What is the future of dentistry industry?
Over the years, the industry has seen a rise in the demand of fro dental services. It has been occasioned by population growth and the lifestyle of people that expose them to dental ailments. This could be due to the food they eat or their hygiene level. Also, there has been a remarkable improvement in the equipment and procedures, thanks to improved technology. The dental professionals will be familiarizing themselves with these procedures and equipment in order to better their services.
Who can join the dentistry profession?
Anybody can the profession as long as they passed their high school. There are various entry criteria into the profession. Graduates in any field will be required to complete a five year cause. Graduates who have done biomedical services can be exempted some module.
What conditions do dentists work under?
Most dentists go solo. Some start businesses on their own yet others form partnerships. These are responsible for creating their own working conditions. Those in public service work for to five days on average. Dentistry is a well paying career.
Introduction
Dentistry is a fascinating discipline, you only need to reflect on the role played by dentists in, for example, putting the smile back on the face a child who has had to deal with a case of cleft lip condition. The manner in which the dentists go about their work with a lot of attention to detail and in a meticulous way just shows how dentistry, like the rest of the other field in medicine, is deeply rooted in ethics of medicine, and which the practitioners have to abide by.
With recent technological advancement, a visit to the dentist’s is not a nasty experience any more. The equipment developed in the recent years put the comfort of the client into consideration. Owing to the embracing of technology by the dentistry discipline, what then, therefore, does the future holds for dentistry?
Joining dentistry
You can join dentistry any time, even after your college studies. One does not also have to have studied dentistry related courses at the college. With any college degree and a good pass at the high school level, one can be guaranteed of a place in any college for dentistry (Department of Health 2004). According to NHS Careers, “Applicants with non-science ‘A’ levels can apply for dental degrees with the additional pre-dental year. These courses are six years in length” (para. 4).
There are others alternative qualifications too. Graduates holding VCE and Scottish qualifications are welcome to apply for a course in dentistry. On the other hand, individual who already are in possession of another degree might as well be eligible for the standard degree course that takes a maximum of five years.
Before they may be considered for eligibility however, one of the requirements is that such individuals should have attained a grade of an upper-second class degree and a good score at A level grades close to the admitting institution’s standard requirements (College Grad para. 5).
According to NHS Careers, most training institutions offer a four- year accelerated programs for graduates who hold degrees in biology and chemistry. Graduates who have studied biomedical sciences are given a preference here. These are general requirements for many colleges however and a prospective student should familiarize himself/herself with the college requirements at the universities they wish to apply. It is never too late to study dentistry and one can apply to study it at any point in your career (para. 3).
What the working conditions for the dentist?
Labor Bureau of Statistics (as cited in Health Guide USA) informs us that most dental practitioners prefer to go solo in their practice. This means they start their dental businesses with partners or alone. They can also employ support staff. The Labor Bureau of Statistics reports:
“Most dentists work 4 or 5 days a week. Some work evenings and weekends to meet their patients’ needs. The number of hours worked varies greatly among dentists. Most full-time dentists work between 35 and 40 hours a week. However, others, especially those who are trying to establish a new practice, work more. Also, experienced dentists often work fewer hours. “It is common for dentists to continue pursuing part-time practice well beyond the usual retirement age” (Labor Bureau of Statistics para. 4).
What is the future of dentistry?
Just like in any other career, dentistry will have to address itself to changing times. In the future, the dentistry schools will have to “…expand efforts to recruit into and retain individuals in dental profession careers. Ideally, the dental workforce should reflect the ethnic and cultural diversity of the general population” (American Dental Association 6).
The dentistry profession will also be addressing itself to the changing technology. New equipment is developed every time, and it is the duty of practitioners to keep track of these, adopting them to the comfort of their clients. This new technology will also avail services that were previously too costly for the general public to afford at an affordable price thanks to the advanced technology.
