Dentistry plays a vital role in our lives. It helps us take better care of our oral health and ultimately our overall well-being.
Dentistry is the branch of medicine concerned with the study, analysis, prevention, and treatment of disorders, diseases, and the condition of the oral cavity and its related structures. It was found to have been practiced by the people of the Indus Valley Civilization as early as 7,000 B.C.
Evidence of the drilling was discovered on the teeth excavated from Mehrgarh, an Indus Valley Civilization site. The discovery of the fossils suggests that people have already an idea on dental diseases like a toothache. Moreover, they have practiced ways on how to solve such issues through drills made from flint heads.
As the years passed, Dentistry continued to evolve and make its role more visible in keeping our health in check. Advancements in the field have transpired to better the process of dental care.
Is a dentist a real doctor?
Dentists are also doctors — as the gist of the article written by Dr. Donald B. Giddon of the American Dental Association which echoes the letter sent by the president of the American Dental Association, Maxine Feinberg, to the four legislators who introduced the “Small Business Healthcare Relief Act” in 2015.
History has long suggested that dentist are indeed medical professionals which is also a reinforcement of the indivisible relation of Medicine and Dentistry. Moreover, dentists have conferred the title, “Doctor of Dental Surgery” or “Doctor of Dental Medicine.”
How to be a dentist?
Like medical doctors, a dentist undertakes education and training in addition to his four years of bachelor’s degree. Before officially and legally becoming a practicing dentist, an aspiring dentist must complete four years of dental school, years for residency, and more years for a specialization.
In the United States alone, there are 66 dental schools with an enrollment of more than 24,000 students in 2016. That same year, about 6,000 dental students graduated from dental school.
However, graduation is not the end game of an aspiring dentist’s journey towards a career in Dentistry. He needs to pass the licensure examination of the state where he wishes to practice. As a licensed dentist, he could perform dental treatments and procedures. Still, if he wants to further his knowledge and expand his practice, he must take additional education and training for the dental specialty he wishes to focus on.
What is it like being a dentist?
The US News and World Report considered being a dentist as the “best job” in the country in 2017. Although the ranking of a dentist has dropped to the second spot in 2018, it maintained its overall score of 8.2 based on the salary, job market, future growth, stress, and work-life balance.
It remained as the number one healthcare job and ranked as the ninth best paying job. It saw an increase in its average salary from $152,700 to $153,900. The job continues to see a good chance for upward mobility. It also boasts a reasonable level of stress level in the work environment and the complexities of the responsibilities of the job.
Additionally, being a dentist provides above average flexibility due to its alternative working schedule and the ability to properly balance work and life.