Dentists, General
Examine, diagnose, and treat diseases, injuries, and malformations of teeth and gums. May treat diseases of nerve, pulp, and other dental tissues affecting oral hygiene and retention of teeth. May fit dental appliances or provide preventive care.
Most important skills
- Critical Thinking
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Active Learning
- Monitoring
- Social Perceptiveness
Key knowledge
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Customer and Personal Service
- Biology
- Administration and Management
- English Language
- Chemistry
- Psychology
- Personnel and Human Resources
What the work involves
- Administer anesthetics to limit the amount of pain experienced by patients during procedures.
- Examine teeth, gums, and related tissues, using dental instruments, x-rays, or other diagnostic equipment, to evaluate dental health, diagnose diseases or abnormalities, and plan appropriate treatments.
- Formulate plan of treatment for patient's teeth and mouth tissue.
- Advise or instruct patients regarding preventive dental care, the causes and treatment of dental problems, or oral health care services.
- Design, make, or fit prosthodontic appliances, such as space maintainers, bridges, or dentures, or write fabrication instructions or prescriptions for denturists or dental technicians.
- Diagnose and treat diseases, injuries, or malformations of teeth, gums, or related oral structures and provide preventive or corrective services.
- Fill pulp chamber and canal with endodontic materials.
- Write prescriptions for antibiotics or other medications.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Investigative, Realistic, Social.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Doctoral Degree (61.9% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (42.9%)
- On-the-job training
- None or short demonstration (36.6%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 5: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Dentists, General is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very high | Higher on contact with others than 97% of occupations compared | 99% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | High | Higher on dealing with the public than 77% of occupations compared | 72% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Very high | Higher on teamwork than 90% of occupations compared | 82% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very high | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 99% of occupations compared | 100% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very low | Lower on time pressure than 84% of occupations compared | 31% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very high | Higher on conflict situations than 82% of occupations compared | 42% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 75% of occupations compared | 54% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 94% of occupations compared | 72% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very low
- Conflict situations: very high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: very high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 1.12%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0%
- Contact with others most of the time: 0%
- Constant contact with others: 98.88%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 9.3%
- Fairly important: 15.44%
- Important: 1.71%
- Very important: 1.24%
- Extremely important: 72.3%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2026
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 7.11%
- Very important: 10.42%
- Extremely important: 82.47%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2026
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 0%
- Some freedom: 0%
- A lot of freedom: 100%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2026
Time pressure
- Never: 10.42%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 18.6%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 27.49%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 12.79%
- Every day: 30.7%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2026
Conflict situations
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 21.96%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 41.62%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 9.02%
- Every day: 27.4%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 18.06%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 54.47%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 8.06%
- Every day: 19.41%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2026
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 2.96%
- Fairly serious: 9.3%
- Serious: 13.26%
- Very serious: 2.36%
- Extremely serious: 72.12%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2026
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O*NET-SOC 29-1021.00 · SOC 29-1021 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8