What dental specialties to choose? How and Why?

[PredentUndergrad]

Greetings dentists and future dentists!

All dental specialties aim to make a beautiful smile and better oral health care. And they all require using your hands while working. However, I don't know the primary factors to consider when thinking about a specialty. Can you please give examples from your own experience? What are other factors to consider when choosing a dental specialty? How do you know this specialty is the right choice?....

Thank you in advance!

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[THS]

Why not shadow a few specialists and see what you like? I shadowed several endodontists and thought it was awesome, but after spending hours in morphology lab waxing a tooth, I realized I couldn't do the exact same thing all day. I like the idea of being a GP because you get to try your hand at procedures in each specialty. The only specialties I don't care for are ortho and pedo, so I can refer those patients away while still doing molar endo, crown lengthening, implants and fixed dentures, wisdom tooth exo, etc.

Don't go into dental school with one specialty in mind. Just go in and get the best grades you can possibly get, involve yourself with student government and other student organizations, and make your resume as competitive as possible for any specialty you choose. You'll have plenty of experience in each during dental school for you to see what you do and don't like.

 

[PredentUndergrad]

Why not shadow a few specialists and see what you like? I shadowed several endodontists and thought it was awesome, but after spending hours in morphology lab waxing a tooth, I realized I couldn't do the exact same thing all day. I like the idea of being a GP because you get to try your hand at procedures in each specialty. The only specialties I don't care for are ortho and pedo, so I can refer those patients away while still doing molar endo, crown lengthening, implants and fixed dentures, wisdom tooth exo, etc.

Don't go into dental school with one specialty in mind. Just go in and get the best grades you can possibly get, involve yourself with student government and other student organizations, and make your resume as competitive as possible for any specialty you choose. You'll have plenty of experience in each during dental school for you to see what you do and don't like.

Thank you so much. This is really helpful!!