Salary

Any per year per week per day per hour

 

Industry/Sector

Any Accountancy, Banking, Insurance & Finance Advertising, Marketing & PR Automotive, Aerospace, Military & Emergency Catering, Hospitality, Hotel, Cleaning & Household Services Charity & Voluntary Construction, Property, Surveying & Environment Customer Services & Call Centres Education & Training Engineering & Electronics Events, Facilities Management, Security & Safety Graduate, Trainee & Apprenticeships Health, Beauty, Nursing, Pharmaceuticals & Scientific Human Resources & Recruitment IT & Telecoms Legal Management Consultancy & Strategy Manufacturing, Industry, Energy, Utilities & Agriculture Media, New Media, Publishing, Arts & Graphic Design Public Sector & Government Retail, Wholesale, Purchasing & FMCG Sales Secretarial, Admin, PA, Languages & Research Transport, Rail, Distribution & Logistics Travel, Tourism, Entertainment & Leisure Other

 

Job Type

Any Temporary Contract Permanent Part time

advanced search options

reset and use simple search options

A career as a dentist

Getting a job as a dentist is a question of both time and money, particularly in regards to education and training. However, with dentists becoming increasingly sought-after across the UK, the rewards for going into this industry are very high, particularly if the individual in question wants to establish themselves as a private practitioner.

Dentists are health care professionals who provide preventive and restorative treatments for any issues that affect the mouth and teeth, from fillings and extractions to more complex procedures such as root canal surgery, denture production and even full replacements of teeth.

Most dentists work as self-employed practitioners in general practice so business knowledge may also be necessary, though others prefer to work with the civil service providing dental care with the National Health Service.

Salaried jobs are also available with a variety of specialists in hospital dentistry, community dentistry, university teaching, research, the armed forces and corporate practices that look to provide specific treatments, particularly if they are cosmetic.

According to the Dental Schools Council, dentistry as an undergraduate degree course is offered at no fewer than sixteen UK dental schools. The course itself usually lasts for five years of full-time study and leads to a Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree (BDS), though additional practical applications, plus further study, can increase the number of years of study, making it potentially expensive.

General dental practitioners will usually leads a team that includes other dental care professionals and will treat a wide array of patients and problems, whether they are children or the elderly.

Dentists work with other experts in different departments, including receptionists, dental nurses, hygienists, therapists and technicians, utilising the tools of the trade for teeth and mouths while also working with complex equipment such as X-rays and other scanning technology.

Additionally, dentists have a wide array of tasks, including the education of patients on oral health care, diagnosing patients' dental conditions, assessing treatment options, agreeing treatment plans with patients and carrying out any agreed clinical treatments including gum disease and teeth affected by decay.

Furthermore, many dentists need to manage budgets and stocks of equipment, taking inventory of what is necessary to run profitably. A lot of expertise must be updated constantly to keep in line with new developments in the industry through structured continuing professional development.

Meanwhile, hospital dentists need to treat patients who are referred by practitioners to provide dental care that may be more specialised, unique and complex. 

The Community Dental Service, which is known in England as the Salaried Primary Dental Care Service, requires dentists in jobs with primary care trusts to provide dental care people with special needs and disabilities, while dentist jobs in the armed forces have a commissioned rank and must provide dental services for armed forces personnel and their families, whether they are in the UK or abroad.