Do patients care which dental school you go to?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
DAS

DAS

Full Member
10+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2006
Messages
195
Reaction score
1
okay I am a predent, and obviously my main priority is getting in. But, I am also weighing in which schools I should choose to go to if I get multiple acceptances. Lets say I get 2 acceptances, one from a school that has a lower prestige, and the other from an average school. After graduation do you guys think patients will come to a dentsit, because of the good clinical skills of a dentist, or because of the school one goes to ? This is really troubling me.
Members don't see this ad.
 
DAS said:
okay I am a predent, and obviously my main priority is getting in. But, I am also weighing in which schools I should choose to go to if I get multiple acceptances. Lets say I get 2 acceptances, one from a school that has a lower prestige, and the other from an average school. After graduation do you guys think patients will come to a dentsit, because of the good clinical skills of a dentist, or because of the school one goes to ? This is really troubling me.
Click to expand...

Patients care about how far a drive you are from their home/office, how long they wait in the waiting room, how much you charge, how much pain you cause them (with injections, etc), your likeability as a person, and how good they "think" your work is.

Go to the school that is best for you, which may not necessarily be the least expensive dollar wise. I mean, what if you go to a cheap school and your life is so miserable or they give you a hard time over ridiculous stuff and make you repeat a year for minor things (like at UConn--check out all the ridiculous stuff they did to students on the thread about suing UConn). Then, you just paid for an extra year of school and lost one year of practice (even more money). Thus, go to the school that is right for you.
 
0.000000000001% of your patients will care. What they care about more is trusting you as a person.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
the more important thing is connections and networking. reputation is the name of the game
 
Thanks everyone for your responses. I really like this school, lower prestige, but low cost and REALLY REALLY nice environment and NICE faculty and staff. And I was just worried if getting in this school would hert my chances in the future as a dentist, BUT IT DOESNT :clap: :clap:
me happy:D
 
I would be shocked if you ever had a single patient that gave a crap where you went to school.

DAS said:
okay I am a predent, and obviously my main priority is getting in. But, I am also weighing in which schools I should choose to go to if I get multiple acceptances. Lets say I get 2 acceptances, one from a school that has a lower prestige, and the other from an average school. After graduation do you guys think patients will come to a dentsit, because of the good clinical skills of a dentist, or because of the school one goes to ? This is really troubling me.
Click to expand...
 
DAS said:
Thanks everyone for your responses. I really like this school, lower prestige, but low cost and REALLY REALLY nice environment and NICE faculty and staff. And I was just worried if getting in this school would hert my chances in the future as a dentist, BUT IT DOESNT :clap: :clap:
me happy:D
Click to expand...

I agree; you should definitely go to Buffalo! :D
 
Patients are happy if you address their reason for coming in a timely, professional, and well manner. Although, if school does make a difference, I guess patients might feel more familiarity and comfort with a dental practitioner that went to a school close to where they are. For instance, possibly, slim chance, a patient from Nebraska might feel more at ease from a dentist they knew graduated from Creighton or UNL.

However, at the end of the day, if you solve their reason for coming, you don't take too long, not a lot of pain, you are the best dentist they know!
 
one of my undergrad professor tried to convince me that i had to know OChem to be a good dentist.

He told me he asked his dentist what reaction one of his polymers went through during it's polymerization (who remember acylation or that crap?) and because the dentist couldn't answer he switched...

My reply: If that happens to me I will let the patient leave, i will help them with the door, i would rather not deal with the type.:D

not a very happy man.
 
1992Corolla said:
one of my undergrad professor tried to convince me that i had to know OChem to be a good dentist.

He told me he asked his dentist what reaction one of his polymers went through during it's polymerization (who remember acylation or that crap?) and because the dentist couldn't answer he switched...

My reply: If that happens to me I will let the patient leave, i will help them with the door, i would rather not deal with the type.:D

not a very happy man.
Click to expand...



ooh! ooh! Ask him what happens to retinal cells when you shine a curing light onto them!
 
There was a thread like this some time ago and this is what I posted then:

Contrary to what most people have said, I would venture out to say, while running the risk of being excommunicated from SDN, that some patients actually do know and care what school their dentist went to. Now before I go on any further, let me first make it clear that I’m not saying this to argue that you should thus choose your school based on its reputation… absolutely not. All I’m saying is that if you think no one ever will care or even know where you went for your dental training, then you are mistaken. I personally know plenty of people who know where their dentists went for school. Many of my friends mention to me how their dentists went to this school and that school when I talk with them about how I’m going to dental school. They go even so far as to say that they feel more confident of their dentists because their dentists went to this particular “prestigious” school (note the quotations). Now again, am I saying that they’re correct in thinking this way? Of course not, but some people inevitably do think this way… And it’s not just my friends but also many other people that I’ve come across.

