Dentist
Dentist
Career Overview
Dentists diagnose, prevent, and treat problems affecting the teeth, gums, and mouth. They perform examinations, fillings, extractions, and other procedures, provide preventive care, and educate patients about oral health. Modern dentistry uses digital X-rays, 3D imaging, CAD/CAM technology, lasers, computerized records, and increasingly AI-assisted diagnostic tools.
Education
A four-year Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) or Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) program is required after completing the university-level courses required for admission. Graduates must also complete the required licensing examinations and professional registration before practicing as dentists.
Work Environment
Dentists work mainly in dental offices and clinics, with others working in hospitals, public health, universities, or specialty practices. Many dentists own or operate their own practices. The work involves close patient contact, precise hand skills, specialized equipment, and long periods of concentration. Dentists may also use digital imaging, computer-aided design, electronic records, and other advanced technology.
Future Outlook
Dentistry should continue to have steady demand as people live longer and retain more of their natural teeth, increasing the need for preventive, restorative, and ongoing dental care. Demand is also supported by oral disease, dental injuries, and cosmetic and restorative procedures. Technology will continue to change the profession through digital imaging, 3D printing, CAD/CAM systems, lasers, robotics, and AI-supported diagnosis and treatment planning. Current workforce projections indicate steady employment rather than rapid growth, while retirements and the need to replace dentists will continue creating opportunities.
Recommended High School Courses
- Chemistry
- Biology
- Physics
- English
- Mathematics
- Health science
- Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Management of Financial Resources - Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Management of Material Resources - Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
- Science - Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
- Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
- Control Precision - The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
- Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Depth Perception - The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
- Finger Dexterity - The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
- Flexibility of Closure - The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
- Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
- Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Manual Dexterity - The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
- Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
- Multilimb Coordination - The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
- Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Number Facility - The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
- Perceptual Speed - The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
- Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
- Selective Attention - The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
- Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Visual Color Discrimination - The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
- Visualization - The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
- Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Protect patients or staff members using safety equipment.
- Operate diagnostic or therapeutic medical instruments or equipment.
- Examine mouth, teeth, gums, or related facial structures.
- Operate diagnostic imaging equipment.
- Administer anesthetics or sedatives to control pain.
- Develop medical treatment plans.
- Treat dental problems or diseases.
- Diagnose dental conditions.
- Adjust prostheses or other assistive devices.
- Advise patients on preventive care techniques.
- Design medical devices or appliances.
- Fabricate medical devices.
- Prescribe medications.
- Operate on patients to treat conditions.
- Analyze patient data to determine patient needs or treatment goals.
- Supervise patient care personnel.
- Design public or employee health programs.
- Direct healthcare delivery programs.
- Prepare healthcare training materials.
Schools
Boston University
Creighton University
Harvard University
New York University
Nova Southeastern Univers...
Suny At Buffalo
University Of Alabama - B...
University Of California-...
University Of California-...
University Of Detroit Mer...
University Of Illinois- C...
University Of Louisville
University Of Maryland -...
University Of Michigan- A...
University Of New England
University Of North Carol...
University Of Pennsylvani...
University Of Southern Ca...
University Of Utah
Mcgill University
Schulich School Of Med...
University Of Alberta
University Of British...
University Of Saskatch...
University Of Toronto-...
Approx Salary Expectation
Low End:
$86,000.00 /yr
Avg/Med:
$121,000.00 /yr
High End:
$320,000.00 /yr
Related Careers
References
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.