Predmed friends: why not dentistry?

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moto_za

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ok.. so i was talking with a doctor who is a good friend of mine and he challenged me in every way and in some way confused and encouraged me towards dentistry. this is not the first time, every time i talk with this person he confuses me and makes me uncertain. don't get me wrong i have over four years of clinical and research experience.. but he told me to consider the pros and cons. i am a junior and just registered to take the mcat and here i am like a confused freshman please help! i have minimum dental experience and don't mind it but then again i know i will regret medical school if i go to dent.

sorry for the long post
your friend,
moto😎
 
Uh oh.
This is going to be controversial.

Here's my reason:
I am an elitist and I feel doctors are smarter than dentists.
 
I don't really want to be in someone's mouth all day.
 
Eileron said:
I don't care about teeth; they bore me. Like how I don't want to be an optician because dealing with people's eyes just bothers me deep inside.
Click to expand...

What about an ophthalmologist?
Clearly ophthalmologists deal with people's eyes much more and at a deeper level than optometrists, who I presume only need to know simple lens properties and characteristics of human eyes.
 
My negative attitude toward dentistry is the same feeling I have for surgery. It's routine, nothing ever changes, and you inflict pain on people daily.

Not my cup of tea... 😉
 
gapotts2003 said:
My negative attitude toward dentistry is the same feeling I have for surgery. It's routine, nothing ever changes, and you inflict pain on people daily.

Not my cup of tea... 😉
Click to expand...

Well yeah, sure, but at least with surgery, you make much more money than most dentists and can develop an elitist attitude that you were one of those who were among the top at your medical school.
 
whaT about the lifestyle and not having killer residency hours ?
 
moto_za said:
whaT about the lifestyle and not having killer residency hours ?
Click to expand...

just choose the right medical specialty and the lifestyle and residency become less of an issue, if a nonissue, when you compare to dentistry.
 
moto_za said:
whaT about the lifestyle and not having killer residency hours ?
Click to expand...

I'd say if you don't enjoy your job then any hours are killer no matter how much money you make. It's one thing to be a resident and to know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It's quite another to be stuck in a job where nothing changes for the rest of your life.
 
here's my answer... when i told my med school bound sister i wanted to do dentistry she told me "hey, what do you call a person who can't get into med school?"

"iono what?"

"a dentist"

:meanie:
 
that is kinda why i still wanna go to med school
 
teeth are boring and a little unnerving for me. I could never be comfortable doing that work. It's a stupid question anyways, IMO. Why not nursing? Why not janitorial science? Why not sanitation removal services? BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO DO IT.
 
TheProwler said:
teeth are boring and a little unnerving for me. I could never be comfortable doing that work. It's a stupid question anyways, IMO. Why not nursing? Why not janitorial science? Why not sanitation removal services? BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO DO IT.
Click to expand...

That's the answer in its simplest form. Every job in the world has to be done by somebody so you should try to make sure whatever you're going to be doing isn't something that you're going to hate.
 
shnjb said:
What about an ophthalmologist?
Clearly ophthalmologists deal with people's eyes much more and at a deeper level than optometrists, who I presume only need to know simple lens properties and characteristics of human eyes.
Click to expand...

You obviously know nothing about optometry.🙄
 
I don't want to because my dad is a prosthodontist (some superspeciality in oral surgery or something), and growingup having him hog the family TV watching his surgery tapes all the time, I couldn't stand anymore of it.


With that said, dental school girls are HOT! <---reason why I never missed an Ortho appointment.
 
airshad8 said:
With that said, dental school girls are HOT! <---reason why I never missed an Ortho appointment.
Click to expand...

Right you are! At my orthodontist's office, all the receptionists/dental assistants are females! YOUNG females! I don't thing my orthodontist has one guy working for her!
 
Nothing is wrong with being a dentist if it interests you. Frankly the idea of an entire class on crowns makes me want to stab myself in the eye, so thats how I decided. How about buying a dental textbook online somewhere and sitting down with it and see if its interesting for you of if it invokes suicidal ideations.
 
moto_za said:
can anyone give a good respnse to the OP
Click to expand...

Probably because i want to be a physician... not a dentist.

Why's that so hard??

Not meaning to sound like a smart ass...


p.s. I know other people have said it already, but i had to say it too... it was bugging me.
 
MD1Day said:
Probably because i want to be a physician... not a dentist.

Why's that so hard??

Not meaning to sound like a smart ass...


p.s. I know other people have said it already, but i had to say it too... it was bugging me.
Click to expand...

