med students- why they look down upon us?

I put dental students on the same level as doctors. Afterall your first two years are pretty much exactly like ours. At least as far as I know.

I know a lot of dental students and dentist that are self depreciating, though.
And I'm always a little more impressed with someone who goes into dentistry because that's what they wanted to do. Not because they didn't think they could get into medical school.
Afterall medical schools have their own share of tools that aren't so sharp.

1) Less contention with predominance of managed care (at least for general dentists)
2) Oftentimes dental students and medical students take the same core canon of classes. (--> rivalry)
3) Dentists actually promote (if not require) interacting with other local dentists for educational as well as business purposes.
4) Dentists are in demand too. (Demand of course is relative to both widescale and local needs. Smaller dental school classes + increasing retirement trends + misc. factors I won't discuss = demand. Case in point.)
5) Dentists can opt to unwind by having some 'fun' in the lab as well with ultra-cool toys. (Harumph, how cliche-sounding was that?)
6) Dentists work as a formidable team with their staff as well as with the previously mentioned local professionals.
7) Dentists are by and large brilliant and amicable people (including the general dentists who can "refer away" problematic patients.)
8) Dentists neither have to watch patients die nor tell them to get their affairs in order. (onset of oral cancer is the definite major exception, note that I am not begrudged but I don't like watching folks die either)
9) (With numerous exceptions) Dentists can acquire this thing called sleep.
10) Dentists feel satisfaction, a measurable satisfaction, at the end of the day that inevitably rubs some disgruntled MD's the wrong way.

deeyala said:

back at school i was waaaaaaaaay more smart than he is

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If you use the term more smart, well, i'd hate to think how the other guy would get by.

deeyala said:

back at school i was waaaaaaaaay more smart than he is..

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Read this again--maybe, that's the reason?




Seriously, most countries don't have a division of dentists and physicians--you're a doctor with a specialty--dental, ENT, internal, etc.

I've always said that dentists in the US are people, who didn't go to med school; however, both routes are respectable.

I want to practice dentistry because it interests me, not because I want to have MD, DDS or DMD beside my last name... Who cares what others say?

I always get the "oh dentistry..." from people.

Doesn't really bother me , basically because so far i've been kicking the ass of all the medical students in mid terms (1 person managed to do better ).

The dental class on the whole in our faculty does alot better than the medical, so a med student looking down on us would kind of make him/her look pretty ******ed.

They're probably just jealous that you'll be able to buy your BMW while they are still riding their bikes to work.

As a medical student, I look in this forum sometimes because I'm curious, having had little exposure to the dental field.

I think that it runs both ways. My school has medical and dental students and the dental students seem to look down on the medical students. I know one of them personally and he is constantly telling me that dental school is much harder than medical school, etc. Other dental students say the same thing. I think that his comments are unfounded, and, even if they were 100% true, and medical school were much easier than dental school (I wouldn't know) then why say those things? I would never tell a nursing student that medical school is sooooo much harder than nursing school, even though medical school is probably more challenging. It belittles the person and it reveals an inferiority complex. Medical school is harder than a lot of things. To comment on this to someone in a school that I think is less challenging is rude.

So, there are a few things: First of all MD's are "more respected" in society, at least in my experience. I'm not saying this is true, merely that it appears to be the case.

On the other hand, it appears that dentists make more money and have a better lifestyle than MD's, in general. This is something that I personally envy! Although I don't take it out on current dental students.

deeyala said:

i've always wondered.. there's this guy i went to school with who's now a med student and goes to my uni so i ocassionally bump into him.. back at school i was waaaaaaaaay more smart than he is.. now he thinks i am a life-form of inferior intelligence simply because i am gonna be a dentist....!
what's with the superiority complex? and who put us in comparision together in the first place?.. after all i don't see them constantly trying to prove they are way better than mechanical engineers of pharmacists....!
so why us?

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How do you know he thinks you're a lower form of life? Did he say this? Are you sure it's not in your head? Anyhow, somebody else here gave a good comment: "who cares what other people think of what you do?" As long as you're happy with your choice that's good enough.

