How to Find a Dental Mentor (and What to Actually Ask Them)
Most students never ask, because they assume a senior is too busy. Most seniors say yes — the ask just has to be small enough.
The single biggest difference between two graduates with identical marks is usually that one of them had somebody to ask. Not a professor — someone a few years ahead, doing the thing they want to do, who will answer a specific question honestly.
Most students never ask, on the assumption that everyone is too busy. In practice most practising dentists remember being where you are and will say yes, provided the ask is small enough to accept.
What a mentor is actually for
Not for teaching you dentistry — your course does that. A mentor is for the things nobody writes down:
- Whether a speciality is like it looks from outside
- What a first job pays, honestly, in your city
- Which of your college's advice is real and which is inertia
- What they'd do differently, which is the most valuable question there is
- Whether a case you're presenting is being reasoned well
How to ask, without being ignored
The reason most approaches fail is that they're too big. "Will you be my mentor?" asks for open-ended commitment from a stranger. Make the first ask tiny and specific:
Hello Dr. ___ — I'm a final year BDS student at ___. I saw your case on ___. I'm trying to decide between endodontics and general practice and I'd value fifteen minutes of your view, whenever suits you. Happy to send my questions in advance.
Specific, bounded, easy to say yes to. Then — and this is the part people skip — go away and act on it, and report back. "I took your advice about the case log, here's what I found" is what converts one conversation into an actual mentor.
Where to look
- Your own department. Postgraduate students are closest to your situation and most likely to have time. Start here.
- Alumni. Your college's graduates from three to eight years ago are the sweet spot — recent enough to remember, established enough to advise.
- Conferences and CDE programmes. Ask a question during the session, then follow up afterwards. You'll be remembered.
- Clinicians whose cases you follow online. Engage with their work properly for a while before asking for anything.
- EnamDoc, where verified practising dentists are available to students specifically for this.
Questions worth asking
- What did you get wrong in your first two years of practice?
- What do you wish you'd done during internship?
- How did you decide on your speciality — and would you choose it again?
- What does a realistic first-year income look like in this city?
- Which courses were worth the money and which weren't?
- What separates the graduates who do well from the ones who struggle?
Avoid questions with a Google answer. Ask for judgement, not information.
Be a mentee worth having
- Turn up on time, every time.
- Do the thing they suggested before the next conversation.
- Come with specific questions, not "any advice?".
- Respect the boundary — don't message at midnight expecting a reply.
- Say thank you, and later, when you're two years ahead of someone, do the same for them.
More than one
You don't need a single mentor. A clinician for cases, someone commercial for the business side, someone one year ahead for exam logistics. Different questions, different people — and it takes the pressure off any one relationship.
EnamDoc connects dental students with verified practising dentists for exactly this — free on iOS and Android. Also read the honest list of career options after BDS.
Frequently asked questions
How do I approach a senior dentist to be my mentor?
Make the first ask small and specific rather than open-ended. Introduce yourself, reference something of theirs you have actually seen, ask for fifteen minutes on one clearly stated question, and offer to send the questions in advance. Then act on the advice and report back — that is what turns one conversation into a mentorship.
What should I ask a dental mentor?
Ask for judgement rather than information: what they got wrong early in practice, what they wish they had done during internship, whether they would choose their speciality again, realistic first-year income in your city, and which courses were worth the money. Avoid anything you could search for.
Do I need more than one mentor?
Several is usually better than one. A clinician for case reasoning, someone commercially minded for the practice side, and someone a year ahead for exam logistics answer different questions and spread the demand so no single relationship carries all of it.
