It was great to be invited to King’s College London and continue to my push to help dental undergraduates build their CV’s to enter specialist training.
As an orthodontist, we have to enter an intense 3 year full time training programme. There are limited places – the year I applied (2016), there were approx 40 jobs across the UK with over 100 excellent candidates applying. To be considered for an interview, multiple aspects of your CV is assessed including the number of audits, presentations and publications.
Once in training, we are given a cohort of patients to treat (approximately 120) who require fixed braces. Such cases are the most complex of cases eg. buried and missing teeth or surgical orthodontics. Over the 3 years, we change the wires and predictably move the teeth to make them straighter – All the patients I treat come to see me because they want straight teeth!
As we are treating patients on the health service, all the patients are provided metal fixed braces. Ceramic braces or Invisalign are discussed in lectures but patients must seek this type of treatment privately. We know there is a big demand from patients to provide alternatives to deliver straight teeth and that includes Invisalign and lingual braces. Extra training is required to do such treatment modalities.
Having lived and attending school in Wolverhampton, I was offered a training post in London. Naturally, it’s quite a culture shock to move from Wolverhampton to London…. but the vibrance, diversity and hustle and bustle was a special experience! The training I received is now going to help my local community in the West Midlands where I grew up.
The advice I will always give younger dentists is…1) Decide whether specialist training is for you 2) If so, you must build your CV in the correct way – Audits, Publications, Presentations 3) Be grateful if you are offered a position to specialise in orthodontics – it’s a privileged positon.
