People keep asking, what’s the dentist job outlook for dentists during this so-called downturn in the economy? Having grown up in a dentist’s household (my dad is still a practicing dentist) I know that regardless of the economic situation, people still needed to make emergency appointments regularly, every single week for as long as i can remember. Do people still need root canals during a recession? Do they still require critical dental care?
Although some areas of specialization may experience slowdowns such as cosmetic procedures or orthodontics, general dentistry won’t be swayed as strongly because regardless of economics, people still have teeth that require care.
There are several reasons for the strong dentist job forecast. First of all, there are more dentist opportunities than there are dentists to fill them. That’s good news for dentist. This means you can essentially choose the dentist job opportunity that makes the most sense for you.
The reason for the shortage of dentists is very similar to the shortage of nurses. There aren’t enough faculty jobs being filled and retained. There is a deficit of dentists every year in the United States; essentially more DDS’ are retiring than are graduating, coupled with a growing population. (Hence, my decision to focus my efforts on placing dentists.)