Essential Skills Required To Become A Dentist

• Good manual dexterity You have to be very good with your hands and you need excellent eyesight, including colour recognition. This helps you confidently handle the medical equipment as you work inside a patient’s mouth.
• Communication Great communication is crucial in assessing all the information that a patient provides, even the non-verbal responses. Oral and written forms of communication, including assessments, dental notes and prescriptions are necessary, and should be in a form that is organised, succinct and complete. An ability to demonstrate sensitivity to emotional, cultural and societal issues is also important.
• Ability to advise and educate others As a dentist, you will, among other things, be required to teach patients how they can keep their gums and teeth healthy. Remember that you’ll be dealing with a wide range of patients, each with their own characteristics and concerns.
• Excellent people skills This is an absolute a must if you are to make it in the dental profession. Your patients will include young children and the elderly, so you need to put them at ease, be sympathetic to their fears and problems, and strive to gain their confidence.
• Ability to work in the team In any team you will encounter individuals, each with varying types of skills and levels of experience. Strong interpersonal skills as well as the ability to work in a team are important to anyone, not just aspiring dentists.

Entry requirements for dentists

You will need a minimum of five years of study at an accredited dental school. This will then be followed by 3 years of compulsory service with the government during which you would be under supervised practice. As mentioned previously, competition for places in dental schools are intense. In most institutions, a student is required to have obtained 3As in his or her pre-university examinations. You are advised to check with the provider of the course regarding entry requirements. Other than academic excellence, employers want friendly and responsible candidates who also show a willingness to learn. However, the requirements for the different careers in dentistry tend to vary a lot. Therefore, depending on the career path that you have chosen in dentistry, your entry requirements are likely to be different. For instance, to become a dental hygienist, you require a recognised Diploma in Dental Hygiene. A dental therapist, on the other hand, requires one to be armed with a diploma course from a dental hospital. A full-time course will last slightly over two years. To become a dental technician, you do not necessarily require any formal qualification. The best thing to determine the entry requirements of your particular dentistry course is to enquire from your provider. This is because some providers may have additional requirements. Dentistry is a lucrative career. As a dentist, you will help people regain their smiles and teach people to take better care of their teeth and gums. Demand for qualified dentists is on the rise. It is a rewarding career overall, not just because of the perks. So, what are you waiting for?