I know that what I’m saying is contrary to what a lot of people will say here and it’s a controversial topic but I just had to say that because I feel like people are repressed from saying this sorta on SDN. It’s almost like the culture here at SDN. You know… every time someone asks a somewhat naïve question, people are just kinda waiting for someone to start the pounding session and everyone else joins in for a punch. Guys, just chill a little bit. You don’t have to assume that everyone who asks these types of questions is a gold-digger who wants to enter dentistry solely for the money… Whew~ I’m taking it for the team and telling you what I think is a fair, unassuming, and objective observation from my experience.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
ysk said:
There was a thread like this some time ago and this is what I posted then:

Contrary to what most people have said, I would venture out to say, while running the risk of being excommunicated from SDN, that some patients actually do know and care what school their dentist went to. Now before I go on any further, let me first make it clear that I’m not saying this to argue that you should thus choose your school based on its reputation… absolutely not. All I’m saying is that if you think no one ever will care or even know where you went for your dental training, then you are mistaken. I personally know plenty of people who know where their dentists went for school. Many of my friends mention to me how their dentists went to this school and that school when I talk with them about how I’m going to dental school. They go even so far as to say that they feel more confident of their dentists because their dentists went to this particular “prestigious” school (note the quotations). Now again, am I saying that they’re correct in thinking this way? Of course not, but some people inevitably do think this way… And it’s not just my friends but also many other people that I’ve come across.

I know that what I’m saying is contrary to what a lot of people will say here and it’s a controversial topic but I just had to say that because I feel like people are repressed from saying this sorta on SDN. It’s almost like the culture here at SDN. You know… every time someone asks a somewhat naïve question, people are just kinda waiting for someone to start the pounding session and everyone else joins in for a punch. Guys, just chill a little bit. You don’t have to assume that everyone who asks these types of questions is a gold-digger who wants to enter dentistry solely for the money… Whew~ I’m taking it for the team and telling you what I think is a fair, unassuming, and objective observation from my experience.
Click to expand...


Says the person from the "prestigous" school. The vast, vast, VAST majority of patients won't care and won't even know where you went to school. Pacific has one of the best reputations around, but your typical patient wouldn't have a clue as to how good Pacific is. Your patients will feel the same way about your school as you do. I work for a dentist who graduated from Temple. When I tell his patients that I go to Temple most say, "Wow, Temple has one of the best clinics in the country. I have heard that it is a much better school than Penn's." Why do they say that? Because that is what their dentist has told them. I bet patients that go to Penn's Alum, would say the exact same thing about Penn. So, go where you will be happy, and then one day your patients will all think that you graduated from the best dental school in the country (because you will have).

That being said, Temple does have the best clinic in the country.:D
 
ysk said:
There was a thread like this some time ago and this is what I posted then:

Contrary to what most people have said, I would venture out to say, while running the risk of being excommunicated from SDN, that some patients actually do know and care what school their dentist went to. Now before I go on any further, let me first make it clear that I'm not saying this to argue that you should thus choose your school based on its reputation… absolutely not. All I'm saying is that if you think no one ever will care or even know where you went for your dental training, then you are mistaken. I personally know plenty of people who know where their dentists went for school. Many of my friends mention to me how their dentists went to this school and that school when I talk with them about how I'm going to dental school. They go even so far as to say that they feel more confident of their dentists because their dentists went to this particular "prestigious" school (note the quotations). Now again, am I saying that they're correct in thinking this way? Of course not, but some people inevitably do think this way… And it's not just my friends but also many other people that I've come across.

I know that what I'm saying is contrary to what a lot of people will say here and it's a controversial topic but I just had to say that because I feel like people are repressed from saying this sorta on SDN. It's almost like the culture here at SDN. You know… every time someone asks a somewhat naïve question, people are just kinda waiting for someone to start the pounding session and everyone else joins in for a punch. Guys, just chill a little bit. You don't have to assume that everyone who asks these types of questions is a gold-digger who wants to enter dentistry solely for the money… Whew~ I'm taking it for the team and telling you what I think is a fair, unassuming, and objective observation from my experience.
Click to expand...

totally agree with you. funny thing is, people who are from the more prestigious schools say it matters, and the people from the less prestigious schools say it doesn't matter. one of us is in denial and/or suffering from self-deception.

the level of school prestige definitely matters for doctors and people in the business world. i see no reason why it would be any different for dentists.
 
The name of the school doesn't matter. I've never had a pt. come to me b/c of the school and I've never had a pt leave me b/c of the school. Pts. don't know the difference.

Anyone that thinks that dental school is going to matter in the real world doesn't know what the real world is. .

The only thing that matters is business and personality
 
I agree with diagnodent. Or you can let the first and second year students blow smoke up certain orifices when they tell you that patients care. It's not controversial ysk, you are just wrong. And you don't have any experience to correct me until you are out of school.

Looking at it the other way ... if you go to a "prestigious school", but you have no personality, they won't say anything about you. They will just move on.

