Family dentists are very diverse in the amount and type of services they offer. This series explores the skills as well well as the experience they need.
Skills of a Family Dentist
A family dentist has to have a lot of skills before they can practice legally. Like doctors, counselors, and other professions that are in the health care field, there is a fair amount of both licensure and experience that have to be in place first. All dentists in the U.S. must graduate from high school and complete required courses such as general biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, and statistics/calculus. While most dental schools require at least a bachelors degree, a few schools may consider admitting exceptional students after only 3 years of college. To apply, students must take the Dental Admissions Test. Admission to dental school is competitive, and is generally determined based on factors such as GPA, DAT scores, recommendation letters, and extracurricular activities. To become a licensed dentist, one must then complete an accredited dental school curriculum and successfully master all clinical competencies and national board exams. Most dental school curricula require four years of training, however, some states require dentists to complete a post graduate residency program as well. In the U.S., a newly graduated dentist is then awarded the DDS, Doctor of Dental Surgery, degree or the DMD, Doctor of Dental Medicine, degree depending on the dental school attended. [READ MORE]
The Things That a Gilbert Dentist Can Do
A Gilbert dentist operates on three footings as a rule: emergency, regular maintenance, and cosmetic. Emergency dentistry includes things like tooth extraction, replacing fillings, and root canals. Regular maintenance items include things like oral exams and teeth cleanings. Cosmetic dentistry includes everything from veneers to crowns.
So as you see there is a lot more to practicing than you might think. The same holds true for a dentist in Gilbert.
This concludes part one of our series on family dentists. Part two will explore cosmetic work.
Gilbert Vista Dental Care
2451 East Baseline Road #210
Gilbert, AZ 85234
(480) 503-5467
https://drritapeck.com