What professional journals and organizations should I be aware of?

Hi Thalia,

I personally, have no training in medicine, but my husband is a doctor. He is subscribed to the AMA- American Medical Association. He also follows a medical journal related to his field- "IR Quarterly". For dentistry, I'm not sure. A quick google search pulls up a variety of journals.

I would recommend starting with the AMA.

https://www.ama-assn.org/

Hope that helps!

Best,

Emily

Organized dentistry is represented by the American Dental Association (ADA). Used to be that almost all dentists joined, though I understand this is less true of late. But they are the voice of the profession in politics, and though I don't agree with all their political stances it's still a good idea to join to know what's going on in the profession, until you're established. Memebership also confers free entry to some conventions around the country, which will help you stay current with continuing education courses and gives you the opportunity to see equipment, supplies and technology companies up close. It also can make it easier to get malpractice insurance (though these days insurance doesn't require ADA membership). The ADA also publishes JADA (the journal of the ADA) and ADA news, which can keep you abreast of news and research in the field.

If you do not intend to specialize, consider joining the Academy of General Dentistry, which advocates and requires continuing education (generally over what is required for license maintenance). They also publish "General Dentistry" which is also a valuable source of current research and procedures.

If you decide to specialize, there will be other special interest academies and journals to explore. But first things first--get your orientation in the field, and you can think about specializing as you learn more about the different specialties.