Ever fancied teaching dental students part time… but no real idea how you’d actually get in?
Are you the kind of person teaching would energise — or quietly drain?
Is a PGCert in dental education actually worth it, or just wishy-washy theory?
And the honest question nobody asks out loud: does it pay anything?
This is an Interference Cast — the non-clinical arm of the podcast — with Dr Rima Hussain, a general dentist who teaches restorative dentistry to undergraduates at King’s a couple of days a week. It’s a candid look at what a career in dental education actually involves: how to get in, who thrives and who burns out, what the work is really like, and the honest truth about the pay and the rewards. The bigger theme: dentistry is a career you can mould in endless directions — and for the right person, teaching is one of the most energising of them.
The full self-assessment and the step-by-step route into a teaching role are in the Premium Notes. Here’s the shape of what we cover:
Are you built for the classroom? — the two-camp self-check (energised vs drained) that predicts whether teaching will recharge you or wear you down.
How to actually land a role — the ‘BDJ Jobs’ plus pick-up-the-phone route, and why “who you know” so often cuts through the application process.
Relatability as a strength — why being closer to a student’s level can beat decades of experience for an absolute beginner.
Back to basics — the “monkey see, monkey do” risk from YouTube and AI, and what the tutor’s real job becomes.
The honest pay-and-balance picture — why you don’t do it for the money, what you do get, and how teaching and practice keep each other fresh.
Highlights of This Episode
00:00 Teaser
01:08 Should You Teach Dentistry? How to Know If It’s for You
04:39 How a General Dentist Gets Into Dental Education
06:15 Signs You’re Suited to Teaching Dentistry
08:52 Is a PGCert in Dental Education Worth It?
12:07 How to Land a Clinical Teaching Post at a Dental School
14:38 Why a Relatable Tutor Beats Decades of Experience
16:52 How Dental Students Have Changed Since COVID
19:20 Is Social Media and AI Helping or Hurting Dental Students?
21:55 Midroll
26:43 Why “Back to Basics” Beats Chasing Advanced Techniques
29:20 How to Get a Teaching (or Associate) Job: Pick Up the Phone
31:50 Why Dental Tutors Quit After Six Months
36:29 The Most Rewarding Part of Teaching Dentistry
38:46 Teaching, Practice and Pay: How to Avoid Burnout
44:39 Outro
From the Guest
Dr Rima Hussain is a general dentist who also teaches restorative (conservative) dentistry to undergraduates at King’s College London — a route she fell into via tutoring as a teenager and has been in since 2019. Her advice for anyone curious: you’re probably already teaching in some form, so try it; the worst case is you find it isn’t for you.
Rath T. StrengthsFinder 2.0. Gallup Press, 2007. The strengths-assessment book referenced for the “Learner” theme and the idea of building your career around your natural strengths. “Learner” is one of its 34 themes; the assessment is now delivered as CliftonStrengths.
BDJ Jobs.The British Dental Journal jobs board where clinical tutor and academic posts are advertised, usually with short application windows.
This episode is eligible for 0.5 CE credit via the quiz on Protrusive Guidance.
This episode meets GDC Outcomes B
AGD Subject Code: 770 Self-Improvement
Aim & Learning Outcomes
Aim: To help dentists evaluate a part-time career in dental education — what the role involves, how to obtain one, and how to sustain it alongside clinical practice.
Learning Outcomes — by the end of this episode, dentists will be able to:
Identify the personal attributes and expectations that distinguish dentists who thrive in clinical teaching from those who do not.
Describe the practical routes into a dental-school teaching post, including where posts are advertised and how a direct, proactive approach can work.
Recognise the workload, financial and work-life-balance realities of part-time teaching, and strategies to avoid burnout while balancing teaching and practice.
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