3 years to train, scope seems be on the same line as a general dentist (crown & bridge, fixed, removable, implants), and I hardly hear any general dentist refer their case to a prosthodontist (vs. ortho, perio, endo, OMFS, pedo). So what am I missing?
Why would you want to be a Prosthodontist?
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You're right, their work is very similar to a general dentist. I think very large or complex cases are referred to them. During the couple hours I was with prosthodontist she placed a crown and evaluated a full mouth restoration case. Over the years this guy had ground all of his teeth down nearly to the gum line. Every single one was going to need a post. He had been referred to her by a general dentist.
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Possibly someone who enjoys doing crowns, bridges, RPDs, etc...it's a specialty just like the rest...general dentist do all the other specialities all day everyday, prosthodontics is no different.
Yes it is a 3 year degree, however you can then do advanced training for another year and be certified in maxillofacial prosth.. And help people replace eyes, ears, noses, etc.. Plus multiple prosth prgrams are starting to place implants and are also doing there own oral surgery. It makes sense to place your own implants if you're going to restore it. Also, they are the ones who do full mouth restorations like 28 crowns etc..
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There's no big secret to pros - it's the rehabilitative/restorative specialty. Yes, this includes crowns and dentures but I wouldn't say that the training is designed to teach me how to prep a crown much as an oral surgeon doesn't go through 4-6 years of training to pull a tooth. Or an endodontist just does root canals. Or a pediatric dentist just sees kids. Any general dentist can DO anything any specialist can DO - but the training provides someone with a different perspective to treatment options, planning, sequencing, materials, etc. After all, if you can't see it you can't treat it.
I think pros is a rabbit hole. It goes a lot deeper than most people realize.
I think pros is a rabbit hole. It goes a lot deeper than most people realize.
If your school has a prosth residency I would recommend taking some time to shadow the residents, even if you're sure you will never do it. Some of the prosth cases I've seen really are incredible with the amount of detail and work involved, ie full mouth reconstruction cases, opening VDO, esthetic work, etc. Again, I guess it's possible that many of these cases can be tackled by a confident GP with CE training, but as Mackchops said, prosth residency goes deeper than people realize.
I'm not prosth btw, but spent some time shadowing prosth residents at my dental school. Definitely gave me some insight on the role they play in dentistry.
I'm not prosth btw, but spent some time shadowing prosth residents at my dental school. Definitely gave me some insight on the role they play in dentistry.
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I have no literature to back this up, but I've been hearing that pros is a dying speciality. What would make someone say this? The dentist I see is a pros, and he said pros as a specialty is becoming less common. I know some hygienists that work in pros offices, and they say things to me like "just don't specialize in pros, it's not a healthy speciality anyone". Any thoughts? I'm curious if there's actual reasons behind their claims.
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Hello to all,
Prosthodontic is not a dying discipline and it is still a competitive specialty. The reason why many US grads do not want to pursue is because the residency is tough, demanding and for some, getting trained in full mouth reconstruction or dealing with difficult cases is more than what they are willing to do.There are GPs who deal with complicated reconstruction like my excellent dentist (GP) but this is more of an exception rather than the norm. A GP taking CE classes cannot harbor same the knowledge of a prosthodontist who eats and sleeps prosthodontics intensely for three or four years straight. DP
Prosthodontic is not a dying discipline and it is still a competitive specialty. The reason why many US grads do not want to pursue is because the residency is tough, demanding and for some, getting trained in full mouth reconstruction or dealing with difficult cases is more than what they are willing to do.There are GPs who deal with complicated reconstruction like my excellent dentist (GP) but this is more of an exception rather than the norm. A GP taking CE classes cannot harbor same the knowledge of a prosthodontist who eats and sleeps prosthodontics intensely for three or four years straight. DP
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Very well said and I cannot agree more. For some reason pre-dental and dental students tend to look down on prosth, without any understanding of how difficult and intense their work actually is. Most of them think prosthodontists are just "glorified general dentists" which is great in showing how little they really know.
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...Not just pre-dental and dental students. Plenty of practicing dentists don't really know what prosthodontists do. If anything has been fuel for the "dying specialty" fire it's this lack of awareness - something the ACP has been working hard to rectify with gotoapro.org and Prosthodontics Awareness Week, etc.
I chose to become a prosthodontist because I like pros (duh!), but more importantly I always want to be the expert at what I do. I could gain a lot of the knowledge of a residency by doing general dentistry, but it would take me 20 years to do it. Plus, there are just some things you'll see at a dental school grad program that you'll never ever see again in private practice -- but knowing how to treat the crazy stuff makes the "normal" stuff that walks through your door that much "easier" to handle. Never a dull day with pros! Some interesting stuff...
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Oral Maxillofacial Prosthodontics is one of the coolest fields out there. Imagine designing specialized prosthetics just for cancer patients or replacing ears, nose or other facial features.
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Some of the work that maxillofacial prosthodontists do deserve to be on Ripley's. I have seen some prosthetic reconstructions at meetings that left me on awe. If you want a specialty that really affects a person's quality of life, look into MP. When I show my friends some of the constructions that I did, they could not believe that fall under the field of dentistry. DP
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Why are there so few Prosthodontists out there compared to other specialties? What are your thoughts on Pros as a specialty...is it still "set in their old ways" like many say? Most general dentists I have seen do not know or appreciate what they do, and think they can do the same work by taking CE (esp from the likes of Spear, Kois, Dawson). Most general dentists believe there is no need to refer restorative procedures.
