Dropping out and switching careers

[MAFLOH]

Hi all. Im a fourth year dental student and Ive posted here before. The more and more I spend time in this profession, the more I realize how much I truly despise it. I cant bring myself to like sticking needles in peoples mouths and working hunched over for hours on end doing monotonous work that requires extreme precision and focus, I get incredibly depressed thinking that this is what I will be doing for the rest of my life and in the near future. Ive already spent a Bear in mind Im a person who has passed all of his classes and clinical requirements this far, and after spending a year in clinic Ive realized this isnt something I want. My question is do I have a realistic chance at successfully switching my career path to Medicine at this point? I’m already 300k in debt and I understand that its going to cost me more money and time and Im likely going to spend many years working in public loan forgiveness, but in all honesty it could at least be doing something I enjoy

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[Faux]

I think what would be more depressing is leaving school with 8 months left and having 300k debt and nothing to show for it. Wether you stay or leave, your debt is still the same and you might as well leave being able to pay for it.

If you're truly set on medicine, you still need to take a class or two to finish those particular requirements. You also need to take the MCAT. Finish your last year in dental school and either take a night course or study for the MCAT in the mean time. You're young and you're able to do both.

I can't imagine what you must be feeling and I truly hope you find your way. But as an outside perspective, I rather you "waste" a year and get your degree than drop out. If you drop out and life happens between now and next year and you're not able to apply to med school, then what? What are you going to do? That loan bill still comes, life still continues and you still need to be able to stand on your own two feet and provide for yourself. Your DDS/DMD gives you that ability to stand on your two feet, NOW.

I go to Tim Horton's and McDonalds every now and then. And every time I leave I always feel the same way, which is fortunate. Because those people look so damm exhausted while I get to play with a hand piece all day and provide health care for people. There are worst gigs in the world than dentistry, and I promise if med school doesn't work out and you drop out now, you're going to feel a hell of a lot worse knowing you had a year left and you couldn't keep it together.

Whats one year, OP? For the ability to provide for yourself. As wonderful as med school may seem right now, at the end of the day, thats just a chance, not a guarantee. You still need to provide for your self, yet alone pay for the med school application and interviews.


Good Luck.

 

[GoldenDomer11]

"If you hate dentistry, do Ortho. If you hate Ortho, do research". (One of my ortho professors actually said this).

However, if you really think you love medicine, consider shadowing an Oral Surgeon.. if your school has a program try joining a resident for rounds or scrubbing up in the OR and see if it's more interesting to you than general dentistry. That's one of the reasons I am leaning that way myself. Private practice is a huge breadwinner, but the real joy I see in it is all the cool and crazy cases they get to do.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

As for getting into med school, I do not see dropping out of dental school to be a major issue

Contrarian here. Medical school adcoms might very well, and justifiably so, ask themselves what’s going to keep this person from dropping out of medical school? It actually could then be a big issue.

Big Hoss

 

[schmoob]

Agree with Hoss. Medical and dental sort of have romanticized understandings of one another. Many physicians say dentistry is great, and many dentists say medicine is great.

You may very well have these folks on adcoms to the schools you apply to, and many of them will likely think "He wants to quit when he made it this far? IN DENTISTRY? How is he going to handle clerkships and residency?"

If you want to do medicine, cool. But after making it this far, working this hard, and spending all this time and money is a bad move to give up now. When you finish, you will always have a skill that is in demand.

Why do you think you would enjoy medicine more than dentistry? (serious question)

 

[luisfigo]

Definitely a millenial wanting to find "happiness and fulfillment" in a job. The big secret..... it's all just a job when get to be 50-60+.
I'd finish, you're no guarantee of getting in med school. Bills are due. You have something to show for it, you can pay your way through med school. You have more options. You're not alone, however. My wife just took care of a dentist's kid, who talked about doing dentistry and making sure you love it. Of course, he also talked about guys that owned multiple practices and hated dentistry, so they decided just to be owners... and the kicker is that they bought houses off NBA players. I'm thinking you really have no conceptual idea of how much money 300k is to pay off, and you're also probably single.... wait till you find someone who then leaves you because your lifestyle sucks as a Dr because you made some stupid financial decisions in the past and handcuffed your future.

