Dentistry has five main areas: dental surgery, general dentistry, orthodontics, veterinary dentistry, and forensic dentistry. Career opportunities include dentists, assistants, hygienists, surgeons, and office staff, with varying requirements, duties, and pay.
Dentistry is a broad field, encompassing all professionals who help treat and maintain teeth. While there are a large number of specialties, there are five main areas of dentistry: dental surgery, general dentistry, orthodontics, veterinary dentistry, and forensic dentistry. Within each of these areas, there are several potential positions. This includes surgeons, physicians, dental assistants, dental hygienists, technical staff and office staff. The requirements, duties, and pay for these dentistry career opportunities vary based on factors such as job title, geography, and employer.
General dentistry refers to preventive care, such as cleanings and X-rays, and minor treatments, such as filling cavities. Dentistry career opportunities that fall under the general category include actual dentists, who are the doctors who are responsible for inspecting teeth and performing procedures. These opportunities also include assistants and hygienists, who specialize in cleaning teeth, educating patients about dental care and taking X-rays. Additionally, office staff members are responsible for setting appointments and setting reminders, processing insurance claims, submitting invoices, maintaining accounts, and managing administrative functions.
Dental surgery, sometimes called oral surgery, involves surgery on the mouth or teeth, including complex extractions, root canals, and removal of wisdom teeth. Physicians in this field are specially trained and certified surgeons. Staff in the surgeon’s office generally have the same duties as in general dentistry. In addition, a surgical assistant can assist the surgeon during procedures. One of the career opportunities in dentistry that is virtually unique in this field is dental anesthesiology.
Orthodontics refers to dentistry that involves oral appliances such as braces, partials, bridges, and sometimes false teeth. As in many other areas, career opportunities in dentistry for orthodontics include physicians, office workers, and technicians. These types of doctors, known as orthodontists, and their assistants, are specially trained to handle and install dental appliances.
Veterinary dentistry is a specialized field in itself. In many cases, basic care is provided by a veterinarian, but this particular field offers career opportunities in dentistry to include physicians, surgeons, assistants and office staff. In most cases, these roles are quite similar to jobs in general dentistry, except that the patients are animals, not humans.
Some of the most unique career opportunities in dentistry are found in the forensic field. Forensic dentists and dental technicians examine the dental features of the remains, usually to determine identification and sometimes to find the cause of death. Others may work with the dental remains of skeletons found in archaeological digs in an effort to understand how past cultures lived. In this field, traditional dental roles are often augmented by research assistants and academics.
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