3 Dentist CV Examples and In-Depth Dentist CV Writing Guide

This include research, licensures, memberships, presentations and publications sections.

Many dentists and aspiring dentists find presenting this information to be a daunting task.

In this guide, we’ll show you exactly how to prepare all aspects of your dentist CV to ensure you have the best chance of success with your job search.

This guide is perfect for all dentistry professionals, including general dentists, orthodontists, prosthodontists and maxillofacial surgeons.

Begin by including your name, contact details and location. If you have a LinkedIn profile, include your LinkedIn URL alongside you contact details.

It’s not necessary to detail your full address. Due to privacy issues, it’s common practice to simply include the town/city and country you live in.

Don’t title your CV with the words ‘Curriculum Vitae’ or ‘CV’. This is not necessary and will cause your CV to appear unprofessional.

Personal statements, often referred to as professional profiles, are short summaries at the beginning of CVs. The aim of your personal statement is to sell yourself to the reader and communicate your value in just a few sentences.

It isn’t always necessary to include a personal statement on medical and dental CVs. However, in some cases they can add value by showing the reader what makes you unique.

Here is an example of a dentist CV’s personal statement:

Now it's time to include your qualifications.

Dentists in the United States should have usually completed an undergraduate degree and a doctoral degree. They are also required to complete a Dental Admissions Test (DAT) prior to enrolling at dental school. You may want to consider highlighting details of your DAT in your education section, along with your degrees.

In the UK, dentists should have obtained a bachelor of dental surgery (BDS) degree – or equivalent – as well as on the job training.

When writing your CV, ensure to highlight the qualifications you have obtained that are relevant in the country you live in.

How should you format your education details on your dentist CV?

Include the degree you obtained, the grade you achieved, the university you attended and your dates of study. To see examples of a dentist CV's education details, take a look at the CV samples in this guide.

In this section, list any licences and certifications. Relevant licences and certifications required to practice as a dentist vary by country and state.

In the UK, dentists must obtain GDC registration in order to practice dentistry unsupervised. In the United States, dentists are required to obtain a licence in the state in which they practice.

When writing this section, UK dentists should state that they are GDC registered and include their GDC registration number. Dentists in the US should highlight their state issued licences, along with any relevant licence numbers.

Here is an example of dentist CV's licensures and certifications section:

In this section, list your professional experience as a practising dentist. Use the reverse chronological order, starting with your current or most recent position and working backwards.

How do you format your professional work experience on your dentist CV?

Include your job title, the name of your employer, the location of employment and the dates of employment. Then use bullet points to provide some information about your work and your role as a dentist.

Here is an example of a professional experience section on a dentist’s CV:

Do you specialise in dental research? Or have you taken part in any dentistry research alongside your work as a dentist? If so, highlight your research experience in this section.

For many dentists, this section will not be relevant. Ignore this step if you don’t have any research experience.

How do you present your dental research experience?

Detail the title of the research project, the location of the research project, your teacher’s name (if relevant), the dates of the project and details of any conferences/presentations associated with your research project.

Here is an example:

‘Replacing Damaged Bone’ – Example University, New York, U.S. (June 2014 – July 2016)

- Executed a two-year research project on implants to replace damaged bone

- Presented paper and findings at the Annual Dentistry General Conference of New York in 2016

Honours and awards are a great way of making your CV stand out and showcasing your expertise. Relevant awards and honours may include those achieved during your studies or during your professional endeavours.

How do you format honours and awards on your dentist CV?

List the name or title of the award you achieved, followed by the by the name of the institution where you obtained the award and the date you achieved the award.

Here is an example:

‘The Official Florida Best Leader Award, Florida Dental Organisation (2021)’

Has your work been published in research papers or conference papers? If so, include a section to showcase your publications. Including your publications is a fantastic way of drawing attention to your areas of expertise in dentistry.

When listing your publications, use the MLA style. This will ensure the section is formatted in a professional way that is easy to follow.

The MLA style is a format of writing that follows a specific structure. It involves listing the author’s name (your name), followed by the article title, the name of the publication, the volume number, the date and the page numbers that feature your publication.

Here is an example of a dentist CV’s publication listing using the MLA style:

‘Joseph B. Harris. ‘A study of tooth decay in the elderly’. The Monumental Dental Association Journal, 11(4), 2020, 41-43.’

If you’ve delivered any formal presentations related to dentistry, list them in this section. Use the same format that you used to detail your publications.

Presentations indicate strong communication skills, as well as your knowledge of the subject in question.

Here is an example of a presentation listed on a dentist's CV:

‘Tooth decay and causes in 2021’, The Dental Conference, Los Angeles, California (2021)’

If you’re a member of any professional associations related to dentistry, such as the British Dental Association, list them in the section.

Highlighting memberships and affiliations on your CV can help optimise it for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) – recruitment screening software used by many employers – as ATS is often scanning for association with such organisations.

Detail your title within the organisation (or simply ‘member of’), as well as the name of the organisation and the dates of your membership.

Here is an example:

'Member of the California Dental Association (2002 – 2012)'

Use the final section of your CV to highlight any additional information. This may extend to IT/software proficiency, voluntary work, languages and soft skills training.

Professionally prepared and organised CVs can be up to 60% more effective when applying for jobs. As such, it’s vital to ensure that your CV is professional in appearance, like the dentist CV templates in this guide.

If you’re preparing your CV from scratch and not using one of our CV templates, ensure to add adequate spacing between sections and lines of text. This will make for a better reading experience. It will also ensure the key information is east to locate.

Dentists in the UK, US, Canada and Australia should not include a photo on their CV.

Photos are expected on CVs in some countries, including those in continental Europe. To find out more about which countries require a photo on CVs, take a look at our guide on the topic. This guide states whether photos are required on CVs on a country by country basis.

Select a standard, modest font, such as Times New Roman or Calibri. Avoid overly creative fonts, which may cause your CV to look unprofessional.

The most appropriate font size will depend on the font you have selected. The best font size for Calibri is usually between 11 and 11.5. The best font size for Times New Roman is usually between 11 and 12.

Many employers and HR departments use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) – a type of recruitment screening software that filters and ranks candidates CVs – to improve the efficiency of their recruitment process.

As such, it’s important that your CV is optimised for ATS.

How do you optimise your dentist CV for recruitment screening software and ATS?

Ensure relevant keywords are peppered throughout your CV. For dentists, relevant keywords will largely be related to degrees, training, job titles, certifications, licences and associations.

By following the steps highlighted in this CV writing guide, these keywords will naturally be included on your CV.

Design and layout is also important when it comes to passing through and ranking well with ATS. Tables, graphics, multiple fonts and multiple colours can all have a negative effect on your CV's ATS compatibility.

Use one of the CV templates in this guide to improve your chances of ranking highly with Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). These CV templates are all optimised for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).

Should you include references on your dentist CV?

No. References will be requested at a later stage of the job application process, should you reach that stage.

We hope you have found this guide helpful in preparing a good dentist CV.

Dentistry is a growing industry. As stated in Dealson Health’s article, the number of employed dentists in the UK grew by 5,200 from 2007 to 2017. This trend is expected to increase in the coming years, so the future is bright for dentists.

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