Why to choose dentistry

There are a lot of reasons why you should consider dentistry. Here are some of the very best reasons why to choose a dental profession.

1. Ability to Help People

Dentistry is a service oriented profession. As a dentist you will spend all of your time helping people. This can make your work very rewarding, especially as you make significant improvements in people’s lives. There can be instant gratification when you end a bad tooth ache or place a beautiful crown.

2. Highly Respected Profession

Dentistry is a high respected profession. A dentist holds the title of doctor and is given the responsibility to prescribe drugs, review personal health histories and perform oral surgeries. With this responsibility comes a strong respect from the community. According to the 2008 Gallup Survey, “The majority of the American public has a positive opinion of dentists.” (http://www.cds.org/for_your_practice/online_columnists/practice_management/polls.html)3.

3. Stable Career

There is a strong demand for good dentists all over the world. In the US, the baby boomers are aging and their dental needs are likely to increase. Also, there are a limited number of seats per year in the dental schools and as the baby boomer dentists retire there will be more voids that need to be filled.

In the past most dentists were men, but this has changed and now the number of female dental students is closer to 50%.

This means that in the future there will be closer to a 50% female ratio of dentists in the workplace. Statistically these women are less likely to work full time because some will choose a family life raising children. This means the demands for dental care will increase per dentist, making the profession very stable.

4. Good Pay

According to Forbes Magazine, the average dentist makes $122,883 a year. The great thing about being a dentist is that you can determine how much you want to make based on how hard you work. Some dentists work 3 or 4 days a week and earn less, but work less.

Others will work long days and even some Saturdays; these are the dentists that may earn above $300,000 a year. In dental school large dental corporations often come and recruit, these companies may offer starting salaries to new dentists that average $100,000.

There are also lots of other great things about the profession of dentistry but  these are my top reasons. Hopefully they will help you make the right choice, but remember there are also downsides to the profession. Here are some of my reasons not to become a dentist.