Learn about the important requirements, skills, and keywords that should be included in a dentist resume.
Whether you’re a newly licensed dentist or a seasoned professional with years in the field, knowing how to write an effective dentist resume is a skill that’s essential to your success. The right CV will do more than just showcase your licensure, education, and credentials–it will give hiring managers a sense of your commitment to your patients and enthusiasm for the field.
Most dentists work for private practices, which means that the hiring manager is likely to be a fellow dental professional. You may even be communicating directly with a partner in the practice. Therefore, it’s essential to highlight your most relevant skills and qualifications right up front.
In this article, we'll give you an example of an effective resume, explain what to include and delete from your CV, and provide you with a list of skills to include in your application.
Need a hand preparing your dentist resume? We’ve reviewed the best resume writing services to help you. When your dentist resume is all ready to go, you can start applying for roles on ZipRecruiter!
Dentist Resume Example
Hermey D. Elf, DDS
General Dentist
Contact
Email: Hermey.Elf@email.com
Phone: (907)555-1212
The North Pole
Summary
Empathetic and passionate general dentist with 10 years of experience assessing oral health, providing preventative and restorative dental care, and improving patient outcomes in community dental practices. I’m happy with my work and it shows!
Work Experience
Dentist
January 2020-Present
Yukon Dentistry, The North Pole
Provided daily dental care in busy, growing practice. Administered restorative and cosmetic dental treatments including composite and amalgam fillings, crowns, sealants, and implants. Improved patient retention by 15% in six months through personalized follow-up and compassionate care.
Dentist
July 2013-January 2020
Happy Smiles Dental, The Island of Misfit Toys
Helped bring dental care to remote island community. Performed oral health assessments, administered preventative and restorative treatments, and provided patients with dental care guidelines and education.
Education
Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS)
University of the North Pole
Bachelor of Science, Biology
Join The Break Community
University of the North Pole
Licenses
General Dentist, The North Pole, License #123456
Skills
- Four-handed dentistry
- Dental assessments/examinations
- Patient education
- Restorative and cosmetic treatments including fillings, root canals, crowns
- Expertise with AlphDent and DentiMax software
What Is Unique About A Dentist Resume?
Like most resumes for jobs that require extensive education, training, and licensure, dentist resumes focus on a fairly rigid set of requirements. Job seekers in the field of dentistry must make sure to list their degree, e.g. Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) or Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry/Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD), and state licensure. Dentists who practice in a specialty like periodontics, pediatric dentistry, orthodontics, or dental anesthesiology should list their additional licensure.
However, dental resumes should also showcase the candidate’s soft skills. Dentists must have excellent communication and problem-solving skills, as well as compassion and empathy. Given the choice between two equally skilled candidates, dental practices will prefer to hire applicants who work well with patients and team members.
Be sure to emphasize your achievements by using numbers, percentages, etc., to quantify how you’ve helped your previous employers provide good service and retain patients.
What Should Be Included On A Dentist Resume?
An effective resume for a dentist should include information about education, credentials, work history, technical skills, and the ability to work well with others.
Format
Choose a resume format that highlights the most important information, including your related jobs, degree, certifications, and essential skills. For most candidates, this will mean either a chronological resume, which emphasizes work history, or a combination resume, which includes prior jobs in the dental field as well as other features.
Summary Or Objective Statement
You may choose to lead your resume with either an objective statement or a summary/profile. The advantage of choosing a summary or profile statement is that it gives you an opportunity to highlight your relevant skills and qualifications right at the top of the page, where the hiring manager can see it quickly.
Skills And Accomplishments
If you include a section for skills or research, include your most important accomplishments first. So, for example, if you contributed to any publications or received any awards, list the most well-known journal or award first.
What Should Be Left Off A Dentist Resume?
A dentist resume should be focused on your dental work experience, credentials, education, and skill set. Although you don’t necessarily have to restrict your resume to one page, you should be ruthless about cutting out anything that doesn’t show your qualifications.
Leave the following the off your resume:
- Unrelated work experience: You can include dental internships, practicums, or dental assistant jobs, but cut any references to non-dental positions.
- Hobbies and outside interests: Skills and qualifications are more important than personal pursuits for jobs that require a heavy investment in education and training.
- Excessive jargon: When you customize your resume for each position, customize keywords based on the job description in the listing. Avoid including unnecessarily complex terms that might not translate to a new role.
Important Job Skills For Dentists
To provide optimal patient care, dentists need a well-rounded skill set that includes excellent people skills, as well as technical expertise. Include these skills on your resume to impress the hiring manager:
Hard Skills for Dentists
- Dental assessments/examinations
- Fluoride and other preventative treatments
- Fillings, extractions, root canals, crowns, sealants, and implants
- Cosmetic treatments including traditional and laser whitening
- Four-handed dentistry
- CPR/BLS (Basic Life Support) certification by the American Red Cross or American Heart Association
- Proficiency with dental practice management software such as AlphaDent, Data Team DDS, DentiMax, Henry Schein Dentrix, and Windent SQL
Soft Skills for Dentists
- Communication skills
- Compassion, empathy, and emotional intelligence
- Management and leadership skills
- Organizational skills and detail-orientation
- Patience
The Bottom Line
An effective dentist resume showcases your technical skills, compassion and connection with clients, and effectiveness on the job. To make sure your application shows off what you can do, finetune your CV so that it highlights the qualifications most emphasized in the job listing.
Want a second set of eyes on your resume? Check out the best resume writing services. Many offer a free resume review. Be sure to upload your resume to ZipRecruiter’s resume database so that recruiters and employers can contact you for roles that might be a great fit.