So, as long as you're happy that's cool, but i'm still tempted to add my own thoughts. Everybody is always jockying (spl?) for position. It's not necessarily a dental/medical dichotomy. In the medical profession itself, doctors are always putting each other down. Allopathic doctors think they're better than osteopathic doctors; specialists all think they're better than family practicioners; surgeons think they're better than everybody, etc, etc. Look at the dental residency forums and you'll see this in dentistry too: those oral surgery clowns like tex_oms are always harassing periodontists. This crap exists everywhere. Overall, people are jerks, and everybody's got an opinion on everything. Just be happy with who you are, and be the best that you can be. People who do this are the ones who come out on top.

oops! duplicate post.

since i was one of those pre-meds at one time (thank god i saw the light). i have quiet few friends in med school.. when they start belittling me i just tell them how i am not as stressed in school as they are..

SuperTrooper said:

How do you know he thinks you're a lower form of life? Did he say this? Are you sure it's not in your head? Anyhow, somebody else here gave a good comment: "who cares what other people think of what you do?" As long as you're happy with your choice that's good enough.

So, as long as you're happy that's cool, but i'm still tempted to add my own thoughts. Everybody is always jockying (spl?) for position. It's not necessarily a dental/medical dichotomy. In the medical profession itself, doctors are always putting each other down. Allopathic doctors think they're better than osteopathic doctors; specialists all think they're better than family practicioners; surgeons think they're better than everybody, etc, etc. Look at the dental residency forums and you'll see this in dentistry too: those oral surgery clowns like tex_oms are always harassing periodontists. This crap exists everywhere. Overall, people are jerks, and everybody's got an opinion on everything. Just be happy with who you are, and be the best that you can be. People who do this are the ones who come out on top.

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So does that mean we can't harass chiropractors anymore?

deeyala said:

i've always wondered.. there's this guy i went to school with who's now a med student and goes to my uni so i ocassionally bump into him.. back at school i was waaaaaaaaay more smart than he is.. now he thinks i am a life-form of inferior intelligence simply because i am gonna be a dentist....!
what's with the superiority complex? and who put us in comparision together in the first place?.. after all i don't see them constantly trying to prove they are way better than mechanical engineers of pharmacists....!
so why us?

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Actually, I've gotten nothing but respect from the med students near my school. I also respect what they do even though I'm very happy I chose dentistry instead of medicine.

deeyala said:

i've always wondered.. there's this guy i went to school with who's now a med student and goes to my uni so i ocassionally bump into him.. back at school i was waaaaaaaaay more smart than he is.. now he thinks i am a life-form of inferior intelligence simply because i am gonna be a dentist....!
what's with the superiority complex? and who put us in comparision together in the first place?.. after all i don't see them constantly trying to prove they are way better than mechanical engineers of pharmacists....!
so why us?

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I'm a medical student, but I never considered who might be 'smarter'. I'm guessing the difficulty of the course-work is similar, but maybe the dental students are smarter for selecting a profession a better lifestyle...

From what I understand the coursework is just a bit harder on the dentists the first 2 years.

I tend to agree with SuperTrooper that 90% of it is probably in your head.





But if he really does feel the need to belittle you he has serious issues and isn't worth the time you spent thinking about this.

superchris147 said:

So does that mean we can't harass chiropractors anymore?

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I fully encourage all medical professionals to harass chiropractors!! (& no, a chiropractor is NOT a medical professional) Chiropractric manipulation is all alternative bullsh*t!! I would never ever ever let a loved one see a chiropractor. Don't ever let a chiropractor touch your neck especially, please!!

This post may seem kindof ironic considering my previous post. But I don't think chiropractic work has any basis in medical knowledge, research, clinical testing, etc. Unlike dental and medical practices.

dinesh said:

From what I understand the coursework is just a bit harder on the dentists the first 2 years.

