Get ready to launch your career

Tips and advice as you start your new career

Launching your career in the world of oral healthcare

Graduating from dental or dental hygiene school is huge, but it’s only one step in a long and exciting journey.

This page is designed to help provide tips and advice as you start your new career.

Get your dental license

Before you can work as a dental professional, you’ll need to apply for and receive your dental license.

Licensure requirements vary by state and territory. Click the link below to find initial licensure, licensure by credentials, CE and renewal requirements, and specialty licensure for each state and territory at the American Dental Association website.

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Licensing for dental hygienists

Dental hygienists require a license to practice

Licensure requirements vary by state and territory. Click the link below to discover the requirements based on where you plan to practice at the American Dental Hygienists’ Association website.

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Choose your career pathway

Now you’re out in the world, you can choose how to shape your professional journey. There are plenty of options, and it’s up to you which way you’ll go.

Within dentistry, some of the career options available include:

Private practice: Work solo or in partnership with other dentists in a privately-owned practice.
Dental Support Organization (DSO): Work in an independent business entity dedicated to providing business management and support services to dental practices and dental professionals.
Academic dentistry: Combine teaching research, community service and patient care.
Public health dentistry: Work in a community setting promoting dental health, developing health policy and helping prevent disease.
Research: Generate new knowledge and be on the cutting edge of dental science and patient care. This may be with a university, or in private industry.
International health care: Provide dental services to populations abroad, working for agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), or the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Hospital dentistry: Treat patients with medical conditions alongside physicians, often in emergency departments or operating rooms.
Patient Safety Organization (PSO): Help improve medical care on behalf of patients by gathering, analyzing and reporting health care outcome data, educating providers, and advocating for patient-centered policy changes.

Within the field of dentistry itself, you can also choose to specialize. The ADA recognizes 12 different dental specialties:

Dental Anesthesiology
Dental Public Health
Endodontics
Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology
Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Oral Medicine
Orofacial Pain
Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics
Pediatric Dentistry
Periodontics and Prosthodontics

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Job philosophy tips

It’s not always easy to find the perfect role for your skills, passions and interests, and it may not happen straight away.

Here are a few tips:

Set expectations

The perfect job may not come along straight away. Be flexible in your search and accept that you may have to spend time working towards your ideal position. At the same time, ensure that you’re clear exactly what you’re looking for in a position, and what your ideal role is, even if you have to be flexible in certain areas.

Set goals

Make sure that the position you accept helps drive your career in the right direction. What do you want out of a role? Additional training, a route to business ownership, financial gain, or something else?

Develop your skills

Every step in your career can be an opportunity to hone and broaden your skill-set. Take advantage of any chance to further your knowledge, whether that be additional training, or finding a mentor to help guide you.

Don’t give up!

It may take a while, but your perfect role is out there somewhere! Know what your goals are, and don’t stop working towards them!

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Build your professional resume

Your professional resume is your way of demonstrating to future employers your skills, training and talents. It’s a competitive field, so it’s vital to make sure that it’s the very best it can be.

If you can, keep your resume to both sides of a single sheet of paper, and start with a clean, well-organized format: use a clear font (such as Calibri or Times New Roman), consistent spacing, and bold section headings to guide the reader quickly through your qualifications.

Begin with your contact information, followed by a professional summary tailored to dentistry.

Highlight your education prominently, including:

Your dental or dental hygiene school
Expected graduation date
GPA

Your clinical experience is often the most valuable section; detail procedures you’ve assisted with or performed, and emphasize hands-on skills and patient care.

Other items to include:

Research
Leadership roles
Any extracurricular activities that demonstrate teamwork and initiative, such as involvement in dental associations or volunteer work. This is especially important at the start of your career when you haven’t had a chance to gain much professional experience yet.

Your choice of language is important too. Be specific and use action verbs (“assisted,” “diagnosed,” “managed”) to convey impact.

Don’t forget to proofread carefully; attention to detail matters in dentistry! Finally, tailor each resume to the opportunity, ensuring your most relevant experiences stand out clearly.

Interview tips

So, you built a strong resume, and now you have an interview for a great position in your chosen field of dental health? Great!

The next step is getting through the job interview. Here are a few tips:

Prepare

This is the big one: preparation is absolutely vital. Research the practice you’re hoping to join. Where are they based, how many dentists work there, do they specialize in particular areas?

Practice

Make sure you know what you’re going to say. Know your skills, strengths and goals, and think about how you’ll communicate them. Consider the questions they’re likely to ask, and come up with great answers to them.

Have your own questions ready

Also think of what you want to ask them; what are their policies and protocols regarding, for example, patient no-shows. Will you schedule your own patients? What are their expectations beyond providing direct patient care? What additional training can they provide?

Check out the practice

Head over to the practice in the days before the interview. By doing this you can see exactly where they are, how long it takes to get there, and see where you’ll be able to park, so you’re not worrying on the day.

Dress and act professionally

This starts with punctuality; arrive early, and wear appropriate clothing (not medical scrubs!). Have any relevant paperwork with you, including a printed copy of your resume.

Be confident

You are a valuable asset, and you need to remember that. They would be lucky to have you as part of their team, so show confidence in your worth and abilities.

Don’t give up!

Even after all of the above, you might not get the job. It’s easy to become discouraged, but you need to keep trying. Don’t worry, every failed interview is great practice for the next one, and sooner or later you’ll land that perfect position.

Professional best practices

Obtaining professional liability insurance

Protect yourself from financial liability

The world of professional insurance is dizzyingly complicated, but don’t panic! Although there are many options, it’s important to ensure that you personally, along with the business in which you practice, is fully covered by appropriate professional insurance.

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Keeping up to date with your continuing education

Earn your CE credits

CE requirements vary by state and territory, but all dental professionals have to achieve the minimum number of CE credits over a specified period of time to retain their license.

The exact requirements for number and types of courses completed, and the subjects that have to be covered, vary too, so it’s vital you check for the area you’re planning to practice.

Discover Haleon CEs
Finding a guide in the world of dentistry

Finding a mentor

Finding a professional mentor is a great way to help develop your professional skills and have someone who you can go to help, advice and inspiration.

Finding a mentor isn’t always easy though. There are several organizations which run mentorship programs, so it’s worth checking these out to help you connect with someone willing and able to mentor you in your journey.

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Avoiding burn-out

Stay healthy and look after your well-being

Helping protect and maintain patients’ oral health is a deeply rewarding job, but it can also be extremely stressful.

It’s vital that you take steps to maintain your own health and wellbeing. Make sure you’re eating healthily and getting enough sleep, and try relaxation techniques to help ease feelings of stress.

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Specialist training

Gaining additional skills

Seek out additional training in skills that you might not instantly connect with the day-to-day work of being a dental health professional.

Examples include patient communication, motivational interviewing, and behavioral psychology training.

Join the Haleon HealthPartner community!

Once you’re out in the world as a licensed dental professional, don’t forget to register at Haleon HealthPartner.

By registering, you will have access to:

Tools
Condition awareness and education
Product information
Patient resources

You’ll also be able to access free product samples to share with patients.

We’ve supported you throughout your journey as a dental health professional. Now, as you take the next step in your career, Haleon HealthPartner is here to continue supporting you with trusted resources, education and practical tools.

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