What does a pediatric dentist do?
A pediatric dentist is responsible for taking care of children and infant's dental needs and concerns. Pediatric dentists maintain the patients' oral health, monitor their conditions, and schedule regular dental checkups. They also inspect and diagnose early dental problems and perform dental operations according to the patients' problem areas. A pediatric dentist must have excellent knowledge of the dental practices and processes, as well as having excellent communication skills to advise the children's parents and guardians of dental health techniques.
Pediatric dentist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real pediatric dentist resumes:
- Manage early and moderate periodontal disease, evaluate the results of periodontal treatment and establish maintenance program.
- Verify insurance and authorization for medical treatment of patients as needed.
- Register new patients, loading demographic information and collecting patient balances.
- Manage early and moderate periodontal disease, evaluate the results of periodontal treatment and establish maintenance program.
- Train as a cerec dentist completing same day crowns, inlays and onlays.
- Write prescriptions for antibiotics or other medications.
- Prescribe antibiotics & pain medication to treat infections & prevent infections following surgical procedures.
- Provide Invisalign treatment to correct dental alignment.
- Prepare syringe to administer anesthetics as well as supplies need to restore or extract teeth.
- Align the teeth around the external soft tissues to allow them grow smoothly without any complication.
Pediatric dentist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 60% of Pediatric Dentists are proficient in Patients, Patient Care, and Diagnosis. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Detail oriented, and Dexterity.
We break down the percentage of Pediatric Dentists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 60%
Associate Pediatric Dentist, responsible for dental care and patient education for approximately 3,000 patients
- Patient Care, 18%
Work independently, ensuring high quality clinical operations and patient care.
- Diagnosis, 4%
Provided oral diagnosis and treatment services to the San Lucas community, implemented oral health prevention activities
- Infection Control, 3%
Maintained a sterile and neat working environment according to current infection control procedures.
- Insurance Coverage, 2%
Provided detailed explanation of insurance coverage options.
- Treatment Options, 2%
Communicated treatment options, costs, risks, and benefits for all different options.
Common skills that a pediatric dentist uses to do their job include "patients," "patient care," and "diagnosis." You can find details on the most important pediatric dentist responsibilities below.
Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a pediatric dentist to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "dentists must communicate effectively with patients, dental hygienists, dental assistants, and receptionists." Pediatric dentists often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "developed excellent clinical care, and communication skills with treatment team and patients. "
Detail oriented. Another essential skill to perform pediatric dentist duties is detail oriented. Pediatric dentists responsibilities require that "dentists must pay attention to the shape and color of teeth and to the space between them." Pediatric dentists also use detail oriented in their role according to a real resume snippet: "provide parents and patients with a detailed summary of the diagnosis and individualizes treatment plan/choices. "
Dexterity. This is an important skill for pediatric dentists to perform their duties. For an example of how pediatric dentist responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "dentists must be good with their hands." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a pediatric dentist: "assisted several implant cases and advanced surgical procedures like maxillary sinus lifts and bone augmentation procedures. ".
Leadership skills. For certain pediatric dentist responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "leadership skills." The day-to-day duties of a pediatric dentist rely on this skill, as "dentists, especially those with their own practices, may need to manage staff or mentor other dentists." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what pediatric dentists do: "performed extractions and placed sutures leadership & campus involvement. "
Patience. Another common skill required for pediatric dentist responsibilities is "patience." This skill comes up in the duties of pediatric dentists all the time, as "dentists may work for long periods with patients who need special attention, including children and those with a fear of dental work." An excerpt from a real pediatric dentist resume shows how this skill is central to what a pediatric dentist does: "assisted patients with checking in/ checking out scheduled appointments for patience"
Problem-solving skills. Another skill commonly found on pediatric dentist job descriptions is "problem-solving skills." It can come up quite often in pediatric 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 pediatric dentist responsibilities: "key contributions: effectively addressed and resolved administrative issues with patients and insurance companies. "
The three companies that hire the most pediatric dentists are:
- Pacific Dental Services30 pediatric dentists jobs
- Great Expressions Dental Centers26 pediatric dentists jobs
- Advantage Dental Group
18 pediatric dentists jobs
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Compare different pediatric dentists
Pediatric dentist vs. Endodontist
Endodontists are specialized dentists who are responsible for treating root canal injuries while performing various implant surgeries that are related to endodontics. These endodontists must establish and maintain a harmonious relationship with patients by explaining dental procedures so that they can decrease the anxiety of their patients. They are required to examine and treat diseases of nerve, pulp, and other dental issues that are affecting the vitality of their patients' teeth. Endodontists must also provide learning mediums that are interesting and interactive so that they can help increase the understanding of students about complex dental procedures.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a pediatric dentist are more likely to require skills like "patients," "patient care," "diagnosis," and "infection control." On the other hand, a job as an endodontist requires skills like "endodontics," "aspen," "apex," and "surgical instruments." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Endodontists really shine in the non profits industry with an average salary of $189,122. Comparatively, pediatric dentists tend to make the most money in the health care industry with an average salary of $144,802.endodontists tend to reach similar levels of education than pediatric dentists. In fact, endodontists are 1.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Pediatric dentist vs. Public health dentist
Public Health Dentists have a hefty requirement of a master's or bachelor's degree in public health with licensure in dentistry and experience in the field as a prerequisite for this career. In addition, they will need strong skills in communication, manual dexterity, teamwork, and a great deal of patience, stamina for long hours of work, and an approach that is both thorough and methodological. Those who apply for this career will be expected to provide expertise in population-based dentistry, oral health surveillance, disease prevention on a community level, health promotion, and maintenance for the dental safety net.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real pediatric dentist resumes. While pediatric dentist responsibilities can utilize skills like "patients," "patient care," "diagnosis," and "insurance coverage," public health dentists use skills like "community health," "dental care," "healthcare professionals," and "mental health."
In general, public health dentists achieve similar levels of education than pediatric dentists. They're 1.8% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for pediatric 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
Pediatric dentist vs. 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.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a pediatric dentist is likely to be skilled in "patient care," "insurance coverage," "chair side," and "specialty practice," while a typical dentist is skilled in "dds," "work ethic," "dental services," and "extraction."
Dentists earn the best pay in the health care industry, where they command an average salary of $142,407. Pediatric dentists earn the highest pay from the health care industry, with an average salary of $144,802.dentists typically earn lower educational levels compared to pediatric dentists. Specifically, they're 7.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 13.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Pediatric dentist vs. Periodontist
Periodontists must have a PhD in chemistry, biology, or another health-related field. They also need good interpersonal skills, manual dexterity, stamina, and problem-solving skills. Periodontists specialize in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of periodontal disease, placing dental implants, and treating oral inflammation. They typically earn around $248K per year.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between pediatric dentists and periodontists, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a pediatric dentist might have more use for skills like "patient care," "diagnosis," "infection control," and "treatment options." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of periodontists require skills like "dental care," "soft tissue," "dr," and "perio. "
The media industry tends to pay the highest salaries for periodontists, with average annual pay of $189,765. Comparatively, the highest pediatric dentist annual salary comes from the health care industry.periodontists reach lower levels of education compared to pediatric dentists, in general. The difference is that they're 5.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 11.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of pediatric dentist
Updated January 8, 2025
