Career Paths

The first step toward a successful career is deciding how you want to practice dentistry. To help you better understand your options after graduation, the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) has outlined below the most common career paths that you can follow on your way to becoming an accomplished dentist, including a brief description of what to expect down each path.

Postdoctoral Programs
While the majority of dental school graduates will go straight into private practice, postdoctoral residency programs can offer you the chance to gain valuable experience first, either by continuing in an Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) or General Practice Residency (GPR) program, or by pursuing a specialty program.

• AEGD/GPR: Hone your skills in most of the traditional dental disciplines while refining your techniques and managing patient treatment plans in a school-based AEGD or hospital-based GPR program.
• Specialty: Pursue a residency training program in one of nine dental specialties recognized in the United States and Canada: Dental Public Health, Endodontics, Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopaedics, Pediatric Dentistry, Periodontics, and Prosthodontics.

Associateships
There are three different types of associateships available, each of which offers you a different level of control. This is the most popular career path among new dentists who choose to begin practicing right after graduation.

• Employee: The practice owner is the employer and you are the employee. You will encounter the least amount of financial risk in this arrangement, but also have the least amount of autonomy.
• Independent contractor: As an independent contractor, you are a self-employed dentist within an established practice. While you will have greater autonomy in this arrangement, you will also be responsible for all practice elements, including insurance, staffing, and equipment.
• Time share: Dentists in a time share maintain separate practices while sharing physical space. In this arrangement, you will rent time, space, and equipment within an established practice, allowing for full autonomy and less financial risk than starting your own practice.

Private Practice
Most dentists these days prefer to be their own boss, and slightly over half of all new dentists enjoy complete autonomy as sole proprietors. If you’ve set reasonable goals and have a solid business plan, pursuing a private dental practice after graduation can be very rewarding and profitable, but be sure to do plenty of research before making a final decision.

• Purchase an existing practice: If you plan ahead, you’ll be making a smaller financial investment by inheriting a practice that includes ready-to-use equipment, an existing patient base, and a location that suits your goals. If you’re not prepared, though, you could also end up buying a practice with antiquated equipment and indifferent patients and staff.
• Start your own practice: You’ll be making a larger financial investment and dedicating much of your time to establishing yourself in your community, but you’ll also have the freedom to design your practice from the ground up, including office location, staffing, equipment, decor, and marketing.

Federal or Military Service
The viability of this career path has increased over the years with the steep rise of dental school tuition costs. While federal and military dentists are often not compensated as well as dentists in the private sector, there are some clear incentives to pursuing a career in the Army, Navy, and Air Force Dental Corps. For example, some branches offer you immediate access to income and debt-forgiveness programs. Bear in mind, though, that federal and military dental service also offers you a more temporary living situation and often binds you to a multi-year term of service.

Other Career Options
If none of the paths above suit your personal and professional goals, consider one of the following career options:

• Academic dentistry: Faculty members combine teaching, research, community service, and patient care in an academic environment. Learn more about current career opportunities for academic dentists from the American Dental Education Association (ADEA).
• Public health dentistry: Public health dentists combine research and teaching to promote dental health to consumers, develop health policies, and prevent diseases. Plus, the U.S. Public Health Service offers public health dentists opportunities to provide dental care in unique communities such as federal prisons and Indian reservations. Contact the American Association of Public Health Dentistry (AAPHD) for details.
• Research: While a career in dental research often requires additional training or education, it can provide opportunities to expand industry knowledge and participate in scientific discoveries that affect treatment options and access to care. Many researchers are faculty at universities, while others work in the private sector or in federal facilities such as the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
• Hospital dentistry: Dentists with a secondary interest in medicine often seek additional training in a hospital-based postdoctoral residency program and go on to work in hospitals, treating patients with medical conditions and disabilities in collaboration with physicians. Learn more about this career option through the American Association of Hospital Dentists (AAHD).
• International health care: Work to provide dental services to underserved populations abroad and volunteer aid to patients in third-world countries through agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).