Teeth, Passion, and Purpose: The Benefits of Changing Your Career to Dentistry

Take a look at any list of careers that are in demand, and almost a quarter of them will invariably be medical jobs. The problem is, many of these career paths will be exhausting, underpaid nurse positions. So what about a dentist job?

A career in dentistry is everything someone could dream of: high-paying, secure, prestigious, and satisfying. Dental careers allow you to help people of all ages achieve healthy, good-looking smiles. And to become a dentist, you won't have to slog through the insanely long schooling and residency common to a typical physician career.

We've only scratched the surface of why you should get a dentist job. Keep reading as we discuss all the reasons why you should become a dentist.

A Dentist Job Has a High Starting Dentist Salary

In most careers, especially medical ones, you work your way up from the bottom. You spend years in college, medical school, and residency accruing debt. Most medical students are barely scraping by with a job on top of their studies to make ends meet.

When you finally do make it into your career, you start out at the bottom of the totem pole. Doctors, physician assistants, and even physical therapists must fight tooth and nail to get into a good hospital. If they're lucky, that hospital will have a program to help them pay off their massive amount of debt.

Long story short, it can take years for the average nurse or doctor to get their foot in the door. They may be well into their 40s before they are financially comfortable and secure in their position.

But a dentist? Dental jobs can pay you up to $120,000 a year right out of the gate. This puts you in some of the highest salary brackets--just in your entry-level dentistry job.

The dentist salary only goes up as you build your clinic or else expand to other dental jobs. A dentist salary changes from state to state, and some skilled dentists earn $250,000 on average, and even more.

The DAT (Dental Admissions Test) Is Less Daunting

We've talked about long years of education, fellowships, and residences. But one of the bigger fears of every medical student is the certification and admissions tests. 

The average doctor has to prepare for the MCAT, medical licensing exam, and general medical license. And these are just the standard medical requirements. We haven't even talked about acceptance to medical schools or residency programs.

For a career in dentistry, there is only one major test on your horizon: the DAT test. The dental admissions test allows you to get into the best dental schools in the US.

Of course, everything hinges on your ability to pass the DAT test so you can get into those aforementioned best dental schools in the US. After all, you cannot practice dentistry in the US without the dental admissions test. However, you do have a wealth of resources at your disposal to prepare yourself for it--such as the DAT destroyer.

Also, the dental admissions test is comparatively simpler. The MCAT covers a wide gamut of human anatomy and related treatments. As a dentist, you obviously are only concerned with the mouth and any systems that affect it--but still, make sure you are up to date on your biology.

Further, the pool of students pursuing a career in dentistry is smaller. There's less competition compared to anything a future doctor or nurse has to deal with. It's much more likely that you'll get into the best dental schools in the US.

Dental Jobs Offer You More Independence and Flexibility

After you figure out where to go for dental school and graduate, it's time to begin your career. As we've said previously, it can become highly competitive between future doctors as advance in their hospital career. That's not the case at all for dental careers.

As you have likely noticed, dentists work in independent clinics. There aren't any hospitals with a dentist wing.

Dentists, much like chiropractors, run their own practices. This means they decide on the rules, on the clientele they will serve, and where they will set up their clinic. This gives unprecedented freedom and flexibility to the average dentist job.

If you'd rather not set up your own clinic, then you can work for another. Often, dentists will form partnerships and cooperate on a practice.

Unlike a hospital, you have no obligation to work for them for a set amount of years. At any moment, you could pick up and leave to work for another dentistry--or make your own.

You can choose exactly what sort of services you want to provide. Since you will be footing the bill for the dental equipment and the operating rooms, it's all under your control. Compare this to a doctor or nurse, who dances to the puppet strings of a larger medical institution.

Dental Jobs Allow You to Make a Meaningful Impact on the Lives of Your Patients

When you become a dentist, you're taking part in a career with easy solutions to simple problems. Dental issues are all quite straightforward: brush your teeth after every meal, floss, and you're good to go.

This is one of the few careers where patients walk in and get effective treatment the same day. For example, a patient comes in with cavities. In an hour, you can send them on their way with new fillings and crowns.

After all, smiles are our defining feature. People spend a lot of money to be able to show off their pearly whites. Your job is quite literally giving people confidence and beauty.

Plus, you get to enjoy the progress your patients make. You tell them to floss during one of their appointments and then get to see the end result the next time around.

