What Makes a Good Dentist in Austin, TX?

What Makes a Good Dentist in Austin, TX?

Different jobs often require different skill sets. A farmer needs a strong knowledge of agriculture. Astronauts need to be physically fit enough to travel to outer space. There are also sets of skills that are not often a requirement for the job at hand. After all, you don’t expect a plumber to know how to fly an airplane. So, with that in mind, what makes a dentist good at their job? What sort of standards do dentists need to meet? Does a dentist in Austin, TX need to perform differently than a dentist in Decatur, AL? What are the basic standards? And if they aren’t met, what happens to them? Let’s find out.

Education Requirements

Dentists in the United States require a doctoral degree before they either find work or start their own practice. That can take at least 8.2 years. That is just the baseline for educational requirements. But not just any school would do. The dental school should also be accredited by the American Dental Association.  Thankfully, there are at least 66 in the United States, including Puerto Rico. To even get in, they would need a Bachelors and a good score on a Dental Acceptance test.

According to study.com, “The first two years are comprised of natural and clinical science instruction in classrooms and laboratories. In the final two years, students gain hands-on experience in dental clinics, treating patients under the direction of skilled dentists.”

Once the person training to be a dentist has their Doctorate degree they need to conform to state licensing requirements. From there, they could finally open their own practice if they so choose.

These educational requirements and the time that it takes to complete, paints a picture of dedication. No one can exactly expect to run their own practice and go through all of that if they didn’t have the patience and curiosity to back it up.

Average Salary of a Dentist

Money is often the motivation for business ventures. Sometimes it even takes precedence over the love of the work. So, does this concept apply in this case? Are dentists paid well enough to make a large amount of profit for all that schooling to pay off?

Sadly, it is another case of education costing more than the payoff. An average 4-year institution with a dental program costs $265,596 in tuition fees. This is more than 4 times the rate of tuition 20 years ago. And the pay rate might not be worth it.

The good news is that the gap between the paycheck and educations costs are smaller than other professions. On average, dentists make $224,090 a year. Which leaves a $40,000 gap between the cost of education and net income. And that is just general practice. If they chose to specialize in things like cosmetics or oral surgery, they could actually make enough to bridge that gap or make a profit.  However, the chances of that happening to just anyone in this career path are slim.

There is also a growing demand for dentistry in the job market, with a projected growth rate of 19% in the next ten years.

So, it would be worth all the patience and hard work.

Qualities People Look for in a Dentist

However, another factor people overlook before they go into dental school is that they are mostly going to be working with the public. A group of people who are uneducated in dental hygiene, moody when they are in pain and have heard horror stories about procedures and people that they are supposed to trust. That adds layers of obstacles on a level that most careers don’t deal with. So, there are a few more skills besides medical knowledge that a dentist must have in order to get a successful practice.

So, aside from patience and diligence, another quality that is needed is genuine concern. People who are afraid are not often in the best mood. So bedside manner and a warm personality is great for dispelling these doubts and disarming a fearful patient.

Another quality is attention to detail. Teeth are a small part of the human body, and a good dentist still needs to notice small cracks and gaps in teeth where there shouldn’t be any. The size of these cracks and holes can be as small as millimeters. So, there is little room for error in this profession.

With this in mind, strong dexterity is also a major plus for the dental profession.

 

Luckily, Austin Family Dental in Austin, Texas have dentists and dental assistants that have these qualities and more.  If you are looking for professional work done at a reasonable rate we have a compassionate and professional team to help.

 

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