Dentistry Professor
The faculty member who teaches dentistry in a dental school — covering clinical and basic science content, supervising students in pre-clinical and clinical rotations, and often continuing to practice. Half academic faculty, half practicing or recently practicing dentist.
What it's like to be a Dentistry Professor
Most days tend to involve a blend of classroom and small-group teaching, clinical supervision, and continued clinical practice — leading didactic sessions, working with students on technique and clinical decision-making, and seeing patients yourself. You'll often spend part of the time on scholarly work — research, curriculum development, or board exam preparation support — that feeds academic advancement.
The harder part is often balancing the multiple demands of teaching, clinical care, and scholarship simultaneously, and the salary differential between academic and full clinical practice. You'll typically work with students at varying clinical readiness levels, while staying credible clinically with the patients and colleagues who depend on you.
People who tend to thrive here are clinically grounded, scholarly, and willing to invest in the long arc of academic work. The trade-off is the financial and time tradeoffs of academic dentistry compared to private practice. If you find satisfaction in shaping the next generation of dentists, the work can carry meaning that pure clinical practice doesn't.
Where this role sits in the broader career landscape — and where it can take you.
Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
How this category is changing
Skills & Requirements
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