This is especially notable when working with children. Under your guidance, they learn how to maintain healthy, white teeth. The lessons you teach them could stick with them for the rest of their lives.

Dental Work Is a Low-Stress Job (Compared to Being a Doctor)

Think of what it's like to work in a hospital. At any moment, disaster can strike. Patients may begin to code, experience severe allergic reactions, or even go into cardiac arrest.

Doctors and nurses work in high-stress situations where lives are on the line. It is a noble profession, but one that can be incredibly taxing.

Many eventually drop out of medical school upon realizing that it is not for them. It's not hard to see how being a doctor is much more difficult than being a dentist.

In comparison, when you become a dentist, you do not have to subject yourself to those standards. From dentist school to practice, there's a world of difference. Even the DAT is something you can ace much more easily than the MCAT.

When people come in for a dental appointment, they are relaxed. There is no chance that a visit could put someone's life on the line. The atmosphere is easygoing, and aside from some drill-induced anxiety, everyone feels good.

Even serious operations, such as root canals, come nowhere close to what a doctor or surgeon experiences on a daily basis. The majority of people might experience cavity drilling at most.

As evidence of this, very few dental procedures require sedation or anesthesia. In the rare cases that they do, the patient is awake.

You Become a Contributing Member of the Community

As we've mentioned, dentistry is very different from other types of medicine. Dental careers center around individual practices, rather than hospitals.

It's hard to create community engagement at hospitals, but very possible with dental clinics.

Go to any local dentist, and you will often find a vibrant community aspect. There are events, competitions, and even giveaways in some cases.

Many dental clinics are closer, physically, to the communities they serve. This makes it easier for them to work with local neighborhoods and be active in civil decision-making.

You notice this feeling from the second you walk into the dentist's office. There's a homey feel, as if the place is not a medical institution. You feel welcome, warm, as if you are visiting friends or family.

Dentists are often involved in the lives of their patients. It's very common for multiple ages of children to go to the same dentist. There's a very good chance that you could watch an entire family grow up as you handle their appointments every six months.

There Are Many Different Dental Careers

So far, we have only discussed general dentistry. About 80% of all students become a dentist in this sense. But if the thought of opening a clinic doesn't appeal to you, there are still plenty of options available.

For example, you could work in academia. You can serve as a professor in the best dental schools in the US and help train the next generation. It allows you to enjoy your love of dentistry while also educating young, aspiring college students.

There are research positions. You could very well work under a government grant to make new and exciting discoveries. Perhaps you could work in engineering, helping to develop dental technologies for your fellow practicing dentists.

Many aspiring dentists travel abroad, working for charity organizations in developing nations. You could be helping children in Haiti or Kenya to take care of their teeth. You'd be able to practice the career you love and help disadvantaged people in deeply meaningful ways.

Needless to say, drilling cavities isn't the only choice available to you. A career in dentistry can take you anywhere that you want to go.

Job Stability Is Very High

Through thick and thin, people need dentists. Even during periods of severe economic downturn, everyone needs their teeth to be in good condition.

Many people make their education and career choices based on job stability. Just take a look at the recent layoffs happening in the tech sector. Students are terrified that their career choice could eventually leave them jobless.

Dentists, like other healthcare workers, will always be in high demand. That is simply the beginning and the end of it. As long as people have teeth, they will go to dentists to take care of them.

Enjoy Working with a Team

It's easy to assume that when you become a dentist, you are a "lone wolf." But this is the furthest thing from the truth. Whether you join another practice, or make your own, you'll become part of a team.

Visit any local dentistry, and you will see exactly what we are talking about. From the secretary to the dental hygienist, there is a strong element of teamwork. A dentist's office relies on careful coordination between the dentists themselves and all subordinate employees.

This is to say that you don't need to worry about missing out on the social aspect that you might find in a hospital. A dental practice guarantees you a tight-knit group of people that you get to work with every day. And since he will be running the practice, you get to handpick who will be on your team.

Prepare Yourself for the DAT Test With Orgoman

If you feel daunted by the prospect of a career in general medicine, consider instead a dentist job. You will make an excellent dentist salary, have an endless supply of dentist jobs, and have the ability to do far more than remind people to floss. A career in dentistry is a rewarding one that puts you at the center of a wonderful team of your choosing.

Orgoman understands better than anyone else how difficult it can be to pass your DAT test. In addition to our world-famous DAT destroyer, we offer DAT preparation courses. Visit our website to find out how you can sign up.


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