17 Dentistry as a
Career
Why study dentistry?
The need for dentists
Today's trends in dentistry
Dental specialties
Is dentistry for you?
Dentistry as an alternative to
medicine
Dentistry is a profession dealing with the
prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of oral
diseases and disorders, with primary emphasis on
the health of teeth and gums. In a
sense, dentistry is a medical subspecialty. Good
oral health is critical to human psycho-
logical and physical well-being since the state
of the teeth affect speech and expression,
and, also, systemic diseases frequently manifest
themselves in the oral cavity.
There are more than 150,000 active dentists in
the United States; most of them are
in private practice with the remainder working
as salaried professionals. Of those in pri-
vate practice, 80% are general practitioners
who are contributing to the improvement of
their communities' health standards and are
rewarded by having favorable working con-
ditions and ample financial
remuneration.
Many thousands of dentists hold positions as
commissioned officers in the armed
forces. Others are employed by the Veterans
Administration and in public health dentistry
at the state or local level. There are also
several thousand full- or part-time teachers,
administrators, and investigators in dental
schools and in dental research laboratories.
WHY STUDY DENTISTRY?
Dentistry provides young men and women of
talent and dedication with an opportunity
for a lifetime of professional satisfaction.
The following are some of the attractive
attributes of the dental
profession:
1. It provides a strong sense of inner
satisfaction derived from the knowledge that
one is contributing to the physical well-being
of one's patients.
2. It provides a personal feeling of
achievement that comes from the successful
application of one's judgmental and manual
skills in resolving problems.
3. It provides an opportunity for group
leadership as the head of a dental care
team, making use of one's managerial and
organizational skills.
4. It provides a basis for economic security
and long-term financial stability.
5. It provides an opportunity to gain status in
the community and thereby serve
one's neighbors outside of one's professional
capacity.
THE NEED FOR DENTISTS
The demands for dental care by the public have
increased annually. The three factors
responsible for this situation are greater
affluence, better education, and increased popu-
lation growth. (Nevertheless, only about 50% of
the general population sees a dentist
with any regularity.) The response to the
demand for increased dental care has been an
User Comments Add a comment…