Job Description for a Student Resident Dentist
With large numbers of dentists expected to retire, job prospects for aspiring dentists are expected to be good, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Completing a residency or postdoctoral training period is an important step to entering the dental field.
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Identification
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Resident dentists complete 1 or 2 years of training after graduation from dental school. This is when aspiring dentists gain hands-on clinical experience with patients, as well as focus on a chosen area of specialization.
Features
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Dental residents are engaged in a variety of activities. For example, at Rochester (NY) General Hospital, residents staff the hospital's outpatient dental center under the supervision of attending dentists. Residents also gain experience handling dental care in the operating room and are assigned to on-call rotations in the emergency room. Clinical experience is supplemented by some 250 hours of lectures and seminars in a variety of specialty areas.
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Types
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During the residency, aspiring dentists may train to be general practitioners. Some students opt to complete a residency that focuses on a particular specialty area. For example, pediatric dentists work with children, while periodontists treat diseases of the gums and the bones around the teeth. Endodontists perform root canals. Residents in general practitioner programs are exposed to cases in different specialty areas during the course of their residency program.
Benefits
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Many dental residencies pay a salary or stipend to participants for the duration of the program. Salary and stipend amounts vary; the University of Florida's pediatric dentistry residency program pays a stipend of $35,000 for the first and second years, while Rochester General Hospital pays general dentistry residents $46,978. Additionally, residents are provided with insurance (health, life and liability).
Considerations
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While a salary or stipend is a benefit of some dental residency programs, others, such as the pediatric dentistry residency program at New York University, do not waive full tuition for students (although residents do receive a $15,000 discount on tuition). Thus, residents in some programs will incur significant expenses above and beyond the cost of dental school. Additionally, there are limited slots available for residency positions; the University of Florida accepts five applicants each year for its pediatric residency program.
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References
- Photo Credit Dentist at work in dental room image by Vladimir Melnik from Fotolia.com
