Dentist Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a dentist. Feel free to use our job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a dentist.
Who is a Dentist?
A healthy tooth is a living part of the body that is connected by life-lines of blood and nerve to a person’s heart and brain, and to separate the tooth from the body, or even to interrupt those life-lines, means death to the tooth, as well as pain and injury to the body and that, is to the person. These are the exact words of David Werner in “where there is no dentist” (which is an emphasis on the need for good oral hygiene among people).
A dentist often known as a dental surgeon is a medical professional who specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of oral diseases. Oral examinations, diagnosis, and treatment of dental and mouth illnesses are all performed by a dentist or dental practitioner. They also give their patients advice on how to keep their teeth and gums healthy and avoid tooth and gum disease. Members of the dental team who support dentists in providing oral health treatments include dental assistants, dentists, dental technicians, and occasionally dental therapists.
Sugar consumption, cigarette use, alcohol use, and poor cleanliness, as well as their underlying social and commercial drivers, are all modifiable risk factors for oral illnesses. These variables, in combination with common risk factors for non-communicable illnesses, form the basis for integrated prevention and control programs. The most frequent oral disorders include dental caries (tooth decay), periodontal (gum) disease, tooth loss, and malignancies of the lips and oral cavity. These disorders are among the most frequent non-communicable diseases in the world, even though they are largely preventable, and they have substantial health, social, and economic repercussions. These oral disorders impact people at all stages of their lives, from childhood to adolescence, adulthood, and old age.
There are various reasons to visit a dentist, and it is recommended that you do so every six months. To begin, you should visit a dentist to have any indicators of mouth cancer, gum disease, or decay checked. Second, you should see a dentist if you are experiencing pain or discomfort in your teeth, mouth, jaws, or gums, as well as maintain your oral health.
According to research, over 3.5 billion individuals worldwide suffer from oral disorders, with no significant improvement in the situation between 1990 and 2017. Dental caries in permanent teeth is the world’s most common oral illness, affecting 2.3 billion people. Severe periodontal disease, a leading cause of tooth loss, is projected to impact 267 million individuals worldwide, primarily the elderly. Oral health is crucial to overall health and happiness. Many people, however, have untreated oral disorders, which lead to avoidable discomfort, infection, and a lower quality of life. Good oral health is also important for healthy aging, as it affects diet, employment, self-esteem, and continuous social involvement.
As a dentist, you will help patients perform difficult surgical and dental operations with a high level of manual dexterity. Your training will instill skills for this work, such as a great understanding of human anatomy and oral illness, as well as the best clinical skills to serve your patients.
Dentist Job Description
Below are the dentist job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a job description for your employee. Employers can use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
- Taking patients’ medical histories (task entails diagnosis and provision of appropriate dental treatment including regular cleaning, root canals, surgical extractions, implants, and cosmetic dentistry).
- Referring patients for surgery or orthodontic work.
- Moulding patients’ teeth and preparing prosthetics such as crowns, plates, and implants,
- Maintaining accurate patient records and details of consultations
- Keeping up with best practices, new technologies, and innovations in the field of dentistry
- Managing a team including Hygienists, Dental Assistants, and administrative staff.
- Performing staff recruitment and training
Qualifications of a Dentist
To become a dentist, you must fulfill the following three steps:
- A five-year dental degree approved by the General Dental Council (GDC).
- Registration with the General Dental Council (GDC) which regulates dental professionals (for UK residents only).
- Two years of postgraduate dental training under the supervision of a dental practice.
Essential Skills of a Dentist
Ability to communicate: As a dentist to explain any difficulties or prospective procedures to patients, you must be an effective communicator.
Personality traits: As a dentist, you must be able to communicate with people of various ages and backgrounds because this is a patient-facing position. To cope with patients’ problems you need to be emotionally intelligent.
Leadership: To run a successful practice as a dentist, you will frequently need to supervise a team of other dentists and dental workers.
Initiative and problem-solving: You must be able to recognize any problems with the patient’s teeth and then determine the best course of action.
Knowledge of how to use specialized equipment: To identify and inspect any potential dental problems with your patients, you’ll need to employ a number of dental equipment and specific machinery like x-rays.
How to Become a Dentist
To become a dentist you must complete the four major processes listed below:
- A-Levels or comparable qualifications
You’ll need at least three (3) A Levels with strong scores to get into dentistry school. Specific entry criteria differ per university, however, Biology and Chemistry are ideal A-Level selections for dentistry because they are commonly regarded as essential needs. You should as well keep in mind that grades differ by university, so if you want to enter a top-ranked university, you should strive for three A grades at A-Level. If you are a student who does not have the essential science background for a dentistry degree, you can take a pre-dental course to help lay the groundwork for a five-year bachelor’s degree in the subject.
- Bachelor’s degree
In the United Kingdom, most undergraduate dental degrees take five years to finish. Students in dentistry can earn a number of degrees, including:
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- Dental Surgery Bachelor’s Degree (BDS)
- License in Dental Surgery (BChd)
- Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BChd) (LDS).
If you follow one of these three-degree types, you will benefit from academic lectures on your subject as well as the practical skills and work experience needed to advance in your career as a dentist.
- Joining the General Dental Council as a member (GDC).
In the United Kingdom, the GDC accredits dental programs. After completing your GDC-approved course, you can register with the General Dental Council as a qualified UK dentist.
- Dental Education Fundamentals
Following your Bachelor’s degree, you will begin a year of Dental Foundation Training. If you qualify as a dentist you will study under experienced general dental practitioners for a period of 12 months and work in the practice for up to 35 hours each week.
Where to Work as a Dentist
You should be aware that as a dentist, your job is increasingly focused on maintaining teeth and avoiding gum disease. As a result of your employment, you will most likely work in your local community, but you will also have the opportunity to work in a range of settings, including:
- General dental care: Most dentists work as general dental practitioners (GDPs), usually in a high street practice providing dental care to the general public.
- Community dental care: As a dentist, you also provide dental care in community settings for patients who have difficulty getting treatment in their high street dental practice.
- Dental public health: This is a specialty that entails determining dental health needs and ensuring that dental services are available to meet those needs. Your work here will focus on improving community dental health rather than individual dental health.
- Hospital dental care: Working as a dentist in a hospital typically entails the following responsibilities:
- Providing consultant advice and treatment for cases referred to hospitals or for patients admitted to hospitals due to trauma or disease.
- Providing dental therapy and care for patients who have been in the hospital for a long time.
- Providing dental care for patients who are in the hospital for a shorter period of time and require pain medication as part of their overall care.
- Dental officers in the armed forces: Another option for dentistry graduates is to join the armed forces as a dental officer.
Dentist Salary Scale
Your compensation as a dentist is determined by your experience and whether or not you are self-employed. Working for the NHS as a trainee or starting dentist will pay you between £36,000 and £45,750 while working for the NHS as a salaried dentist would pay you between £38,500 and £82,500. This figure gets higher for highly experienced NHS consultants, who get to earn up to £102,500 per year.