The field of Dentistry and leaving PA

[Dentalguy8621]

1.

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[Miley Cyrus.]

the future of PA looks great. With all the healthcare reform coming, the salaries will be going up. Dentistry is going to getting intensely competitive. Moving to a rural area isn't as easy as it looks. It also takes a lot of time to run a practice. What's your age?

 

[thirstyscholar]

> If I do chose Dentistry to work for a chain to gain experience for 5 years (tops) then move to a locale where I could establish my own practice (no big cities) or to look into a Dentists who is retiring and see about acquiring his business.

The plan most noobs take.

PA seems more inline with your train of thought.

 

[Erhatstil]

keeping your loans below 250k is doable, but what if you don't get in to your state school? unless you have cash to pay for school, odds are you'll end up spending more than 250. even in state tuition with living expenses can be that much.

 

[Dentalguy8621]

I feel I have a good chance.

 

[Miley Cyrus.]

Ok, then forget it. Just go into dentistry. Don't expect it to be a cakewalk though. Things have gotten much tougher. That dentist you talked to might have made it seem easier, and I've noticed some older dentists saying this. I think they've just been out of the loop regarding the current difficulties.

 

[Dentalguy8621]

Ok, then forget it. Just go into dentistry. Don't expect it to be a cakewalk though. Things have gotten much tougher. That dentist you talked to might have made it seem easier, and I've noticed some older dentists saying this. I think they've just been out of the loop regarding the current difficulties.

I never take anything as a cake walk. I know it's not gonna be a simple world where I'm gonna set sail and open up my own practice and have patients come swarming in. I feel as though all of the health professional fields have gotten much more difficult. I was looking into Pharmacy but one look at the saturation completely deterred me from trying out that field. What specifically in dentistry has changed? Is it a saturation problem (seems to be happening everywhere)? I've heard orthodontics is bleak due to the invisalign, but what's happening with general dentistry?

 

[Screwtape]

What day-to-day job would you rather have? PA and dentistry are very different careers and therefore have very different daily activities. You really need to think about what you want in a career (and outside of your career) and see which profession matches up most closely. As you know, shadowing is important. Why do you prefer PA over the MD/DO route?

I'll give you my admittedly biased view of PA's. I'm not a fan of the PA bandwagon by younger/traditional students who have little real health care experience. PA school used to be a bridge program for more experienced health care workers (read nurses and paramedics with years of health care experience) to get closer to provider status without the large amount of schooling later in life. You are young, why don't you want to go to medical school? You have a very long potential career ahead of you, a few more years in school when you're young can open up many more opportunities in the future. Also, think when you are 40, 50, 60 as a PA, you will still be the assistant to the new doc's coming out (30 year olds). You'd never be the expert when physicans are present. That would bother me, it may not to you. Sorry for the rant. If you don't want the responsibilities that come with being a physician and just want a typical 40 hour work week with a decent pay then PA totally makes sense. If this is so, don't pick dentistry. Dentistry is a very cool profession and if you get into a state school the tuition is very manageable. We are the masters of our domain and call the shots (if its our office). But this comes with more schooling (compared to PA) and more individual responsibility. Dentistry definitely has a higher income ceiling and average income than PA, if that matters to you.

Summary: Both are solid professions. Both have saturation issues in certain locales. If you are smart with money and get into a state school, you will not have a problem with the debt in either profession. If I were you, I would pick the job I could see myself happily doing for the rest of my life. Best of luck to you.

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

What day-to-day job would you rather have? PA and dentistry are very different careers and therefore have very different daily activities. You really need to think about what you want in a career (and outside of your career) and see which profession matches up most closely. As you know, shadowing is important. Why do you prefer PA over the MD/DO route?

I'll give you my admittedly biased view of PA's. I'm not a fan of the PA bandwagon by younger/traditional students who have little real healthcare experience. PA school used to be a bridge program for more experienced health care workers (read nurses and paramedics with years of health care experience) to get closer to provider status without the large amount of schooling later in life. You are young, why don't you want to go to medical school? You have a very long potential career ahead of you, a few more years in school when you're young can open up many more opportunities in the future. Also, think when you are 40, 50, 60 as a PA, you will still be the assistant to the new doc's coming out (30 year olds). You'd never be the expert when physicans are present. That would bother me, it may not to you. Sorry for the rant. If you don't want the responsibilities that come with being a physician and just want a typical 40 hour work week with a decent pay then PA totally makes sense. If this is so, don't pick dentistry. Dentistry is a very cool profession and if you get into a state school the tuition is very manageable. We are the masters of our domain and call the shots (if its our office). But this comes with more schooling (compared to PA) and more individual responsibility. Dentistry definitely has a higher income ceiling and average income than PA, if that matters to you.

