Dentist working on a teenage patient

12 Skills the Best Dentist in Vancouver Should Have

Choosing a dentist can be just as tricky as finding the perfect hairdresser. Not only should they be friendly and have the ability to make you feel safe, they should also have the relevant skills to perform their jobs to a high standard.

Becoming a dentist isn’t such an easy task. It requires long hours of practical and theoretical studies. Therefore, not anybody can become a licensed practitioner. Dentists have a passion for what they do and are usually dedicated to their patients and their craft.

If you are wondering what it takes to become a dentist or want an inside look at the skills and competencies your dentist should have, then dive deeper into the lives of dentists with us.

Personality Traits and Skills a Dentist Should Have

Dentists have a wide range of different personality traits. Having a few key personality skills allow them to deal with patients, work alongside assistants, and in many cases, run their own offices.

Here is a list of the key personality traits you should look for in a dental practitioner:

Detail-Orientated

It’s no surprise that dental practitioners should have a detail-orientated way of working. The mouth is a very small and cramped space. To ensure that cosmetic dentistry is in full alignment, a dentist should work with detailed perfection.

Talkative

To ease children’s or adult’s nerves, a dental practitioner should be easy to talk to. Because your mouth will be occupied, your dentist should be able to talk in a calm and soothing voice. It’s great to find a practitioner that is really interested in you as a person and not just you as a set of teeth.

Friendly and warm-hearted practitioners will usually build special relationships with all their patients. For an in-depth look at how a dentist’s day unfolds, watch this video.

Comfortable with People

Working in someone’s mouth is quite a personal and intimate interaction. Being close to someone’s face, mouth, and body can make some people feel very uneasy. Dentists should be able to feel comfortable in up-close positions as well as make their patients feel comfortable in intimate situations like this. 

Able to Lead

Nothing is worse than having a dentist who barks orders at staff members while you are nervously waiting in the reception area. Because most dentists have their own private practices, they should be able to lead a team successfully. All staff members, assistants, technicians, dental hygienists, and receptionists will have to follow their lead.

Working together as a team will have a strong impact on the overall success and image of the practice itself. For a great example of an excellent team of dentists and staff, check out this link: https://draminzadeh.com/

Trustworthy

Dentists work with sharp tools and metal objects within your mouth. Having someone dig around this sensitive area can be frightful. Some procedures are very painful as well. Therefore, patients should be able to trust their dentist to work with hurtful tools and equipment inside their mouths.

They should be able to take all necessary precautions to ensure a patient’s visit is as pain free and as comfortable as possible.

Caring

Apart from being friendly and easy to talk to, a dental practitioner should be genuinely caring towards patients. Most patients will have different reactions to certain procedures. Therefore, someone will have to gently guide you through the entire process. Great dentists will make sure that their patients are comfortable during all steps of the procedures.

At the core, dentists should truly care about oral hygiene. For those individuals or communities who don’t have easy access to dentistry, a passionate and caring dentist will be able to help in their free time. Doing a few free dental check ups or even pulling some rotten teeth, it’s all part of the job and truly showing that they care.

Passionate about their Craft

With dental procedures improving and developing just as fast as technology, it’s important that a dentist stay up to date with what’s going on in the industry. Only those passionate about their craft will continue enhancing their skills and learning about new equipment.

Incorporating different technical skills and equipment into their practices will ensure that they give the best service to patients. At the same time making them feel comfortable and well taken care of.

This will also give them the ability to provide patients with different dental solutions that use modern technologies and procedures.

Artistic Skills

A service that many patients are requiring at the moment is special cosmetic dentistry procedures. With dental cosmetic procedures increasing in popularity, many dentists should be master artists at their craft. Creating small and detailed dental implants, dentures, or veneers are part of practicing dentistry.

Within the medical field, dentistry is usually referred to as an art within itself. It not only involves oral health and hygiene but also restoring and aligning teeth to create beautiful smiles.

Excellent Communicator

Especially if you have a dental emergency, you will need a dentist that is an excellent communicator. Advising you on exactly what you should do as well as how to prevent any further complications until you get to see them.

Because many patients are very nervous during these procedures, it’s important that a dental practitioner can explain complex terms and processes in simple terms for patients to understand. When patients are faced with a few different options, having someone use the right kind of language to explain will give them a clearer idea of what to consider.

Ability to Research and Learn

Even highly experienced dentists don’t always have all the answers. It’s important that, when a tricky situation arises, that they are open to learn and adapt. Asking for advice from fellow colleagues or other licensed hygienists will help them solve the problem much faster.

It’s a skill to do research and ensure that the right steps are taken to improve and correct oral hygiene in patients.

Ethical Standards

Some procedures will require patients to be under anesthesia or even nerve suppressants. For those working within the medical field it’s very important to keep a high ethical standard when dealing with patients.

Not only does this include following exact medical protocol but also having the respect for a patient who is entrusting you with their health. Additionally, this also refers to practitioners ensuring that they have the correct licensing and certification before performing certain procedures.

Remaining honest, not overcharging for certain procedures, and maintaining professional integrity is what is a key trait within a dentist. Interested in becoming a dentist? Read this article on the 13 steps of becoming a dentist.

Memory

And lastly, your dentist should have an excellent retainment of information. There is no use in practicing dentistry if they can’t remember all the different causes and treatments within the industry. It’s vital that they are able to apply everything that they’ve learned to the actual mouth.

Staying on top of their patient’s dental health will be a bonus if they want to build relationships.

If you’ve found a dentist with all the above-mentioned vital skillsets, then you have found someone who you can entrust with your oral hygiene and dental procedures.