Become a Dentist with JCU's Undergraduate Dentistry School Courses

Gaining a dental school degree will prepare you to make a real difference wherever you choose to work. Going to dental school provides you with a range of opportunities and learning experiences such as learning how to prevent mouth and teeth disorders and conduct examinations to discover oral issues. As you learn how oral health interacts with overall health, you'll learn how to actively improve quality of life for all the patients you work with. You will elevate the overall well-being of your patients as you gain expertise in extracting damaged teeth, treating painful tooth decay, and working with dental prosthetics to repair smiles as well as oral function.

One of the most rewarding aspects of being a dentist is being able to empower patients to improve their own health. With the knowledge and skills you gain through your undergraduate dentistry courses, you'll educate patients and provide a strong positive influence, so they can take charge of their dental hygiene and overall health.

Experience is an important part of becoming a healthcare professional, and you'll gain experience in working in/within clinical environments with real patients at the JCU Dental Clinic. You'll hone skills in a state-of-the art simulation clinic and learn how to create treatment plans that will make all the difference in the lives of your patients.

A key element to a successful healthcare career is building rewarding professional relationships. In dental school, you'll learn how to work with clinic staff and other healthcare professionals while you build your professional network of contacts that you'll appreciate throughout your career. Your communication and interpersonal skills will make it possible for you to work effectively with other healthcare professionals to build holistic treatment plans that address all aspects of your patients' health needs.

Studying to become a dentist is about more than reading books and being in lecture theatres. You’ll be applying your theoretical studies in hands-on environments, where you'll gain a broad foundation of experience as you work in paedodontics, orthodontics, gerodontics, and oral medicine.

One of the best parts of a healthcare career is making a real difference to those who struggle to help themselves. At JCU's dental school, you'll gain experience working with special needs patients and those from disadvantaged and remote communities.

From the early days of the course, you’ll get an opportunity for hands-on learning and community health promotion activities. Later on in your course, you’ll also have the option to apply your skills overseas, through student placements to countries such as Cambodia, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka and Taiwan.

As a dentist, you'll be a valued professional in a field with a great demand for trained dentists and the freedom to go wherever you choose, including on to study specialised fields within dentistry.

Perhaps you want to work among the most marginalised of society in rural and indigenous regions. With your degree from JCU you'll gain skills and experience that match your passion and values, so you're the perfect person to make a difference among those with the greatest needs.

Large urban areas will need your skills, too, and you'll be ready to take up the mantle in state-run dental health services and also private dental clinics. If you have a love for academics, you can build on the foundation of your dental degree and go on to improve the field by working in teaching or research facilities.

Be eligible to work anywhere in Australia and New Zealand through undergraduate dentistry courses accredited by the Australian Dental Council. Take your 2,000+ hours of supervised experience into any working environment that appeals to you, from rural clinics to bustling urban health centres. You’ll be in demand when you finish and well-rewarded for your skills. You’ll also enjoy the highest starting salary of all dentistry graduates Australia-wide* (QILT Graduate Outcomes Survey 2016-2018).

Work in a dental school that provides a strong balance of problem-based, real-world studies and a strong foundation in cutting-edge dental research. Through self-directed studies combined with supervised work under lecturers committed to student success, you'll become more than just a dentist. You'll become a well-rounded professional with transferable skills to use throughout your professional career.

A degree and a job are important, but you want to keep that passion for self-improvement throughout life. Your dental degree studies at JCU will help you develop as a mature clinician. You'll have a broad base of experience that you know how to apply to any situation and the planning and self-study skills to take charge of your own future.

Studying an undergraduate dentistry degree at JCU prepares you to work in diverse and unique environments. Your work as a dentist is about more than just working within the Australian healthcare system. You'll also build your passion to effect positive change and be a crucial part of sustaining our healthcare system effectively in the future.

Gain a better understanding of the demographics of Australia and how population changes affect the present and future of dental care. Understand the particular regional difficulties facing the nation in tropical medicine and disease and how these issues impact the way health professionals practice. Through hands-on clinical placements, you’ll experience the challenges that remote communities face and become part of the movement to bring life-changing care to everyone.

To become a dentist, you will need certain skills. A good candidate for a career in dentistry has the following characteristics:

• Patience and a calm demeanour to soothe patients
• Good eyesight combined with manual dexterity
• The ability to concentrate carefully
• A real care for patients and their health outcomes
• Critical, logical thinking skills to diagnose diseases and disorders and plan effective treatments
• Comfort with performing medical procedures

Your undergraduate dentistry courses will help you develop these skills and hone key personal characteristics for a successful dental career. Take advantage of the professional expertise at JCU to strengthen your understanding of dentistry, focus your career path, build your resume and professional network, and be ready for the jobs of tomorrow.

Enjoy a world-class education at cutting-edge facilities as you prepare for your career. Work alongside professionals in research that makes a difference. Your future is waiting, and you can get there with a degree in dentistry from James Cook University.

In keeping with the request to make this much more conversational in tone, I’ve opted to use contractions within the blog, as few things are less conversational or sound more stilted than a lack of normal contractions! However, this is the accepted US Internet conversational style standard; if this isn’t the case in Australia please let us know.