Dentist CV: Sample & Complete Writing Guide [20+ Examples]

You’re on the cusp of writing a great dentist CV.

From filling cavities to keeping us plaque-free, you allow people to smile with confidence.

But first—

You need a CV that shines like freshly-bleached pearly whites.

No worries.

This dentist CV guide will show you:

• Dentist CV examples better than 9 out of 10 other CVs.
• How to write a dental hygiene CV that gets more interviews.
• Tips on how to put skills and achievements on a dental lab tech CV.
• How to describe your experience to get any dental jobs you want.

Want to save time and have your CV ready in 5 minutes? Try our CV builder. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, you’ll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ CV templates and create your CV here.

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Dentist CV made with our builder—See more CV examples here.

We also have other guides:

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• Teacher CV

Dentist CV Example

1. What’s the Best Format for a Dentist CV?

Like taking an x-ray before operation, dental office managers scan each CV to figure out how they’ll proceed.

However—

It’s just a 7-second glance, according to our HR statistics report.

If you don’t pass that initial scan, they’ll toss your CV in the corner biohazard bin.

So use the chronological format. Why?

This CV format keeps your dental CV straight like a good pair of braces. Lab managers and dental office assistants are most familiar and comfortable with this format.

Here’s how to structure a dentist CV:

• Begin your CV with a compelling dental CV summary.
• Lay out your dental experience with achievements and key responsibilities.
• Add an education section that shows them you’re the DDS or DMD they want.
• List dentist skills and specialities that are tailored to the job description.
• Include extra CV sections to stand out from other dental applicants.

Choose the best CV fonts to keep it legible. Make proper use of white space and section headings to guide the recruiter through all your CV sections.

2. Write Your Dentist CV Profile

When you prepare for lengthy oral surgery, you’ll start by putting them to sleep.

It’s the opposite on a dental CV—

You need to begin by waking them up with a powerful CV introduction. It’s known as a CV profile or CV summary

And the easiest way to write it is to answer the following questions:

1. Who are you? 
2. What can you offer to the employer? 
3. What are your career goals? 

The way you answer will be different depending on how experienced you are. Here’s what an experienced dentist should do:

• Make a list of your professional strengths, considering all of the experience and skills you have that make you a great dentist.
• Then read the job advert and match 3–4 points from your own list to what’s set out in the job requirements.
• Use these points to write a CV summary targeted to the job you’re applying for.

And if you’re just starting out and lacking in experience then use this approach.

• List any experience and skills you already have, focussing on your education and any practical experience you’ve already gained.
• Then combine this existing experience and skill set with passion for the job, and some knowledge of the employer to show you’ll be a good fit.

3. How to Describe Your Dental Experience

There’s a lot of competition for dental jobs, so how to beat the other candidates?

Create a dentist work experience section that lights up and amplifies you like a medical-grade magnifying lamp.

Here are two dental hygiene CV samples:

Dental Hygiene Experience for CV—Examples

Like a tooth with a cavity, that wrong one has a gaping hole.

It’s missing what makes the ‘right’ one so great: hand-picked responsibilities and quantifiable achievements to prove your dentistry knowledge.

Here’s another example for a dentist moving to another practice:

Dental Experience for CV—Examples

But what if you haven’t cut your teeth yet as a dentist, hygienist, or lab technician?

No problem.

If you have relevant work, like being a dental assistant or nurse intern, add the most relevant points, like this:

Here, you give your experience as a dental assistant, though you are applying to be a dentist or hygienist.

If you have other non-dental experience, only add dentist-relevant duties and achievements to your CV.

Pro Tip: Achievements are hard to come up with when writing a dentist CV, but they are super impactful. If you’re stuck, first think of some big project or innovation you had. Then, ask yourself what the results were, and you’ll come up with a great win.

4. Is Your Education Section Underperforming? It Might Be

One slip of your dental drill, and you become a brain surgeon.

Same with your dental CV—

Slip up on writing your CV education section, and you’ll be looking elsewhere for work.

