Dental Graduates Unprepared for Real Dentistry

Released on: February 23, 2008, 9:08 pm

Press Release Author: The Wealthy Dentist

Industry: Healthcare

Press Release Summary: Dentists find the education provided by dental schools
inadequate when it comes to dental practice management, finds a Wealthy Dentist
survey. Four out of five dentists report that recent graduates are not prepared for
the financial realities of practicing dentistry.

Press Release Body: Four out of five dentists do not think dental school graduates
are prepared for the real world of dentistry, according to a recent Wealthy Dentist
survey. Only one in five dentists finds recent graduates truly ready for the
financial realities of practicing dentistry.

Many feel that dental school must also fill the role of business school. \"Dental
school needs really good business courses to help students get started in practice,
even if they are going into an employment situation,\" opined a Tennessee dentist.

But is business training really within the scope of dental school? \"Today\'s
graduates are not prepared to start a business, but neither were we. Business sense
is hard to get in a classroom setting,\" observed a North Carolina dentist. \"It\'s
like preparing for parenting: how do you know when you\'re ready?\"

Though dental technology has advanced rapidly, it\'s not clear that dental education
has followed. \"It has not changed enough in at least the last 25 years. Clinically,
dental students have just enough knowledge and experience to provide basic care and
hopefully will understand that they need to continue to learn and develop their
capabilities,\" wrote an Illinois dentist. \"There should be some basic business
requirement in the pre-dental education, but I don\'t see that there is room in
dental school to cover this (running a business) in any but the most cursory way.\"

Doing well in dental school is no guarantee that a student will become a good
clinician. \"Dental school prepares you for your board exams, not the real world of
dentistry,\" commented a New Jersey dentist. \"Academically graduates are
over-prepared, and clinically they tend to be under-prepared,\" agreed a general
dentist from Missouri.\"

Dental school has never prepared students for the real world, but now the
consequences for new graduates are a lot more serious,\" commented one orthodontist.
\"In past years, overhead was lower, patients and employees weren\'t as litigious,
fewer employees were needed, regulations were simpler, etc. Today, the system is not
as forgiving. There is so much more to be aware of, and a slipup is going to be more
costly.\"

\"Dental schools might be great, but they\'re notoriously bad at addressing business
issues,\" said Jim Du Molin, dental management consultant and founder of The Wealthy
Dentist. \"Students learn lots of science and very little about practice management.
But how can graduates expect to practice dentistry if they can\'t run a dental
practice?\"

Visit http://www.thewealthydentist.com to learn more about The Wealthy Dentist\'s
surveys on dental implants, cosmetic dentistry, sedation dentistry, braces, and
dentures. Jim Du Molin offers a free weekly newsletter and dental marketing advice.


Web Site:
http://www.thewealthydentist.com/PR/055-Dentists-Find-Dental-School-Students-Unprepared-for-Dentistry.htm


Contact Details: Jim Du Molin
415-435-3375

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