Before signing your first employment contract, it's essential to understand what you're agreeing to—and what might be missing. This webinar will guide dental students through the fundamentals of contract review, including what key elements should be included in a standard dental employment agreement.

Learn how to ask the right questions with confidence, identify red flags that could impact your future, and avoid common pitfalls that new dentists often face. Whether you’re planning to join a private practice, DSO, or pursue another career path, this session will equip you with practical knowledge to advocate for yourself and protect your professional interests.

As you approach your first position as a practicing dentist, you realize clinical skills aren’t enough. You need to know how to build relationships and trust with your patients so you can provide them the care they need. You need skills to help you manage and lead your dental team. Join our panel of practicing dentists to learn best practices for effectively interacting with patients and your dental team.

Practice ownership can be incredibly fulfilling and beneficial. While in dental school, you may want to consider how pursuing practice ownership could change your professional and personal life. Join Michael Jerkins, MD, M.Ed, president & co-founder of Panacea Financial and learn how to take this next step on your career path.

The interview process for an associateship is a two-way street. Just as a practice evaluates the applicant, so must the applicant assess if the practice is a good fit for them in terms of opportunities, benefits, and values. As you prepare to launch your post-graduate job search, it’s critical to consider what you are looking to gain from an associateship opportunity. During this session, Dr. Abby Halpern will share tools and insights to help you make the best career decision for you.

Picture this: you’ve graduated from dental school, you’re licensed to practice in your ideal location and you just opened your own boutique practice. How did you do it? What steps did you take to get from dental student to practice owner? How long did it take?

This session will give you a snapshot of key factors and processes involved in purchasing a practice to help you determine if this is the right practice option for you and how to plan for the next steps. We’ll review the timeline needed to purchase a practice, key considerations, and common hurdles that current practice owners wish they had known when they started their journey to practice ownership. 

A crucial step in applying to any residency program is reviewing the application checklist to ensure you meet the application criteria and have all the required documentation. Beyond meeting the requirements though, you’re likely wondering how to you make yourself stand out from other applicants.

During this session, we’ll discuss steps you can take to ensure you have a polished overall application and review tips for how you can present your best self during the process. You’ll also learn about common missteps in the application process and how you can avoid them. 

There are many options when choosing your career path, especially if you are considering a specialty. How do you know which one is right for you?

In this session, ASDA alum, Dr. Jennifer Giltner will share her insights about a career in orthodontics, from selecting a specialty to residency and practice. You’ll receive an overview of how and why she chose to specialize in orthodontics. You’ll also gain insight into various residency application and selection processes, and hear about what a typical day could look like in residency and practice to get a better understanding of the specialty overall.

There are many options when choosing your career path, especially if you are considering a specialty. How do you know which one is right for you?

Dr. Kristopher Mendoza is an ASDA alum who’s passionate about serving individuals experiencing barriers to dental care and, through his career in dental anesthesiology, he’s able to work with various patient populations. During this session, Dr. Mendoza will share how he decided to pursue a career dental anesthesiology and what the experience has entailed. He’ll also share insights about residency and life in practice that can help you determine if this may be the right path for you.

There are many options when choosing your career path, especially if you are considering a specialty. How do you know which one is right for you?

In the third session of this webinar series, ASDA alum, Dr. Daniel Hammer, will share insights about his experiences in oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS). Hear about how he made the decision to specialize and why he chose OMS, specifically. You’ll learn about residency and the day-to-day experiences you may have in practice to help determine if this is the path you want to pursue.

There are many options when choosing your career path, especially if you are considering a specialty. How do you know which one is right for you?

Dr. Sara Davis will share her pathway to a career in public health in this session of the dental specialty series. She’ll outline what a typical day might look like in a public health setting and how the scope of practice can differ depending on formal training. There are multiple options when you pursue a career in public health and this session will help you explore the possibilities. 

There are many options when choosing your career path, especially if you are considering a specialty. How do you know which one is right for you? Throughout this webinar series, ASDA alumni will share their experiences across multiple dental specialties, such as pediatric dentistry, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics, and more.  Hear how they made their decisions to specialize and why they chose their specific practice area. They will share insights about their residencies and day-to-day practice to give you an inside look at a career in specialized dentistry.

You’ve likely been encouraged to “find a mentor” in dental school, but why is it so important and how does one start this process? Some meet their mentors by chance, but for others it takes time and personal effort to find the right mentor. In this session, you will learn the importance of mentorship throughout all phases of your dental career, how to identify strong dental and leadership mentors and ways to cultivate a successful relationship with these individuals in person or virtually.