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How saturated is the cosmetic dentistry field?
Do a lot of people work in the cosmetic dentistry field?
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Steven’s Answer
This seems like a fairly simple question, but...it ain't. For one thing, while many dentists will promote their ability to do cosmetic dentistry, there is no actual specialty as such. Furthermore, "cosmetics", or esthetics is an important part of many areas of dentistry. So the short answer is that most general dentists (and many specialists!) perform what would be considered cosmetic dentistry.
Of course it is possible to limit one's practice largely to purely cosmetic procedures. Being able to do this in either a large or small market is not easy. Most of the dentists who have been able to achieve this accomplish this by a combination of high competence, hard work, and usually a great deal of self-promotion.
Not all dentists are able to do this; I certainly wasn't big on the self-promotion part. And cosmetic dentistry, while it can be very rewarding financially and professionally, lies outside the judgment calls of other dentistry. What I mean by this is that with most dental treatment, the dentist is the expert, and should know what the goals of treatment are and how to achieve them predictably. With cosmetic dentistry, it is the patient who decides if you have achieved THEIR goal. And what the patient thinks is great may be different from what you are aiming for. So skill in communication and people skills are even more important than in most other routine dentistry.
You don't say what level you are at in your studies. If you are not yet in dental school you have plenty of time to find out where your interests lie; and that may well change as you go along. It certainly did for me.
Good luck!
Of course it is possible to limit one's practice largely to purely cosmetic procedures. Being able to do this in either a large or small market is not easy. Most of the dentists who have been able to achieve this accomplish this by a combination of high competence, hard work, and usually a great deal of self-promotion.
Not all dentists are able to do this; I certainly wasn't big on the self-promotion part. And cosmetic dentistry, while it can be very rewarding financially and professionally, lies outside the judgment calls of other dentistry. What I mean by this is that with most dental treatment, the dentist is the expert, and should know what the goals of treatment are and how to achieve them predictably. With cosmetic dentistry, it is the patient who decides if you have achieved THEIR goal. And what the patient thinks is great may be different from what you are aiming for. So skill in communication and people skills are even more important than in most other routine dentistry.
You don't say what level you are at in your studies. If you are not yet in dental school you have plenty of time to find out where your interests lie; and that may well change as you go along. It certainly did for me.
Good luck!
Updated
Michelle’s Answer
Hello, Sarah !
No one is keeping statistics as to how many dentists there are that do cosmetic dentistry in New York City. It would be a guess because I assume it is constantly changing as more dentists retire or new ones start doing the cosmetic specialty. According to Dentagraphics data, there are about a bit over 8,000 dentists in New York City. There are approximately 190,000 dentists practicing in the United States as of this year. It is competitive to be accepted to dental school and that's where you'd have to begin. There's really no way to tell right now what the status will be if or when you become a dentist. You'd have to look up the information after you graduate dental school.
You'd first have to go for a Bachelors Degree and than to dental school. The cosmetic dentistry part is done with further formal training, passing a licensing exam for cosmetic dentistry and continued trainings like a two year post-doctoral program.
Try not to base your decision to become a dentist based on numbers because if cosmetic dentistry is what you really want to do, I would advise to follow through with it.
I hope this has been a bit of a help and I wish you the best in whatever career you choose !
No one is keeping statistics as to how many dentists there are that do cosmetic dentistry in New York City. It would be a guess because I assume it is constantly changing as more dentists retire or new ones start doing the cosmetic specialty. According to Dentagraphics data, there are about a bit over 8,000 dentists in New York City. There are approximately 190,000 dentists practicing in the United States as of this year. It is competitive to be accepted to dental school and that's where you'd have to begin. There's really no way to tell right now what the status will be if or when you become a dentist. You'd have to look up the information after you graduate dental school.
You'd first have to go for a Bachelors Degree and than to dental school. The cosmetic dentistry part is done with further formal training, passing a licensing exam for cosmetic dentistry and continued trainings like a two year post-doctoral program.
Try not to base your decision to become a dentist based on numbers because if cosmetic dentistry is what you really want to do, I would advise to follow through with it.
I hope this has been a bit of a help and I wish you the best in whatever career you choose !
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