A dental therapy profession offers women and men of all ages, races and ethnic backgrounds exceptional dentistry career opportunities to work as clinicians, administrators, educators, researchers, sales and marketing managers, editors and consultants in an array of flexible work schedules.
The public sector oral health services (state/territory government) are the major employers of dental therapists. They work in fixed and mobile clinics promoting oral health care to children. There is a high demand for dental therapists in regional, rural and remote locations in most states of Australia.
Clinicians: Clinical dental therapists work as part of the dental team in a variety of health care settings such as mobile, school and community dental clinics.
Administrator: Dental therapists can work as a coordinator of oral health promotion activities for the state and territory dental health services focused on the major oral health problems faced by Australian communities. They concentrate on interventions that have the greatest good for the greatest number of people that includes collaboration with multiple community partners and evaluation of the impact of the programs on the population’s oral health.
Educator: Dental therapists can apply the skills and knowledge from their work experience in teaching dental students and dental therapy students in the university degree programs. This is a dental career avenue that can lead toward advanced degrees, such as a Masters degree or a PhD.
Researcher: Dental therapists have a significant role to play in epidemiology studies on the occurrence of childhood oral disease and the impact of preventive and restorative interventions. Research is a component of advanced degrees and can be conducted in the public sector oral health services or training program, or within a laboratory setting.
Sales and Marketing Manager: Dental therapists can be employed by product and service companies in the dental industry to lead both professional and public marketing campaigns. The work involves building customer relationships, identifying and presenting the market and the customer requirements as well as organising and participating in trade exhibitions.
Editor: Dental therapists can apply their skills and knowledge toward informing and educating the dental profession on current issues, techniques and research. This position can involve a professional magazine, journal or textbook and requires writing skills, self-motivation, good organisational and time management skills (deadlines), attention to detail and creativity.
Consultant: Dental therapists that have achieved effective disease control through clinical and oral health promotion can choose to share their achievements with dental professionals on the speaker circuit to deliver educational courses. Additionally, dental therapists can be employed by dental companies to create and deliver educational material to healthcare professionals and the public as an Educational Consultant.
Statistics on the Australian labour market - dental hygienist, therapist, technician