 

[oralcare123]

What stops you from going into OMFS? You will still stick people with needles, but you wouldn't be hunched over and call yourself a surgeon

 

[2TH MVR]

Finish school and go into academics. Finish school. Give dentistry a chance.
Finish school. Did I mention finishing school?

 

[LFA20]

Finish line is so closeeee. Don’t give up now

 

[pikaboo]

You came so far. Why don't you get your DDS/DMD and then look for switching careers if you so wish. Tho I wouldn't personally advise you for such a move due to having 300k+ in debt already, but if you want to go for medicine then you should at least finish your degree then look to switch.

 

[ysrebob]

MAFLOH, this is a tough thing to realize when youre so far into school but at least you are being honest with yourself.

I too quietly hate dentistry, hate it more every year. Hate giving blocks, hate giving people bad news, hate that my work can never quite be perfect. You would have plenty of company among your fellow dentists if you continued right on into practice feeling this way - only difference being most dentists who feel this way didn't know it until they were a couple years into practicing. I firmly believe you need to have either very thick skin or a sort of innate emotional deafness to actually ENJOY being a general dentist.

Here is the thing. You realized just a little too late what most dentists realize quite a bit too late: ie that significant parts of this job are going to suck for you. But a little too late is exactly what it is. You're 300K into it now, and on the cusp of earning what is (despite the profession's sorrows) a VERY VALUABLE DEGREE.

If I were you I would power through, get to work as a general dentist, work really hard and save really hard, and plan on retiring early to enjoy some sort of second act in life. Read the Mr Money Mustache blog for inspiration. I am less than a decade out of school, will be retired in seven or eight years and plan to never touch another handpiece again. That potential earning power makes up for some lost stomach lining along the way. If you bail out of dentistry right now and retrain as an MD or something, you will be working till the day you drop to pay off the damage.

Alternative, as previously suggested, would be to specialize. Narrowing your scope of care may make life better in some respects. Or maybe teach... but I have the impression that tenure-track D school jobs can be hard to get (as opposed to part-time clinic faculty jobs that pay poorly).

I wholeheartedly commiserate with your predicament... but don't bail out on D school now - you really are too far in.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

MAFLOH, this is a tough thing to realize when youre so far into school but at least you are being honest with yourself.

I too quietly hate dentistry, hate it more every year. Hate giving blocks, hate giving people bad news, hate that my work can never quite be perfect. You would have plenty of company among your fellow dentists if you continued right on into practice feeling this way - only difference being most dentists who feel this way didn't know it until they were a couple years into practicing. I firmly believe you need to have either very thick skin or a sort of innate emotional deafness to actually ENJOY being a general dentist.

Here is the thing. You realized just a little too late what most dentists realize quite a bit too late: ie that significant parts of this job are going to suck for you. But a little too late is exactly what it is. You're 300K into it now, and on the cusp of earning what is (despite the profession's sorrows) a VERY VALUABLE DEGREE.

If I were you I would power through, get to work as a general dentist, work really hard and save really hard, and plan on retiring early to enjoy some sort of second act in life. Read the Mr Money Mustache blog for inspiration. I am less than a decade out of school, will be retired in seven or eight years and plan to never touch another handpiece again. That potential earning power makes up for some lost stomach lining along the way. If you bail out of dentistry right now and retrain as an MD or something, you will be working till the day you drop to pay off the damage.

Alternative, as previously suggested, would be to specialize. Narrowing your scope of care may make life better in some respects. Or maybe teach... but I have the impression that tenure-track D school jobs can be hard to get (as opposed to part-time clinic faculty jobs that pay poorly).

I wholeheartedly commiserate with your predicament... but don't bail out on D school now - you really are too far in.

Yep.

As a predent you write about how dentistry is your “passion” in your personal statement. However, almost inevitably, you’ll realize dentistry is a “job.” This realization may even come during school. And OP, guess what, medicine is also a “job.” Looking for a passion? Try fly fishing. But if I were you, I’d stick with dentistry as your day job.

