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Show Notes

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.

What You’ll Take From This Episode

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.

👉  Reach Rima on Instagram

References & Further Reading

Mentioned in this episode:

• 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.

Want more?

If you enjoyed this episode, check out: 2 Years Out of Dental School – Insights for New Grads – IC066

#InterferenceCast #CareerDevelopment #BeyondDentistry

Listen, Subscribe, Earn CPD

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.