Summary: Both are solid professions. Both have saturation issues in certain locales. If you are smart with money and get into a state school, you will not have a problem with the debt in either professions. If I were you, I would pick the job I could see myself happily doing for the rest of my life. Best of luck to you.

Contrary to popular belief on SDN, not everyone wants to be a physician. That includes some actual physicians.

OP, I'd say both are pretty solid options if you find the work interesting. Take some time to shadow, talk to old and young PAs/Dentists, and try to make the best decision for your personal career goals.

 

[Mattthias]

The sky she is falling.

 

[Dentalguy8621]

1.

 

[Dentalguy8621]

Contrary to popular belief on SDN, not everyone wants to be a physician. That includes some actual physicians.

OP, I'd say both are pretty solid options if you find the work interesting. Take some time to shadow, talk to old and young PAs/Dentists, and try to make the best decision for your personal career goals.

Definitely. I'm gonna get some more shadowing time in these next couple weeks and see what others think. Thanks again!

 

[Erhatstil]

your grades are really good. study hard for the DAT and get that done before july so you can get all your apps in early. do everything you can to get into your state school because you will save a lot of money.

 

[Dentalguy8621]

your grades are really good. study hard for the DAT and get that done before july so you can get all your apps in early. do everything you can to get into your state school because you will save a lot of money.

I'm working on that now. I read a couple threads about it but have any of you worked fulltime and done well on DAT (i know it depends on various factors etc how well you understand sciences)? I work three 12 hour shifts a week with 4 days off. I'm ending up literally studying all those days and working 3. I can't go on part time just yet at the hospital. Hopefully DAT goes well with my schedule.

 

[Erhatstil]

i didn't work while studying but it can be done. my brother scored mid 30s on his mcat working full time. just try to study 6-8hrs a day on the days you don't work. if you do that for a couple months you should be good.

 

[tooth knockn]

1.

Indecisive , good luck


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[Silent Cool]

What day-to-day job would you rather have? PA and dentistry are very different careers and therefore have very different daily activities. You really need to think about what you want in a career (and outside of your career) and see which profession matches up most closely. As you know, shadowing is important. Why do you prefer PA over the MD/DO route?

I'll give you my admittedly biased view of PA's. I'm not a fan of the PA bandwagon by younger/traditional students who have little real health care experience. PA school used to be a bridge program for more experienced health care workers (read nurses and paramedics with years of health care experience) to get closer to provider status without the large amount of schooling later in life. You are young, why don't you want to go to medical school? You have a very long potential career ahead of you, a few more years in school when you're young can open up many more opportunities in the future. Also, think when you are 40, 50, 60 as a PA, you will still be the assistant to the new doc's coming out (30 year olds). You'd never be the expert when physicans are present. That would bother me, it may not to you. Sorry for the rant. If you don't want the responsibilities that come with being a physician and just want a typical 40 hour work week with a decent pay then PA totally makes sense. If this is so, don't pick dentistry. Dentistry is a very cool profession and if you get into a state school the tuition is very manageable. We are the masters of our domain and call the shots (if its our office). But this comes with more schooling (compared to PA) and more individual responsibility. Dentistry definitely has a higher income ceiling and average income than PA, if that matters to you.

Summary: Both are solid professions. Both have saturation issues in certain locales. If you are smart with money and get into a state school, you will not have a problem with the debt in either profession. If I were you, I would pick the job I could see myself happily doing for the rest of my life. Best of luck to you.

I completely agree.

 

[Silent Cool]

Ok, then forget it. Just go into dentistry. Don't expect it to be a cakewalk though. Things have gotten much tougher. That dentist you talked to might have made it seem easier, and I've noticed some older dentists saying this. I think they've just been out of the loop regarding the current difficulties.

Miley,
Where would you recommend practicing in the country? I think my favorite state for dentistry is NH.