Top 12 General Dentist Skills to Put on Your Resume
In a crowded dental job market, a crisp, compelling resume matters. Showcasing a broad, balanced skill set signals technical strength and flexible, patient-centered care. The right mix tells a story: you treat, you plan, you prevent, and you communicate—all while keeping outcomes front and center.
General Dentist Skills
- Endodontics
- Prosthodontics
- Periodontics
- Orthodontics
- Dental Implants
- CAD/CAM
- Digital Radiography
- Invisalign
- Laser Dentistry
- Sedation Dentistry
- Cosmetic Dentistry
- Oral Surgery
1. Endodontics
Endodontics focuses on diseases of the dental pulp and periapical tissues. Root canal therapy, retreatment, and apical surgery fall under this umbrella to save teeth that might otherwise be lost.
Why It's Important
Pain relief, tooth preservation, and infection control. Mastering endodontics lets you retain natural dentition and prevent downstream complications that spiral into costly, complex care.
How to Improve Endodontics Skills
Keep learning: Add CE on instrumentation, irrigation protocols, and obturation techniques; refresh diagnosis principles (pulp testing, CBCT case selection) regularly.
See more, do better: Use dental operating microscopes and CBCT when indicated to locate canals, manage calcifications, and reduce surprises.
Communicate clearly: Pre-op expectations, intra-op updates, and precise post-op instructions improve compliance and outcomes—and calm nerves.
Better vision, sharper diagnosis, steadier hands. Patients feel it immediately.
How to Display Endodontics Skills on Your Resume
2. Prosthodontics
Prosthodontics restores function and esthetics with crowns, bridges, dentures, veneers, and implant restorations—planning, fit, and occlusion all intertwined.
Why It's Important
You rebuild what’s missing. That means better chewing, clearer speech, and smiles patients actually want to show. Thoughtful prosth elevates everyday dentistry.
How to Improve Prosthodontics Skills
Targeted CE: Focus on occlusion, prep design, full-arch protocols, and material selection (lithium disilicate vs zirconia, when and why).
Hands-on reps: Workshops and study clubs for provisionals, bite records, and esthetic mock-ups—muscle memory matters.
Digital savvy: Scan, design, and refine with CAD/CAM and 3D printing; learn calibration and shade strategies to avoid remakes.
Photograph everything: Standardized views help communicate with labs, track shade, and build a portfolio that speaks for you.
Mentorship and feedback: Case review with experienced prosth colleagues tightens margins—literally and figuratively.
How to Display Prosthodontics Skills on Your Resume
3. Periodontics
Periodontics centers on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of gum disease and the supporting bone. It’s the foundation—literally—of long-term oral health.
Why It's Important
Healthy tissues stabilize teeth and implants. Control inflammation, preserve bone, and everything else you do lasts longer and looks better.
How to Improve Periodontics Skills
Update your framework: Use current staging and grading for periodontitis; document probing depths, bleeding, recession, mobility, and risk factors (smoking, diabetes).
Sharpen therapy: Master non-surgical therapy, locally delivered antimicrobials, and when to refer for regenerative or resective procedures.
Leverage technology: Ultrasonic instrumentation, site-specific lasers where appropriate, and high-quality imaging for diagnosis and maintenance planning.
Prevention first: Tailored home care plans, recall intervals based on risk, and motivational interviewing to actually change habits.
Team approach: Coordinate with periodontists for advanced cases; co-manage to keep patients on track.
How to Display Periodontics Skills on Your Resume
4. Orthodontics
Orthodontics corrects malocclusions and misaligned jaws using braces, clear aligners, and adjunctive appliances. Function and esthetics ride together.
Why It's Important
Straighter teeth are easier to clean, kinder to joints, and far more predictable for restorative work. Confidence often follows.
How to Improve Orthodontics Skills
Structured education: CE in diagnosis, cephalometrics, growth assessment, and clear aligner biomechanics (attachments, IPR, staging).
Digital workflow: Embrace digital impressions, 3D planning, and model printing to tighten case predictability.
Know your limits: Partner with orthodontic specialists for complex skeletal or multidisciplinary cases; learn by co-treating.
Systems that track: Use software to monitor aligner wear, appointment cadence, and refinements without chaos.
Patient buy-in: Clear visuals and chairside demos lead to better compliance—and better finishes.
How to Display Orthodontics Skills on Your Resume
5. Dental Implants
Implants are biocompatible fixtures placed in bone to support crowns, bridges, or overdentures, restoring form and function where teeth are missing.
Why It's Important
They protect adjacent teeth, stabilize bite forces, preserve bone through loading, and deliver natural-looking results that hold up over time.
How to Improve Dental Implants Skills
Plan precisely: Combine CBCT with digital wax-ups for prosthetically driven placement; use surgical guides when it matters.
Choose wisely: Understand surface treatments, connection types, and restorative space—match systems to case demands.
Go gentle: Minimally invasive approaches and soft-tissue respect reduce morbidity and speed healing.
Customize the top end: 3D print surgical guides and design custom abutments for soft-tissue support and proper emergence profiles.
Keep studying: Bone biology, immediate vs delayed protocols, grafting options, and complication management never stop evolving.
Think long term: Maintenance plans, peri-implantitis risk control, and occlusion checks keep implants out of trouble.
How to Display Dental Implants Skills on Your Resume
6. CAD/CAM
CAD/CAM lets you scan, design, and mill or print restorations in-office—crowns, onlays, veneers, even small bridges—with tight fits and faster delivery.
Why It's Important
Precision, speed, and control. Same-day dentistry boosts patient satisfaction and practice flow while reducing remakes.
