• Status and Prestige: Dentists are socially conscious, talented, civic-minded professionals who work with community leaders and other health professionals to promote oral health care. Dentistry has a distinguished history of leadership in improving world health.
  
  
• Creativity: As artists, dentists combine keen visual memory, excellent judgment of space and shape and a high degree of manual dexterity in the delivery of patient services. Computer applications complement scientific knowledge and technical skills.
  
  
• Variety: Dentistry is changing rapidly, creating many opportunities and challenges. Dentists treat a diverse group of patients in a variety of settings using a variety of techniques and procedures.
  
  
• Detection of Diseases: Dentists are often the first health care providers to recognize and identify a number of illnesses—including cancer and cardiovascular problems. Research suggests an increasing link between oral diseases and other health concerns.
  
  
• Diagnosis and Treatment: Dentists diagnose and treat conditions affecting the teeth, tongue, gums, lips and jaws. Exciting technologies, such as digital radiography and laser systems, along with enhanced new materials and techniques, can be used to correct dental problems.
  
  
• Surgical Restoration: Dentists perform trauma surgery, place implants, graft tissue to repair, restore and maintain the teeth, gums, and oral structures that have been lost or damaged by accidents or disease.
  
  
• Cosmetic Improvement: Dentists improve their patient's appearance by using a wide variety of modern dental materials and equipment to help patients feel better about their smiles.
  
  
• Prevention/Education: Dentists educate patients and the general public on how to maintain oral health and prevent disease. Dental professionals play a leadership role in implementing community-based preventive programs, such as community water fluoridation, sealant programs or oral cancer screening.
  
  
• Research: Dentists are involved as scientists to further the knowledge of oral diseases, treatment techniques and materials used to correct dental problems.



• Download the Dentistry Fact Sheet
  English | PDF file/68k
  En Español | PDF file/75k

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Need for Minority Dentists

There is a critical need in many underserved communities where minority and disadvantaged people are not getting the care they need. Only 12 percent of students entering dental school are minorities, while minorities make up 25 percent of the general population. Recent data shows that minority dentists treat a very high number of minority patients.

More underrepresented minority dentists (African American, Hispanic and American Indian)
are necessary to eliminate the barriers to oral care. This need is expected to increase as statistics indicate that 58 percent of the population will be comprised of underrepresented groups by the year 2050.

Minority students sometimes face barriers themselves in gaining higher education and obtaining a medical degree, such as a degree in dentistry. Below are first person accounts from two minority dentists who share some of the barriers they faced while pursuing their dental degree. Their reflections were provided to the ADA as a courtesy.

• Barriers Minority Students Might Face | PDF file/24k

Read more about the need for American Indian dentists in the article below, written by George Blue Spruce, Jr., DDS, MPH, Assistant Surgeon General–USPHS (Retired).

• The Need for American Indian Dentists | PDF file/28k

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