What Do I Do Now? New Graduates

It is evident that it is truly where my head, heart and hands, become one. Being a dental hygienist and working in close proximity with the dentist has served to strengthen my desire to take my education and service to the next level. I want to increase my knowledge about the science behind dentistry and learn everything I need to know to be a great dentist and apply it into practice. Improve constantly and strive to provide the highest quality of oral health care available to patients by delivering meticulous, gentle, thorough, reassuring dentistry and exceeding patient satisfaction. Dentistry without a doubt, is the profession for me. I believe I have the qualities that are essential to making a great dentist along with the academic motivation in order to replace my interest for dentistry with the expertise that will help me provide quality oral care. If my greatest aspirations are to provide pain relief, to develop patient rapport, and utilize creativity in working with my hands, then dentistry is, indeed, my

In “Where are all the Dentists?”, Kristen Lewis states that there are not enough dentists in rural areas, but that can be fixed. Many people in the modern world live in poverty and don't have the dental support they need. This is because regular dental treatment can cost up to $100, which is a lot for some people who don't have regular dental access. Having a dental degree is very pricey, so when the dentists come out of dental school, they are usually in debt. Because of this, dentists like to work in modern environments where they can get good business. But in places with not a lot of money, there are less or no dentists. These “dental deserts” have many people with untreated cavities and other bad tooth diseases. Because of that, dentists

As the number of older Americans continue to rise, along with dental practitioners who are entering retirement, it would benefit this under-served population for the dental profession to develop new models of mid- level care. To expand training as well as additional licensing for dental hygienists, along with more training for other health care professionals would be a great beginning towards improved access to care (Overview of oral health,

Ever since I was in middle school, I would tell everyone that I was going to become a dentist. That was my career plan until the summer of my junior year. During that summer, I had the opportunity to do an internship and job shadow Dr. Bradshaw at his private dental office. While observing and talking to the doctor, I realized that I would not enjoy working as a dentist. I still wanted to pursue a career in the dental field so I decided to job shadow the dental hygienists. Watching the dental hygienists perform their duties and interact with patients made me want to pursue a career in dental hygiene. I knew very little about dental hygienists besides the fact that they clean teeth. As I spent time with the dental hygienists, I learned more each day. While researching for this paper, I became knowledgeable on even more information. From reading The Occupational Outlook Handbook and A Career as a Dental

The National Dental Association is a professional association based in Washington D.C. that operates in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. A group of minority dental professionals formed the National Dental Association in 1913. For over 100 years, the National Dental Association has been a national forum for minority dentists and a leader in advancing their rights within the dental profession, the armed services, the governments, and the private sector (About NDA, 2016). The goals of the National Dental Association are to improve the delivery of oral health care in underserved communities and improve the educational opportunities of minorities underrepresented in the oral health field. They want to provide members with opportunities for continued education, collaborative

Along with dental procedures, I observed various work dynamics while shadowing. I realized that social responsibility, leadership, teamwork, and communication are all important factors in a dental office. I am thankful for my past experiences that helped me to develop all of these skills. While shadowing I saw that it is crucial for a dentist to communicate not only with his staff but also with his

As all Americans’ know, job stability is close to a foreign language. Not many people choose the job of a dental hygienist, though it is perfect due to the population increases and high demand. At the beginning at 2016, it was looked upon as one of the fastest growing occupations, dental wise. If one was to be occupied by this jobs, their services would be demanded frequently, whether you are finishing your certification program or in your career already.