It's not to say UPenn is not a great school. It is. Be proud of your school, for sure, but when you are out practicing for a few years the name of the school just won't matter (compared to everything else) with patients. Sure, the name will sound nice, but the way you present yourself is more important.
 
diagnodent said:
The name of the school doesn't matter. I've never had a pt. come to me b/c of the school and I've never had a pt leave me b/c of the school. Pts. don't know the difference.

Anyone that thinks that dental school is going to matter in the real world doesn't know what the real world is. .

The only thing that matters is business and personality
Click to expand...

so very true......

it's all in the personality
 
dentalman said:
I agree with diagnodent. Or you can let the first and second year students blow smoke up certain orifices when they tell you that patients care. It's not controversial ysk, you are just wrong. And you don't have any experience to correct me until you are out of school.

Looking at it the other way ... if you go to a "prestigious school", but you have no personality, they won't say anything about you. They will just move on.

It's not to say UPenn is not a great school. It is. Be proud of your school, for sure, but when you are out practicing for a few years the name of the school just won't matter (compared to everything else) with patients. Sure, the name will sound nice, but the way you present yourself is more important.
Click to expand...


not just that but patients dont even know where their dentist went to school and they cannot even tell when their dental work is good....

it's like the previous SDNer said: business and personality....
 
For those in the class of 2010 - take the opinions of those who are already years out to know that the posters on here with more experience aren't trying to shoot down the "prestigious" schools, they're just telling it like they've seen it.

I've treated many highly educated patients who 1) didn't care where I went to dental school 2) assumed (until I said otherwise) that I went to what is touted on SDN as an "easy to get in" dental school based solely on the location of where I was practicing 3) asked me where I went to school because they were curious & trying to make conversation and not actually trying to judge my skills & personality.

So I take my DDS and go back to residency. Eleven residents in this program coming from 10 different dental schools and NEVER do our patients ask where the doctors went to dental school prior to coming to residency (and many of our patients and their parents are highly educated people from "prestigious" schools). In fact, the only people who ask us on a routine basis where we went to school are the company reps who are trying to figure out if they know the rep from the region your school was located.
 
r0entgen said:
totally agree with you. funny thing is, people who are from the more prestigious schools say it matters, and the people from the less prestigious schools say it doesn't matter. one of us is in denial and/or suffering from self-deception.

the level of school prestige definitely matters for doctors and people in the business world. i see no reason why it would be any different for dentists.
Click to expand...

My wife's doc went to school in the Caribbean. All the women we know go to him. Not because of where he went to school (obviously) but because he is nice and smart and easy going and has a great staff. Tons of people who graduated from Ohio Central or other equally unknown places are business leaders in this country. The name of your school might get you your first job (or first patient) but won't build an entire business or practice. There is a lot more important factors than the name on your diploma.
 
ya it has less to do with the school and more with the personality, if you treat the person really well htey will think you are great, if you are a great dentist but cause them pain and ignore them when they tell you it hurts they will hate you
bedside manner baby

for the 1% that asks you what school you went to chances are they are going to think that the local schools/schools in the general area are the best
 
superchris147 said:
ya it has less to do with the school and more with the personality, if you treat the person really well htey will think you are great, if you are a great dentist but cause them pain and ignore them when they tell you it hurts they will hate you
bedside manner baby

for the 1% that asks you what school you went to chances are they are going to think that the local schools/schools in the general area are the best
Click to expand...
As a rule, dental patients want to know three things about their dentist:

1) How much will it cost?
2) How long will it take?
3) How much will it hurt?

Compared to those three priorities, "Where did you go to school?" doesn't even register.
 
aphistis said:
As a rule, dental patients want to know three things about their dentist:

1) How much will it cost?
2) How long will it take?
3) How much will it hurt?

Compared to those three priorities, "Where did you go to school?" doesn't even register.
Click to expand...

I agree
 
aphistis said:
As a rule, dental patients want to know three things about their dentist:

1) How much will it cost?
2) How long will it take?
3) How much will it hurt?

Compared to those three priorities, "Where did you go to school?" doesn't even register.
Click to expand...

Great point aphistis but I would switch around the rankings.
1) How much will it hurt?
2) how much will it cost?
3) how long it will take?
 
Some schools give DDS and some give DMD degree? Do patients care with Which degree you have?
 
I am not above being impressed by Ivy League credentials, and neither is the any other average joe. But if you charge me more than the next guy for the same thing, I would leave you in a New York minute.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

M
Dental care system/insurance 101 for international pre-dent student
Replies
2
Views
701
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
I
Which schools include an iPad in your student fees?
Replies
1
Views
704
Anonamoose
A
O
Which dental schools require “dean’s certification letter”(or anything relevant) upon acceptance?
Replies
3
Views
2K
Rick Harrison
Rick Harrison
L
Which dental schools do/don't prepare students enough to need a residency?
Replies
5
Views
3K
dentistrydmd
D
T
How to be quicker while working in patients in Dental School?
Replies
2
Views
2K
oralcare123
O
Top