What Qualifications and Experience are Needed to Become an Accomplished Dentist?

We have already dispensed advice on how you can make your initial entry into the dental profession – but, once you have got your foot in the door, you might set your eyes on further challenges. So, what qualifications and experience would you need to further yourself in the dental profession – for example, to take up more specialist dental posts?

There are many different options open to you

Your very first dental job will likely be as an assistant or self-employed associate in a dental practice. However, there are many other ways in which a dentist can be employed – such as specialising in paediatric or restorative dentistry in an NHS hospital trust, working in mobile clinics and residences as part of a community dental service, or perhaps even working overseas with their country’s air force, army or navy. However, you could find that all of these paths require very particular experience and qualifications.

The steps that you could take in your early professional development

Once you have left dental school and registered with the relevant regulatory body, whether that be the General Dental Council in the UK or the Dental Council in the ROI, there could still be extra immediate training for you to take on in order to get to where you want to be. For example, in the UK, there is a year of compulsory work-based foundation training.

However, once that particular bit of training is complete, it is possible to progress to become an associate or partner in a general practice. Many dentists even move onto running a practice – and, for that, you will need to be adept at managing staff, budgets, equipment and premises. Making sure that you have the relevant experience to do all of this well would therefore obviously be wise if you are mulling over going down this route.

Teach them a lesson… in the less vengeful sense

If you’re finding this blog post pleasingly educational, have you ever considered providing a bit of education yourself by becoming a dental lecturer or professor? It’s an option that can definitely be available, provided that you build experience of work in teaching hospitals and universities with dental schools. You would also need to pick up relevant postgraduate qualifications – but, once you do, you could soon be helping to teach the next generation of dentists. Oh, and remember the advice that you got from us when your journey first began!