Academic Dentistry: You Might Be Surprised

ABSTRACT

Objective

This article is meant to spark interest in readers of the rich experiences that Academic Dentistry can offer as a career pathway for dentists. Opportunities have evolved in the last 20 years making it more appealing financially full-time or it can be a compatible hybrid with other pathways such as private or corporate dentistry, public health, community clinic dentistry, or research.

Methods

Each of the five authors came to Academic Dentistry at different stages and from diverse expectations in their professional lives. These disparate histories are presented to provide a full and rich perspective on Academic Dentistry. Both challenges and rewards in academic are discussed.

Conclusions

Academic Dentistry, whether entered early or late in one’s professional life, or in combination with another pathway, may provide opportunity for renewal of one’s interest and enjoyment in the dental profession. With many individuals choosing to stay in the workforce longer, academics may increase longevity of career as well. With data indicating the actual shortage of dental faculty and the continuing expansion among dental schools, opportunities to join academics are available.

KEYWORDS:

• Academic dentistry
• dental faculty
• dental education
• faculty recruitment
• hybrid dental career

I Always Wanted to Teach

One of our authors had a passion for teaching early in life; she always knew she would be a teacher. She loves interaction with people and possesses an enthusiastic, infectious personality. She began teaching right after finishing dental school in India in 1989. She served as a clinical instructor from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and practiced as an associate dentist in the evenings 6–9 p.m. Her professional journey continued after her marriage and move to the U.S. in 1994. She received her DDS in Michigan followed by a Hospital Dentistry Residency in California and then a stent in her own private practice in Arizona for 10 years. A family move back to California in 2010 allowed her to return to her first love – teaching.

In a chance encounter, while commuting by train to San Francisco, a couple of dental students encouraged her to apply to teach at their school, Pacific Dugoni School of Dentistry. By now, she was fully aware that the financial rewards of teaching would be modest compared to private practice. She also understood that a scarcity of suitable mentors poses a significant roadblock for women pursuing dental faculty positions.¹ With limited female and minority mentors in senior leadership roles, it was difficult to find those who could provide guidance navigating academia.² Fortunately, many institutions are actively working to improve diversity and inclusion to overcome these mentorship gaps.^3,4 Despite these challenges, this author believed she would be personally rewarded by the interaction with her students and colleagues. Her lifelong dream of becoming a teacher never wavered, and she contacted Pacific, beginning part-time, and by 2013, she became full-time faculty.

As a full-time tenure track faculty, her typical day involves a wide range of activities: course management-related responsibilities, directing multidisciplinary seminars on medical-dental content such as “Dental management of patients with a liver transplant”, grading student assignments, communicating with students, faculty, and support staff either in person or by e-mail, serving on University and National Educator committees, and of course, scholarship (a requirement of full-time faculty).

She now attests that beyond the fulfillment for her love of teaching, her academic career has been immensely rewarding. She has connected with like-minded peers across the nation through the American Dental Association (ADA) and the American Dental Education Association (ADEA). Her leadership skills have grown through chairing the ADEA Section on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, serving on National Board test writing committees at the ADA in Chicago, and chairing the Faculty/Student Ethics Committee at Pacific Dugoni. She has also traveled and represented Pacific Dugoni, visiting the Guanghua School of Stomatology in China, giving a series of restorative lectures to senior dental students and residents. She has also completed her Masters in Innovative Education in the Health Care Professions with partial financial support from the dental school.

Teaching Along with Practicing Had Not Occurred to Me

A second author as an undergraduate had considered teaching science or becoming a clinician. It did not occur to her that one might combine those careers. An excellent dental student, graduating in 2000 with OKU honors, a department chair offered her a one day per week teaching position in restorative dentistry. She resisted at first – the position did not pay much, and she had living costs and loan concerns. She was intrigued though and decided to give it a try along with working outside clinically. It turned out to be a natural fit. Teaching in the simulation lab was akin to helping her classmates as a dental student. In short order, she was recruited to lecture, and after a few years, she was promoted to a three day per week, non-tenure track position.

She has been teaching at Pacific Dugoni for just over 20 years as well as continuing to practice clinically outside. “It has been a joy”, she remarks. Each day or week is different, so describing a typical day is difficult. She has been a first-year course director, has taught in the clinic and a variety of preclinical courses, has collaborated with Stanford researchers, written a book chapter, presented at conferences, collaborated on scholarly articles, traveled abroad in service missions with students and stepped in for some administrative responsibilities when necessary. Her position has changed as she evolved. Early in her career, the university provided growth and mentorship opportunities that she would not have had in private practice. Over the years invaluable relationships with students and faculty were developed. She admits, “Academic dentistry offered a component of my career that has enriched my life immeasurably”.

