Have you ever wondered which is the best field in dentistry? Today in the United States, 12 dentistry specialties have been approved by the National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards.
So, if you are a student looking to pursue dentistry or specialize in one area, you might be wondering which branch of dentistry is the best.
Determining the best field in dentistry isn’t clear-cut as you might have imagined. Unlike cars, which you can easily determine the best car simply by examining their performance, selecting the best dentistry specialty requires a more in-depth look. All dentistry fields are important. Therefore, to determine which is the best field in dentistry, one needs to answer this question from the student’s point of view.
According to the dentists at North Scottsdale Dentistry, several factors influence the decision-making process of determining the best dentistry field.
We have taken it upon ourselves to present you with some of these factors.
What are your career goals?
Career goals are important for one reason; they help us determine which career path to take. We are sure you’ve been asked what your career goals are at least once. Have you laid out a plan for your career? If you don’t have a plan, then envision what your perfect career path would look like and write it down.
Your career goals will determine your career path, and your career path will help determine the best dentistry specialty for you.
What’s your passion?
Today many people are not happy with their career choices. If you want to avoid this career trap, it’s important to identify what you’re passionate about. The medical field of dentistry is expanding, and it will continue to expand as new technologies and techniques emerge.
Therefore, you need to have a clear idea of what you’re passionate about. Are you interested in anesthesiology, children, conducting surgeries, or public health? Each dentistry field caters to a special need or requirement in the medical field of dentistry.
You, therefore, need to be aware of what you are highly interested in since the answer you come up with will help you determine the best dentistry field for you.
What’s the salary potential for different dentistry specialties?
Most people use the salary factor to determine what’s the best field in dentistry. In fact, some people can decide which dentistry branch is the best from this single factor alone. Dentists make quite a good sum of money when compared to other professions.
Data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed that in 2018 dentists earned a median salary of $156,240. The data also shows that despite not being specialists, general dentists earned extremely high salaries.
The same data showed that orthodontists and oral and maxillofacial surgeons had the highest salaries, with their median salaries averaging at $208,000+. They were followed by prosthodontists, other dental specialists, and general dentists, respectively.
Therefore, the salary potential for different dentistry branches is a great factor to use when selecting the best field in dentistry.
What’s the job outlook for dentists?
The number of young people joining the workforce is increasing while the number of those retiring is reducing. Such a situation at some point will create unemployment pressures due to the low number of available jobs.
Therefore, before deciding which is the best field in dentistry, you ought to ask yourself this question. “After I complete all the educational requirements required for me to become a specialist in a particular dentistry field, will I find it difficult to land a job?”
Data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicates the employment opportunities for dentists will increase by 7% for the period between 2018 to 2028. The increase is 2% faster than the average increase in employment opportunities for all American jobs.
The increase in employment opportunities is influenced by an aging population that is increasing at a staggering rate. The increasing likelihood that many members of this aging population will retain most of their teeth is another factor.
The data from the BLS also shows that demand for general specialists is highest at 8%. It’s closely followed by the demand for oral and maxillofacial surgeons, orthodontists, and prosthodontists at 7%. The demand for other dental specialists stands at 5%.
So, what’s the verdict?
Determining which is the best field in dentistry using just one of the factors mentioned above is challenging. However, combining the four factors mentioned above will help you make a more concrete decision.
If you have any other factors that would help determine the best dentistry field, leave a comment in the comment box below.