This has a number of perceived benefits such as being able to provide additional public dental care by expanding the public dental labour force significantly3. In particular, this is envisioned to allow for greater access to public dental care in rural areas3. The NHHRC report has suggested that this would also allow for graduate dentists to expand their skill set in an environment where they have more supervision and support before they potentially work independently in the private system1,2. Furthermore, the Department of Health suggests that this also might increase the retention of graduate dentists in the public sector, citing the high retention rate with the Voluntary Dental Graduate Year

Therefore, booking a patient in a private dental office happens sooner. Thus, with more prompt service the dental office provides much better quality of care. Dr. Drexler shares, “It is inconvenient to have the poor quality technology. A number of patients lose wages and time from work to see the dentist. In fact, a patient is willing to pay the higher fee rate for same day service” (Wexler). With this in mind, the distinction is remarkable; the author finds Universal Care most appealing. All in all, the public deserves the same level of care, no matter their circumstances. In either case, Dr. Wexler agrees “the HCO is high-quality healthcare but in society, we are at the bottom of effectiveness in providing effective healthcare to all”

At the conclusion of her high school academic career, Claire Keller planned to enter a field far from that of dental hygiene, one perhaps centered on the natural world. She even began an internship at a fish and wildlife park in order to explore related career opportunities. It wasn’t until a friend of hers told her that she was going into dentistry that she was reminded of her many positive experiences in dentist offices throughout her early life. She has always received her dental work at the Wakarusa Family Dentist Office in town and always felt welcomed and encouraged there.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected, from 2014 to 2024, an incredible 18% growth in the general dentist job market4. How many unemployed general dentists do you personally know? While they are out there, it’s difficult to find an unemployed dentist since oral care is such an important thing that affects all people. An interesting job trend is occurring that can be witnessed here in Utah Country. Googling “Stonehaven Dental” shows that there are three practices in Utah County. My father, who is a dentist, says that large dental chains like these are becoming more normal and making it more difficult for independent dentists to start individual practices.

The economy plays an important factor of what people want to spend their money on. Dental/ oral health care is important to most people in today’s today world. Since the dental/ oral health industry is very big there are many trends that are arising such as the cost of dental care increase or decreasing, market of the industry and lastly global dental industry.

Most recent graduates are millennials, born between 1982 and 2001. Millennials are the group that are currently entering, attending or completing dental school. Millennials are more ethnically and racially diverse with a confident and optimistic worldview. They prize lifestyle and friendships above work. Unlike their predecessors, millennials do not view their chosen profession as a life passion, a defining mark of self-worth or a source of income and security. Instead, they see their jobs as a means to maintain their personal lives. They do not want to be the boss. They prefer a work environment that emphasizes teamwork, values structure over authority, utilizes the latest technology and provides time for personal interests outside the workplace. These traits make millennials a perfect fit for corporate dentistry. During their dental school training, millennials have had the “new math” approach to dental education. Traditional dental education prior to the 1990s focused on mastering various skills in different disciplines like prosthodontics, restorative dentistry and periodontics, and applying the knowledge gained in managing patients. Students were exposed to various specialty areas and they learned to assess their strengths and weaknesses. Previous generations of dentists sought out continuing education opportunities and learned to work with dental specialists to provide multidisciplinary

One of the crucial moments in my life was the decision I had to take; as to what I was going to do next in life. Having completed my Advanced Level in 2013, I realized that it was not the end of my career as a student. I needed strong academic foundation along with other soft skills to meet the challenges and survive in this commercial world as a successful individual. In view of these thoughts, I was unable to make a firm decision as to what my career direction would be. After a month or so of various discussions with my parents, friends and other learned people I was able to reason out the best choice for me.

In small town Dentist clinic, the organizational change is required for best and effective outcomes. So it is acquired by the Distributed Dental Services organization. The goal is to make patients feel special, satisfy and well-cared in a clinic. Change is required as patients must have the information to make a very good choices for their oral care and patients should attain a beautiful and healthy smile, with the gums and teeth. Distributed Dental Services organization has to change overall appearance and new organization goals, mission and values need to be proposed. The vision statement and mission reflects the new status. For smooth transition and uniformity of equipment, the equipment was given to the procurement department. New dentists, surgeons with good experience and staff needed to be hired. The staff members are trained on the troubleshooting procedures, maintenance and operational procedures. The DDS services must be installed on the systems.