Today there are financial incentives like loan repayment offered to full-time faculty – something that is of great benefit to new graduates wishing to make academic dentistry part of their career.⁵ She believes every dentist is a professional developed in the halls of academic dentistry and all can return to offer their skills at any time in their career. It is just like coming home. She has taught with a variety of colleagues over the years, with incredibly diverse skill sets for leading, teaching and mentoring dental students. Some have a natural talent for research, others for leading in an administrative capacity. She notes the collective life and practice experiences of faculty are what make the Academic Dentistry environment so rich for the dental students and truthfully, rich for the participating faculty as well.

I Am Retired – Now What, a Second Career?

Our third author was in solo private practice for 30 years. He began teaching after being invited by an endodontist friend after the sale of his practice. After clinical teaching for a short time one day per week, he was asked to serve as lead clinical faculty in one of four student group practices. This assignment was a good fit as it was so similar to running a private practice. He had no long-term intent other than staying busy and engaged in his profession after many years of practice. Over time, the university environment became addictive. It was positive, collegial, and exciting. He loved the youthfulness and optimism of the students. Part of the group practice leadership position required outcome assessments resulting in statistics and reports. These led to publications, posters, and presentations. Within a couple of years as a result, he was offered and decided to accept a tenure-track position which included a move to a position of course directing and curriculum design.

Now, 20 years later this author is a full-time tenured professor with both teaching and leadership responsibilities. He has served as a group practice leader, course director, interim chair, and now currently a vice-chair. There have been travels to multiple cities throughout the U.S. for ADEA meetings and presentations; many trips to Chicago for the ADA National Board test construction committees; visits to Jamaica and Guatemala as part of Pacific Dugoni’s global student learning experiences; and a dental faculty exchange to Pharohs University in Alexandria, Egypt. He has also published extensively and given invited presentations. The first 30 professional years of private practice were enjoyable, but his last 20 in Academic Dentistry have been an amazing and fulfilling experience.

Looking back on the 50 years of his professional career, our third author feels immensely grateful for his good fortune to have two careers-one in the private sector and a second in Academic Dentistry. Based on his experiences, he feels the need to express to the next generation of dentists the potential fulfillment and satisfaction that involvement in academics can bring.⁶ Opportunities for advancement in academics are certainly available as this author’s career demonstrates.

It Has Opened a Whole New World

Our fourth author’s experience may be of interest to you as well. One of her patients in her dental practice mentioned that a friend loved teaching at dental school and suggested that she as a dentist might enjoy it as well. The author questioned her own qualifications, being out of school only 4 years at that point but took the leap and began teaching one day per week to first-year students, eventually adding a second day to teach second-year students. Her first assignment was teaching clinical diagnostic workups and treatment planning. It was then that she realized she had valuable “nuggets” to share with the students. Part-time pay was modest, but it turned out to be a nice fit. Her typical day in private practice began with a team huddle at 7:45 a.m. followed by a full schedule of patients from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. In the world of academia, it was an 8–5 commitment as well, but the activities varied depending on the day. One might be supervising simulation or clinic care one day or part of the day; another day you may be giving a lecture, facilitating a seminar, or listening to one of your colleague’s presentations to ensure continuity of content.

After several years, life intervened – a growing family and busier private practice required her to step away from teaching for 8 years. Encountering a previous teaching mentor at the San Francisco CDA meeting after this eight-year hiatus from teaching, the author was asked, “when are you coming back?”, and then re-committed to teaching one day per week. It was during this time that she completed an MPH degree and transitioned from clinical teaching to lecture and seminars with particular emphasis on the Oral and Systemic Health Connection, Health Literacy, and Social Determinants of Health. She also became active in Pacific Dugoni’s community outreach activities. Connection to an academic institution allows a professional to participate in programs that can impact the trajectory of dental education.

Her expertise in these areas was noted by school administration, and she was appointed the Director of the Pacific Health Care Collaborative in Sacramento – a full-time position. For this author and dentist, academics has opened a whole new world. A part-time teaching position unexpectedly morphed into a new administrative leadership role where she can perhaps affect even more lives than in her previous private practice. Another magic of Academic Dentistry is the doors it may open in your professional life. “Never could I have imagined that my experience as a private practice owner and myriad of positions as part-time faculty could have prepared me for this new role. I’m truly living my best life”.

Including Academics Has Provided Career and Family Life Balance

Our fifth author’s professional journey began following completion of dental school and residency in India in 2002. She then migrated to the United States and completed her Masters and Fellowship in Orofacial Pain at Rutgers University. She has been board certified by the American Board of Orofacial Pain since 2007. Returning to India after her specialty training, she served as a full-time faculty in a dental college in India and later shifted to corporate hospital dentistry and private practice.

