How to Become a Pediatric Dental Practitioner
Have you always enjoyed working with children? Are you good at molding young minds and pointing them toward healthy habits? Do you have a knack for calming a crying kid?
You may have the skill set needed to be a great pediatric dental practitioner. Not only will you get the chance to work with children, but you’ll get to know the families in your community.
To ease the fears of the children that come in for an appointment, you’ll be working in a more laid-back environment than general practitioners do.
What’s not to love? Keep reading to learn how to get started down this exciting career path and become the best dentist for kids that you can be.
Get Through Your Bachelor’s Program
The first step of getting into pediatric dentistry is to get your bachelor’s degree. Most dentists spend these four years studying chemistry, biology, human anatomy, and other science-related subjects.
It helps to also have a background in child development. If you don’t take classes related to the subject, it won’t ruin your chances of entering the field.
What will ruin your chances is a lack of hands-on experience. It’s ideal for a pediatric dentist to have at least worked with children to a point.
Graduate From Dental School
After you finish up with your bachelor’s degree, it will be time for you to go off to dental school. This is where you’ll begin your specialized training.
During the first few years of your program, you’ll spend your time studying human anatomy. You’ll learn everything you need to know about the structure of teeth.
The last few years is all about hands-on experience. You’ll diagnose and treat patients under the supervision of someone who was once in your shoes.
Go After Your License
You’re almost ready to begin the pediatric dental office design of your dreams. Before you can open your own clinic, you’ll have to receive your license. It, of course, involves taking an in-depth test.
There are two parts to it. The first is your written exam. It’s going to test the scope of your general dental knowledge, and you won’t be able to move on to part two until you pass it.
Part two is the hands-on clinical test. It takes place over the course of a few days. You’ll have to get up in front of the board and show them that you know everything there is to know about the dental field.
Residency Training
After you pass your exam, you’ll move on to your residency training. Finally, you’ll begin to learn how to start working on tiny mouths.
You’ll spend 2-3 years seeing patients, discovering ins and outs of child psychology, and learning about the special needs of your clientele.
Your Guide to Becoming a Dental Practitioner
If you enjoy working with children and have a knack for keeping them calm, you could make the perfect pediatric dental practitioner. As you can see, getting into the field takes a lot of hard work and determination, but anything worth doing does. Get started with your training today.
Now that you have your office going, you’ll need to take strides to keep your doors open. Check out the Business section of our blog for tips that will help you run your practice.