Graduating from dental school is no small feat. Congratulations on wrapping up this significant chapter in your life!
Before diving head-first into starting your dental career, you should take a step back and assess the best path forward. Transitioning from academic to professional life can be challenging, and not in the ways you might expect. Lots of learning lies ahead, so selecting your first employer is a serious decision.
A lot of change is happening in the dental industry landscape. Careful dental career planning is more critical than ever, between evolving patient expectations, a shift to hybrid and virtual care, the onset of AI technology, and potential staffing shortages.
Starting a dental career? Let Arkansas Family Dental assist you on your journey!
Dental Career Planning: Advice for Recent Graduates
Essential Skills for Starting a Dental Career
Even though school is no longer in session, prepare to continue strengthening your skillset. Let’s review some of the most essential skills to work on during this transition.
Adaptability and Continuous Learning
A willingness to learn is perhaps the most critical piece of young dental professional advice! Don’t expect to master your craft overnight; remember that everyone is on their own growth track.
Whatever your role, do your best to learn from everyone around you. Young professionals, including dental assistants and hygienists, can gain valuable insights by observing experienced colleagues.
Of course, a mentor is the best person to learn from during this time. If you’re not assigned one at your new workplace, seek one immediately. Use them as a soundboard for questions and talking out new skills as you learn them.
Interpersonal and Communication Skills
Your technical expertise is only a portion of your profession. You’ll also need to develop excellent communication skills between patients and coworkers. Like your technical knowledge, the ‘soft skills’ of interpersonal communication – such as active listening, implementing feedback, and exercising patience – must be developed and practiced.
Mastering interprofessional communication will get you further than you can imagine!
Technical Proficiency
Additionally, watch for ongoing education and training opportunities – early on and later in your career. New dental advancements emerge daily, making proactive learning essential to dental career planning. Whether it’s a new technology or a trending technique, a student’s mentality will help you stay ahead of industry changes.
Dental Job Search Strategies: Evaluating Potential Employers
The culture of your first workplace lays the foundation for your entire career. The more your employer aligns with your aspirations, the sooner you can step into your own as a dental professional. Here are the most critical areas to evaluate for potential employers.
Mission and Values
Even if the services are the same, not all dental practices are created equal. You should seek out a clinic with a clearly defined ethos, ensuring they align with yours. Examples of good ethos include teamwork, honesty, and community.
These can usually be found on the practice's website and posted inside the office. If you can’t find them, ask! Discussing the mission and values of the practice are perfect topics during the Q&A portion of any interview.
Patient Care Philosophy
You should aim to begin your dental career at a clinic with a patient care philosophy that aligns with your own. Whether it’s treating patients like family, delivering cutting-edge care, or improving lives, ask yourself why you pursued dentistry and if a workplace supports that vision.
Professional Development Opportunities
It doesn’t matter if you’re starting a dental career or nearing retirement: the learning should never stop. But it’s one thing to aspire to learn and another to receive opportunities to gain new skills in a formal setting.
That’s why it’s essential to look for practices that:
- Cover the cost of additional education
- Send employees to conferences and trainings
- Provide formal mentorship programs
- Expose employees to specializations that interest them
- Lay out clear pathways for career advancement
Again, ask during your interviews if you don’t see these on the website.
Work Environment and Culture
Beyond promoting positive values and learning opportunities, your first practice should demonstrate active positivity in the workplace culture.
Here are some signs of a good workplace culture in a clinical setting:
- Team meetings include employees from every discipline, including administrative staff, dentists, assistants, and hygienists.
- When mistakes happen, team members respond with support
- Employees can have respectful disagreements
- Asking for help is normal
- People’s knowledge and skills are valued over status in a hierarchy
It can be hard to gauge these before joining a team but do your best to observe workplace culture during in-person interviews and office visits.
Building Your Professional Network
Think of this stage of dental career planning as an opportunity for long-term networking. Whether it takes a week or a year to secure your first role, everyone you meet can become a valuable connection.
One of the best dental job search strategies is proactively expanding your professional network. Consider:
- Attending industry conferences, both regionally and nationally
- Participating in local dental associations
- Joining and engaging with online dental communities
As you meet people, remember to share your information via business cards and follow up with your new connections. Even if a practice you like doesn’t yet have an opening, maintaining those relationships will keep you at the top of your mind if something becomes available.
Navigating Job Offers and Negotiations
When dental job search strategies start to pay off, you’ll face your next hurdle: navigating offers and negotiations.
As you evaluate an offering or contract, here are some benefits to look for:
- Flexible scheduling
- Generous PTO
- Sign-on and retention bonuses
- Paid graduate degree education or in-demand training
- Professional opportunities like conferences and workshops
- Wellness programs
Negotiating new graduate dentist jobs is also important.
Before negotiating, decide how much you intend to ask for and the lowest salary you’ll accept. Calculate these based on average wages in your area for your field.
You’ll also want to evaluate your preferred pay system. Hygienists, assistants, and techs are usually paid hourly, but associates often receive some form of production or collection-based payments. While deciding your preferred method, consider if you’ll be responsible for any lab fees.
If you decide to negotiate your contract, going back and forth a few times with various counter-offers is normal. Remember to incorporate benefits into these counter-offers.
The goal should be a contract that reflects your worth. Stay confident, honest, and reasonable, and you’ll land on the perfect agreement!
Starting a Dental Career at Arkansas Family Dental
Are you looking for new graduate dentist jobs? At Arkansas Family Dental, we’re always looking for new teammates to join our mission-oriented Little Rock practice.
Our commitment to investing in young talent runs deep. With a robust mentorship program and plenty of opportunities for progressional growth, new graduates have an easy time starting a dental career with us.
Our state-of-the-art technology is also a significant draw for emerging dental talent. By investing in cutting-edge dental tech for cosmetics, restorative care, pediatric dentistry, and more, our team is always at the forefront of dental innovation.
Our collaborative, team-oriented culture underscores this rich learning environment. We work hard to make our clinic a fun place to work and grow, resulting in excellent care and talented teammates!
Finally, whether you’re with us for a short time or for life, you’re guaranteed to walk away having learned something new. With plenty of specialization and leadership opportunities, career advancement is a natural part of work at AFD.
Want to learn more about new graduate dentist jobs at Arkansas Family Dental? Browse our website to browse open opportunities and meet the team!
Dental career planning can feel intimidating, but this transition is nothing short of exciting. With careful evaluation and a strong vision for your career, there’s no limit to how far you’ll go.
If you’re open to starting a dental career in the beautiful community of Little Rock, we want to hear from you! Click here to join the team, or visit www.arkansasfamilydental.com for more information.
Leave a Reply