Salary

Trainee dentists usually start on around £28,000 during their vocational training period and, once qualified, typically earn between £ 70 – 90,000 depending on experience, specialisms and professional development. Salaries are dependant upon the amount of private and NHS work dentists undertake and on the costs of running a practice. With the exception of newly qualified dentists undertaking their work based training period, most dentists are self employed which means they share responsibility for business costs with the other dentist professionals working in the practice.

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Responsibilities

Dentists' responsibilities vary depending on their patients but they typically include:

• Monitoring and evaluating patients' oral health through regular check-ups
• Filling in dental records
• Diagnosing dental conditions, infections and diseases
• Undertaking basic cleaning of teeth and gums (further tooth hygiene is usually undertaken by dental hygienists)
• Performing dental treatments such as fillings, tooth extraction and fitting dentures, bridges and crowns
• Educating patients on oral health care (teeth cleaning, flossing etc)
• Assessing treatment options and working with patients to agree treatment plans
• Referring patients to a dental hygienist or therapist when required
• Administering local anaesthetic when performing minor treatments (e.g. fillings)
• Taking X-rays
• Managing and training staff (dental nurses, receptionists, student dentists etc)
• Undertaking business-related tasks: marketing the practice, maintaining stocks of equipment, managing practice budgets etc

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Qualifications

Dentists are required to undertake a Bachelor of Dentistry or a Bachelor of Dental Health degree at one of the thirteen recognised university dentist schools in the UK. The degree usually takes five years to complete for students studying full time and includes a mixture of lectures, scientific study and practical placements in the community, hospital and surgery. Getting on to a dentistry degree course is very competitive and requires candidates to have a minimum of three A Levels at grades ABB (or higher) including an A Level in chemistry (or other science) and maths. Students will also need to have good GCSEs (grade A – C) in all the sciences, maths and English. After dentists have qualified they are required to undertake a period of vocational training under the supervision of a dental practice.

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Skills

Dentists are required to have an excellent knowledge of their subject, coupled with good interpersonal skills. More specifically they must have:

• An excellent knowledge of and interest in science, particularly the science of oral health
• Good eyesight
• Good manual dexterity and a steady hand
• The ability to concentrate for long periods of time
• The ability to use specialist equipment
• The ability to communicate information about oral hygiene and treatments to patients in a clear and articulate manner
• A willingness and ability to relate to many different people
• A friendly, polite and helpful attitude towards patients
• Good motivational abilities
• Thick skin and the ability to cope with anxious or difficult patients
• The ability to gain trust and put patients at ease
• Good leadership skills (particularly when working as a partner in a surgery)
• The ability to work well as part of a team
• A high level of commitment to the job
• A good knowledge of business in order to run a practice
• The ability to stay calm under pressure, particularly when dealing with patients

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Working Conditions

Dentists usually keep normal office hours working from 9 – 5.30 from Monday – Friday. Depending on patient demands, however, dentists may sometimes be required to work at the weekends or in the evenings, particularly if there have been unforeseen delays during the day.

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Experience

To qualify as a dentist, student dentists must gain a certain amount of experience in a dental practice which is incorporated into their degree course. Getting on to the degree course is very competitive, however, so it is also worthwhile shadowing a qualified dentist before applying for a course to show commitment to the job. It is important that dentists have experience of a wide range of patients and dental work, as part of their degree involves completing work placements with a community practice, in a general surgery and in a hospital. This allows them to get a feel for the different aspects of dentistry and to make an informed decision about the type of work they will do once they qualify.

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Employers

Most dentists work in a general practice either as a partner or a dental associate. The Hospital Dental Service accounts for 10 % of jobs and around 6 % of dentists work for the Community Dental Service. Dentists are also needed to teach and research in universities and to provide oral health care to soldiers in the army. Some large corporate companies even employ dentists to undertake the oral healthcare of their employees, although this is relatively rare outside London.

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Career Progression

Once newly qualified dentists have completed their work-based vocational training they usually apply to become an associate of a dental practice, which means they are self-employed in a practice owned by another dentist. With further experience dentists can then progress to the position of partner in a practice which means they have a share of the business and the decisions which go with owning a business. There are always more skills dentists can gain and to stay registered with the General Dental Council dentists are required to undertake 250 hours of professional development every five years. In addition, dentists can undertake postgraduate training in a specialist area of dentistry e.g orthodontics or dental surgery

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