A question that is frequently asked by young students considering pursuing a career in dentistry is as to just what it takes to be a dentist.
It is well placed question, when you come to think of it; because the nature of the dentist's work is such that not everybody can do it well.
Clearly, it takes some special qualities to be a dentist, and those are the ones that the askers of this question are interested in knowing.
Based on the answers that a person gets to this question, they can get into the introspection mode, and try to see whether or not they have that which it takes to be a dentist.
And if it turns out that they don't have it, they may decide to get into another field, or try to see if they can somehow develop those qualities, in order to become dentists.
It is those same qualities, then, that are essential if one is to be a dentist, that we will now proceed to explore.
It is too obvious to state, but we have to start with a mention of the fact that one needs good intellectual ability to become a dentist.
Most dental work may be work that is performed with the hands, but in order to be in a position to perform it correctly, you need a lot of scientific training.
In actual fact, in most jurisdictions, a dentist is considered to be a full-fledged doctor who can even use the title.
Although most of the dentist's work is carried out in the mouth, one still needs to know how the rest of the human body parts interact to be an effective dentist.
To this effect, trainee dentists are put through rigorous training in human anatomy, physiology and biochemistry, before they can even get started on actual dental training.
Needless to mention is the fact that a certain level of intellectual ability is required to cope with this kind of complex units.
At a physical level, a certain level of dexterity is required, if one is to become a dentist.
Dentistry is a science, but some of its aspects are craft-like, meaning that clumsiest of us may not exactly make it in the field.
But this shouldn't be a deterrent to an otherwise well gifted potential dentist, because some of the dexterity manifested by dentists is a result of their training, rather than a result of natural-born ability.
At a spiritual level, a dentist, like any other medical practitioner, has to be a person who is sincerely motivated by the desire to alleviate, or at least lessen, human suffering.
Sincere compassion is important here.
If you go into dentistry for the money alone, you may find some of the suffering you are expected to deal with on a day to day basis too much bear; the money notwithstanding.
Emotionally, a dentist has to be a kind but strong person.
The strength is important because, as with all the other aspects of health-related work, a dentist has to deal with some grisly matters on a day to day basis, and some of those are not for the faint-hearted.
The dentist is also bound to encounter immense amounts of suffering on a day to day basis, and it takes some amount of emotional strength to cope.
But then again, you don't need super-human levels of emotional strength to make it as a dentist.
In any case, your training will help you develop this faculty, as you move from the practical demonstrations in anatomy (often conducted using cadavers) to the theoretical understanding of physiology and onto the practical training in dentistry.
As long as you have some amount of emotional strength to start with, you can gain the rest during the course of your training to be a dentist.