CAREER PRESENTATION:

DENTISTRY

Rebecca Triplett
Health 419
February 10, 2010
THE GOAL
 My future career goal is to become a Doctor of Medical
Dentistry (DMD) or a Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS).
 After achieving my doctorate, I aim to join an already-
established dental practice to gain experience.
 I aspire to one day own and run my own dental practice,
doing both cosmetic and general dentistry.
THE JOURNEY
 Before I can join a practice or start my own, there are
many things I must do, including…
 Takingthe Dental Aptitude Test
 Graduating from an accredited school of dental medicine
THE JOURNEY: THE DAT
 The Dental Admissions Test, better known as the DAT, is a
standardized exam that dental school hopefuls must take before they
can be accepted into an accredited school
 It spans the following topics:
 Natural Sciences (Biology, General Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry)
 Reading Comprehension
 Perceptual Ability
 Quantitative Reasoning

 A score between 1 and 30 can be achieved, with 30 being the highest

 Most dental schools look for a score of at least 17-20, though there is no set
score that one must have
 Itcosts $255 to take the test once
 Courses provided by organizations like Kaplan are available to help
students prepare for the DAT
The Journey: Dental School

 The school I am currently hoping to attend is the Dental School

at the Medical University of South Carolina, which is located
in Charleston, South Carolina.
 In addition to submitting transcripts and DAT scores,
applicants must also submit three letters of recommendation
and college transcripts
The Journey: Dental School
 In addition to other requirements, MUSC requires that
certain prerequisites must be taken prior to admittance.8
hours General Chemistry
8 hours Organic Chemistry
 8 hours Physics
 8 hours Biology or Zoology
 6 hours of English
 6 hours of Mathematics
 8 hours of Science Electives
The Journey: Dental School

