What does a general dentist do?
The primary job of general dentists is to diagnose, treat, and manage patients' oral health care needs, including root canals, fillings, and gum care. They are considered as the main dental care providers for both children and adults. General dentists typically perform a few tasks, including performing regular dental examinations and teeth cleanings, ensuring patients receive an appropriate and timely treatment for their dental issues and performing cosmetic procedures such as teeth whitening and cosmetic bonding.
General dentist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real general dentist resumes:
- Set up OSHA plan for the office, and lead OSHA training.
- Manage HMO and indemnity dental insurances.
- Observe bonding, restorations, tooth extraction, periodontal surgery, dentures, root canal, and crown placement
- Perform dental surgical procedures including extraction of diseas or irreparably decay teeth.
- Work with Rueben Gordon, DDS
- Hone dental/patient management skills.Alan Jon Napoles, DDS
- Call patients for continuing care and book next visit using Dentrix.
- Prepare payroll, interview, hire, train, schedule, motivate and discipline personnel.
- Perform clinical treatments including composite restorations, scaling and root planning, fix and removable partial dentures.
- Execute all business relate functions including hiring, quotations, invoicing, customer service, and payroll.
- Gain experience in all phases of patient management including diagnosis, treatment plans, follow-ups, and specialist recommendations.
- Participate in improving the oral health of individuals, families, and groups in the community through diagnosis and treatment.
- Provide removable orthodontic appliances for kids.
- Complete challenging general practice residency, gaining valuable knowledge and experience in treating medically compromise patients.
- Spearhead development and implementation of sterilization procedures and protocols with infection controlfollowing CDC and OSHA guidelines.
General dentist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 34% of General Dentists are proficient in Patients, Patient Care, and Treatment Planning. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Dexterity, and Patience.
We break down the percentage of General Dentists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 34%
Educated patients about treatment procedures, recommended appropriate treatment plans and necessary follow- up and dental maintenance.
- Patient Care, 25%
Provide all aspects of first class administrative patient care including treatment plan explanations, financial arrangements and insurance coordination.
- Treatment Planning, 15%
Experienced in comprehensive treatment planning & delivering.
- Diagnosis, 4%
General Dentist-- Comprehensive diagnosis and treatment of patient
- OSHA, 2%
Spearheaded development and implementation of sterilization procedures and protocols with infection controlfollowing CDC and OSHA guidelines.
- Dentures, 2%
Observed bonding, restorations, tooth extraction, periodontal surgery, dentures, root canal, and crown placement
Common skills that a general dentist uses to do their job include "patients," "patient care," and "treatment planning." You can find details on the most important general dentist responsibilities below.
Detail oriented. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a general dentist to have is detail oriented. Their role and responsibilities require that "dentists must pay attention to the shape and color of teeth and to the space between them." General dentists often use detail oriented in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "provided comprehensive dental care to patients of all ages in a sedation-oriented private practice. "
Dexterity. Another essential skill to perform general dentist duties is dexterity. General dentists responsibilities require that "dentists must be good with their hands." General dentists also use dexterity in their role according to a real resume snippet: "assisted several implant cases and advanced surgical procedures like maxillary sinus lifts and bone augmentation procedures. "
Patience. This is an important skill for general dentists to perform their duties. For an example of how general dentist responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "dentists may work for long periods with patients who need special attention, including children and those with a fear of dental work." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a general dentist: "performed surgical procedures with confidence and a high degree of skill and patience including implants and surgical extractions. ".
Communication skills. For certain general dentist responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "communication skills." The day-to-day duties of a general dentist rely on this skill, as "dentists must communicate effectively with patients, dental hygienists, dental assistants, and receptionists." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what general dentists do: "diagnosed cases daily and executed treatment planning after communication to each patient. "
Leadership skills. A commonly-found skill in general dentist job descriptions, "leadership skills" is essential to what general dentists do. General dentist responsibilities rely on this skill because "dentists, especially those with their own practices, may need to manage staff or mentor other dentists." You can also see how general dentist duties rely on leadership skills in this resume example: "performed extractions and placed sutures leadership & campus involvement"
Problem-solving skills. Another skill commonly found on general dentist job descriptions is "problem-solving skills." It can come up quite often in general dentist duties, since "dentists must evaluate patients’ symptoms and choose the appropriate treatment." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day general dentist responsibilities: "collaborate with general dentists, specialists, and other health professionals to develop solutions to dental and ooral health concerns. "
The three companies that hire the most general dentists are:
- Heartland Dental285 general dentists jobs
- Western Dental209 general dentists jobs
- Pacific Dental Services207 general dentists jobs
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Compare different general dentists
General dentist vs. Dentist/owner
A Dentist/Owner is a person who is qualified to treat diseases and conditions that affect the teeth and gums of patients. They also are the owner of a dentist office.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a general dentist are more likely to require skills like "patient care," "diagnosis," "osha," and "dental services." On the other hand, a job as a dentist/owner requires skills like "surgical extractions," "direct patient care," "treatment options," and "practice management." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Dentist/owners tend to reach similar levels of education than general dentists. In fact, dentist/owners are 0.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 13.9% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.General dentist vs. Associate dentist
An Associate Dentist helps the dentist carry out dental duties effectively and efficiently. They also help design plans for the treatment of the patients, provide anesthesia, and schedule patients appointments.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real general dentist resumes. While general dentist responsibilities can utilize skills like "patient care," "treatment planning," "osha," and "dental hygiene," associate dentists use skills like "dds," "oral health," "aspen," and "comprehensive treatment planning."
Associate dentists may earn a higher salary than general dentists, but associate dentists earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $143,089. On the other hand, general dentists receive higher pay in the professional industry, where they earn an average salary of $145,654.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Associate dentists tend to reach similar levels of education than general dentists. In fact, they're 0.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 13.9% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for general dentists in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Katie Dinh
Assistant Dean of Curriculum and Assessment, Associate Professor of Restorative Dentistry, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
General dentist vs. Cosmetic dentist
Dentists are physicians specializing in oral health. The main responsibilities of dentists are to diagnose oral diseases and treat them with the help of different equipment and technologies. They manage to provide several services like tooth repair, cavities removal, teeth whitening, fillings, crowns, bridges, and even surgical procedures. They also help promote oral care by participating in community outreach and awareness programs. Sometimes, they would also conduct lectures and seminars for preventive education.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from general dentist resumes include skills like "patients," "patient care," "diagnosis," and "osha," whereas a cosmetic dentist is more likely to list skills in "dds," "direct patient care," "front desk," and "ffs. "
Most cosmetic dentists achieve a similar degree level compared to general dentists. For example, they're 2.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 9.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.General dentist vs. Dentist
Types of general dentist
Updated January 8, 2025
