We've met a number of dentists over the years who pursued dentistry as a career because they enjoyed the dentist they went to when they were kids. In fact, we know a few dentists who still go to the same one they had when they were kids, and some that even went to work for their childhood dentist after dental school. We love our profession and hope some of our wonderful younger patients end up pursing this as a career too! To give those who are interested a head start, we came up with some helpful tips you can use to start shaping your career today:
Do Your Research
This is important for any career, but keep in mind that most medical careers can carry some additional commitments. To become a dentist, you will study a lot, your education will cost a lot, and you will go to school several years longer than most of your peers. Make sure that you are passionate about wanting to become a dentist by learning what you can about it now. Search out information online, talk to your dentist about what he or she does and doesn't like about the job, look up some videos on YouTube, and learn about what you'll be required to complete academically. The first step, before anything else, is to make sure this is what you want to do. This will go a long way when you're six years into school, worn out, and asking yourself over and over if you made the right choice.
Learn about Dental Specialties
The American Dental Association has approved nine dental specialties:
- Dental Public Health
- Endodontics
- Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology
- Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology
- Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
- Pediatric Dentistry
- Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics
- Periodontics
- Prosthodontics
Read more about what each one does and see if any interest you.
Start Shadowing Dentists Now
If spending time with your dentist is part of the reason you think you want to become one, ask him or her if you can job shadow them. Some may not be able to, and due to health regulations, there's a lot of time with patients you may not be able to see, but many dentists would be happy to set a little time aside to show you what it looks like behind the scenes.
Thanks for Reading!
We hope this week's post gives the young readers interested in dentistry a few places to start reading, learning, and asking. If you enjoy our blog, you can like our Facebook page and see when we publish new posts.