 Dental schools tend to be highly selective

 They give preferential acceptance to those in state (for instance,
Georgia’s dental school doesn’t even accept out-of-state applicants, and
UNC has an 80-20 ratio of in to out-of-state acceptance).
 For MUSC, in 2006 the average GPA and DAT scores were
3.59 and 19.3, respectively.
 Over 12,000 people applied to dental school in 2009 (and rates
are only growing each year), a number which vastly outweighs
the number of available seats
 MUSC had 729 applicants, but only 56 seats
 Women now account for around 40% of those in dental school
The Journey: Dental School
 Should the student get accepted into dental school, they can
expect a curriculum heavy in dental-related science and health
courses, like Morphology, Nutrition, Oral Immunology, Oral
Medicine, Prosthodontics, etc.
 The first two years of dental school are focused more on
classroom-learning and science-based courses
 The last two years of dental school are based on actual clinical
and field experience
The Journey: Dental School
 The tuition for dental school can run quite high.
 Currently, the tuition per semester at MUSC for dental school
is $13,144 for an in-state student, not including any other
expenses like equipment or book fees.
 MUSC does not list their four-year totals, but other schools
like UNC and Georgia expect total expenses for all four years
to equal around $105,000-115,000 for in-state students, and
around $200,000 for out-of-state students.
THE DESTINATION: DMD/DDS
 Should a student be able to meet the stiff criteria and pay
the even stiffer tuition fees of dental school and make it to
graduation, they become either a DMD or DDS
 There isn’t really a difference between the two degrees; it just
depends on the dental school one graduates from
 When coming out of a four-year dental program, most
dentists are just general practitioners—specialization
usually takes about two extra years.
 Should a dentist choose to specialize, they can do so in one of the
following fields: Dental Public Health, Endodontics, Oral and
Maxillofacial Pathology, Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology,
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Orthodontics and Dentofacial
Orthopedics, Pediatric Dentistry, Periodontics and
Prosthodontics
THE DESTINATION: DMD/DDS
 In 2008, the median yearly earnings for the average
dentist was around $140,000.
 Salary varies based upon place in practice (private/self-owned
vs. just working there), experience, area, and specialization
 There is growth projected for all dental specialties, with
general dentists having a projected increase of 15%.
 The specialty with the highest expected growth was
prosthodontics. This could possible be attributed to the aging
“Baby Boomer” population.
 Dentists, unlike many other professionals, have no set or
exact schedule. Some work 4 days a week, while others
work 5.
REQUIRED SKILLS
 Dentists must possess a variety of skills and abilities
 Some of the most important skills for a dentist are
strong spatial perception and visual awareness, manual
dexterity, attention to detail, and tactile ability
(essentially, they need excellent hand-eye coordination).
Dentists are working directly in a person’s mouth, and
they’re working on relatively small surfaces, so they
must be able to perform well under these conditions.
REQUIRED SKILLS
 Other skills that dentists must possess include good …
 Communication/interpersonal skills—dentists must be able to
work with and relate to both patients and coworkers, while
also communicating non-verbally with such items as medical
charts
 Business skills—many dentists own their own private
practices, so a strong business sense will help a dentist go far
and earn more money
 Organizational skills—a dentist must be organized and
efficient, especially if he or she owns their own practice.
 DO I HAVE WHAT IT TAKES?
 I am an excellent candidate for a career in dentistry, because I
have what it takes to succeed—a strong academic background,
self-discipline, and a drive to improve and move forward.
 Academics
 In the area of academics, I am well-prepared for a career in dentistry. The
most important courses for dentistry are science courses, and by the end of
this semester I will have completed all of MUSC’s dental school science
requirements: 8 hours of general chemistry and 8 hours of organic
chemistry, and 16 hours of biology. I’ve even taken an additional 8 hours
worth of microbiology classes. I have also completed their non-science
requirements for English, Math, and Physics.
 I have also maintained a strong GPA throughout college, and currently
have a 3.9
DO I HAVE WHAT IT TAKES?
 Academics
 At Clemson, I am majoring in Public Health Science, with a concentration
in Pre-Professional Health Studies. This classes, which span topics from
epidemiology and public health to health and disease, are sure to prepare
me for similar topics covered in dental school.
 I am also currently working as an undergraduate researcher right now
under the leadership of a psychology professor, studying the
psychophysiology of stress and cardiovascular function. Research
experience is highly valued among dental schools, so this experience gives
me an advantage when it comes to dental school acceptance.
 DO I HAVE WHAT IT TAKES?
 When it comes to the area of skill sets, I am also well-prepared for dentistry
 Skill sets
 Tactile/Perceptual Skills: Through years of both sports and doing puzzle
games, I have exceptional hand-eye coordination, and perceptual skills when
it comes to shapes and visual memory
 Attention to detail: I have always believed that it is the small details that
make up the big picture, and am able to see things on the smaller, more
detailed level that dentistry requires
 Communication/Interpersonal skills: As a soccer captain in high school, an
RA during college, and a sales associate at Bath & Body Works during
college, I have developed excellent communication skills-both verbal and
non-verbal.
 Organization skills: My attention to detail also comes in to play here. I like
focusing on the details, making sure that everything is organized, because I
believe that organization leads to efficiency.
JUST FOR FUN: A CAREER APTITUDE TEST
 Recently, I took a Career Color Test that assessed your career options based on colors you like, and was
surprised at how spot-on my results were. I’ve put them here, because they verify that a career in dentistry
is a great fit for me:
 Best Occupational Category: Researcher
 Independent, Self-Motivated, Reserved, Introspective, Analytical, and Curious
 The investigative types gather information, analyze and interpret data, and inquire to uncover new facts. They have a
strong scientific orientation, enjoy academic or research environments and prefer self-reliant jobs. Dislikes are group
projects, selling, and repetitive activities.
 RESEARCHER OCCUPATIONS
Suggested careers are College Professor, Physician, Psychologist, Pharmacist, Chemist, Marketing Research,
Inventor, Sales Forecasting, Project Engineer, Dentist, Identifying Consumer Demand, Chiropractor, Medical
Technician, Optometrist, Research & Development Manager, Respiratory Therapist, Real Estate Appraiser,
Chiropractor, Veterinarian, Geologist, Physicist, Science Teacher, Medical Technologist, and Author of Technical
Books.
 RESEARCHER WORKPLACES
Task-oriented careers where you can become absorbed in the job, be original and creative, and not conform to rigid
company rules will work best for you. Unstructured organizations, for example, that allow you to sail your own ship
are vital.
 Suggested Researcher workplaces are universities and colleges, home office positions, medical facilities, computer-
related industries, scientific foundations and think tanks, research firms, and design laboratories.
 My second-place category was as an organizer, which emphasized business sense and an attention to detail,
which exists as further proof that I’m an excellent candidate for a career in dentistry, because it matches
up very well with the skill sets I already mentioned.
REFERENCES
 http://www.predents.com/?page=home
 http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos072.htm

 http://careers.stateuniversity.com/pages/472/Dentist.html

 http://sualumnihealth.tripod.com/id1.html

 http://www.ada.org/public/education/teachers/smile/broc
hure_dentistry.pdf
 http://www.dentalstudentbooks.com/dental_information.
html