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What does a public health dentist do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read

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.

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Public health dentist responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real public health dentist resumes:

  • Manage early and moderate periodontal disease, evaluate the results of periodontal treatment and establish maintenance program.
  • Examine typical human smoking patterns and variation in tobacco biomarkers to smoke constituents across a range of cigarette tar categories.
  • Assess the differences in biomarkers of exposure among African-Americans and Caucasians, comparing menthol and non-menthol cigarette smoking.
  • Assess the differences in biomarkers of exposure among African-Americans and Caucasians, comparing menthol and non-menthol cigarette smoking.

Public health dentist skills and personality traits

We calculated that 17% of Public Health Dentists are proficient in Community Health, Dental Care, and Mental Health. They’re also known for soft skills such as Dexterity, Leadership skills, and Problem-solving skills.

We break down the percentage of Public Health Dentists that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Community Health, 17%

    Conducted a training of trainers for community health talks on selected topics including STD's and HIV/AIDS.

  • Dental Care, 16%

    Provided clinical and laboratory dental care and services.

  • Mental Health, 11%

    Paper on Environmental Health, Walden University).

  • Public Health Programs, 11%

    Collaborate with and disseminate information to state and local representatives to promote public health programs.

  • Oral Surgery, 9%

    General dentistry, family dentistry, cosmetic dentistry and oral surgery practitioner services provided within a high volume clinical setting.

  • Food Safety, 8%

    Created a Food Safety Program, training thirty base employees.

Common skills that a public health dentist uses to do their job include "community health," "dental care," and "mental health." You can find details on the most important public health dentist responsibilities below.

Dexterity. One of the key soft skills for a public health dentist to have is dexterity. You can see how this relates to what public health dentists do because "dentists must be good with their hands." Additionally, a public health dentist resume shows how public health dentists use dexterity: "instruct specialized course which incorporates my health education knowledge and hands-on experience in the learning process. "

Leadership skills. Another essential skill to perform public health dentist duties is leadership skills. Public health dentists responsibilities require that "dentists, especially those with their own practices, may need to manage staff or mentor other dentists." Public health dentists also use leadership skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "single point-of-contact for the intermediate repair enhancement program.human resource affairs and team leadership coordinated the food safety program for kirtland afb. "

Problem-solving skills. public health dentists are also known for problem-solving skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to public health dentist responsibilities, because "dentists must evaluate patients’ symptoms and choose the appropriate treatment." A public health dentist resume example shows how problem-solving skills is used in the workplace: "collaborate with general dentists, specialists, and other health professionals to develop solutions to dental and ooral health concerns. "

Communication skills. public health dentist responsibilities often require "communication skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "dentists must communicate effectively with patients, dental hygienists, dental assistants, and receptionists." This resume example shows what public health dentists do with communication skills on a typical day: "pioneer in internet based practice management software and patient communication. "

Detail oriented. Another crucial skill for a public health dentist to carry out their responsibilities is "detail oriented." A big part of what public health dentists relies on this skill, since "dentists must pay attention to the shape and color of teeth and to the space between them." How this skill relates to public health dentist duties can be seen in an example from a public health dentist resume snippet: "detailed anamnesis, physical exam and prognosis of patients. "

Most common public health dentist skills

The three companies that hire the most public health dentists are:

Compare different public health dentists

Public health dentist vs. School nurse

A school nurse is in charge of advocating and providing healthcare services to students, faculty, and staff daily. Their responsibilities revolve around providing necessary treatments to someone in need, developing programs that promote students' health, and administering proper medication. When a school nurse must reach out to parents to inform them of their children's visits or any emergencies, it must be documented. Furthermore, a school nurse must appropriately store all equipment and medication in adherence to the school's safety and health standards.

The annual salary of school nurses is $80,275 lower than the average salary of public health dentists.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between public health dentists and school nurses are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like mental health, health education, and emergency care.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between public health dentists and school nurse. For instance, public health dentist responsibilities require skills such as "community health," "dental care," "healthcare professionals," and "public health programs." Whereas a school nurse is skilled in "cpr," "health problems," "health services," and "immunization." This is part of what separates the two careers.

The education levels that school nurses earn slightly differ from public health dentists. In particular, school nurses are 3.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a public health dentist. Additionally, they're 16.9% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Public health dentist vs. Staff nurse

Staff nurses are registered nurses who are usually assigned to work in a care home, a company, or in a clinical setting. They advise the physical assessments of patients, employees, and residents. They also handle the checking of vital signs, providing basic medical procedures, giving first aid, and, if possible, providing over the counter medication. Staff nurses provide medical attention to the people in their place of assignment. They help pave the path to their patients' full recovery. Staff nurses are expected to be patient and have good interpersonal skills.

Staff nurse positions earn lower pay than public health dentist roles. They earn a $66,931 lower salary than public health dentists per year.

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, public health dentist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "community health," "dental care," "healthcare professionals," and "mental health." Meanwhile, a staff nurse has duties that require skills in areas such as "patients," "bls," "cpr," and "acls." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

Staff nurses earn lower levels of education than public health dentists in general. They're 5.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 16.9% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Public health dentist vs. Registered nurse charge nurse

A registered charge nurse is responsible for supervising nurses' workflow in a particular department or area, ensuring every patient gets the proper care that they need. A registered charge nurse has the discretion to direct tasks, arrange schedules, and monitor patients, such as in the aspects of admission and discharge. Furthermore, a registered charge nurse must maintain an active line of communication and coordination among nurses, physicians, and other personnel involved as the conditions in a hospital can be unpredictable.

An average registered nurse charge nurse eans a lower salary compared to the average salary of public health dentists. The difference in salaries amounts to registered nurses charge nurses earning a $63,931 lower average salary than public health dentists.public health dentists and registered nurses charge nurses both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "infection control," "medication administration," and "tuberculosis," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a public health dentist is likely to be skilled in "community health," "dental care," "healthcare professionals," and "mental health," while a typical registered nurse charge nurse is skilled in "patients," "bls," "cpr," and "acls."

Most registered nurses charge nurses achieve a lower degree level compared to public health dentists. For example, they're 6.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 17.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Public health dentist vs. Registered nurse med/surg

The job of registered medical-surgical nurses is to care for patients with either surgical or non-surgical conditions. They are responsible for aiding patients to cope with their illness, prevent diseases, and promote good health. Entry-level registered nurses often rely on standardized care plans and medical procedures and make scientific-based nursing judgments. On the other hand, intermediate level nurses are more skilled in developing care plans that meet client needs. Requirements to become a medical-surgical nurse include a college degree in nursing, excellent assessment and observation skills, and patient education skills.

Registered nurse med/surgs typically earn lower pay than public health dentists. On average, registered nurse med/surgs earn a $50,461 lower salary per year.While their salaries may vary, public health dentists and registered nurse med/surgs both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "infection control," "tuberculosis," and "cervical. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "community health," "dental care," "healthcare professionals," and "mental health" are skills that commonly show up on public health dentist resumes. On the other hand, registered nurse med/surgs use skills like patients, bls, acute care, and acls on their resumes.In general, registered nurse med/surgs hold lower degree levels compared to public health dentists. Registered nurse med/surgs are 6.7% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 17.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of public health dentist

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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