When you think about dentistry, professions that come to mind are dentists, dental hygienists and dental surgeons. Indeed, they are the most common jobs that make up the dentistry field, but you will be surprised to know that they are not the only ones. Notably, dentistry is a vast field, and it has continued to accommodate more branches over the years. Therefore, if you are thinking about a future career in dentistry, here are unknown professions you might want to learn more about.

Dental Assistants

A dental assistant is arguably one of the lesser-known jobs in dentistry. It can be attributed to the fact that most people think dental hygienists are also assistants. However, they are entirely different professions because a dental assistant's job is to work alongside dentists, hygienists and patients. Some of the roles of a dental assistant include room preparation, calming patients and various lab works. A diploma in dental assisting also equips learners with knowledge on equipment sterilisation, disinfection and record keeping. Ultimately, dental assisting is designed to enhance service provision to patients.

Dental Engineering

Of all the little-known dentistry professions, dental engineering is arguably the most interesting one. Every day in a dental engineer's professional life is unique because they design and develop functional and comfortable dental solutions. For instance, a left-handed dental surgeon might want dentistry tools comfortable to work with. A dental engineer makes it possible since they can design customised dentistry tools that match a dentist's needs. Moreover, dentists with private practices want a professional technician to assemble, install, maintain, adjust, repair and service dentistry equipment. While an electronics engineer might be helpful, a dental engineer understands the functioning of dentistry tools better, making dental engineering a lucrative profession in dentistry.

Denture Technicians

A trained and experienced dentist can install dentures perfectly. However, have you ever stopped to ask where dentures come from and who makes them? Most patients think that general dentists make dentures from scratch, but it is not the case. Denture technicians or denturists are trained in the aesthetic design, creation, care and installation of dentures. Unlike general dentists, denturists have an in-depth understanding of everything about dentures, including the best denture material, oral tissue wear and fitting methods. The knowledge allows denturists to craft dental fixtures for the most complex cases. For instance, fitting dentures on edentulous patients is challenging due to extensive bone mass loss in the jaw. However, a denturist can handle such cases with relative ease.

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