The joy of changing a person`s life by creating a beautiful, healthy smile is one of the intangible rewards of being a dentist that can’t be measured.
Ten Great Reasons to Be a Dentist:
Service to Others: Help people maintain and improve their oral health, quality of life and appearance
Balanced Lifestyle: Dentistry offers flexibility to balance professional and personal life
Empower Your Patients: Give patients smiles they are proud to wear
Technology and Research: Be involved with the scientific advancement of dentistry
Be a Leader: Earn respect from your family, friends and community
Prevention/Education: Be an educator on the importance of oral health
Detect Disease: Treat oral health and detect disease – including cancer and cardiovascular
Be Creative: Use your artistic and scientific talents
Success Potential: With the aging population and increase in access to care, the demand and need for dentistry is on the rise
Self-Employment: Own a dental practice and be your own boss
What does a dentist do?
- Diagnose and treat diseases, injuries and malformations of the teeth and mouth
- Improve a patient’s appearance
- Perform surgical procedures such as implants, tissue grafts and extractions
- Educate patients on how to better care for their teeth and prevent oral disease
- Teach future dentists and dental hygienists
- Perform research directed to improving oral health and developing new treatment methods
What are the future opportunities for dentistry?
- Outlook is favorable for new dentists and exceptional career opportunities exist for potential students
- Large numbers of dentists are projected to retire in the coming years and new dentists will be needed in private practice, as teachers/researchers and in public health dentistry
- Increasing numbers of older adults are keeping their teeth longer, greater awareness of oral health care, and a high demand for cosmetic services
- Advancements in dental technology such as digital radiography, laser systems and informatics will allow dentists to provide more effective treatments and practice more efficiently
- New information about the relationship of oral health to general health makes dentistry an important health profession for the future