Roadmap to Dental Practice
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Roadmap to Dental Practice The Guide to the Rest of Your Career After Dental School and Licensure 1 As the #1 Organization for Dentists, By the fall semester of your third year, you should have a good idea of the ADA Represents Every Dentist. what your next move will be after dental school. Some organizations focus on a specific career stage, such as the American Determining how you want to practice dentistry Student Dental Association, serving those working towards a D.D.S. or is a different question than just determining D.M.D. degree. Other organizations focus on dentists practicing with what kind of dentistry you want to practice a specialty, such as the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. And While you can do anything in dentistry, it is there are organizations the serve dentists of a specific cultural, religious unreasonable to expect that you will be able or ethnic background. There are even groups of dentists organized around to do everything, at least not at the same hobbies — do a search for Flying Dentists Association. time. Think about the trade-offs involved in The phrase organized dentistry describes the combined efforts of all the each decision on how you practice. organizations that work to contribute to the dental profession. • Do you require a flexible schedule? • Do you want a residency, or require Tip: Visit ADA.org/societydirectories specialty training? where you’ll find links to directories • Do you want to build your own of state and local dental societies, patient base? as well as other organizations in the • Do you want a foot in the door United States. to ownership? • Do you want a long-term arrangement? Short-term? • Do you plan to participate in a program that will assist with loan repayment or forgiveness? Note: This publication is intended to • Are you happiest as the leader, or do you prefer being a valuable provide general background information member of the team? on career planning issues. This publica- tion is informational only and does not • Do you get energized or exhausted contemplating small business constitute financial or legal advice. details, like payroll and personnel? Individuals must consult with their • What sounds more appealing — the intimacy of a small office? The private financial and legal advisors for excitement of a large organization? such advice. Appropriate professionals Something in-between? should be contacted for such services. 2 3 Advanced Dental Education What Type of Advanced Dental Dentists pursue postdoctoral study for many different reasons. An array of more than 700 programs exists across the country, varying in structure Education Programs are Available? (dental school based, hospital based), finances (stipend, tuition, or both), potential earnings, and program length among other factors. Full-time postdoctoral programs accredited by the ADA Commission on Dental Accreditation are offered across the country in a variety of disciplines of dentistry including (shown in alphabetical order): 1. Advanced Education in General Dentistry Programs (AEGD) Does My ADA Dental 2. Advanced General Dentistry Education Programs Student Membership in Dental Anesthesiology Continue Automatically? 3. Advanced General Dentistry Education Programs No. Even if you are continuing your in Oral Medicine education in a specialty, residency, or other advanced education pro- 4. Advanced General Dentistry Education Programs gram, it’s important for you to apply in Orofacial Pain for ADA membership as a dentist. 5. Dental Public Health* 6. Endodontics* 7. General Practice Residency Graduate Student/Resident Membership — pay just $30 while 8. Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology* enrolled in your program, and you’ll 9. Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology* pay $0 after your program. 10. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery* 11. Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics* If you start an advanced dental 12. Pediatric Dentistry* education program right after 13. Periodontics* school, you will still qualify for the Reduced Dues Program once you’re 14. Prosthodontics* done with your advanced program. *ADA recognized specialty That means you pay $0 your first year out of the residency, and you won’t pay full dues until five years after you complete your program. For more complete definitions of these programs, visit ADA.org For more on Reduced Dues, see and search for Understanding Advanced Dental Education and page 30. choose Program Options and Descriptions. 4 Advanced Dental Education 5 Applying for a Program — PASS and MATCH Most postdoctoral programs use the Postdoctoral Application Support Service (PASS) and/or the Postdoctoral Dental Matching Program (MATCH). Each advanced program may choose to participate in either PASS, MATCH, neither, or both programs, so verify the application requirements before starting an application. Although PASS and MATCH are separate and independent services, you can register for both services within the same PASS applicant portal. PASS PASS processes applications for many programs in advanced general dentistry, anesthesiology, endodontics, general practice residency, opera- tive dentistry, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics and prosthodontics. Contact PASS customer service at 617.612.2065 or [email protected] or [email protected]. How Do I Find an Advanced MATCH Education Opportunity? MATCH is an automated system for matching students to their most For a complete directory of Preparing for the Advanced preferred first year residency training program based on the program’s more than advanced dental Education Program Interview list of most desired students. education programs, visit Here are some questions to anticipate: After applying to a program, applicants may be invited by individual ADA.org and enter the phrase • What factors did you consider advanced programs in the programs to participate in the interview process. No offers are made by when choosing a program? the programs during the interview period. For those programs who partic- search field. • What do you consider to be ipate in MATCH, the next step is for both the applicants and the programs You can search by specialty, the strengths and weaknesses to evaluate each other independently, resulting in a “Rank Order List,” or by state, or a combination (for of our program? an order of preference for both programs and potential students. This instance Oral and Maxillofacial • What have you done to prepare ranking is then submitted through the Match website and a comparison Surgery in Hawaii). yourself for this specific program? of the lists are used to place students into positions. For more specific information on the Match process, visit www.natmatch.com. 6 Advanced Dental Education Advanced Dental Education 7 Finding a Job in Dentistry If you aren’t going directly into a post-doctoral program, then you are Like many professions, dentistry depends on personal relationships and probably going to spend some time working as an employee. We know networking. Unlike some other professions, there is no central clearinghouse from surveys that almost two thirds of recent dental school graduates of jobs, and many of the best opportunities are shared via word-of-mouth. seek employment (rather than practice ownership) after dental school. Build your network before you need it! Whether you are volunteering at a Give Kids A Smile® event, attending a meeting of the local dental society In Addition to a Paycheck … where you attend school, or sitting in on a CE course, be certain to introduce Employment can offer: yourself to everyone. • Clinical experience, with professional consultation close-at-hand • Your school may offer placement assistance. If you are looking for an opportunity in a state other than where you are attending school, ask • Opportunity to sample multiple practice setting options your school’s placement service if they can provide an introduction to • Little or no financial risk someone at a school in your destination. • Geographic flexibility • Many state dental societies offer placement services or listings of open positions. • Educational debt repayment or forgiveness • Attend meetings of the local dental society in the community where you’d • Possible benefits such as paid continuing education, insurance, like to associate. In addition to meetings, volunteering for events is a great vacation, and membership dues in organized dentistry way to meet those in a position to hire you while working on a shared project. • Professionals in the dental community, such as practice brokers, dental Keep in mind that many dentists choose more than one approach to supply company representatives and others often know who is looking practicing dentistry over their careers, and they may work in multiple for a new employee. practice settings. • Network with new dentists in the area you’d like to practice. Contact the ADA New Dentist Committee at [email protected] for info about state and local new dentist volunteers. • Some practices advertise for open positions. Of course an opportunity that attracts a lot of attention will create a lot of competition. State and Local Dental Societies Every state has a dental society (state societies are also called constituents) and each state has multiple local societies (also called components). Even if you are attending dental school in a location different from where you intend to practice, it’s smart to begin attending meetings of the local society while still in school in order to get involved and make connections. Find a directory of state and local dental societies at ADA.org/societydirectories. 8 Finding a Job in Dentistry 9 Acing the Interview • Have a specific answer to “Why “ Here’s what I see as the biggest misconception about interviews: We think that going should I hire you?” or, “Why do you want to work here?” on interviews is primarily going to entail us talking about ourselves. It’s not. • Identify the 3 worst questions Going on interviews is about us talking about how we fit into the corporate mission you might get asked (and know and culture of the company we’re interviewing to work with.” the answers).