How to Become a Dentist by Jonathan Chan

Dentists are specialized medical practitioners who diagnose, treat, and maintain the health of human teeth and gums. Some of their most typical responsibilities include removing and filling cavities, sealing and whitening teeth, and educating patients on flossing, nutrition, and oral hygiene. Dentists must be competent to conduct a variety of operations, such as giving local anesthetics, interpreting X-rays, and creating models for dentures or appliances, in order to be considered full-scope specialists. Dentists carry out their jobs using a range of tools such as drills, probes, scalpels, X-rays, and lasers, making their specialty very procedurally based.

Dentists have a low unemployment rate and are among the top paid doctors in the United States and Canada. Their pay varies depending on where they work, how much experience they have, and what they specialize in. A general dentist earns an average of $126,000 per year in Canada and $161,000 per year in the United States. Income levels are greater among individuals practicing specialty dentistry, such as oral maxillofacial surgery, with an average salary of $279,000 in Canada and $208, 000 in the United States.

High school may be the time when some students contemplate pursuing a career in dentistry. It is advisable to take classes in high school that will help you with your post-secondary choices. This means that you must study math and science courses in order to enroll in dentistry and medical school requirements.

Enroll in classes to get the necessary information as you transition to college or university. It is critical to attend beginning biology and chemistry classes. You will need a degree in science.

Take advantage of the opportunity to investigate the field in post-secondary. Join a student dental group, volunteer in similar fields such as clinics or hospitals, or seek appropriate employment experience. Do some shadowing to have a better grasp of the profession, and have one-on-one interactions with dentists to learn about the benefits and drawbacks of the profession. You also want to begin thinking about the application’s non-academic criteria, such as volunteer and employment activities, as well as techniques for obtaining excellent letters of recommendation.

After completing your undergrad, the next step is to study and prepare for the “Dental Aptitude Test”

You must prepare for a few key components of the dental school application process in both Canada and the United States. These include the dental aptitude exam, academic achievement, letters of recommendation, personal statements for dental school, extra material, and the interview. All of these factors have a significant impact on dentistry school acceptance rates.

Most dental programs in North America need the dental aptitude exam as part of the admissions process. This Test is divided into four parts.

To begin, the manual dexterity examination assesses the psychomotor ability of dentistry. It is necessary to carve a model out of a bar of soap. 30 minutes is allotted to complete the task.

Following that are the written components of the test, which are divided into three portions. Based on the curriculum of beginning science courses, the natural science portion focuses on biology and broad chemistry. You will have 60 minutes to answer 70 questions, 40 of which will be from biology and 30 from general chemistry.

The perceptual ability component will come next, with six subtests covering apertures, view identification, angle discrimination, paper folding, cube counting, and 3D shape generation. These are the abilities necessary to work as a dentist, particularly with the wide range of instruments and molds available. This part has 90 questions, and you will have 60 minutes to answer them.

The reading comprehension test comes last. There are three passages in this part that will test your abilities to read and interpret written content, as well as evaluate the material to find themes and primary ideas. Because no prior knowledge of the subject is required, each passage is new to candidates. There are 50 questions in this section, and you have 50 minutes to finish it.

If you are lucky enough to be accepted, Dental School is the next step. You will spend your first two years of dental school in a classroom learning the principles of dentistry, diagnoses, and necessary anatomy and physiology. There will be procedure-based laboratories where students will master the skills required for a dental practice. In your third and fourth years, you will participate in clinical rotations to study the practice of dentistry and apply the information and abilities you gained in your pre-clinical training.

After graduating from a recognized dentistry institution, you must first get a license from the nation, state, or province in which you wish to practice. To be certified to practice, you must pass a final written test as well as an OSCE. Typically, after receiving the necessary qualification, most will begin their work as general dentists.

Some people may opt to pursue further training or specialize. Following dental school, this will need a few years of further schooling or residency.

This whole process takes many years to complete so at the end of the day, being a dentist is a huge achievement and something you should be proud of.

BeMo Academic Consulting Inc. “How to Become a Dentist in 2021.” BeMo®, BeMo Academic Consulting Inc., 2 Mar. 2021, bemoacademicconsulting.com/blog/how-to-become-a-dentist. Accessed 27 May 2021.

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