Dentistry vs. Optometry

[Romey]

Alright, I've thinking about dentistry for the past 5 years which includes 2 years of working in a dental office, but now because of my friends, I am considering optometry.

I've got a pro and cons list below, tell me what you guys think I should do:

Dentistry cons:
1) the rumours of poor posture (leaning forward) is bad for your lower back, neck and wrists.
-I've actually talked to a number of dentist who've confirmed this. Some say go to a chiro/massage therapist, some say if you workout it's fine and other say its not a problem.

2) the obvious high stress and having to be accurate to the mm all day.

3) having to rely on your hands. So if you wake up with a sore wrist, back or neck its going to bother you all day.
-I dont mind working with my hands, its just the fact that I'm relying on them to make a living.

4) dentist make a lot of money but they also have the highest overhead. That's why dental school is twice the amount of tuition than medicine or optometry (in Canada that is...not too sure about most of you in the states). For the office that I worked in, the hygienists were getting paid $50/hr, each chair initially cost $10k, staff, building rent was $10k/month....a lot of bills.
After awhile I know it doesn't really make a difference but for the new dentist with tuition loans, the cost of marriage, a new house all adds up quickly to about >2 mil in debt. So I'm trying to say that the con is that you won't make good money till maybe 10 years of practicing. The office I worked at, the associate dentist was making $150k after 7 years of working there.

Pro: you can have dentists work under you and you can really work the business side while still doing dentistry....I believe this rarely happens in optometry.

Optomtery Pros:
-in Canada, we charge about $75/patient, and most opt. only see their patients for about 5 mins so you can easily make $300/hr.
-low stress, low overhead, insurance rates are lower

The only major con I see is that it may get very repetitive.
-------------------------------------

Just wondering what you guys think.
this to note:
-I've talked to both dentists/optometrists and every one says a different thing
-I really enjoy both fields, helping people, yada yada yada...
-Money is not really an issue...cuz i know both fields can make about the same amount.

To sum it up:
dentistry I like but its very expensive, stressful, and dangerous (working with HIV patients. On the flip side its interesting and different and can have other dentists work under you.

Optometry is less stressful, less overhead, safer, nothing life threatening. However, it may be very repetitive and I dont believe most optometrists are willing to work under you.

what do you thinks better?

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[asmaka19]

You left out the optometry cons........

 

[KHE]

These types of threads pop up every now and then on this and other forums.

Here, there is usually some comparison between optometry and dentistry or optometry and pharmacy. Sometimes I see people trying to compare different medical specialties on the medical forums.

I'm always very puzzled by these threads and often times more than a little bit wary. The difference between a dentist and an optometrist is about the same as a lawyer and a fireman. In other words....THEY ARE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. You can't really make a pro/con list comparing those two things like you can comparing a Ford and a Chevy.

It seems that the people trying to offer up these comparisons are really just interested in being some kind of "doctor." They seem to be searching for the doctor title. That's not a good way to go about picking a career. Explore and research and find something that you will enjoy doing. If it happens to be something where they call you doctor..great! If not....that's ok too.

Someone is going to undoubtedly reply that they are interested in both. I would be skeptical of that..or at the very least I would be skeptical of the motives as to why they are interested in both.

Be very careful making these types of pro/con lists when comparing things that are so different.

 

[pathony]

I guess I have been making the same mistake as above. When trying to choose between professions in the past I have made a pros and cons list. I think it can be helpful in that sometimes it helps to solidify the differences, and brainstorming all the good and bad points about a career is a good thing imo. Having said that, it is only looking at it logically, which is not always the best way. Just some thoughts.

 

[Dr Gump]

I guess I have been making the same mistake as above. When trying to choose between professions in the past I have made a pros and cons list. I think it can be helpful in that sometimes it helps to solidify the differences, and brainstorming all the good and bad points about a career is a good thing imo. Having said that, it is only looking at it logically, which is not always the best way. Just some thoughts.

I agree with KHE. These are both great vocations to explore, but listing pros and cons side by side doesn't make sense. You must enjoy what you do and you must have an interest in the part of the body you are focussing upon. A Radiation Oncologist once told me he didn't want to do Ophthalmology because he "just didn't like looking at the retina". Seems like an odd reason, but it makes total sense. I looked into Podiatry, Orthopedics, Dentistry and Ophthalomolgy before I chose Optometry. It just seemed cleaner and less stressful. You must enjoy what you do......especially if you want to make the best decisions for your patients.
Good luck.

 

[aphistis]

I still can't figure out how a college student can complain about a $150,000/year salary like it's some kind of pittance, considering the number of them who have to reach around a bowl of ramen to type their posts.