Whether you’re writing a dental assistant CV or an oral surgeon CV, listing your education correctly is crucial for dental jobs. 

Dental CV Samples—Education Section

5. How to Put Skills on a Dentist CV

You’ve got dental skills galore.

But—

So do all your dental hygiene and dentist competitors.

Show them you’re cutting edge while they’re still pulling teeth using string and a doorknob.

Which dentist skills, though?

Create a simple list of dental skills to start, like this one below.

Include both hard and soft skills. Hard skills are those you learn (e.g., Dentrix software), while soft skills are those you develop throughout life (e.g., time management).

Dentist & Dental Hygienist Skills for a CV

• Communication Skills
• Orthodontics
• Crowns, Bridges & Veneers
• Attention to Detail
• Maxillofacial Surgery
• Dental Assessments
• Problem Solving
• Periodontics
• Preventative Dentistry
• Collaboration & Teamwork
• Traditional & Laser Whitening
• Accountability
• Dental Hygiene
• Restorative Procedures
• Interpersonal Skills
• Oral Radiology

However, stuffing your dentist CV with any skill up there is like drinking Coke with every meal—

No good dentist recommends it.

Instead, refer back to the job ad, and extract the right skills like a Coupland’s elevator.

Here’s a sample dental hygienist job description:

If you read each job ad carefully, it’s easy to tailor your skills section to match:

When making a CV in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building your CV here.

Create my CV now

When you’re done, Zety’s CV builder will score your CV and tell you exactly how to make it better.

Dental Hygienist CV Samples—Skills Section

The wrong skills put them to sleep like general anaesthesia.

The right example, though, is tailored and fits like a filling.

Finally, mind the ATS.

The applicant tracking system is a program which helps larger dental practices cope with the many CVs they receive every day.

Employers first scan a CV into the system. Then, they perform a simple extraction to find specific CV keywords. In return, they receive a score based on each CV’s match to the job ad.

Use keywords which the dental job ad uses, word-for-word, so the ATS easily understands it.

6. How to Add Other Sections for an Effective Dentist CV

Like setting yourself apart as the dentist to visit in town, your dental CV has got to wow them more than the rest.

How?

By spicing it up with extra sections.

Every other dentist had those previous CV sections. To stand out, additional CV sections show them you’re unique and capable.

Here are great options to add on a CV for dentist jobs:

• Certifications
• Professional memberships
• Volunteer work
• Projects
• Awards
• Hobbies and interests
• Languages

7. How About a Dentist Cover Letter?

A dentist CV without a dentist cover letter is like brushing teeth without toothpaste—

Ineffective.

Always include a cover letter, as 53% of employers say a CV itself is not enough.

Here’s how to write dental hygiene cover letters they’ll eat up:

• Begin your cover letter with a compelling introduction.
• Explain why you are the only dentist to consider for the job.
• Show them why you want to work in their dentistry or laboratory.
• End your cover letter with a strong call-to-action to get them to read your dentist CV.

Your dental assistant cover letter is the first impression you’ll make on the dental office—

Make it strong like a calcium-rich diet.

Want to know more cover letter tricks that always work? See our comprehensive guide: How to Write a Job-Winning Cover Letter

Key Takeaway

Hopefully you see now that writing a great dentist CV is not like pulling teeth.

Let’s summarize.

Here’s how to write a dentist CV:

• Use the reverse-chronological format so your dental CV is easy to scan.
• Start with a compelling dental hygienist CV objective or summary.
• Explain your dental work history with quantifiable achievements and key duties.
• List key dentist skills with CV keywords from the job description.
• Write an education section that impresses them with related coursework.
• Use additional sections on your dentist CV to stand out from the others.
• Attach a captivating dentist cover letter to your dentist CV.
• Tidy up your CV like a dental burnisher by proofreading it before sending it off.

Now THIS is a dental CV that will shine like a gold crown!

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your CV will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

Create my cover letter now

See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Got any questions on how to write a dentist CV? Not sure how to talk about dental assistant skills or lab technician achievements? Get at us in the comments below, and thanks for reading!

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