Becoming a Dentist 

A dentist is a health professional that provides routine checkups, preventative maintenance and solutions to problems with the gums, teeth and bones within the mouth. 

Dentistry Specialization:  

Orthodontists: Straighten teeth 

Oral Surgeons: Operate on the mouth to remove teeth, place dental implants, and correct defects in the jaws. 

Endodontists: Treat diseases that deal directly with the nerves of the teeth, performing primarily root canals

Oral pathologists: Provide a diagnosis of oral diseases and often treats them.  

Pedodontists: Describes a dentist that deals specifically with teenagers and children.  

Periodontists: Gum specialist that deals primarily with gum disease

Prosthodontists: Provides  replacements of a person’s teeth with artificial teeth, which can include bridges and dentures.  

Public Health Dentists: These are dentists that design public care programs for patients 

Educational Schooling Needed to Become a Dentist

Before a person can enter into a dental school, they need to have an Associate’s Degree or Bachelor’s Degree. This translates to 2-4 years of college. When a person enters dental school, it is usually after they have attained their Bachelor’s degree.  

Dental school is 4 years in length and another 2-4 years if you decide to specialize in a certain area as discussed above. After dental school, you have to pass a dental exam before the state will provide you with a license. A person cannot legally practice dentistry if they do not have a state license.  

Degrees Dentists Can Attain

There are essentially two types of dental degrees that a person can attain.  

DDS and DMD are both equal and the same. They stand for a Doctor of Dental Surgery and a Doctor of Dental Medicine.  They are given after 3 years of college and  4 years of dental school.  

FAGD / MAGD are awards that are given out by the Academy of General Dentistry. They are not  post graduate degrees. The “F” and “M” before the AGD stands for “Fellow” and “Master”.  

Dentists get these awards by completing 500-600 credit hours, maintaining their status over a minimum of three years and continuing their training in years after graduation with a minimum of 75 credit hours every 3 years.  

Beyond College

When a person is done with college, both traditional and dental, they will be ready to embark on their dental career. There are usually two choices. The first choice is to start a dental practice or join with an established practice. Depending on the available funds to the new graduate, they might opt to start with an established office first and then move their way up and out on their own.  

The second choice for a new dentist would be to a salaried by county jobs such as a hospital. Those who do not have an ambition to start their own practice, or do not want the hassles that come along with it, will generally choose this option. Although it is not a bad option, progression is limited and you are capped off by the salary they choose to give you.  

It is recommended that you have an idea of how you want to enter onto your dental career path before you enter for college. If a person looks to have their own practice, it would be beneficial to major in a form of Business. This way the person who is looking to go out on their own has a strong background of business to lean on.