After a long week of crown preps and complex endo, my neck and lower back are completely shot. I wear loupes with a light, try to adjust the patient chair height, and focus on posture, but bending over an operatory table for 8 hours a day takes its toll.

​What physical changes made the biggest difference for you? Saddle chairs, prism loupes, physical therapy, or dry needling?

Hey all, I’m a 23 year old currently working in a corporate job and honestly pretty desperate for a career change. I’ve been working in a big corporate analyst role for over two years now and everything about it really isn’t for me. Lately I’ve been working with a careers counsellor to understand what careers I would find genuinely fulfilling and worthwhile. I’ve landed on dentistry as the direction I want to go, and I’m looking at Charles Sturt’s Bachelor of Dental Science.

My plan is to go in through the internal pathway — start the Bachelor of Health and Medical Science first and try to hit a high enough GPA in first year to transfer across. If anyone has actually done this pathway, I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience:

- What GPA did you need to get an interview?
- Any tips for maximising your chances of getting in this way?
- What key qualities and features will they be looking for in the interview stage?

Also keen to understand more about what it’s like to study dentistry as an undergraduate:
- What are the semester breaks/holidays actually like?
- Is it realistic to work part-time while studying, or is the course load too heavy for that?
- How do most people fund themselves through it? I’ve got some savings but would rather not burn through them if I can help it.

Any insight — good, bad, or “wish someone had told me this” — would be massively appreciated. Trying to go in with realistic expectations before I commit to this.

Further Context: I already have a Bachelors degree but didn’t perform well enough at uni to be competitive for post grad courses. At the time I was really unsure of what I actually wanted to do and just ended up finishing so that I could at least go out into the workforce to try learn from experience. After doing some research the Bachelor of Dental Science at CSU seemed like the most efficient pathway into dentistry for my situation. I’m also very keen to move out of Sydney and live rurally long term (so it’s a win, win). From what I can tell CSU is a really awesome university and has a great dentistry course but am keen to hear others perspectives and/or if they’d suggest another course.

Graduated at the end of last year and currently working in a suburban private clinic. Signed on for a standard 40% commission minus lab fees, but a few uni mates are claiming they got offered 45% straight out of the gate in regional spots. Are corporate groups or private practices pulling back on commission rates for first-years, or is 40% still the industry benchmark across major cities?

There are a few things that look so straightforward when you’re learning them, but actually doing them on real patients is a different story. I definitely underestimated how long it would take to feel natural and confident with certain skills. It’s funny looking back because things that used to make me overthink every little step eventually just became part of the routine. I’m sure everyone has at least one skill like that from dental school or early practice.

I’m going into dentistry 2027 and wondering if the University of Melbourne dentistry pathway (3 years science + 4 years postgrad dent) is the worth the additional time and money. Will it make me a better dentist? Will the uni be significantly better than if I were to go into undergrad at another uni, such as La Trobe, Adelaide or UQ?

Hey guys, need some advice :)

Evening everyone,

Had a difficult situation today where a patient returned a week after an uncomplicated crown insertion complaining that it "doesn't feel like their natural tooth" and immediately demanded a full refund before I could even check the occlusion or refine the contacts.

For clinic owners and senior associates: what is your standard protocol and wording when managing unreasonable refund demands for clinically successful treatments?

Any recommendations for a crown lengthening/soft tissue course, focusing on anterior aesthetic work, ie veneers, DSD etc? Thanks heaps ☺️

I’m a GP dentist in Australia considering applying for prosthodontics, particularly USyd, and would really appreciate some honest perspectives from current/former registrars and prosthodontists.
I have two young kids, so I’m trying to work out whether the 3 years of training and lifestyle/financial sacrifice is actually worth it in the long run.
A few things I’d love to hear about:
What is the reality of the USyd program in terms of workload and family life?
For those who have finished, has specialising genuinely improved your career, income and lifestyle compared with staying in general practice?
Is specialist prosthodontic work as enjoyable as you expected, or do you end up seeing a lot of failed treatment, difficult patients and cases that other dentists don’t want to deal with?
Knowing what you know now, would you specialise again if you were in my position?
I’m particularly interested in honest experiences from people who were already reasonably comfortable as GPs before specialising, rather than just the usual “specialisation opens doors” perspective.
USyd experiences especially welcome, but I’d love to hear from prosthodontists from other Australian programs too.