How to Improve CAD/CAM Skills
Training that sticks: Dive into system-specific courses; practice scanning strategies and margin marking until it’s second nature.
Dial in your hardware: Keep mills, scanners, and furnaces calibrated; track bur wear and sintering cycles to prevent surprises.
Material mastery: Know when to pick zirconia vs lithium disilicate vs hybrid ceramics; adjust prep design and thickness accordingly.
Workflow discipline: Templates for design, shade mapping, and glazing reduce variability when the schedule gets loud.
Share and compare: Swap settings and results with peers; small tweaks can unlock big improvements.
How to Display CAD/CAM Skills on Your Resume
7. Digital Radiography
Digital sensors replace film, delivering instant images with reduced radiation and powerful tools for enhancement, storage, and sharing.
Why It's Important
Clear diagnostics, lower dose, faster decisions. That’s better care in fewer steps.
How to Improve Digital Radiography Skills
Right gear, right settings: High-quality sensors, proper kVp/mA/exposure times, and rectangular collimation cut dose without losing detail.
Calibrate and maintain: Routine checks for drift and damage; protect sensors with barriers and careful handling.
Optimize technique: Standardize positioning, use thyroid collars when appropriate, and follow ALARA/ALADA principles.
Train the team: Consistent capture protocols, radiation safety refreshers, and image enhancement that helps—but never distorts.
Quality assurance: Periodic audits of image quality, retake rates, and exposure logs keep standards honest.
How to Display Digital Radiography Skills on Your Resume
8. Invisalign
Invisalign is a clear aligner system used to correct malocclusion with removable, nearly invisible trays—planned digitally and updated in stages.
Why It's Important
Discreet treatment expands acceptance. When compliance stays high, outcomes often match traditional options for suitable cases.
How to Improve Invisalign Skills
Nail the plan: Comprehensive records, detailed staging, and precise attachment design make refinements fewer and finishes cleaner.
Monitor wear: Frequent check-ins, photo updates, and tools that track compliance keep cases on schedule.
Keep learning: Add CE on complex movements, elastics with aligners, and finishing strategies for stubborn rotations.
How to Display Invisalign Skills on Your Resume
9. Laser Dentistry
Dental lasers (diode, Er:YAG, Nd:YAG, CO2) can aid in soft-tissue sculpting, bacterial reduction, and select hard-tissue procedures. Less bleeding, often less discomfort, and tidy margins.
Why It's Important
Precision with minimal trauma can shorten appointments and recovery. Patients notice the gentler feel.
How to Improve Laser Dentistry Skills
Formal training: Complete certification courses and device-specific education; safety protocols and eyewear are non-negotiable.
Case selection: Know where lasers shine (frenectomies, troughing, sulcular decontamination) and where traditional tools still win.
Integrate digitally: Combine with CAD/CAM and high-quality imaging for precise margins and predictable tissue behavior.
Inform patients: Set realistic expectations—less vibration and bleeding, yes; painless always, no.
How to Display Laser Dentistry Skills on Your Resume
10. Sedation Dentistry
Sedation uses medications to reduce anxiety and discomfort—from minimal and moderate levels to deep sedation and general anesthesia, depending on training, equipment, and regulations.
Why It's Important
It opens doors for anxious patients and enables longer, more efficient visits when treatment is complex.
How to Improve Sedation Dentistry Skills
Education and permits: Complete state-required training and maintain credentials for the specific sedation level you provide.
Safety first: Continuous monitoring (pulse oximetry; capnography where indicated), emergency kits and drugs, and rehearsed response protocols.
Patient selection: Medical histories, ASA status, fasting guidelines, and clear informed consent—no guesswork.
Team readiness: BLS for all; ACLS/PALS as appropriate. Assign roles before the day begins.
Aftercare: Written instructions, escort requirements, and a reachable contact tighten the safety loop.
How to Display Sedation Dentistry Skills on Your Resume
11. Cosmetic Dentistry
Cosmetic dentistry improves the look of teeth and gums with whitening, bonding, veneers, contouring, and more—ideally with minimal tooth alteration.
Why It's Important
Confidence lives in a smile. Esthetic upgrades, done responsibly, also support function and long-term health.
How to Improve Cosmetic Dentistry Skills
Specialized CE: Color theory, smile design, and prep-less or minimal-prep techniques sharpen your eye and your touch.
Digital smile design: Photos, scans, and simulations align expectations; mock-ups and trial smiles close the gap between plan and reality.
Materials and bonding: Stay current on adhesives, ceramic systems, and isolation techniques; longevity depends on them.
Portfolio power: Before-and-after photography with consistent lighting and retraction builds trust fast.
Expectation management: Careful case acceptance conversations prevent over-treatment and buyer’s remorse.
How to Display Cosmetic Dentistry Skills on Your Resume
12. Oral Surgery
Oral surgery in general practice often includes extractions, surgical exposure, biopsies, alveoloplasty, and straightforward implant placement—plus emergency management when things turn urgent.
Why It's Important
Access and efficiency. Treating common surgical needs in-house streamlines care and keeps patients comfortable with a familiar team.
How to Improve Oral Surgery Skills
CE with repetition: Flap design, suturing, bone graft basics, and complication management deserve regular refreshers.
Imaging fluency: Read CBCTs confidently; plan around sinuses, nerves, and root anatomy before the scalpel comes out.
Atraumatic technique: Section teeth, preserve bone, protect soft tissue; healing thanks you later.
Sterile discipline: Instruments, draping, and irrigation protocols reduce infections and headaches.
Know when to refer: Impacted thirds, complex pathology, nerve proximity—collaborate to protect outcomes.
How to Display Oral Surgery Skills on Your Resume