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Until it comes time to take the USMLE. There is no comparison. It makes the NDB look like a fourth-grade spelling test. It may cover the "same" material, but the questions are much more difficult.

why do so many pre-dents and dental students have some kind of neurosis about MDs? It's not like anybody really cares what you do for a living. The only ones who care are you and that certain segment of med students who are hoping that an MD will compensate for social/anatomical deficiencies.

But mostly it's in your heads.

I know a couple of med students and residents and they've always been cool to me. I think it depends more on the person than the graduate program he/she is in. Some people are insecure with themselves and they try to belittle others to make themselves feel better. In my experience most med students are pretty nice people and wouldn't talk smack to dental students, or anyone else....but maybe that's just here at UCLA.

dinesh said:

From what I understand the coursework is just a bit harder on the dentists the first 2 years.

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I donno about the US, but in Egypt, there's no comparison between the coverage of basic sciences in both curricula. Dental student study just the outlines of what we, med students, study. With the exception of oral anatomy of course.

deeyala said:

one more superiority complex? what about pharmacy students, why don't you constantly compare your curricula to theirs?
and you fail to notice that besides 'the basic medical knowledge' the dental students are having they have a whole different curriculum of dental sciences... cross that out in exchange for your "extensive curricula' and we're EVEN

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I wouldn't get worked up about fascia lata. Who knows what things are really like in Egypt? Do they even have dental schools? Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the guys who sell tourists mini pyramids and sphinxs also do the majority of dental work in egypt. Seriously, i wonder what dental prosthetics look like over there?! hmm...

deeyala said:

LOL
niah niah niah.. i forgot to mention i am a dental student in Egypt...
and no dentists aren't the guys selling mini pyramids to the tourists

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WTF!! haha!

Well, i guess this would explain why you and me are the only two people on the dental forum at this time. Me, I don't sleep (it's 5:50 in the morning on the east coast here). Whereas you, you are a crazy egyptian with crazy egyptian time zone stuff going on.

Our society/media portrays physicians as prestigious, intelligent and compassionate individuals.

Who is to say that knowledge of one particular area is better than other? Can you say career in acting is superioir to career in singing? I diagree. People put too much emphasis on career, and some judge people based on career. In reality, there are many other qualities far more important than what an individual does for a living.

During my first year I had a PA student tell me she thought dentists shouldn't be called "doctors" (picture her finger motions!) because they were so limited in their scope of knowledge and training -- as compared to PA's!

Regardless of one's level of training, people will try to slam others if they're insecure themselves. Unfortunately for them, they're the ones that look like tools every time.

Fascia Lata said:

I donno about the US, but in Egypt, there's no comparison between the coverage of basic sciences in both curricula. Dental student study just the outlines of what we, med students, study. With the exception of oral anatomy of course.

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That was helpful information for those of us looking to attend school in Egypt...oh right, no one...

I am a premed, but it is obvious. Dentists make more money, work less hours, and they get to sleep.

Doesn't egypt got hot girls?

OMFSCardsFan said:

That was helpful information for those of us looking to attend school in Egypt...oh right, no one...

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I thought dental school was a 6 week and medical school a 5 week program in egypt??

Come on play nice.

It's because we have bigger penises, they are jealous.

Anyone see that episode of "The Simpsons" where the vetrinarian saved the life of a dog and said "You know, it's times like these that I'm glad I failed out of dental school!"

drhobie7 said:

I know a couple of med students and residents and they've always been cool to me. I think it depends more on the person than the graduate program he/she is in. Some people are insecure with themselves and they try to belittle others to make themselves feel better. In my experience most med students are pretty nice people and wouldn't talk smack to dental students, or anyone else....but maybe that's just here at UCLA.

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Ditto. I've interacted with a few medical students here, and we are all pretty amiable to one another. I'm actually surprised how amiable we all are.

txdent2be2007 said:

Regardless of one's level of training, people will try to slam others if they're insecure themselves. Unfortunately for them, they're the ones that look like tools every time.

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Word.