A meeting with her mentor in 2018 (much as our fourth author experienced) ignited her to pursue her dream of combining research, academics at Eastman Institute for Oral Health with her corporate hospital dentistry and private practice in India. As an adjunct faculty, her responsibilities include teaching assignments, research, and publication-related work. It has enabled her to grow professionally by applying knowledge derived from translational research into patient centered scientific care and develop collaborations with peers across the world. She has published in several peer-reviewed journals, presented papers, lectures at international conferences, and serves on the editorial board of scientific journals. It has allowed her to achieve a balance between pursuing her dreams and passion for academics with clinical practice and family life. This author’s story illustrates the richness of involvement in the dental profession that academic dentistry may afford.

Conclusion

We trust that the authors’ individual stories opened your mind to the richness of opportunity that Academic Dentistry affords (Figure 1). Many of us in our professional training may not have recognized the challenge and joy that dental education and teaching may provide. For others, perhaps our dental teachers did not inspire us to consider academics.

Figure 1. Career Trajectories of the Authors.

People are living longer and may wish to extend their professional careers or are simply looking for a change of pace or daily activities.⁷ An academic career of course has challenges and we have discussed some of those. There is less pay per diem versus private practice, long hours, politics of course when working with many educated and focused professionals in an institution, stress of learning to teach and engage with a younger cohort, and possible commute issues if the dental institution is not convenient geographically. It is hoped it is apparent that when you love what you do, each of these challenges pales.

For new dental graduates, with the high debt of dental education, a career in dental academia can be a financially rewarding choice in the long run by significantly reducing educational debt through competitive loan repayment programs. The Health Resources and Services Administration and National Institutes of Health offer programs providing up to $20,000 and $35,000 per year, respectively, in loan repayment for those committed to advancing dentistry through teaching and research.^8,9 Many dental schools also offer excellent tuition remission benefits covering partial or full tuition costs for faculty as well as tuition exchange programs for dependents.¹⁰ Between loan repayment programs and tuition assistance, academic dentistry provides unique opportunities to alleviate educational debt while training future dentists and driving advancements in the field. Coupling passion for education and research with financial incentives makes dental academia an appealing option for advancing your career.

In a hybrid career, the private practice income can mitigate the more modest part-time teaching compensation. It is notable that for senior full-time faculty, financial remuneration is respectable The 2018-2019 Survey of Dental School Faculty (non-Administrative positions)¹¹ reported average salaries for full-time faculty in U.S. Dental Schools. The salaries increased by rank averaging from approximately $85K for Instructor rank, 113K for Assistant Professor, 130K for Associate Professor, and 160K for professor. Full-time faculty at most institutions also receive medical and retirement benefits. Dental educators often have longer careers since the physical strain of direct patient care is reduced by the variety of activities in an academic schedule discussed earlier.

A change of pace or new activities within the same profession can reignite enthusiasm and energy toward one’s work. There are many routes to enter academics—there is no formula. Interestingly, each of the five authors was drawn or invited in by a mentor, an acquaintance, or referral. Currently, there actually is a shortage of faculty. A 2016 publication in the Journal of Dental Education discussed the continued vacant budgeted positions in U.S. Dental Schools¹²—no invitation needed. Data from a 2016 ADEA Policy Brief indicate that over 40% of dental institution faculty are over 60 years of age. With retirements, this vacancy problem will continue to be a problem.¹³ If you think you may be interested, reach out, visit a school, or speak with a colleague who teaches. Joining our ranks will support the future of our respected profession and will enhance your professional life as well.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Terry Hoover

Terry Hoover received his DDS from the University of California San Francisco School of Dentistry. He currently serves as a Professor at the University of Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry and is Vice Chair of the Department of Diagnostic Sciences.

Parvati Iyer

Parvati Iyer received her DDS from the University of Michigan and an MA Ed from Benerd College, University of the Pacific. She serves as Course Director in the Integrated Clinical Sciences curriculum strand at the University of Pacific, Arthur Dugoni School of Dentistry.

Laura Reid

Laura Reid received her DDS from the University of Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry. She currently serves as an Associate Professor in the Preventative and Reconstructive Department at the University of Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry.

Kim Benton

Kim Benton received her DDS from Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry and her MPH from Capella University. She currently serves as the Director of the Pacific Health Care Collaborative and Sacramento Programs at the University of Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry.

Mythili Kalladka

Mythili Kalladka received her BDS in India followed by an MSD and Fellowship in Orofacial Pain at Rutgers University. She currently serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Eastman Institute for Oral Health of the University of Rochester.