Knowing what you know now...

[acemason]

... would you still have attended DS/gone into Dentistry knowing what you know now and actually having experiencing it? If not, what would you be doing instead? If so, what makes it worth it for you personally?

Please elaborate if you can.

I am interested in you guys' responses.

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[bjpenn]

I actually enjoy dentistry. I can take someone out of pain and improve their self-esteem. What's cool is when they are terrified to first see you, and they leave the office relieved and happy. What's crazy is to think that people whom I've never met, allow me to look in their mouths. A couple of experiences come to mind:

12yo f: shaking because she didn't want a shot, she was scared and wanted to leave. I said: "give me one chance, if it hurts really bad then I'll let you go and we can stop" After I gave her an injection, she said, " best doctor ever!!"

35yo/f: crying and hyperventilating in the chair because she had a bad experience. Gave her some nitrous, explained everything to her, let her know exactly what to expect, ended up doing an endo/crown on one tooth, and a filling basically on every posterior tooth in two visits. She ended up bringing her three kids.

16yo/m: extracted teeth #1 and #32 after having pain, and unable to eat. Kid comes back 1wk later and says, "I had no swelling at all, it wasn't as bad as I thought" Mom was thanking me a million times.

The more I think about it, the worse part is the debt. Its a burden and I wish school wasn't so expensive. But, I try to focus on increasing my skillz and being the best dentist I can be because I've seen some **** work out there.

 

[Bereno]

I just deleted a very long winded response. To summarize what I would have typed out: people don't know what they don't know, so its hard to say how it fares against other professions. IMO, I like dental school and I like dentistry, but I don't know if I would actually like other professions more. Much like @bjpenn said - its great when patients walk out better than they walked in.

 

[bjpenn]

@Bereno hit it right on the nail. It took me a 6 months after dental school to realize that YOU DONT KNOW WHAT YOU DONT KNOW.

 

[SM555]

The grass is always greener on the other side

 

[jeffk805dent]

I cant remember which poster said it but supposedly he said the majority of dentistry you learn is AFTER you graduate. There's some truth to that and depending on what type of office setting you have, you may have to learn quick.

I have mixed feelings about doing dentistry, largely because of debt and amount paid after taxes. People look at the $200k salary but then they fail to take into account the amount left and then the final amount left after loan repayment which can go up to 20-25 years if one wants to live a normal life in the time being.

I do like the hours and the immediate positive impact on a patient one can have in their hours. Keep in mind my parents are not rich and I received no support from them when going to dental school and opening up my practice. Other dental students might have been lucky and had parental support which really alters the whole lifestyle in dentistry when you look at the grand scheme of things (in no way am I saying these students with parental support are spoiled, just damn lucky = ] )

 

[acemason]

Thank you everyone for your responses. I just wanted to see how my personal philosophy and reasons for choosing this career align with those who have gone through it.