Happy2th said:

Anyone see that episode of "The Simpsons" where the vetrinarian saved the life of a dog and said "You know, it's times like these that I'm glad I failed out of dental school!"

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LOl yea, i saw that episode about a week ago. What a show.

drhobie7 said:

I know a couple of med students and residents and they've always been cool to me. I think it depends more on the person than the graduate program he/she is in. Some people are insecure with themselves and they try to belittle others to make themselves feel better. In my experience most med students are pretty nice people and wouldn't talk smack to dental students, or anyone else....but maybe that's just here at UCLA.

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Funny true story that just happened last week.

I'm currently a 1st year omfs resident (hence 2nd year med student). Anyways, we have a physical diagnosis class in which we need to be paired up with a general surgeory resident so that he/she could teach us how to properly take a History and Physical exam. So on the first day we meet, he started to pimp me about various medical stuff.

After the pimp session ended, he asked me what speciality I was interested in.

Me: I kinda already am in a residency.......omfs.
Him: Oh geez.......sorry for being such a dweeb earlier, you should have told me.

txdent2be2007 said:

During my first year I had a PA student tell me she thought dentists shouldn't be called "doctors" (picture her finger motions!) because they were so limited in their scope of knowledge and training -- as compared to PA's!

Regardless of one's level of training, people will try to slam others if they're insecure themselves. Unfortunately for them, they're the ones that look like tools every time.

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Speaking of PA's..........

the student health PA at my current school basically said that student health physician at my dental school was wrong regarding a few things........ I know my physician was right cuz I had actually looked up the info in the literature. Talk about inferiority complex...........sheesh

Best friend just started his 1st year of residency in Internal Med. He can spout off things that I have no idea what he is talking about. Then again, same is true with my field. We greatly respect what the other does and we get on with it. I don't think I'm an MD and don't want to be. He doesn't think he is a dentist and doesn't want to be.

What hurts us dentists a little is some peoples blase (sp?) approach to the medical info we are taught that is often relevent. That and there are more guys in dent school that didn't get into med school than the other way around. Still DMD doesn't mean Didn't Make Doctor. Now if the MD's and DO's could just get along.....

Happy2th said:

Anyone see that episode of "The Simpsons" where the vetrinarian saved the life of a dog and said "You know, it's times like these that I'm glad I failed out of dental school!"

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Anyone know what season/episode that was?

deeyala said:

one more superiority complex? what about pharmacy students, why don't you constantly compare your curricula to theirs?
and you fail to notice that besides 'the basic medical knowledge' the dental students are having they have a whole different curriculum of dental sciences... cross that out in exchange for your "extensive curricula' and we're EVEN

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The problem is really in ur head. There is no superiority complex whatsoever. I myself wanted to go to dental school at some point of my life. I know u know a lot of things that I have no clue about. There's nothing wrong with taking LESS basic sciences than we do. It's just because you don't have to study the complex pelvic anatomy or the smallest details of the urinary physiology or diagnose Wolf-Parkinson-White sydrome from an EKG to make a tooth filling !! This is why dental students (in Egypt) study only the outlines of the basic medical sciences the medical students study. On the other hand, many medical students won't even know how many teeth one has in one's mouth. I don't know a single medical student that underestimates dental students. Again, i believe it is in your head, sorry

Regarding pharmacy, who told u we don't talk about pharmacists and what they do?? Actually dentists, unlike pharmacists, are doctors. Not only do pharmacists call themselves doctors (it doesn't bother me actually) but they act as ones as well. They (mis)diagnose patients and prescribe wrong medicines to them. Again this is in Egypt and I don't know about other countries. So I believe the debate is actually justified between doctors and pharmacists rather than between doctors and dentists. I haven't seen a doctor making braces and haven't seen a dentist doing a hemorrhoidectomy.

U can actually view my posting in El 3eyada El Hareedya (I will pm u the link).

SuperTrooper said:

I wouldn't get worked up about fascia lata. Who knows what things are really like in Egypt? Do they even have dental schools? Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the guys who sell tourists mini pyramids and sphinxs also do the majority of dental work in egypt. Seriously, i wonder what dental prosthetics look like over there?! hmm...