 

[Jay12]

I think their right...It's like comparing apples to oranges, it's really difficult to compare one career to another. Each one will have its own pros and cons.....Choose something that you see yourself doing for the next 20, 30, or even 40 years, regardless of what anyone else tells you...At the end, it's your life and your decision, so make the best of it...

 

[student2008]

I am doing optometry because i can't deal with people's dirty teeth and also I just think eyes are more fascinating. If I like treating dirty teeth better than treating eyes, then I would go into dentistry since you do make more money (at least in the states, could be a different story in canada) and you get more respect from your patients.

However, if you do dentistry, you are going to have more stress, at least this is what my dentist-to-be friends tell me. do you mind more responsibility and more workload in exchange for higher income and better respect? or are you content with decent earnings, less stress and more leisure time to yourself? sometimes you just have to make the trade-off.

Of course there are going to be people telling you that optometry is a dying profession, but remember, so much of the current state that optometry depends on legislations and that can be changed. I personally don't think optometry will die out because people need to get their exams done, and ophthalmologists will not sit there and do 20 of these a day. Opticians are not as qualified to do these exams as optometrists.

I also think although it may seem wrong to compare these two professions (or any professions for that matter), sometimes when you see similarities in them (both involve patient care, both in the health care industry, both require some post-grad training, both have better lifestyle than being a MD, etc.), you can't help but to compare the two. By comparing them, you learn more about each profession (mainly their differences) and that could only be a good thing to somebody who's confused about which field to go into.

whatever you choose, you know you will be better off than a lot of people.

 

[DDSY]

Agree. Both are very different healthcare fields indeed. Look at my post on your other thread (predental forum). Your best bet is to at least observe/shadow an optometrist and see whether you truly enjoy the profession.

Good luck with your decision. Either way, you win.

 

[still_confused]

I still can't figure out how a college student can complain about a $150,000/year salary like it's some kind of pittance, considering the number of them who have to reach around a bowl of ramen to type their posts.

ODs are greedy!! 150k is nothing! walmart is making billions off of us, why cant we make that? dentist and pharmacy makes 6 figures too? No Fair!!

its sad to say it, but a lot of ODs and ODs in training are in it for the big bucks ONLY. Sure they say i love my patient care blah blah blah, but what they want is the 20 hour work week and make 400K a year (But dont we all want that!) So when many realize there are obstacles (med insurance), enemies (omds), and actual work involved (start at 65k ?? are you crazy!!) we have to complain.


as for me ill take the 150K or the ramen right now, im hungry

 

[asmaka19]

These types of threads pop up every now and then on this and other forums.

Here, there is usually some comparison between optometry and dentistry or optometry and pharmacy. Sometimes I see people trying to compare different medical specialties on the medical forums.

I'm always very puzzled by these threads and often times more than a little bit wary. The difference between a dentist and an optometrist is about the same as a lawyer and a fireman. In other words....THEY ARE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. You can't really make a pro/con list comparing those two things like you can comparing a Ford and a Chevy.

It seems that the people trying to offer up these comparisons are really just interested in being some kind of "doctor." They seem to be searching for the doctor title. That's not a good way to go about picking a career. Explore and research and find something that you will enjoy doing. If it happens to be something where they call you doctor..great! If not....that's ok too.

Someone is going to undoubtedly reply that they are interested in both. I would be skeptical of that..or at the very least I would be skeptical of the motives as to why they are interested in both.

Be very careful making these types of pro/con lists when comparing things that are so different.

I agree with what you said about the comparisons and the doctor title, but Ford and Chevy have alot more in common that you think

 

[JeffChou]

Sure, comparing dentistry and optometry may seem like apples and oranges, but sometimes you just have too choose one.

I understand that some people are just looking for pomp and circumstance, but others do really want to be some sort of doctor. Whether the title makes a person a dentist or an optometrist is inconsequential to some people who have just simply not narrowed it that far down yet. The purpose of comparing two very different fields is to really see how each field works with each person's plan.

While the OPs list may seem a bit black and white, the concerns listed are certainly things pre-health students must also consider. Many people grow up wanting to be some sort of health-care provider of some sort. Tons of kids say they want to be "doctors" when they grow up, but do they really understand what each profession entails? The general public already barely knows the difference between these doctorate fields, how can we fault students for just wanting be some sort of doctor?

The point in comparing pros and cons of both optometry and dentistry, is to decide which health-care program is most suitable for a person to pursue. It isn't enough to just say something like "choose what your passion is and everything else will fall into place."


Romey,
There are a few more cons in optometry you should also consider. Optometry commonly provides product-based income which may or may not prove difficult to sustain when competing against corporate optometry's rock bottom pricing and purported discounting of the profession in general. It all really depends on how you look at it. Product-based income means there is almost no cap on what you can make (vs. service based where you are limited by the amt of procedures you can do), but it makes your office more like a retail shop with retail income (which is good if thats what you want).
Some may also consider the legal challenges with opthalmology another barrier in the field. Another quandary you may run into is the possible oversaturation of desirable markets with optometry (probably see in dentistry as well).

