Developed by:  Jeff Sweeney
Revised: Spring 2002

Level:  6-8

Exploring Career Possibilities:
The American Dental Association

Standards


Learning
Expectations

 This activity will help students acquire competencies which relate to the following standards:
5. Career information and career goal
The student will:
5.1 Explore various occupations and classify into career clusters

General
Approach		 The general approach is that students will interact with a WWW site in order to complete a worksheet regarding the exploration of a career in dentistry or a related field. 

Activity Steps
  • Lead students in a discussion about nontraditional careers (can relate to dentist, hygienist).
  • Explain to students that they will be given the opportunity to complete a career exploration exercise on the Internet.  (Students may work independently or in groups as space permits.)
  • Pass out one Exploring Careers Possibilities worksheet to each student.
  • Locate the following WWW address: 

    •  http://www.ada.org
  • Instruct students to follow directions to complete the worksheet.

Time Required		 This activity should require one 45 minute session.  The discussion should take approximately 10-15 minutes.  The worksheet may take 25-30 minutes to complete.

Resources
Needed
  • one Exploring Career Possibilities worksheet for each student (provided below)
  • pencils 
  • access to WWW site: 
         http://www.ada.org

Performance
Indicators		 Students should be able to complete the worksheet.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Name:_______________________
Exploring Career Possibilities:
The American Dental Association
Locate:  http://www.ada.org
1.  From the American Dental Association (ADA) homepage, click on "profession". 
     Then go to "Education and Career Resources".  Next, click on "Careers and
     Classifieds".  Finally, click on the "ADA Career Brochures"

     a.  Name the career fields listed by the ADA.
          _______________________________
          _______________________________
          _______________________________
          _______________________________
2.  From "ADA Career Brochures", click on "Dentisty".

     a.  What is the minimum amount of school required to be a dentist? 
          __________________________________________________________
     b.  How many specialties are in the field of dentistry?  _________________
     c.  Can anyone be a dentist?  _____________________________________

     Read "Dentistry - A Career for the Future".

     d.  Would you want to be a dentist?  Why or Why not? 
          __________________________________________________________
          __________________________________________________________
3.  From the "ADA Career Brochure", click on "Dental Hygiene".

     a.  How many years does a dental hygienist go to college after high school? 
          _____________________________________________________
     b.  Where else can a dental hygienist work besides a dentists office? 
          _____________________________________________________
4.  From the "ADA Career Brochure", click on "Dental Assisting".

     a.  Does a dental assistant need to plan for additional training after high school? 
          ________________________________________________________
     b.  What are the advantages of a dental assisting career? 
          ________________________________________________________
5.  From the "ADA Career Brochure", click on "Dental Laboratory Technology".

     a.  What does a dental laboratory technician do? 
          ________________________________________________________
          ________________________________________________________
     b.  Can dental technicians begin their careers without a college degree?  ____
     c.  Name two places where I can get more information on dental laboratory 
          technology.
          ___________________________________
          ___________________________________
6.  From "Careers and Classifieds", click on "ADA Career Fact Sheets".  Click on 
     "Dentistry".

     a.  What was the average net income of a general practitioner?
          ____________________________________________
     b.  How many hours per week does a dentist work on average?
          ____________________________________________
     c.   Is the proportion of women in dentistry expected to increase or decrease? 
          ____________________________________________
7.  In general, what is the outlook for future job availability in this career cluster? 
     _________________________________________________________
8.  List two factors that contribute most to compensation for dental hygiene, dental 
     assisting, and dental laboratory technology.
     __________________________________________
     __________________________________________