I'll say it too. Dentistry doesn't interest me in any way whatsoever and I want to be a physician. It's too narrow of a field for me.
 
gapotts2003 said:
My negative attitude toward dentistry is the same feeling I have for surgery. It's routine, nothing ever changes, and you inflict pain on people daily.

Not my cup of tea... 😉
Click to expand...



A child would make you believe you are inflicting much more pain in giving a shot than a man laying quiet while getting a root canal. :laugh:
 
moto_za said:
ok.. so i was talking with a doctor who is a good friend of mine and he challenged me in every way and in some way confused and encouraged me towards dentistry. this is not the first time, every time i talk with this person he confuses me and makes me uncertain. don't get me wrong i have over four years of clinical and research experience.. but he told me to consider the pros and cons. i am a junior and just registered to take the mcat and here i am like a confused freshman please help! i have minimum dental experience and don't mind it but then again i know i will regret medical school if i go to dent.

sorry for the long post
your friend,
moto😎
Click to expand...

If you want to be a surgeon that operates 4 days a week, then become a dentists. The downside of dentistry is just that, precise operations 4 days a week will take a tole on the hands and eyes.
 
Dentistry is a very respectable occupation. In many ways I consider it equivalent to M.D. in terms of prestige. My only reason for not pursuing it is because my medical interest is more than oral. 🙂
 
I applied to about 10 dental schools last year and it was probably the biggest waste of money because I didn't go through with it in the end. I get bored really easily and the thought of looking at somebody's rank mouth all day doesn't interest me that much.
 
psipsina said:
Nothing is wrong with being a dentist if it interests you. Frankly the idea of an entire class on crowns makes me want to stab myself in the eye, so thats how I decided. How about buying a dental textbook online somewhere and sitting down with it and see if its interesting for you of if it invokes suicidal ideations.
Click to expand...

My sentiments exactly....
 
i agree with hokie and pen15 but the thing that makes me want to do dentistry is having a better lifestyle, time family blah blah what do you guys think?
 
moto_za said:
i agree with hokie and pen15 but the thing that makes me want to do dentistry is having a better lifestyle, time family blah blah what do you guys think?
Click to expand...

I think you should do what you think will make you happy. Lifestyle was a huge concern of mine, but after babysitting my nephew for just ONE day I've decided to not ever have kids! I would rather work more and be challeged every single day than to have a 9-5 job where I know I'll absolutely hate.
 
I agree. I want to do something that will make me happy. It isnt about the money, because if it was, I wouldnt pursue medicine. I would do business. Instead, it is about wanting to build upon my interest and curiosity for science and medicine and how it all related to the human body .. not just teeth. I want to be able to use my knowledge towards helping out as many people as possible, and I dont want to be focused specifically on teeth. I dont want to work in a hospital or office all day doing root canals ... I would not feel the satisfaction in that, regardless of the # of hours less spent doing so compared to practicing medicine ... its not about the quantity of time spent, or lack of it ... but about the quality of it all ... to me, medicine would be more of a quality way of doing what I really want to do.
 
Dentistry is for people who:

a) are interested by everything that lies in the mouth (gums, teeth, roots, etc)

b) aren't bored by repetitive work

c) don't mind not really recieving any of the glory

d) would enjoy a nice fulfilling family life

e) enjoy a predictable schedule, etc

I'm sure there are some exceptions to these, but it seems more often than not, this is how it is. I don't fit any of the criteria above, and I'm sure many of us on this forum don't.
 
jash0624 said:
I don't really want to be in someone's mouth all day.
Click to expand...

:laugh:

shnjb said:
What about an ophthalmologist?
Clearly ophthalmologists deal with people's eyes much more and at a deeper level than optometrists, who I presume only need to know simple lens properties and characteristics of human eyes.
Click to expand...

Very tough to match ophtho...

quantummechanic said:
:cough: radonc :cough:
Click to expand...

ditto, maybe tougher than ophtho

Eileron said:
Some people call them Ph.D's.
Click to expand...

Naw you'll never finish a Ph.D. unless you absolutely love science. Been there. Done that. Simply no income benefit.

biting tongue to avoid a flame war with D.O.'s

Honestly I'm just not interested in teeth. Dentistry is a little bit different than medicine because you can easily get a good feel for the profession by working as a dental assistant, and your clinical experience counts. You can easily ascertain whether it's right for you or not before you dedicate yourself to the training.

Somebody once told me that dentists have a high suicide rate. That true?