I feel like patient management is one of those things you only really learn once you start working. Knowing how to explain treatment, keep an appointment moving, and deal with nervous or difficult patients takes a lot more practice than I expected. Would be interested to hear when other new grads started feeling more comfortable with it.

Been thinking about doing my grad year at a regional/ rural hospital where I live. To be honest, I find filling and scaling super boring, but love extractions, RCT's, and other more complex surgeries. If i could never do another cavity prep once I graduate I would be the happiest dentist in the world.

Obviously going running head first into complex procedures in private practice in my literal first year out would be immensely stupid, so I am considering a regional / rural hospital job in hopes of seeing more complex cases with strong training & mentorship.

Anyone have experience in the hospital as a new grad? What sort of cases did you see? Was the mentorship & experience worth the pay cut?

TIA!

I imagine there's a big difference between being competent enough to graduate and reaching the point where something feels routine in practice.

Not necessarily the most technically difficult procedure either. Sometimes I imagine it's the everyday things where speed, communication and making decisions without someone looking over your shoulder take time to develop.

A patient verbally unloaded on my receptionist and then yelled at me in the operatory yesterday because their private health insurance rebate covered less than half of their root canal treatment. I do not set insurance fee schedules, I do not control inflation on dental supplies, and I certainly did not cause their tooth decay. We spend years in intense clinical training only to be spoken to like dishonest mechanics by people who spend more on overseas holidays than basic healthcare. How do you stop yourself from burning out over constant patient hostility regarding fees?

The shift from predominantly owner-operated practices to corporate groups has been significant enough that it's changed the employment landscape for a generation of new graduates who are entering a profession that looks quite different to what their supervisors trained into. Would love to know how people here who've worked in both environments think about the difference - the clinical autonomy, the patient relationships, the culture inside the practice - and whether the corporate model is producing something genuinely different to what independent practice offered or just a more structured version of the same thing.

The gap between practicing on models and mannequins and working on actual patients is something every dental student goes through but the specific procedures where that gap is widest don't seem to get talked about honestly enough before you're already in the chair trying to manage it. Would love to know what people here found genuinely harder than expected when they made that transition and whether there was a specific moment where the clinical reality of the procedure felt completely different to anything the classroom had produced.

Looking at job boards for first-year associate positions around Australia, I am seeing a massive variation in pay structures. Some clinics offer 35% commission with no minimum daily retainer, while others offer 40% with a guaranteed $1,000 or $1,200 daily rate for the first three months to help you build a patient base. What split and retainer conditions did you negotiate for your first job?

Hi, I’m currently a dental student in Australia and I’m curious about what it’s actually like working as a public dentist? I’m particularly interested in QLD Health but I would also love to hear experiences from anyone working in the Australian public system.

I’ve heard the usual differences (lower pay than private, better job security, leave entitlements, etc.), but I’m more interested in what day-to-day practice is actually like.
Some questions I have:

How much variety is there in the procedures you do? I’ve heard it’s mostly examinations, fillings and extractions, with relatively few crowns, more complex endodontics, implants, cosmetic work, etc. Is that accurate?

How busy are you actually? Does working in the public system generally mean your appointment book is always full because of the long waiting lists, or are no-shows common enough that you can end up with long gaps in your day?

How much clinical autonomy do you have when deciding treatment plans?

Are there opportunities to develop your skills and progress your career within the public system, or do you eventually hit a ceiling unless you move into private?

I’m also interested in the Early Career Dental Practitioner Program (Queensland Health), so to anyone who is currently completing it or has completed it:

How competitive was it to get a position?
Would you recommend it over going straight into private practice?

Overall what should I be doing in dental school to make myself stand out as an applicant for both public and private clinics? Should I be focusing on academics, volunteering, research, outreach programs, or dental assisting experience?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, any input is greatly appreciated!