Dentist Job Description

Dentists are healthcare professionals who work to prevent, diagnose, treat, and control oral health matters related to the teeth, gums, and mouth. 

What would I do?

Some duties that dentists perform are:

• Listening to patients’ medical histories and creating or updating their records
• Examining patients’ mouth including the teeth, gums, and surrounding tissue, to diagnose decay, injury and disease
• Instructing patients on oral hygiene and corrective and/or preventive dental care
• Providing general dental care such as filling cavities, fitting crowns, applying veneers, and performing root canals
• Prescribe medication such as antibiotics as needed
• Giving general or local anesthesia when required
• Monitoring patient progress to identify progression or changes of dental iisease
• Supervising dental hygienists, dental assistant and other staff

Am I suited for this job?

Skills required to be a competent dentist include:

• Eye for detail
• Manual dexterity
• Excellent communicators
• Strong interpersonal skill
• Aesthetic sense
• Good vision

The Environment/Typical Day

Dentists usually work full-time hours during the standard business week of Monday to Friday. Some dentists provide emergency services as required. However, dentists usually have a lot of flexibility in establishing their schedule, both the days of the week and hours that they work. This flexibility can depend on a few things such as whether the dentist owns their practice and personal preference. 

As noted, dentists who are not partners and work at established practices may have less flexibility in their houses. These dentists often receive assigned hours, based on when the dental practice offers patient care. Depending on the practice, this could be during the day and weekend, or even at night. Despite reduced flexibility, these dentists may be able to provide their preferences for scheduling within the practice’s predetermined hours. These dentists also usually work between 35 to 40 hours and rarely handle significant administrative tasks, which allows for work-life balance. 

Dentists with their own practice, and thereby more flexibility to determine their hours tend to work more than full-time hours. They may also work outside of regular business hours to attract more patients such as evenings and weekends. These dentists spend most of their time consulting with or treating patients, but also handle practice management tasks. 

Other dentists work part-time schedules where they work reduced hours or only a few days in a week. These dentists may also own their own practice. 

Most dentists work in dental offices, with some owning their own practice where they may be the only dentist with a small staff while others work at established practices as partners or for other dentists. Regardless, dentists work with a team of various professionals including administrative professionals and dental hygienists. 

What are the wages and Benefits?

According to Job Bank, on average, dentists in Canada make $110,000. The lowest salary is $30,847 annually while the high range is around $228,000 across all regions. 

Broken down by region, there is some variation in wages:

In terms of benefits, as a member of the Canadian Dental Association, you have access to many exclusive benefits for both your practice and themselves.

What is the Job Outlook in Canada?

According to the Canadian Occupational Projection System, over the period of 2022 to 2031, there is a projected number of 10,500 job seekers and 13,500 job openings. Therefore, those seeking jobs in dentists have good prospects to look forward to. 

How do I become a Dentist?

You must obtain a degree from a dental school. 

• There is no required undergraduate degree or bachelors degree for admission into dental school but each dental school will have certain requisite pre-dental education courses that are more easily fulfilled through enrollment in a bachelors program. 
• For more information, you can review this list of Canadian dental schools and their requirements. 
• Aside from requisite courses, all Canadian dental schools require submission of Dental Aptitude Test (DAT) for admission. The DAT, which is administered by the Canadian Dental Association, evaluates general academic ability, two and three-dimensional visual perception and manual dexterity, and comprehension of scientific information. Overall, dental school is a minimum of 4 to 5 years. 

After completing a dental degree program and obtaining a BDS/DDS/DMD degree, depending on whether or not your program is accredited, there are two pathways to licensure. 

1. Graduate of an Accredited General Dentistry Program

• For those who completed an accredited dental degree program recognized by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada (CDAC), you must pass the virtual OSCE, the national standard of competence for dentists in Canada, to receive NDEB certification. 
• To then be licensed to practice as a dentist in Canada, you must communicate with the Dental Regulatory Authority (DRA) of the province you wish to practice in for information on their requirements for licensure. 

1. Graduates of a Non-Accredited General Dentistry Program

• Graduates who received a dental degree program that is not recognized by the CDAC must go through an equivalency process to be licensed. 
• You must first pass the Assessment of Fundamental Knowledge, AFK, to continue to other exams in the equivalency process. 
• You then have the choice to either complete the Assessment of Clinical Judgment and NDECC or complete a qualifying and degree completion program to be eligible to participate in the NDEB certification process. 
• From then on, you follow the same process as those that completed their dental degrees in an accredited institution of taking the Virtual OSCE, receiving your NDEB certification, and going to your DRA in the province you wish to practice in to become licensed. 

After completing a dental specialty program, depending on whether or not your program is accredited, there are two pathways to licensure. 

Dental specialists hold a BDS/DDS/DMD degree and have advanced training and education in one of the following: pediatric dentistry, periodontics, orthodontics, endodontics, dental public health, oral medicine and/or oral pathology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, and oral and maxillofacial radiology. 

1. Graduate of an Accredited General Dental Specialty Program

• As a graduate of an accredited dental specialty program, you hold a masters degree from an accredited dental specialty program that is recognized in Canada, and your dental specialty degree is from a university dental institution that is accredited by the National Dental Examining Board of Canada. 
• To become licensed as a specialist, you must take and pass the National Dental Specialty Exam (NDSE), which is administered by the Royal College of Dentists of Canada. 
• You must then communicate with the DRA of the province you wish to practice for information on licensure. 

1. Graduate of a Non-Accredited General Dental Specialty Program

• As a graduate of a non-accredited general dental specialty program, you hold a masters degree from an accredited dental specialty program that is recognized in Canada, and your dental specialty degree is not recognized by the CDAC. 
• To be licensed as a specialist, you must take the Dental Specialty Assessment and Training Program, which is offered by some Canadian Faculties of Dentistry. 
• You then take and pass the NDSE in your specialty, and communicate with the DRA of the province you wish to practice for information on licensure. 

Where would I work?

Dentists may work in private practice or are employed in public health facilities, clinics, hospitals, or universities.  

How do I Find a Job?

You can find available positions for dentists on various online job boards such as: Dentalcorp, The Royal College of Dentists of Canada, Job Bank, Linkedin, and Glassdoor. 

Applying for a Job

Before beginning your job search, take some time to reflect and consider what career you want. You could either find a private practice to join, work for a corporate practice, or sign on with a group. Alternatively, you could go straight to owning your own partnership straight out of school although this could come burdens due to lack of experience and financial risk. 

To land a job, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

• Make connections while in dental school. You can start building relationships with employers and job recruiters while in school, and your school’s career and development office will prove crucial to assisting you with this. For some, this could mean landing a job prior to graduation which alleviates much stress.
• Attend recruiting events on campus and take that time to figure out which organizations align with you and what you want
• Practice for your interview, by creating mock questions and thoroughly reviewing your resume and cover letter
• Prepare questions for your interviewers to assist you with making a decision about working with them and to demonstrate interest

Where Can This Lead?

Many dentists begin by working at a dental service organization or a well-established public health clinic, as it is low-risk with no additional investment and provides stability. After a few years, many seek employment in private practice, choosing to work for a smaller practice and at this stage, some consider partnership. Most dentists seek equity partnership or practice ownership as a crucial step in their career progression. Some dentists may decide to own their own business and become CEO, rather than remain a partner at another practice. Owning ones practice is considered the top of the hierarchy in career progression for dentists. 

Some dentists may also wish to pursue other career options aside from being a dentist. A few alternative careers are: dental consultant, healthcare consultant, dental claims consultant, research scientist, and professor.