HOW TO GET THERE
Typical pathway
A typical pathway is to finish secondary school with strong courses in biology, chemistry, math, and English, then apply to a university dentistry program. Dental school usually includes classroom learning and supervised clinical practice, where students learn to examine patients, diagnose problems, and do treatments. After graduation, dentists complete provincial or territorial registration or licensure requirements, which can vary by location. Some choose extra training for areas such as orthodontics, surgery, pediatric dentistry, or other specialties. Early experience may also include volunteering, job shadowing, or work in dental offices to learn about patient care and the dental team.
THE WORK
What you may do
Legacy duties
- Examine patients' teeth, gums and surrounding tissue to diagnose disease, injury and decay and plan appropriate treatment
- Restore, extract and replace diseased and decayed teeth
- Perform oral surgery, periodontal surgery and other treatments
- Clean teeth and instruct patients on oral hygiene
- Design bridgework, fit dentures and provide appliances to correct abnormal positioning of the teeth and jaws, or write fabrication instructions or prescriptions for use by denturists and dental technicians
- Supervise dental hygienists, dental assistants and other staff.
- Dentists may specialize in such areas as oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics, endodontics, prosthodontics, oral pathology, oral radiology or public health dentistry.
SKILLS TO BUILD
Skills used in this Career
Committee workInterpersonal skillsMultidisciplinary teamworkBusiness and Financial Management