Dentists
diagnose, treat, prevent and control disorders of the teeth and mouth.
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Full NOC Description
Dentists diagnose, treat, prevent and control disorders of the teeth and mouth. They work in private practice or may be employed in hospitals, clinics, public health facilities or universities.
Main Duties
This group performs some or all of the following duties:
Dentists
- Examine patients' teeth, gums and surrounding tissue to diagnose disease, injury and decay and plan appropriate preventative or corrective treatment
- Provide general dental care such as cleaning teeth, filling cavities, performing root canals, applying veneers, and fitting crowns, bridges and dentures
- Restore, extract and replace diseased and decayed teeth
- Instruct patients on oral hygiene and preventive dental care
- Monitor patient progress to identify changes or the progression of dental disease
- Prescribe antibiotics or other medication as required
- Bleach, clean, or polish teeth to restore natural color
- Supervise dental hygienists, dental assistants and other staff
- Refer patients to dental specialists as needed for recommended procedures
- May provide basic orthodontic treatments with additional training.
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons
- Collaborate with other professionals, such as restorative dentists and orthodontists, to plan treatment
- Administer general and local anesthetics
- Perform surgery to prepare the mouth for dental implants or to aid in the regeneration of deficient bone and gum tissues
- Remove impacted, damaged, and non-restorable teeth, as well as tumors and other abnormal growths of the oral and facial regions
- Perform surgery on the mouth and jaws to treat conditions, such as cleft lip, palate, and jaw growth problems
- Provide emergency treatment of facial injuries including facial lacerations, intra-oral lacerations, and fractured facial bones
- Treat infections of the oral cavity, salivary glands, jaws, and neck.
Orthodontists
- Examine patients' teeth, gums and surrounding tissue to assess abnormalities of jaw development, tooth position, and other dental-facial structures
- Diagnose teeth and jaw or other dental-facial abnormalities
- Propose treatment plan for conditions such as underbites, overbites, crowding and others
- Design and fabricate appliances, such as space maintainers, retainers, and labial and lingual arch wires
- Fit dental appliances in patients' mouths to alter the position and relationship of teeth and jaws or to realign teeth
- Coordinate orthodontic services with other dental and medical professionals
- Educate patients about improving and maintaining orthodontic care, and promoting routine dental health care.
Prosthodontists
- Examine patient's teeth, gums and jaws to diagnose disease, injury and decay, and plan appropriate treatment to enhance patients' dental and facial aesthetics, or correct orofacial problems
- Replace missing teeth and associated oral structures with permanent fixtures, such as implant-supported prostheses, crowns and bridges, or removable fixtures, such as dentures
- Restore function and improve aesthetics for traumatic injury victims, or individuals with diseases or birth defects
- Design and fabricate dental prostheses, or supervise dental technicians who construct the devices
- Fit prostheses to patients, making any necessary adjustments and modifications
- Restore damaged teeth with materials such as fillings, veneers and crowns
- Collaborate with general dentists, dental specialists, and other health professionals to develop solutions to dental and oral health concerns.
Also Known As
- dentist
- endodontist
- oral and maxillofacial surgeon
- oral pathologist
- oral radiologist
Employment Requirements
Dentists
- Two to four years of pre-dentistry university studies or, in Quebec, completion of a college program in sciences and a university degree from a recognized dental program are required.
- Licensing by a provincial or territorial regulatory body is required.
- Dentists in general practice can move into a specialized practice through advanced training.
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons
- Four to seven years of specialty residency training in oral and maxillofacial surgery are required.
Orthodontists
- Three years advanced orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics program accredited by the Canadian Dental Association is required.
Prosthodontists
- Three years advanced prosthodontics program accredited by the Canadian Dental Association is required.
Provincial Regulation
- Provincially Regulated: Yes
Regulation Body
The following graph shows the percentage of men and women working in this occupation in New Brunswick.
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The following graph shows the breakdown of all persons working in this occupation in New Brunswick by age group.
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The following graph shows the breakdown of all persons working in this occupation in New Brunswick by highest level of education achieved.
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The following graph shows the industry groups in which the largest shares of persons working in this occupation in New Brunswick are employed. Small percentages for all top three industry groups may suggest employment for this occupation is widely distributed amongst many industry groups.
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The following graph shows the breakdown of all persons employed in this occupation in New Brunswick by which economic region they reside in.
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Economic Regions
The following map displays New Brunswick’s five economic regions. An economic region (ER) is a grouping of counties, created as a standard unit for analysis of regional economic activity across Canada.
The following graph shows the average salary of all persons employed in this occupation in each of New Brunswick’s five economic regions.
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Economic Regions
The following map displays New Brunswick’s five economic regions. An economic region (ER) is a grouping of counties, created as a standard unit for analysis of regional economic activity across Canada.
The following represents the median hourly wage of all persons employed in this occupation in each of New Brunswick’s five economic regions.
The following shows the average salary of everyone who worked full-time and year-round in this occupation across each of the Atlantic Provinces and nationally.
The following represents the number of job openings that are expected to occur in this occupation over the next three and ten years respectively, broken down by openings expected to result from growth (“new jobs”) and openings expected to result from attrition (death and retirements).
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