Elsevier

Dental Abstracts

Volume 63, Issue 2, March–April 2018, Pages 64-65
Dental Abstracts

Commentary
Dentistry as your career

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.denabs.2017.11.001Get rights and content

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Background

Patients are often heard to say, “I hate dentists,” so what would make someone choose to become one? Such a choice is based on a number of reasons and often these reasons are stronger than the negative input received from patients and the general public. These negatives include the stereotypes of dentists as sadists, the challenges that are encountered during and after training to become a dentist, the daily grind of dealing with difficult patients while trying to deliver excellent dentistry

Reasons to choose dentistry

Considering all the bad things that can and do go wrong for dentists and those who aspire to become dentists, unless there are some fairly strong positives for choosing dentistry we would have to categorize such individuals as crazy or masochistic. There must be things that people enjoy in the job or everyone would either avoid or abandon dentistry as a career.

Among the reasons offered are the following:

  • A desire to help people

  • A sense of satisfaction with the results of dental practice

  • The chance

Unique nature of dentistry

Dentistry is a unique blend of clinical practice and business that can be perfect for some people. Although it is quite intimate when practiced, it can have a significant impact on the lives of others and actually markedly improve their quality of life. Because it deals with a part of the body that is a major influence on one's confidence, overall health, and function each day, it fulfills an important role in many people's lives. The perceptions of others are often based on the results of

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Ofori-Attah S: Dentistry, and why it is a great career. Br Dent J 223:81-84, 2017

Reprints available from S Ofori-Attah, Foxhall Rd Dental Practice, 49 Foxhall Rd, Ipswich, IP3 8JU, UK; e-mail: [email protected]

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