Big Hoss

 

[Rambunctious]

What stops you from going into OMFS? You will still stick people with needles, but you wouldn't be hunched over and call yourself a surgeon

Have you spent time in OS extracting teeth or placing implants? My back hurts doing that more than any restorative work.

 

[Saddleshoes]

Yep.

As a predent you write about how dentistry is your “passion” in your personal statement. However, almost inevitably, you’ll realize dentistry is a “job.” This realization may even come during school. And OP, guess what, medicine is also a “job.” Looking for a passion? Try fly fishing. But if I were you, I’d stick with dentistry as your day job.

Big Hoss

Truth! Truth! Truth! Truth!

 

[2TH MVR]

The sad part is the OP hasn't even dealt with one of the biggest stressors. Running a dental practice and managing staff and patients. You wear many many hats and being a dentist is just one of the hats.

 

[deleted547631]

Hi all. Im a fourth year dental student and Ive posted here before. The more and more I spend time in this profession, the more I realize how much I truly despise it. I cant bring myself to like sticking needles in peoples mouths and working hunched over for hours on end doing monotonous work that requires extreme precision and focus, I get incredibly depressed thinking that this is what I will be doing for the rest of my life and in the near future. Ive already spent a Bear in mind Im a person who has passed all of his classes and clinical requirements this far, and after spending a year in clinic Ive realized this isnt something I want. My question is do I have a realistic chance at successfully switching my career path to Medicine at this point? I’m already 300k in debt and I understand that its going to cost me more money and time and Im likely going to spend many years working in public loan forgiveness, but in all honesty it could at least be doing something I enjoy

I quit dental school after first semester of third year. I only regret not doing it sooner. I know exactly how you feel with regards to the anxiety and feelings of depression of not pursuing something you'd rather do. I was doing well in dental school and passing all courses but it became completely evident to me shortly after passing NBDE1 that I made a huge mistake, for so many reasons. I'm in third year of medical school now and absolutely love it. PM me if you'd like.

 

[Svart Aske]

Get your degree first and don't look back. Dropping out now with that much loan and nothing to show for it is insane. If you want to go to med school, having a dental degree may still be helpful.

There are also a few non-clinical industry jobs out there where a DDS/DMD will open doors for you.

 

[LFA20]

What stops you from going into OMFS? You will still stick people with needles, but you wouldn't be hunched over and call yourself a surgeon

Digging dem roots after breaking off a crown during extraction is no fun for your neck and back

 

[Likkriue]

Go into OS and get into a 6 year who does their 2 med school years first. Get the md and drop out of the program and you can do whatever medical residency you want.
Or just do academic Os at a hospital and never pick up a cavitron ever again.

 

[oralcare123]

Have you spent time in OS extracting teeth or placing implants? My back hurts doing that more than any restorative work.

A lot depends on attitude. With some people there's no winning

 

[Greyangel6]

Sorry to hear your predicament! Like many previous posters, I agree that you're already in too deep to give up now. And like one of the previous post said, think of it like a job. I personally had some serious burn-out during my D2 year. I had so much regret. The anxiety and stress started piling on. I actually thought about quitting. But because I have the Navy scholarship, I also come from very very humble background, I can't afford to quit. Now I just accept the fact that I could do a lot worse than dentistry. I actually found that I like certain aspects of dentistry more so I've decided to go towards specializing. Hope you find your way!

 

[mds7]

I just read all the comments and here’s my two cents. To the OP, I’m sorry you’re going through this, but did you shadow a dentist, and talk to people about the career track? Or did you have a family member in it? It’s very unfortunate bc tons of people apply every year wanting the spot that you want to give up. Most people have said to finish which I 100% agree. Finish and start working. Clinical dentistry is gonna be different than school and you might actually enjoy it. If not, I guess you can try med school, but keep in mind you’ll be retaking (if the classes dont transfer) those basic sciences that you took in dentistry, and still a residency on top of that. You also spoke about delivering bad news and not being perfect, but the same thing is the case with medicine, you will not have the answer for everything and you might have to take someone off life support. Plus the hours will be worse. If you still wanna do then do it after your dental degree is completed but DO your research. What will you do if you get to 4th year med and “dont like it?” You’ll be in the same boat, and it wont be a problem with your career choice, it’s really a YOU problem.