Dentistry comes from the french word Dent (meaning tooth), and its the student of how to give a person a perfect smile. If we want to have the biggest nightmare in our lives then we must leave our teeth without checkup. The toothache is one of the worst aches, ask me about it, as I have been under tremendous teeth problem. So, if a student goes out there and tries to study dentistry, we must all thank him or her as he is the savior of our generation.
Dentistry comprises of many fields, orthodontics, Endodontists, periodontics, maxillofacial, prosthodontics, pediatrics dentistry, Xray dentistry, and few others. each filed is as tough as the other, and each field requires certain skills. However one has to do general dentistry for a while prior to specialization. The most wanted field now is aesthetic dentistry, as most people want to have what is called “hollywood smile”.
Dentistry is also a very expensive field of study, especially if one goes to a top university in the world, if a student has a scholarship then that is not a big ordeal, however most student do not have a scholarship, so they have to fund their studies wisely.
Many universities in the world have a dentistry program, but accepting a student to it is not that easy. there are qualities to be had and steps to follow. like high grades and love for science, also students will be interviewed and may need same attributes as those entering medicine.
Someone who has these qualities can become a dentist:
- has a scientific ability
- has high standards of professional ethics
- has to be calm to be able to sooth patients who are in pain
- has the desire to work with patients closely
- has the ability to do hand work or works with petit equipment; for example the students need to know some jewelry making, origami, sculpturing, even fixing small equipment or maybe lego.
The students will need to also submit a Personal Statement that answer’s questions like:
- why dentistry
- interest in ones studies
- leadership, empathy, teamwork, communication skills
- maybe some relevant work experience
- it must show commitment and motivation
- evidence of what the student had searched to find out more about dentistry
- maybe mentioning a dentist role model or a scientific discovery that made him or her choose dentistry.
Students have to be aware that many top ranked universities will interview the students prior to accepting them, and the process of interview may not be simple, as the students have to show some maturity, have to be confidence, have to have strong ethics and high moral values, and most importantly the students need to be aware of the demands of the job
I hope you will consider these points prior to thinking of studying dentistry. but please remember one last point, please do not treat a patient just to make an extra dollar from him, you will need to think of the consequences of your work on the poor patient, you may receive your fees from him or her, but you may damage their face and smile for ever.
Big thank you to Queen’s university Belfast in helping me with this article.
