Pulaski

The cost of living in California is much higher than you might realize and there is a fairly substantial drift of native-born Americans out of California, apparently for that reason.

Aside for the cost of living (with the cost of housing being an obvious example of an expense that you would have no experience of as a visitor), the mere mundanity of everyday life in another country is something to think about, combined with the fact that you would likely have less holiday time in the US, with only 10-15 days plus six bank holidays being very common for non-managerial occupations. In short, you may be better off enjoying cheap transatlantic air travel and extra holiday days working in the UK, and spending your holidays as a visitor to the US.

scrubbedexpat099

Maybe a long term plan to work yourself into a position where there is a route?

petitefrancaise

digital dentistry - a massive growth area. A friend of mine in Nottingham has his own company which is doing very, very well.
Have you thought about getting a job with siemens or one of the other biggies? Dentsply? I really think getting a job with one of those companies and then seeing about an internal transfer to the USA on L1 ( managerial) or L2 specialised knowledge would be a good way to go and you won't need a degree with the amount of experience you have if you go this route.
Alternatively, find out if one of the smaller companies might want to expand to the USA .
Also, don't forget that your skills and knowledge could transfer out of dentistry. My friends company makes implants (digitally and custom made for each patient) -not just dental ones but for spinal injuries etc.

ddsrph

Digital dental labs is an interesting idea. I retired from dentistry in 2004 before they became common. How do they work in the U.K.? Are your dentists clients mainly NHS or private practice? Is the trend for dentists to have their own milling machines and do most C&B in house? Are conventional dental labs still a big part of the profession? I would hate to be faced with the expenses of digital lab and digital X-ray equipment? The type of dental practice I did would not be viable with today’s need for huge investments in technology. I laugh at those who think dentists simply use a wheel barrel to take their daily deposit to the bank. It’s not the license to steal like many patients want to believe.

Alanbmx

this is the type of thing I have posted on here to get as a reply , thankyou , I work over a few digital platforms designing custom implants crowns etc , so my skills will be very transferable I would think , looked at Argen which is based in sandiego , so that’s the kind of route I would aim for definitely, what’s your friends company called ? Thanks Alan

petitefrancaise

https://attenborough.com/scr/index.asp?Lang=uk

Alanbmx

I’ve done a course with them to use the 3shape scanning system , do you know if they have links within USA ? Thanks Alan

Alanbmx

currently no but that’s always something to look into !

Alanbmx

holidays are the same as I get in the uk! Not great , so not loosing out there ! Aware it’s going to be tough trying it out in a new country, wherever I choose ! But you only get one shot at life so why not go for it

christmasoompa

If you only get 10-15 days holiday then your employer is breaking the law. Legal minimum in the UK is 28 days.

Pulaski

Assuming a five day work week, and 8 of those days are bank holidays, so Alanbmx should be getting a minimum of 20+8 days in the UK, whereas in the US he would be lucky to get more than 15+6.

It is also worth pointing out that in the US, your vacation days are often expected to also cover sickness, and/or there may be little on no paid time off to cover sickness.

Alanbmx

get 15 to choose bank holidays and a few days over Christmas just scraping the 28 sorry I misread

ddsrph

I would look into becoming a technical advisor/sales rep for a UK or European company with a large presence in the American market. Dentists thinking of going the in house or remote digital route would need a lot of help in choosing equipment and getting up and running. Someone like yourself with years of experience would be much better than a recently trained Salesman who doesn’t fully understand what he is talking about.

petitefrancaise

I don't know - but knowing Ed I would think he has at least looked into it. Ask them.

petitefrancaise

This is true.... I did exactly this in the UK for an American based company. It was very specialised and my background was perfect for them. Although it has to be said that not everyone with tech skills is good at sales.

Also, whilst having a very good knowledge of the product is important, knowing the local market ( ie US ) is also important and from having worked for said US company in the UK and meeting their reps over here, the approach is very different. Insurance reimbursements for the patient/dentist plays a big role here for this stuff. In the UK, not so much, the NHS either pays for it or it doesn't. This level of dentistry is only going to be offered to private patients in the UK and there really isn't insurance playing into it like it does here.
OP, I'd go along to the BDA conference in May and network https://www.thedentistryshow.co.uk/