How to Become a Dentist : Dentist Job Characteristics

This video talks about a dentist's job characteristics, include handling the scientific part of the practice. 

Dentist Career Information : Dentist Job Description

This  video talks about the general information about being a dentist. What you will do, and the steps the patient might go through ...

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

Changing Career

Hi i've decided to change my career to Dentist not Dental Hygienist .

Interview #1

Catharine Sherman

Interview #1

Jennings- Larson Family Dentistry

Alex Baker- Receptionist 

Some Flexible time 4 Day’s a week

The Dentist there gets a week at christmas off and a week during summer. 

Continue education/ Specialize in different fields

Med history

Health

Chain of Command 

Dentist

Office Manager 

Normal Staff- Hygienist etc..

Receptionist

Advancements 

Oral Serg.

Gum Specialists 

Pedeadontist-Kid’s dentist 

Orthodontist-braces

Prostadontist-denchers

Dentist treat problems with teeth or mouth issues. Fill cavities, x-ray, etc..

The enviormnment that they make, makes it feel more like a family.

They make very good money, but had to go through a lot of school to get where their at.

A dentist’s business does rely a lot on their reputation. 

 

Catharine's Annotated Bibliography's

Manson, Angela, and Brigette Cooper. "Career influences and perceptions of a pre-dental

hygiene students." BNET (2009): 11. Web. 5 Apr 2010.

 

The article was made to describe characteristics of students interested in Dental Hygiene, and communicating information about the dental Hygiene profession to interested students. It may help promote career fit and ultimately lead to increased retention within the profession.  This article states many research projects and facts that they’ve been working on for quite some time. And the main influences that would make someone what to choose this career. Dental hygiene career choice studies have identified dental professionals, particularly dental hygienists and dentists, as the leading persons of influence in choosing dental hygiene as a profession. I don’t have anyone in my family that is a dentist or dental hygienists, although I do know many people who are. And I’ve always been interested in it. This article shows some of the reasons why. Therefore   I’ve picked this article because I would think I could put myself in the category that would be influenced to pick this career. I feel that I can relate and get more of an understanding of why I’m interested in this career.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11

Edition, Dental Hygienists, on the Internet (visited April 07, 2010).

This website ended up having every bit of information I really could ever want to know about being a dental hygienist. It starts off with it’s main points of information telling you. A degree from an accredited dental hygiene school and a State license are required for this job. Dental hygienists rank among the fastest growing occupations. Job prospects are expected to be favorable in most areas, but strong competition for jobs is likely in some areas. And About half of all dental hygienists work part time, and flexible scheduling is a distinctive feature of this job. It talks about you work enviorment, salary, schooling needed, job outlook, and even other jobs that you might be interested in. With all that being said it’s clear to see why I pick this as one of my sources. It has pretty much every bit of information I might need. Also it helps to answer any questions I might need answered. 

"Dental Hygienist ." Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 28/02/2010. Web. 7 Apr 2010. 

This website was a wiki. It’s a website that has a tun of information on it but can be edited or changed by anyone at anytime. A lot of teachers don’t allow this to be used but this website has provided me somewhat with the same information as the other’s but it can never hurt to have more. It has a great intro telling me just the main facts that I need to know about my career. Than goes into once again, salary, and dental hygienist process of care. But not only does it share all this information about dental hygienist in the United States but other states also.. So this website is help full not only because it has the normal information on it but because it gives you an outlook on how this career is in different places. 

Fried, Jacquelyn L.l. "Finding Solutions: implementation of the ADHP model. (Critical issues in Dental Hygiene)."

 Journal of Dental Hygiene 22 June 2009: n. pag. Web. 7 Apr 2010.

This article is about the Advanced Dental Hygiene Practitioner (ADHP) model for health care delivery in the U.S. champions the provision of accessible quality care to the underserved, the promotion of healthy lifestyles and quality of life, and the belief that oral health care must be integrated into the delivery of comprehensive health care services. Now this article didn’t give me all the information like salary and schools stuff like that, but it opened me up to some issues going on with oral health and dental hygiene. Now up above is just a small portion of what the article is on. But I found all of it very useful. 

Topic Proposal: Dental Hygienist

Catharine Sherman

Eng. 101

L. Darrow

3-29-10

Dental Hygienist

The career that I’m going to be doing my research paper on is ‘Dental Hygienist.’ I’ve always wanted to be a dentist, but

 the amount of school required turned me off. But dental hygienist don’t have nearly as much school and still get paid very

 well, and get to be working right next to the dentists. 

This is currently a career that I’m working towards, It’s not something that I’m just thinking about doing. After next year I’ll

 be finishing my general education and I start applying to the dental hygienist schools that I’m interested in. 

The job title of being a dental hygienist includes: 

• Clean calcareous deposits, accretions, and stains from teeth and beneath margins of gums, using dental instruments.

• Record and review patient medical histories.

• Examine gums, using probes, to locate periodontal recessed gums and signs of gum disease.

• Provide clinical services and health education to improve and maintain the oral health of patients and the general public.

• Feel and visually examine gums for sores and signs of disease.

• Expose and develop x-ray film.

• Chart conditions of decay and disease for diagnosis and treatment by dentist.

• Maintain dental equipment and sharpen and sterilize dental instruments.

• Apply fluorides and other cavity preventing agents to arrest dental decay.

• Feel lymph nodes under patient's chin to detect swelling or tenderness that could indicate presence of oral cancer.