If you’re a medically minded woman, have you ever considered a career in dentistry? Dentistry has come a long way in the past 20 or so years, and opening up your own dental practice is a very viable career move for women all over the world.
Plus, the dental scene itself is changing at large. Female dentists are on the rise, and there are a lot more opportunities out there these days for qualified female dentists. As such, becoming a dentist could be a good career path, but before you make your decision, here are a few details we think will be interesting for you.
Dentistry Is Very Flexible
One day at work could just mean spending a couple of hours ordering restock for your dental kit, packing it out with more one-shade flowable dental composite and new burs for use in a variety of procedures. Another day could be packed with patients, and you could work straight through from 9am to 6pm.
But it’s entirely up to you how these days are scheduled, as well as how many patients you take and the downtime between them. This sense of flexibility tends to be very attractive to women in the workplace, especially those with a family life.
Women Tend to Go to the Dentist More Often
In 2022, a study found that female participants were more likely to ‘be proactive’ about their oral health, which included seeing a dentist more often than the male participants.
While the reasons behind it can be debated back and forth, studies indicate that women also tend to show higher (and more consistent) levels of anxiety than men. On top of this, one of the most common anxiety related concerns is having to go to the dentist.
And did you know that women tend to feel better about seeing female healthcare professionals? All of these stats put together could mean that being a woman in the industry yourself could help to build up a sizable, satisfied, and loyal patient roster.
There Are More Female Dentists Than Ever
Dentistry has long been seen as a male-dominated field, but in the past ten years, thousands of women have qualified and registered as dentists. This is a number we’ve not quite seen before now.
Indeed, both in the US and the UK, rates of newly qualified male dentists have fallen, while rates of newly qualified female dentists have soared. This doesn’t mean male dentists are falling out of favor, but it does show a trend toward more equality in the field.
Women are seeing themselves within it, and they’re keen to explore a career in dentistry because of that. If you’re interested in such a career yourself, you’re not going to be alone; there will be plenty of female co-workers to rub along with too.
Dentistry could be a good career path for many women out there. If you’d like to provide essential, specialized healthcare to swathes of people, think about becoming a dentist.
