An undergraduate degree from a university is a must. A bachelor’s degree in the area of science is needed to attend a school of dentistry in Canada.
You should be ready to take up a four-year dentistry program to become a dentist in Canada. The program prepares you to become either a general family dentist or to take up some specialization in dentistry. Specialization is possible in pediatric dentistry, orthodontics, dental surgery, periodontics etc.
Any Canadian dental school offers a number of courses like dental radiography, oral surgery, preventive dentistry, microbiology, endodontics, anesthesia physiology, oral health, periodontics, dental neuroscience, orthodontics etc. One has to attend a number of laboratory classes as well. Dentistry students are graded when they treat real patients during their program.
After completing the four-year course, dentistry students are given a degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) or Doctor of Dental Medicine (DDM).
After getting the degree, one has to pass an examination conducted by Canada’s National Dental Examination Board to practise as dentist in Canada. After clearing this examination one has to register himself with the Royal College of Dentists in the area where one wants to establish his practice.
Just the degree is not enough to be a successful dentist. You must have good manual dexterity, good judgment skills, enormous patience, and good depth perception. Besides you must master communication skills and be able to be friendly with patients. To run a good practice one must have good head for business.
In private practice it is not just enough to provide dental care to patients. You have to perform certain tasks to keep your dental business afloat. You must have knowledge of inventory management and finance management.
