Dentistry Courses

Cut your teeth on a course in Dentistry!

Looking after your teeth is important. Some people aren’t so good at that though, so we invented dentists. Working as a dentist, though often the butt of many comedian’s jokes, is a fulfilling (and lucrative) career.

Paid like most medical professionals, but without the horribly long hours, working as a dentist is an excellent career choice. If staring into stranger’s mouths is too off-putting, however, there are other related jobs in the dentistry field that are also excellent employment options.

Dentistry: A history

Dentistry can be traced back to 7000 BC, which Is much longer ago than many people think. The profession first started to become what it is today about 5000 years ago with the first advanced in dental medicine. The first real dentist, as we understand them today was the scribe Hesy-Re, who worked in Ancient Egypt! It is believed to be the first medical specialisation to have evolved, even before midwifery.

Modern tooth care evolved at the end of the second world war, when US troops returning home brought back better tooth care regimes they had learned abroad during the war. Today, it is a complex field that extends far beyond stopping tooth decay. Cosmetic dentistry is a fast-emerging field that is used by millions each year. There are thousands of different treatments and methods and a job in dentistry is sure to never go out of style either, as people will always need dentists for as long as we have teeth.

What will I learn on a course?

Obviously, exactly what you will learn from a course in dentistry depends entirely on the course that you choose to take. However, there are obviously common elements.

• Hygiene and proper medical approaches to surgery will play a strong part in every course. Being a dentist is no different in being a surgeon in that it is absolutely vital to maintain absolute cleanliness at all time.
• Learning the basics of dental surgery. Dentists obviously need to know how to work on teeth – otherwise they would not be dentists. Learning to fill, drill and whiten, as well as diagnose potential problems with the teeth will form a large part of your
  studies on a dentistry course.
• Cosmetic surgery may also feature on many dentistry courses, as an increasing number of people every year seek to have surgery on their teeth, from simple whitening to straightening and even implant surgery. This brings in a substantial portion of revenue for many dentists
• Learning how to care for teeth seems like an obvious thing for a dentist to learn, but there is a lot more to the topic than people who have not studied it in depth might think.

What can I expect to do after I finish?

Presumably, anyone taking a course in dentistry is looking to work in the field. In this case, getting a good qualification can help you get a job in a surgery right away. If you want to qualify as a dental practitioner, rather than a dental assistant, then you will need to undergo more rigorous training, but once you have finished, you will be perfectly qualified to start working right away.

There are options for surgeons, cosmetic surgeons and assistants all across Ireland and the UK and qualifying properly will stand you in excellent stead to become one of them.

With a range of great courses across Ireland, there is sure to be an opening on a dentistry course near you. With flexible course and payment options available, you could be polishing teeth and telling people to floss in absolutely no time.