Becoming a Dentist

If you want to be a dentist, make sure that you work towards ensuring that the various kinds of tooth related diseases are prevented. Added to this, you also need to take care of the gum and mouth regions. Dentists work to make sure that they spend a lot of years required for the degree of a doctor of dental surgery. A lot of dentists work in their own offices as general practitioners or along with another dentist. Dental assistants and hygienists work for them too and under their direction they perform the following actions:

• Taking X-rays
• Cleaning the patients teeth
• Teaching them about tooth care
• Educating them about gum care
• Examine the mouth of the patients for cavities, sores, swellings, or other signs of disease

Some of the key responsibilities of dentist jobs include filling in the cavities, pulling the teeth that cannot be saved, or replacing missing teeth. Both the hand and power tools are used in dentistry, and other kinds of equipment such as the local and general anesthetics are employed as well for ensuring the comfort of the patients during the process of treatment. A lot of dentists do their own lab work and others outsource it to the dental laboratories while general practitioners refer the patients to the specialists.

You need to focus on attaining the degree of the Doctor of Dental Surgery, or DDS or the Doctor of Dental Medicine, or DMS. All dentists are required to pass additional tests for obtaining the required licenses. Some of the subjects that you need to focus on for getting dentist jobs include the following:

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Physics
• Health
• Math

The above can be the subjects of your choice in high school and it is better if you can maintain good scores. It helps being a dentist if you commit to receiving higher grades in your college years.

Dentists must be skilled enough with physical deftness, as well as have excellent interpersonal and communication skills. The dentist must be skilled enough to spend long hours and be on their feet, along with using the precautions that are taken against infectious diseases. A dentistry job requires dealing with tense patients effectively. Their skills also include supervising the work of others with a good sense of business, responsibility, and careful professionalism. Dentists generally set their own schedules.

You can be trained by your guidance counselor for information regarding the colleges that offer courses in dentistry as well as a 2 years pre dental program that focuses on the sciences. A lot of pre dental students complete their bachelor's degree. You can even send for the college applications and catalogs and apply before the deadline. The American Dental Association conducts 4 year dental schools that are accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation and make sure that you meet the requirements for admission. Taking the Dental Admissions Test or DAT in the dentist jobs can help a lot, especially if you have better test scores, a good grade point average, a good science average, as well as a recommendation.

Most newly licensed dentistry practitioners enter a private practice as it is difficult for opening newer practices. This is the reason why the dentist jobs are begun by working with an already established dentist. Some of them may also find salaried positions in government agencies and hospitals. Look for newer experiences and openings in your dental college placement office.

The global career prospects for the dentists include high level teaching, research, and administration jobs. The dentist can also start by going for an apprenticeship. The employment outlook is pretty good too with the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics predicting that the career prospects are likely to grow by 2014. More jobs will be created as the old dentists retire. Moreover, the aged population will require better tooth care as well. Dental assistants and hygienists will also be hired.

The median annual salary of dentist jobs is $130,000, depending on your qualification, skill, and willingness to work for longer hours. Most dentists are self employed.

Dentists may require working long hours for more than 40 hours during a week including a couple of evening hours and weekends too. A dentist job also can be done on a part time schedule.