Many children are just about to decide upon their degree courses and apply to various universities. They all face huge dilemmas making decisions at such a young age, in the middle of working hard for their A Levels (I know there is a lot of fuss about grade inflation, but they do work very hard) that will have a such huge impact on the rest of their lives. A friend of my daughter’s is keen to pursue a career in dentistry; she has no family connections with the profession, so I have been asked to offer some advice. Dentistry does offer a huge range of career opportunities; certainly far more then when I qualified where the norm was to join a NHS practice and slowly work your way up, increasing your private work and eventually becoming a practice Principal.
The young person graduating out of dental school now has a huge range of options available to them, although they do have to undergo a further period of vocational training. The more traditional NHS route, the military and community dentistry are still there, but now there are opportunities to complete vocational training in the private sector, travelling abroad, further specialist study and even setting up their own practice.
It has been interesting having Emma observing in the surgery; she had a real enthusiasm and wanted to know what was going on – admittedly at times it felt like the final viva for my Diploma, but it was very refreshing to spend time with someone with a real passion for dentistry. It certainly made me reflect on my career and realise that whilst it has been quite a journey, I am now so privileged to be able work at the Dental Spa with such a great team. I genuinely enjoy my dentistry, helping people with problems and restoring their smile and confidence. I know there are always moments when there aren’t quite enough hours in the day and everything doesn’t quite go to plan, but it is a pleasure to be at the Dental Spa.
Thank you Emma for your enthusiasm, I wish you every success in your chosen career – you are exactly the sort of person the profession needs.
Written by Dr Roy Dixon