Graduating from dental school is not the end of your journey but the beginning of a more challenging and exciting part of your career. Whilst most students aim to become a certified and licensed dentist and to practice clinical dentistry after finishing dental school, not all of them end up to be working in a clinical setting. As they explore and learn about the different facets of dentistry, many dental students realize that how they want to practice dentistry after graduation is not anymore the kind of dentistry they want to practice.

The world of dentistry offers a lot of other career opportunities for dentists in addition to the traditional clinical practice. If you are one of those who are considering career changes and who want to take another path, below are some of the non-clinical dental career opportunities that you can pursue.

Dental Consulting

Many dental consultants are not actually dentists. However, this does not mean that a dentist can't work as a consultant or that this work is it too demeaning for an oral health care professional. Having a degree in dentistry and gaining practical experience does not only increase your chance of landing a job as a dental consultant, they likewise provide you the opportunity to share and use your expertise and make you become a more reliable and efficient consultant.

Academic Dentistry

There will be no single dentist if there are no educators. The academia needs competent and dedicated educators in order to continue and preserve the tradition of excellence in various dental programs and to ensure that there will be enough oral health professionals for the next generations. A career in academic dentistry can be a combination of patient care, teaching, community service and/or research.

Academic Dentistry Loupes

Accreditation

Another great career opportunity for dentists is working in an accreditation organization. These organizations provide an external review of the safety and quality of dental care offered by various healthcare institutions.

Research

In today's revolutionary age of discovery, we need talented, committed, and open-minded researchers who can help in developing new dental techniques and in generating new knowledge that can be used for scientific discoveries.

Among the latest research and revolutionary innovations and developments in dentistry that helps improve both patient care and efficiency of dental professionals are lasers in surgery, computerized x-rays, improvements in precision instruments like the dental magnification loupes and portable headlights, and implants as a replacement for damaged bone. The latest improvement in dental loupes technology, for instance, do not only enhance the visual acuity and the posture of the dentists, it likewise makes it possible for them to come up with a more precise diagnosis, to carry out a more appropriate treatment, and to deliver better patient care.

In order for you to start a career in dental research at any local or foreign private corporate research centers, government institutions, and universities, you need to undergo additional training or to acquire an advanced degree, on top of your dental degree.

The other non-clinical dental career opportunities for dentists which we will tackle in detail in our next post will be providing federal services and working in a dental organization, dental product industry, and dental insurance companies.