlook for a dentist is not very good. Dentists have good employment in 1998 it was 162,000. The employment in 2008 was 174,960. Dentistry doesn’t grow very fast by 2008 the growth was only 8%. Dentists earnings are very high the Avg. Is 89,960-124,820. All of the new jobs for a dentist by 2008 are at an Avg. Of 12,900. For a dentist you may face competition with other businesses. (Dentist 1)

There are many skills needed for a dentist. Dentists need to have very good judgment on space and shape. Dentist needs a very high degree, manual dextarity, good oral written communication skill, and also good hygiene themselves. A dentist also has to have good needs sense in business. Dentist must have self-discipline. You need all of these to succeed in this business. (Dentist 1)

Being a dentist requires a lot of schooling. For dentists you need at least 2 or 4 years full time academic beyond Bachelors. (Dentist, 51) The minimum for a dentist is 2 years of college at level of pre-dental education. Most dental students have at least a bachelor’s degree. (Dentist 2) A dentist must have first a professional degree. (Dentist, 51) Dentists need to work in science; major in biology, chemistry, anatomy and microbiology. (Dentist 2) Dental schools require all dental applicants to take dental admissions test. (Dentist 3) 

There are a lot of other qualifications for being a dentist. You must graduate dental school to be in the dental fields. Dental Schools usually last 4 academic years, after your normal college. You need a lot of classes in science. (Dentist, 51) Take more classes to be certified in other fields. (Arias) Dental colleges select students by their scores earned on the DAT, grade point Avg. And information gathered through interviews. The last 2 years students get to treat real patients, under supervision. (Dental, 2)

The working conditions for a dentist are very busy. They work 4 or 5 days a week, normally from 9am-5pm. They work about 40 hours a week. (Dentist 51) Dentists have a normal weekly schedule. They work 5-8 hours a day. Dentist sometimes have flexible hours, they usually take a week off for Christmas and take a week off the week before summer starts. (Alex) For a dentist Mondays are normally the busiest. Most dentists take off Fridays. More experienced doctor’s work less. (Arias)

The earnings for a dentist are very high. The average salary for a dentist is 89,960-124,820. (Dentist, 51) The self- employment dentist make more money than working dentists working under someone. Money varies according to the number of years in practice, location, hours worked, and specialty. (Icpac, 2) Dentists make more money with the more education they have. (Alex) They have to provide their own health insurance, life insurance, and retirement benefit. Dentists from different countries all make different amounts of money. (Icpac, 2)

Now that there’s an understanding of what is required to be a dentists, I’d like to go into a very important controversy in the dental field. Now amalgam is a filling material that contains the element mercury. The health center is saying there’s big issues with toxicity and allergy’s which may come hand in hand with the mercury in the amalgam. There’s been report of chronic illness, autoimmune disease, neurodegenerative disease, birth defects, oral lesions, and mental disorders. Now all of this is very rare, and the FDA still  approved it for use in most countries. A study published in the FDA Consumer found that 50% of Americans believed that fillings containing mercury cause health and teeth problems. 

This has been such a big issue that it’s even been featured on the television show 60 minutes. Now why if this is so unhealty for you does the FDA still allow it to be used. It could be because it is the cheapest and very strong, but is that worth the health of others? Now there are many groups against this, but I’m guessing if there still allowing it to be used maybe we should do more to get the point across. Because the FDA doesn’t want to spend the money our health is at risk. The American Dental Association (ADA) has asserted that dental amalgam is safe since its foundation in 1859. In its advisory opinion to Rule 5.A. of the ADA Code of Ethics, it has also held that, "the removal of amalgam restorations from the non-allergic patient for the alleged purpose of removing toxic substances from the body, when such treatment is performed solely at the recommendation or suggestion of the dentist, is improper and unethical". Now my best advice is the next time you need to go to the dentist for a filling, or your looking for a new dentists you should ask him if he use’s amalgam, or has he used it on you? If so I’d look into getting it removed and refilled with something different. 

Thus being said my person evaluation for being a dentist is, it depends on how my life pans out. I would have to say maybe, because there are many reasons why and why not. I could find a new career, or one that interests me more. There is a lot of work involved in becoming a dentist, but the challenge would be fun and exciting. In the long run it could just not work out your business couldn’t take off, or you just couldn’t afford to start the new business. There is a lot of work required to become a dentist, the question is do I want to deal with that much work. Now for the controversy that was discussed. Knowing how bad mercury is for your body and the enviornment in general the thought of it being in your body sitting there, possibly leaking into your system is scary. I think that this is a very large and important issue and it will be taken care of. As are technology advances, and new ideas of doing things come about. Other options will be had to replace amalgam. If we don’t let this issue slip by I’m most certin that it will be changed. I hope that you’ve gotten a good amount of information and an idea about this career. And maybe if you were also interested in it, It has helped you make the choice that you’d like to stick with it or maybe it’s just not for you. 

Work Cited

Arias, Baquel, Receptionist, Fort Mohave care. “Being a Dentist.” Interviewer: Catharine Sherman. 4-6-10: 5min 50sec. 

Baker, Alex, Receptionist, Jennings-Larson Family Dentistry. “Being a Dentist.” Interviewer: Catharine Sherman 4-6-10: 7min 6sec

“Dentist” collegrad.com. 4-6-10, pg. 1-5,

      http://www.collegegrad.com/careers/proft75.

  “Dentist”, Student Occupational Outlook Handbook. CFKR, Auburn: CA, 1998, 

       Pg. 51