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I want to let u know more about Egypt. Egyptians are a bunch of illiterate bedouins living in tents and riding camels who try to fool tourists and sell them some stupid mini-pyramids and sphinxs. We don't have any sophisticated higher form of life in Egypt. Fortunately, we have some skilled Americans living here who do the medical and dental work. So, when u visit Egypt to buy a minipyramid, u don't have to worry about who will fix ur broken tooth.

Dentists have the highest Suicide rate too!!!

dinesh said:

They're probably just jealous that you'll be able to buy your BMW while they are still riding their bikes to work.

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The top 10 Highest Paying Jobs in the US
1-Surgeons: $190,280
2-Anesthesiologists: $184,880
3-Obstetricians and gynecologists: $180,660
4-Internists, general: $160,130
5-Pediatricians, general: $143,300
6-Chief executives: $140,580
7-Family and general practitioners: $139,640
8-Psychiatrists: $139,300
9-Dentists: $131,210
10-Airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers: $129,880

oh yeah i guess you are right but only if you flip the chart upside down

Fascia Lata said:

haven't seen a dentist doing a hemorrhoidectomy.

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thank god

Fascia Lata said:

... and haven't seen a dentist doing a hemorrhoidectomy....

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I have. Seriously. Spent a whole damn month on colorectal surgery.

DustyDog said:

The top 10 Highest Paying Jobs in the US
1-Surgeons: $190,280
2-Anesthesiologists: $184,880
3-Obstetricians and gynecologists: $180,660
4-Internists, general: $160,130
5-Pediatricians, general: $143,300
6-Chief executives: $140,580
7-Family and general practitioners: $139,640
8-Psychiatrists: $139,300
9-Dentists: $131,210
10-Airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers: $129,880

oh yeah i guess you are right but only if you flip the chart upside down

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Dentist= 4 years of school.
Everything above dentists on this list > 7 years...hence why he said while they (Drs) ride their bikes to work (residency).

Also, i dont know about you, but I imagine the 170K average dental salary reproted by the ADA is more accurate than this miracle list.

deeyala said:

i've always wondered.. there's this guy i went to school with who's now a med student and goes to my uni so i ocassionally bump into him.. back at school i was waaaaaaaaay more smart than he is.. now he thinks i am a life-form of inferior intelligence simply because i am gonna be a dentist....!
what's with the superiority complex? and who put us in comparision together in the first place?.. after all i don't see them constantly trying to prove they are way better than mechanical engineers of pharmacists....!
so why us?

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I'm a physician and I have never considered dentists or other health care professionals (except optometrists) to be less educated or inferior to physicians. I think most physicians think very highly of dentists. We are all part of the health care team. I personally believe dentists are highly skilled professionals who do great work and possess great skill. I have profound respect for dentists, pharmacists, nurses, psychologists, and other health care professionals.

The thing is, don't worry about what others think of you or your profession. Generally, while the public may not enjoy 6 month visits to their dentist, they respect them and appreciate them. Dentistry is a great profession, so who cares what some arrogant prick of a med student thinks? Be proud of who you are what you're going to become after you graduate and pass your boards. Depending on his specialty, you may very well make more money than him!

Good luck in dental school.

grmaster1 said:

Read this again--maybe, that's the reason?




Seriously, most countries don't have a division of dentists and physicians--you're a doctor with a specialty--dental, ENT, internal, etc.

I've always said that dentists in the US are people, who didn't go to med school; however, both routes are respectable.

I want to practice dentistry because it interests me, not because I want to have MD, DDS or DMD beside my last name... Who cares what others say?

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This is simply NOT true. Most dentists I know went into dentistry because they wanted to be dentists, not because they wanted to be doctors but couldn't "hack" it. Complete BS. Also, in EVERY country, dentistry is separate from allopathic/osteopathic medicine. Get your facts right before you make sweeping generalizations that have no basis in reality.