According to the American Dental Association, “An important factor related to the demand for dental services, and thus access, is the availability, extent and character of third party financing for services. Individuals who value dental services are willing, under certain conditions, to have prepayment plans purchased on their behalf by their employers” (12).
The dental practitioners thus will be required in the future to engage employers with scheme the scheme in the hope that their employees shall benefit on a broader scale in terms of dental health that is the case today (Bureau of Labour Statistics 2009). Already, there are indications that this is the way to go. These employers are the greatest purchasers of dental services.
They seek to provide employees with desired benefits while at the same time attempting to control the costs of fringe benefits for their companies. More attention should be focused to them in the future. The government is likely to offer incentives in the future to encourage more people to join the dental industry due to the growing demands of these services.
What does the work of a dentist entail?
Have you ever paused to consider what a dentist’s work entails? Well, the dentists are responsible for the oral hygiene and health of their clients. Besides the role they play in disease diagnosis and treatment, dentists are also involved in attending to malformations and injuries of the teeth and mouth with a view to enhancing the appearance of a patient through the use of diverse cosmetic dental procedures.
Some of the surgical procedures normally performed by dental surgeons include tissue grafts, implants as well as extractions. In addition, it is the responsibility of dentist to education their patients on the best methods of dental care if at all they are to keep dental oral diseased at bay. Other than hygiene issues, medical complications and routine checkups, dentists also take part in aesthetics activities.
Various procedures like teeth bonding and bleaching are done to them, enhancing their looks. This is another thing I find fascinating about dentistry. You can change the life of a person completely by giving them a reason to smile! Uneven teeth shapes and decays could suffer to lack of self confidence while speaking to other people.
One could fail to give their best in a date or a job interview. Instead, such a person’s preoccupation might be to conceal their tarnished teeth. The dentists have a solution for these. They can restore the self esteem of the persons involved with simple and affordable procedures.
It is estimated that dentists make a mean annual wage of $ 154270 per annum (Bureau of Labor Statistics 2009). This places dentistry amongst most rewarding careers. The Labor Bureau of Statistics further volunteers that dentists in private practice earn more than their colleagues in civil service.
This can be a good source of motivation for people to join the profession. You may want to ask why some dentists remain in public service while their counterparts make a lot of money on their own. Partly this has to do how enterprising the individuals in question are. The other reason is the high cost of equipment used in dentistry, and the high standards people in private service must meet in order for their business to be registered. This requires a huge capital outlay.
Conclusion
There are many career options available to the dentist. More than 80 % of the dentists are involved in general practitioners responsibilities, while nearly 20 % tends to preoccupy themselves with the various specialized dental surgery areas, totaling to nine. The areas of dental research, teaching as well as specializing in a given dental area of study constitute additional career paths that either a dental specialist or a general practitioner might consider pursuing.
Dentists are also involved in hospital work, in public health agencies, and the military, among a number of other setting (Gallagher, Resmi and Nairan 4). The dental professionals’ fraternity pride itself to be an observer of high ethical standards and quality driven services to the clients.
The future looks bright for dentistry, owing to the integration of information technology into the field. As a result, a lot of the practitioners are now better able to attend to increasingly large number of cases, even those from remote areas. This is therefore a major boost to dental health.
Works Cited
American Dental Association. Future dentistry-executive summary. Chicago: American Dental Association, Health Policy Resource Center., 2006. Print. Web.
Bureau of Labour Statistics., 2009. Dental Working Conditions. Occupational Outlook Handbook. (2008 Edition). Web.
College Grad. Degree Programs for Dentists: Online and Campus School. 2010. Web.
Department of Health. Implementing a Scheme for Dentists with Special Interests (DwSIs). London:Department of Health & Faculty of GDPUK; 2004. Print.
Gallagher, Jennifer, Resmi, Patel and Nairan, Wilson.The emerging workforce: long-term career expectations and influences. A quantitative study of final year dental students’ views on their long-term career from one London dental school. 2009. Web.
NHS Careers. Entry Requirements to become a Dentist. 2010. Web.