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One benefit I see of being a prosthodontist as opposed to a general dentist is that you can enjoy doing restorative work without having to refer out all of your other cases that you don't want to do.
It's one thing to be a general dentist that refers out all endo, perio, OS, ortho and is just left with a small patient pool of good cases. It's another thing to be a prosthodontist that can survive on referrals from other general dentists, and also market the restorative procedures they offer much like a general dentist does their marketing (direct mail, phonebook ads, SEO).
You'll never see a pt look for an endodontist on their own, because they don't know that need one. However, a denture patient will know when they are unhappy with their prosthesis, and may respond to a prosthodontist's marketing.
It's one thing to be a general dentist that refers out all endo, perio, OS, ortho and is just left with a small patient pool of good cases. It's another thing to be a prosthodontist that can survive on referrals from other general dentists, and also market the restorative procedures they offer much like a general dentist does their marketing (direct mail, phonebook ads, SEO).
You'll never see a pt look for an endodontist on their own, because they don't know that need one. However, a denture patient will know when they are unhappy with their prosthesis, and may respond to a prosthodontist's marketing.
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Prosth is super hard work. You have to like "lab work" a lot (and most ppl don't).
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The best of the best dentists I've ever seen are prosthodontics. In my opinion the surgical prosthodontist (places his/her own implants, sinus lifts, lateral ridge augmentations, etc..) is the ultimate dentist. They have complete control over the case from treatment planning to surgery to restoration. The results are amazing. The surgical prosthodontist income is significantly above average. They spend their days doing implant supported dentures, fixed hybrid prothesis, full mouth reconstructions and multiple implants. They tend to not have to do the "grunt work" in dentistry and focus on the complicated restorative aspects.
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Currently a third year dental student seriously considering a Prosthodontic specialty. Its a fairly new consideration and I am excited at the prospect. I wanted to ask Prosthodontists both recent grads and more experienced their experiences and opinions on the future of the profession:
- As of 2016, do you still see a popularity of new private practices or is it shifting towards corporate? Are there still a good amount of referrals from general dentists or is it more necessary to join a group, multi-specialty practice?
- What are Prosth programs emphasizing on their selection process of applicants currently? (research/extracirriculars/letters of recommendation/clinic experiences/numbers (gpa/dat))
- Is there anything to make oneself a more appealing candidate for these programs?
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Love the user name
Let me answer your questions in reverse order. 2/3) If you spend a lot of time working and talking with your school's Pros faculty or shadowing in the Pros department it will help you tremendously in gaining an appreciation for what Pros residency will be like and what your future options as a prosthodontist would be. In my opinion, this is what most programs want to see in an applicant - do you really know what you're getting into? OMFS programs want applicants who have done externships and know what the 4-6 year commitment to a residency will be. Pros wants the same. Good grades, hand skills, etc are important, but knowing why you want to do Pros other than "I like lab work" or "I want to learn how to be a super general dentist" would, in my opinion, be paramount. 16 hour days and weekends spent in the lab are not uncommon.
1) I'm finishing my residency in June and I've had the opportunity to visit with about five practices that sounded interesting to me and my family. Most of these practices are doing very well financially practicing pure referral-based prosthodontics. One was a multi-specialty practice with an oral surgeon and two prosthodontists, one was a group of three prosthodontists, and the others were solo looking to add an associate. I ultimately decided to join up with a guy who has done a tremendous job educating his dental community on what he can offer - he gets more referrals than he can handle and has to turn a lot of patients away. But all of these practices were well-established and I pretty much had my pick. There are corporate pros options as well - have you looked at ClearChoice? I applied for a spot with them as well but they tend to want prosthodontists with more experience and not someone coming straight out of residency. In any case, Pros is very strong right now and I couldn't be happier with my decision.
Let me know if you have any other questions. PM me if you'd like.
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prosth-a specialty that i have an immense respect for, but something that i personally would never do.
the full mouth rehab cases that some prosths do are INSANE (in a good way). there's one prosth at my school who has a 30k/case minimum and he sees only a handful of patients a year. when i heard that i was just like
the full mouth rehab cases that some prosths do are INSANE (in a good way). there's one prosth at my school who has a 30k/case minimum and he sees only a handful of patients a year. when i heard that i was just like
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Prosth is amazing! I love it! It is a great specialty to go into if you love it, like any specialty, it isn't for everyone. I could never see myself doing pedo - I just don't enjoy doing that kind of stuff. But I see prosth being in high demand in the future. Yes, the specialty is catching on and prosthodontists are being trained to place their own implants, but I still see us being more restorative oriented. Some will not bite the hand that feeds them in private practice (periodontists and oral surgeons being a big referral source). My oral surgeon buddy is always wishing he had a good prosthodontist in the town he is in. There are so many options for a prosth...academia, private practice, corporate (Clear Choice pays 300k and more - they only hire specialists). It is also a very rewarding field, as you can really change lives - we all do this but on different levels. As a prosth you will want to position yourself in a demographic where you are needed. If you really love the technical aspects of dentistry, have an esthetic eye, enjoy complex cases, enjoy extensively getting to know a patient and working with them, love the specialty, go for it!
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Hey all! I know this thread is a little old, but figured I would try anyway!
I am a third year dental student currently trying to figure out whether or not I would like to specialize. I really enjoy all the prosth cases I have done so far and am considering a prosth residency. Specifically, I think that maxillofacial prosth is super cool. I guess my actual question is if anyone can shed some light on the typical MF prosth job? Do they work as a prosth and take some MF cases? I have seen some that work full time in a hospital on a tumor board replacing facial structures lost to cancers and trauma. Anything helps!
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