Dentists: The Requirements

Dentists are a group of professionals who focus on the health of teeth and gums. They play a very important role in maintaining a person's overall health since dental health affects the body, sooner or later. It focuses on the right diagnosis, evaluation and treatment (surgical and non surgical) of the teeth and gums as well as the entirety of the oral cavity. Since dentistry is a medical field, it is to be expected that there is some form of medical background for those who enter it. The dentist needs a full functioning staff to help him or her when he has a client. Included in the staff is a receptionist, dental aides, hygienists, technicians and therapists.

Education

The education of dentists starts in college when the individual chooses to take up a course that will lead to dentistry. This means the subjects taken up are usually focused on medical basics. These help to create a solid background for the individual who wishes to proceed to dentistry sooner or later. Many college students go directly to dentistry instead of taking up a course related to dentistry. The course usually takes six to eight years to finish depending on the number of subjects taken up by the individual and his capacity to learn. There is no guarantee that each individual who takes up dentistry can graduate from it. Post graduate studies can add to the length of time that the individual undergoes in order to pursue this field of medicine.

The different countries around the world have different requirements and qualifications for their dentists. This is why not all of them can practice their profession once they are outside of their native country of outside of the country in which they took up their education. There are usually many updates and seminars conducted by the board that facilitates the licensing of dental professionals in each country. These help to improve the skills and capacity of the professional as well as keep them up to date with the newer techniques and product which may have been developed to improve their field.

Kinds of Dentistry

There are two kinds of bachelors for this course, Doctor of Dental Surgery and Doctor of Dental Medicine. There is also a form of Cosmetic Dentistry in which the dentists are more focused on aesthetics and improvement of appearance of the oral cavity. Whitening of teeth, putting veneers and other beautifying methods usually fall under cosmetic dentistry. Dental surgery if more concentrated on the surgical aspect of this field.

Not all dentists have the qualifications to do surgery. Some dental surgeons, on the other hand, do not perform the basics of oral health. In pediatric dentistry, the dental professionals deal with babies and children from the time their first temporary tooth erupts until the age of twelve to fifteen years old. After this, they should transfer their consultation to an adult dentist. It is important to consult a pediatric oral health professional when the first tooth comes out for maintenance and prevention of oral diseases.