How to become a dentist that keeps mouths healthy and strong!

Visiting the dentist can cause stress and anxiety for many. While this is a fairly common fear, a dentist’s main objective is to keep your teeth healthy and strong while maintaining good oral health.

The team at Alexandria Smiles celebrates Dr. Erick Nolting by giving a quick background of Dental history. Together, let’s consider what it takes to be a great dentist.

Dentists Have Been Around A Long Time

Tracing back to ancient Egypt, the very first documented dentist was named Hesi-Re, known as the ‘doctor of teeth’.  While dental care has changed a lot since the days of scrubbing one’s teeth with a powder made from ox hooves and eggshells, maintaining dental health remains as important as ever.

Did you know…?

Before there were ‘dentists,’ barbers and blacksmiths used to perform dental work. They were the only people considered to have enough experience working with the necessary tools!

Combining art and science, the field of dentistry is as helpful as it is personally rewarding, although it takes a huge commitment to achieve a dental degree. Primary duties that a dentist regularly performs include treating cavities, prescribing medications, diagnosing serious issues of the mouth and throat (like oral cancer), fixing damaged teeth, and creating models for dental appliances, and much more.

Just to become a dentist, individuals pursuing a DDS or DMD have a long list of prerequisites that are first needed to complete. According to the University of Minnesota alone, these dentistry ‘must-haves’ are:

• General Biology

• English

• General Principles of Chemistry

• Physics

• Organic Chemistry

• Biochemistry

• Mathematics (algebra, precalculus, computer science, or statistics)

• Human Psychology (general human psychology, child and adolescent human psychology, or business psychology)

Adding elective courses such as cell biology, human anatomy, physiology and more, students then go on to dental school where they study an even wider range of dental-specific topics such as:

• Oral Anatomy

• Treatment Planning

• Oral Surgery

• Pediatric Dentistry

• Ethics

• Diagnosis

• Medicine

Throughout the United States, there are 66 different dental schools. After receiving their bachelor’s degree and completing dental school, eight years of full time study are needed along with a passing DAT (Dental Admissions Test) score from the American Dental Association (ADA) to officially receive their DDS or DMD and become a general dentist.

Did you know…?

The difference between a DDS and DMD goes back to the 1800s! The first dental school in the United States—the Baltimore College of Medicine founded in 1840—began granting the popular DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery). Afterward, Harvard too started a dental school which granted a DMD (which, in latin, translates ‘Doctor of Medicinae Dentariae’ to a ‘Dental Medicine Degree’). Individual universities now choose which degree to grant, though DDS is the predominate degree offered, meaning the difference between them is in title alone!

For those wishing to practice oral and maxillofacial surgery (those handling conditions and injuries that affect the head neck, mouth, jaw, and face), can enter programs after dental school to receive an MD (Medical Doctor) degree. Programs like these often last 6 years and require additional clinical experience from hospitals.

Some dentists go on to learn even more about specific dental issues and other health needs. Holding an interest in helping patients with Sleep Apnea, Dr. Nolting has gone on to achieve Diplomate status from the Academy of Clinical Sleep Disorders Disciplines (ACSDD) which recognizes extra training on the subject. For a dentist to become a diplomate, they must take classes as well as pass a thorough examination which must then be approved by an advisory board.

Talk about a lot of work!

More Than ‘Just a Dentist’

Have you ever heard someone say that dentists aren’t real doctors? Throughout the years, this common misconception has frequented pop culture with plots on shows like Seinfeld and movies like the blockbuster hit, The Hangover.

We’re here to tell you that this widespread rumor couldn’t be further from the truth!

Aside from the wealth of knowledge and education that dentists have to procure as outlined above, practicing as a dentist requires in depth understanding of the body. Just like doctors in hospitals, dentists treat illnesses of the human body and are familiar with general surgery, pathology, pharmacology, physiology, and biochemistry.

Did you know…?

Dentistry is one of the most difficult forms of surgery to perform. Requiring intricate, subtle hand movements and incredible concentration, dentists are the only surgeons who have to operate on patients that are awake on a daily basis!

They also have to understand allopathic medicines and medical histories. Conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, gastrointestinal problems, infections, and cardiovascular issues are vital for dentists to know when creating a proper treatment plan according to all facets of one’s health.

Dentistry is an art as well! Creating crowns that blend with your natural tooth color along with building guards and other dental fittings requires a trained eye and a creative mind. For dentists that also work in Orthodontics (dentistry that deals with correction of positioning and placement of jaw and teeth), this artistic approach is often called upon when designing treatment plans and teeth fixtures.

Putting together all of these things proves that there’s a lot more to being ‘just a dentist’ than naysayers realize!

6 Questions with Dr. Nolting

To learn more about becoming a dentist, we asked our very own Dr. Erick Nolting to weigh in. Check out his answers to six questions about his work and why he chose to become a dentist!

Q: How did you get into the dental field?

A: I grew up in the dentistry field as my dad, Dr. Frederick Nolting in Byron, MN, is also a dentist. I liked getting to know people and interacting with them and seeing my father help others with their dental health. He inspired me to help others in the same capacity.

Q: Is there any truth to the old adage that “you can’t lie to a dentist,” in other words, do my teeth always tell the truth?

A: Well, I can tell if people floss or not and if they are a coffee drinker. There aren’t many big secrets you can keep from a dentist—at least as far as your teeth are concerned.

Q: You have a particular interest in Sleep Apnea. Why was this a topic you chose to focus on?

A: The more I learned about good and bad sleep, and how it impacts many other areas of human health, I realized that this is something that I can do to help people improve their overall health.

Q: What is the most important step to becoming a successful dentist?

A:  Focusing on the personalized needs of each person - their specific and unique healthcare needs. Going above and beyond to help others is personally rewarding, too. For instance, it’s been especially fulfilling for me to donate dental care services to veterans through the Eagles Healing Nest program in Sauk Centre – it’s a non-profit organization committed to meeting the needs of veterans, service members, and their families who suffer from the many after-effects of war.

Q: Referrals are important to you; so important that you’ve been encouraging them by giving away a car every other year. What gave you this idea and how did you go about following through with it?

A: A referral is the best compliment we can receive. Developing trust and rapport with each person we come in contact with is step one. I have always loved cars as a sideline hobby, and the Win Our Car event is a great way to encourage those referrals while giving back in a cool way to our customers.

Holding a patient appreciation event like this is a fun way to get together and have an entertaining night out with our patients—and at the end of the night, someone drives home in a free car!

Q: What is the best advice you have for young people looking at becoming a dentist?

A: If a young person wants to become a dentist, I would say work hard and do well on your undergrad studies, but it’s also really important to maintain a healthy balance with outside interests.

I see too many dentists where that’s all they are. Becoming a dentist shouldn’t change who you are. There’s more to life than just being a dentist, so it’s important to have those outside interests that help you become a well-rounded person. Be yourself in whatever you do.  

There you have it!

Celebrating Dentists and Dentistry

Being a dentist is hard work, though the job itself is filled with personal rewards. Helping others maintain a smile that they are proud of is one of the fulfillments that dentists are most passionate about—just like Dr. Nolting.

So, at your next appointment, don’t forget to thank your dentist for all of his or her efforts and dedication. After all, dentists work to make you smile, so why not make them smile too?

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