Here's the thing. I don't want a job where the people who pay my bill are constantly afraid of me (rationally or irrationally). If I just wanted a solid salary with a short education and decent lifestyle, I'd go with PA or pharmacy school. (BTW I am a PA school reject.)
 
Dentistry didn't sound fun to me the first time I thought about it. But then I realized I don't want to deal with death. I don't want to be the guy who has to tell a family they just lost their son/wife/etc.

I like having relationships with lots of people. I like having autonomy from insurance companies. I enjoy owning/managing my own business. I like working with my hands and creating aesthetic teeth, it doesn't sound fun but you can make 2 front teeth look identical you are an artist. I like helping people with pain.

Do what you enjoy; otherwise, no matter the money/prestige you won't ever be happy. I would encourage you to shadow various dentists b/c you probably have misconceptions about what dentists do.
 
Hokie06 said:
Dentistry is a very respectable occupation. In many ways I consider it equivalent to M.D. in terms of prestige. My only reason for not pursuing it is because my medical interest is more than oral. 🙂
Click to expand...

im sure we all find dentistry very respectable- I know I do. But, in terms of job prestige, I'm not sure I'd find it quite as high as an MD's or a DO's. Please don't flame me here. I hardly know anything about dentistry, but I sincerely doubt they make the same sacrifices, or that their program is as intense.
Again, I might just be completely misinformed. Anyone else feel the same?
 
In my own opinions, as I was growing up, I wanted to do things that were much more hands on and involved the whole body, such as surgery and emergency medicine. As of late, Ive started to consider neurology as well. Nevertheless, specializing in oral healthcare never really interested or appealed to me. It didnt really strike me as a particularly exciting job.
 
Sorry, but if you doing medicine for the prestige and respect you aren't going to be a very good doctor.
 
diagnodent said:
Sorry, but if you doing medicine for the prestige and respect you aren't going to be a very good doctor.
Click to expand...

if your referring to me, I agree with the statement above. I was just commenting on the previous posters statement, that I don't believe dentists make the same personal sacrifices as MD's do. (Then again, I know nothing about dentistry.) And though prestige and respect should not be w/in your reasons for becoming a doctor, theres nothhing wrong with wanting the two. BUT, if you just want the two, become a big businessman or something
 
Should be an easy decision! My room mate just got into dental school! Its a whole different ball game. Do u want to work with the mouth and teeth? Or treat the whole body.

Should be an easy choice if you know anything about yourself!

Shadow a dentist, shadow a doctor.. u'll see
 
Why does this always come up? I truly do not understand it. Go ask an engineer why they didn't do psychology. Go ask a psychologist why they didn't do basket weaving. I mean come on, they ARE NOT THE SAME FIELD. One is medicine, the other is dentistry. Both commendable occupations but by no means should they be compared. They are not the same. Period. This is the most ridiculous question I come up every single time I hear it. The ONLY WAY this question would be valid was if you were assuming that all people going to medical school want nothing more than good pay and an easy lifestyle. You are completely cancelling out the desire to practice medicine.

Ridiculous question every time its asked.
 
TPROrgoTutor2 said:
Why does this always come up? I truly do not understand it. Go ask an engineer why they didn't do psychology. Go ask a psychologist why they didn't do basket weaving. I mean come on, they ARE NOT THE SAME FIELD. One is medicine, the other is dentistry. Both commendable occupations but by no means should they be compared. They are not the same. Period. This is the most ridiculous question I come up every single time I hear it. The ONLY WAY this question would be valid was if you were assuming that all people going to medical school want nothing more than good pay and an easy lifestyle. You are completely cancelling out the desire to practice medicine.

Ridiculous question every time its asked.
Click to expand...

Exactly. You pursue a career because youre passionate about the field, at least that should be your main motivation. Anyone who goes into medicine for prestige and/or money is an idiot. They could have finished college in 4 years as a business major, partied alot more, and spent their youth working, going out, getting laid, and enjoying life, only to pursue an MBA a few years later, get out in 2 years or less, and start really watching the cash flow in.

Hell, I would have been a business major at some party school if thats what I wanted. Instead, I chose to do what I was really interested in, and I have no regrets.
 
i agree u guys.. but a md (actually two that are close friends) told me to definitly consider dentistry before i apply to med school and if i have the smallest interest in dentistry then go for it b/c of all the other side factors...
 
Do dentists have to make a personal statement in their application? I can't imagine what one would write. "I want to help people have better smiles and yell at people who don't floss."
 
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