Dental School Name

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

DrDientes

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Oct 24, 2009
Messages
228
Reaction score
19
So I understand that where you went to dental school doesn't matter to patients, what matters most is how good of a dentist you are (or your pricing or other factors I am sure), but what effect does the dental school you attended have on you getting hired when you graduate?
Say I want to associate for a couple years after dental school. Do other dentists care what school you went to? If you are for instance a UCLA graduate, are you more likely to get hired by a dentist who attended UCLA as well? Is it more based on location? If you go to UOP and want to practice in the NorCal area, will it be easier to find a job in the NorCal area?
Is it based more on skills you might have on your resume? And if so what kind of things would dentists that are hiring want to see? Extensive work with Kids? Leadership roles? Grades?? Sorry for the long post ...

Members don't see this ad.
 
Is it based more on skills you might have on your resume? And if so what kind of things would dentists that are hiring want to see? Extensive work with Kids? Leadership roles? Grades?? Sorry for the long post ...

One of the top criterias for hiring may be your salary requirements. Yes, the employer will looking at your experience and personality, but the bottom line is how much they make from you at the end of the day. I don't know if there is a difference between GP associate vs. specialist associate employment interviews, but at almost every ortho employment interview that I have attended the employer has asked: "How much are you seeking?". A good rule of thumb is to find out the going rate for your area and ask for higher in case (usually) the negotiation drags things down. However, due to high employment in saturated areas during these tough times, more dentists may be willing to take a lower cut just to get a job until the economy picks up.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Employers/Residencies prefer Temple grads!

Come to Temple, we're ze beeeesstttt.
 
By far and away the #1 thing that a potential employer cares about when looking to hire a dentist is do you currently have or are you currently eligible for a license in that state. After that *some* employers may consider your personality/treatment philosophy before offering a job. Where one went to d-school is irrelevant, since the vast majority of clinicians quickly realize that a school with the greatest reputation can just as easily produce a cr@ppy dentist as a school with a poor reputation can produce an excellent clinician
 
So I understand that where you went to dental school doesn't matter to patients, what matters most is how good of a dentist you are (or your pricing or other factors I am sure), but what effect does the dental school you attended have on you getting hired when you graduate?
none.
Say I want to associate for a couple years after dental school. Do other dentists care what school you went to?
no.
If you are for instance a UCLA graduate, are you more likely to get hired by a dentist who attended UCLA as well?
no.

And if so what kind of things would dentists that are hiring want to see? Extensive work with Kids? Leadership roles? Grades?? Sorry for the long post ...

Your abilities--scope of procedures, your speed, your personality. Those are all more important than leadership roles or grades. Grades don't matter to any employer. Those demonstrate absolutely nothing in the real world.
 
Your abilities--scope of procedures, your speed, your personality. Those are all more important than leadership roles or grades. Grades don't matter to any employer. Those demonstrate absolutely nothing in the real world.

What is the best way to build these things? Say I want a better personality... is there a good residency you would recommend? Are perso residencies competitive???

On a serious note: What would you recommend to someone wanting to build their range and skill in school? Extra time in waxup lab? More shadowing? Some say they felt good coming out of school, others not so much... what can I do to hit the ground running?

Edit: Similar note.... how would you demonstrate skills to an employer? Is a test week typical? Probationary period?
 
What is the best way to build these things? Say I want a better personality... is there a good residency you would recommend? Are perso residencies competitive???

On a serious note: What would you recommend to someone wanting to build their range and skill in school? Extra time in waxup lab? More shadowing? Some say they felt good coming out of school, others not so much... what can I do to hit the ground running?

Edit: Similar note.... how would you demonstrate skills to an employer? Is a test week typical? Probationary period?

Practice, practice, practice. If your requirements are 20 crowns, strive to do 40. Do periodontal surgeries (or assist on them if you can't actually do them). Spend time in OMFS. Learn to do endo the best you can. Waxup lab is 100% useless. Shadowing is nearly 100% useless. Residencies are excellent. At the minimum I think a good GPR or AEGD has excellent value and allows you more freedom and autonomy than dental school, while still sheltering you somewhat from common problems that new practitioners may encounter. That certainly looks good on a resume as well.

The only way to demonstrate your skills to an employer is through providing care to patients. You will not be perfect at dentistry. None of us are, but there is a clear distinction between those of us that are striving to improve and those who are doing the bare minimum in patient care.
 
The only way to demonstrate your skills to an employer is through providing care to patients. You will not be perfect at dentistry. None of us are, but there is a clear distinction between those of us that are striving to improve and those who are doing the bare minimum in patient care.

The only other thing I'd add to this, is WHEN (not how I didn't say "if") you have a procedure/case fail :eek: don't get all emotional about it, but get very scientific and logical about it. Try and figure out what happened (was it a materials issue, a preparation design issue, a missed occlussion issue, etc) and then learn from it. This is something that may not be an issue as you're trying to get a job, but it is something that you can use to help define who you are/will be as a dentist throughout your career.

Frankly, I almost think that I'm learning more these day, where I've been in practice for now almost 10 years in the same office and I'm getting to see how MY work is holding up over that time, and as such, while its not necesarily causing me to make REVOLUTIONARY changes in how I practive now vs. a decade ago, I've definately had some EVOLUTIONARY chnages in how I go about things after having seen my failures. If you get "stagnant" in your dental education process once you get out of school, the results can often end up being ugly, and quickly!
 
Top