Dentists, General

People in this career often have these skills:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
• Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
• Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
• Science - Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
• Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
• Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
• Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.

People in this career often know a lot about:

• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

People in this career often have talent in:

• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
• Finger Dexterity - The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Arm-Hand Steadiness - The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.

• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Control Precision - The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Selective Attention - The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
• Manual Dexterity - The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
• Multilimb Coordination - The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
• Flexibility of Closure - The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

People in this career often do these activities:

• Protect patients or staff members using safety equipment.
• Examine mouth, teeth, gums, or related facial structures.
• Operate diagnostic or therapeutic medical instruments or equipment.
• Operate diagnostic imaging equipment.
• Administer anesthetics or sedatives to control pain.

• Develop medical treatment plans.
• Diagnose dental conditions.
• Treat dental problems or diseases.
• Prescribe medications.
• Advise patients on preventive care techniques.
• Design medical devices or appliances.
• Fabricate medical devices.
• Adjust prostheses or other assistive devices.
• Operate on patients to treat conditions.
• Supervise patient care personnel.
• Analyze patient data to determine patient needs or treatment goals.
• Design public or employee health programs.
• Direct healthcare delivery programs.
• Prepare healthcare training materials.

• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons

• Orthodontists

• Prosthodontists

• Anesthesiologists

• Nurse Anesthetists

• Pharmacists

• Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists