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8 Reasons Why You Should Become a Dentist

When it comes to health care professions, there are myriad options from physician to the technician. It is quite impossible to emphasize one over the other because every profession is critically important to ensure the well-being of health.

dentists with instruments
Image from Unsplash by Yusuf Belek

As a kid, we have the freedom to become whatever we wish to be in our dreams. We are carpenter one day, scientist the next day, and an actress the other day. As we grow up, we realize, the reality is far away from our dreams. Choosing your career path is a crucial time and it’s obvious to feel lost for a certain time.

However, if dentistry ever crossed your mind, we are here to help you. In this article, we are offering you eight reasons to chase your dreams and pursue a career in dentistry.

Table of Contents

8 Reasons To Consider A Career In Dentistry

1. Oral health is a priority

According to a survey, nearly two-thirds of individuals in the United States said their current health priority is their oral health. As a health-related priority, oral health was ranked higher than mental health, exercise, and diet.

oral health priority chart
Source: statista.com

If you've ever had a toothache, a cavity, or any other dental emergency, you know that finding a competent dentist is important not just for your health, but also for your comfort and confidence.

More and more people every year prefer a regular dental checkup just like any other routine checkup to avoid painful dental issues. The proactive and preventive approaches to deal with patients have made people more aware of the importance of oral health.

2. Putting back the smile on people’s face

Dentists have a notorious reputation for alleviating sufferings in exchange for discomfort and pain. Patients’ pain is not their goal rather a part of their work.

While dental pain is one of the most excruciating experiences to go through, dentists try to relieve patients' suffering by treating problems.

Dental medicine has come a long way in the 21st century and works in many ways other than giving people relief from pain. We should indeed accept ourselves the way we are but at times our teeth get in a bad state due to our own habits.

Eating too much chocolate, not brushing our teeth properly, or not extracting out the tooth at the right time can become the reason why we start hesitating to smile more often.

But, dentists are no less than magicians. They have the solution for every unique problem and can put the smile back. So if you become a dentist, you can actually help people laugh confidently.

girl smiling confidently
Image from Unsplash by Matheus Ferrero

The role dentists play in a person's makeover is by far one of the most satisfying aspects of dentistry. It's a great feeling to go out with confidence, especially if they've been hiding their teeth for years.

An increasing number of an adult is seeking orthodontic treatment because they want to be all in smiles with no fear. So, do you not want to help them?

3. Dentistry is not just about teeth

Dentists' work goes beyond giving people ease and fixing the teeth' alignment. Imagine someone met with a car accident that deformed their facial bones. Who they’ll go to? A qualified oral surgeon.

Maxillofacial trauma can cause damage to soft tissue, bruises, and fractures and can break bones, jaw, or cheekbones. These injuries can lead to permanent facial disfigurement. So, it’s not just check-ups and fillings.

You will get to work on the most important part of the human body, the face. The oral and maxillofacial surgeons receive highly specialized training which prepares them to handle the challenges related to fractures and damages.

So you have a lot of options to explore if you find interest in other aspects of dentistry. As mentioned earlier you can opt for being an Orthodontists who are expertise in braces and other devices to straighten teeth.

In the same way, you have the option to become a periodontist, endodontist, oral pathologist, or maxillofacial surgeon. So, there’s no way to think that choosing to study dentistry you’ll narrow down your career path. Rather, you’ll open up the door to a diversified field.

4. Be your own boss

If you've ever dreamed of being your own boss and want to work in medicine, dentistry provides a variety of flexible choices. When you graduate from dental school, you have a lot of options for where you want to work. You have the option of joining a practice or pursuing your business dreams and opening your own clinic.

Dentists can operate in either private clinics that serve persons with personal health insurance or go for public practices that are sponsored or subsidized. As the services are expensive, not all countries can include them in national health services.

It is important to have time for family while you make a comfortable living. Being a dentist you will have that. It is the kind of skill that no one can take away from you and you will always have work to do.

5. Balance the ratio of dentist to population

There were 61.04 dentists per 100,000 people in the United States in 2020. And about only one in five professionally active dentists reported that their practice, research, or administration area is an ADA recognized specialty.

So, you can already have the idea that how much the imbalanced ratio demands skilled dentists. Dentistry was named one of the best jobs in the U.S. News & World Report's "100 Best Jobs" list for the eighth year in a row.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment growth will be 7.6%, resulting in 10,400 additional dental positions by 2028. The need for new dentists is rapidly increasing so you are going to have a promising career.

6. More interaction with people

A normal day in the life of a dentist is diverse and intriguing, as they deal with individuals of various ages, personalities, and cultures.

Dentists use the newest technology in diagnosing and treating patients, from computers to magnetic resonance imaging and more, so no two days are ever the same.

A dentist develops great interpersonal skills while working with different people. Whether it’s dealing with kids or adults, dentists have a wittier way to keep patients distracted as much as possible. Overall if you are a fun-loving person, you’ll be a good fit for it.

7. Contribute to the future of oral health care

Dentistry is frequently referred to be a form of art. It necessitates a level of skill and technique that is unique to the field. Dentistry is primarily concerned with preserving good oral health, but it also focuses on the capacity building of everyone practicing.

In addition to clinical practice, dentists may play an important role in shaping the future of oral health care by contributing to dental education and research. By establishing themselves as faculty members, dental educators have the potential to alter the dental school curriculum and the professional function of the dentist.

dental props
Image from Unsplash by Jonathan Borba

As a dental researcher, the dentist combines the latest technology with cutting-edge scientific discoveries. It improves the profession by identifying novel oral health phenomenon or finding solutions to a variety of oral health problems.

8. Earn a lucrative salary

Although you shouldn't pursue it only for the money, a dental career pays well everywhere in the world, and you'll be able to make a good living. Dentists in the United States earned an average salary of $158,000 per year, or approximately $76 per hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In comparison to other professions, your working hour will be less but you will earn an hourly wage two and a half times more than average.

Dental wages provide a pleasant standard of living for all over the world. Dentists earn substantially above-average incomes in most nations, and they may choose where they live and work in some situations.

Even though dentistry is one of the best-paid professions in many nations, some dentists opt to relocate to countries where incomes are even greater. Ireland, for example, pays a greater salary to dentists than the United Kingdom, and some UK-trained dentists opt to practice in Ireland.

Before preparing to move, prospective dentists who want to live and operate outside of their home country should research the language and license requirements of other countries.

Final Word

The reasons for wanting to be a dentist are as diverse as the people who want to be dentists, but one thing that all dentists have in common is a genuine desire to help people.

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