Despite all your reservations, it certainly does seem like you have your mind pretty set on dentistry. Even though I have my reservations about optometry, I am still confident that I'll be able to weather the storm. You always hear the bad stories, but rarely hear the good ones, right?

In my opinion, dentistry and optometry are the two most desirable professions out of all the professions featured on SDN. You really gotta evaluate everything about the profession: income potential, educational requirements, lifestyle, mode of practice, daily routine, etc. I've gotta be honest here--I don't even LOVE eyes. I'm also sure not every competent dentist LOVES teeth. But, the sum of all these considerations = positive outlook for my future.

 

[panzer]

I don't think optometrists make 150k a year [esp the new ones] when the eyecare business is so unpredictable. Now, I am not some expert as some mods [optos in training] but business at lenscrafters kind of mirrors the optometrists business as well.

 

[gochi]

Alright, I've thinking about dentistry for the past 5 years which includes 2 years of working in a dental office, but now because of my friends, I am considering optometry.

I've got a pro and cons list below, tell me what you guys think I should do:

Dentistry cons:
1) the rumours of poor posture (leaning forward) is bad for your lower back, neck and wrists.
-I've actually talked to a number of dentist who've confirmed this. Some say go to a chiro/massage therapist, some say if you workout it's fine and other say its not a problem.

2) the obvious high stress and having to be accurate to the mm all day.

3) having to rely on your hands. So if you wake up with a sore wrist, back or neck its going to bother you all day.
-I dont mind working with my hands, its just the fact that I'm relying on them to make a living.

4) dentist make a lot of money but they also have the highest overhead. That's why dental school is twice the amount of tuition than medicine or optometry (in Canada that is...not too sure about most of you in the states). For the office that I worked in, the hygienists were getting paid $50/hr, each chair initially cost $10k, staff, building rent was $10k/month....a lot of bills.
After awhile I know it doesn't really make a difference but for the new dentist with tuition loans, the cost of marriage, a new house all adds up quickly to about >2 mil in debt. So I'm trying to say that the con is that you won't make good money till maybe 10 years of practicing. The office I worked at, the associate dentist was making $150k after 7 years of working there.

Pro: you can have dentists work under you and you can really work the business side while still doing dentistry....I believe this rarely happens in optometry.

Optomtery Pros:
-in Canada, we charge about $75/patient, and most opt. only see their patients for about 5 mins so you can easily make $300/hr.
-low stress, low overhead, insurance rates are lower

The only major con I see is that it may get very repetitive.
-------------------------------------

Just wondering what you guys think.
this to note:
-I've talked to both dentists/optometrists and every one says a different thing
-I really enjoy both fields, helping people, yada yada yada...
-Money is not really an issue...cuz i know both fields can make about the same amount.

To sum it up:
dentistry I like but its very expensive, stressful, and dangerous (working with HIV patients. On the flip side its interesting and different and can have other dentists work under you.

Optometry is less stressful, less overhead, safer, nothing life threatening. However, it may be very repetitive and I dont believe most optometrists are willing to work under you.

what do you thinks better?

lol @ .3k/hr.

 

[eyestrain]

lol @ .3k/hr.

lol @ 1.5yr old thread.

 

[optometryh]

well...i personally am doing optometry because i find myself a lot more comfortable with it...but i have many dentists in my family and i can tell u that dentists do make very good money early on in their career

 

[gochi]

well...i personally am doing optometry because i find myself a lot more comfortable with it...but i have many dentists in my family and i can tell u that dentists do make very good money early on in their career

whats wrong with becoming an optician?

 

[student47]

Romey,

You made the pros and cons list. Contrary to what everyone thinks and says...I think you did the right thing by making this list...no matter how different these two careers are, it's always good to compare them because they are very similar too as they're both in the medical field...I was stuck between Dentistry and Optometry as well in the beginning! I didn't make a pro and cons list like you did....not on paper at least...but I did make a mental pros and cons list....still I couldn't make a decision...so I decided to shadow a dentist for five days and an optometrist for five days...I found myself more interested in Optometry....both the dentist and the optometrist were very passionate about their fields and it really rubbed off on me...however, I was more interested in Optometry...I think you should shadow both of them at the same time..I know you have shadowed a dentist...at least that's what I get from your response...but I'm not sure whether you have even shadowed an optometrist...go ahead and do this....then look back at your pros and cons chart....and make a decision..you might not even have to look at this chart once you shadow an optometrist ...sometimes it can just end up being "this is it! i wanna do this" without making any kinda comparision chart