Can I ask a question to pre-dents.

202781 · Feb 6, 2009

Hi,
My name is "Sankondbest" and I have some serious questions for pre-dents...I am just wondering why ya'll choose dentistry over any other medical field.

I am wondering first of all how you guys got interested in dentistry. Because it seems like a pretty specific field to choose (especially for young people to choose the profession) Is it the money? The type of work you can do? The hours?...

Most of the Pre-dents I know are either following in a parents footsteps (going to take over their parents practice) or are sort of pushed into a medical field by their parents who want their children to be successful so they can brag about them to their friends (Their words not mine). Is this accurate of 75%+ of pre-dents or are my friends just skewing my view.

I am asking these questions because I was always interested in going into dentistry from a young age (all of my friends thought I was unusual) because I LOVED the smell of a dental office. Once I started to realize what dentists actually do, I decided to go into medicine (actually at my dentists recommendation). He told me that he was often bored by his daily work and that he wishes he had gone into medicine as it would have been 100x more interesting (Obviously I have been accepted by several medical schools so I have accepted his advice). I was just wondering why ya'll are interested in the field

Thaxil · Feb 6, 2009

I got intrested because of the work, hours, money, and the people

Most of the Pre-dents I know are either following in a parents footsteps (going to take over their parents practice) or are sort of pushed into a medical field by their parents who want their children to be successful so they can brag about them to their friends (Their words not mine). Is this accurate of 75%+ of pre-dents or are my friends just skewing my view.

My father was a **** pumper, or a septic tank whatever.

I am asking these questions because I was always interested in going into dentistry from a young age (all of my friends thought I was unusual) because I LOVED the smell of a dental office.
Is that the smell of burning tooth or old composites being removed
Once I started to realize what dentists actually do, I decided to go into medicine (actually at my dentists recommendation). He told me that he was often bored by his daily work and that he wishes he had gone into medicine as it would have been 100x more interesting (Obviously I have been accepted by several medical schools so I have accepted his advice). I was just wondering why ya'll are interested in the field[/QUOTE]
I enjoy what I do and have never done medicine so I can not compare, and do not desire to be compared.

202781 · Feb 6, 2009

Thaxil said:
I got intrested because of the work, hours, money, and the people

Most of the Pre-dents I know are either following in a parents footsteps (going to take over their parents practice) or are sort of pushed into a medical field by their parents who want their children to be successful so they can brag about them to their friends (Their words not mine). Is this accurate of 75%+ of pre-dents or are my friends just skewing my view.

My father was a **** pumper, or a septic tank whatever.

I am asking these questions because I was always interested in going into dentistry from a young age (all of my friends thought I was unusual) because I LOVED the smell of a dental office.
Is that the smell of burning tooth or old composites being removed
Once I started to realize what dentists actually do, I decided to go into medicine (actually at my dentists recommendation). He told me that he was often bored by his daily work and that he wishes he had gone into medicine as it would have been 100x more interesting (Obviously I have been accepted by several medical schools so I have accepted his advice). I was just wondering why ya'll are interested in the field

I enjoy what I do and have never done medicine so I can not compare, and do not desire to be compared.[/quote]

Interesting. Thanks for answering my question.

I guess the smell I loved was the smell of plastic and rubber...if that even makes sense

lhtran07 · Feb 6, 2009

I thought I wanted to go the med route for the longest time. I never even got involved in dentistry until this fall. During the summer I shadowed extensively in a teaching hospital...got to work with med students, residents, attendings, nurses, PA's, etc.

Definitely glad I did that because I realized that med was not for me at all!! The patient care/interaction and work was not as I had expected. I like to be more hands-on with treatment and be able to interact with patients on a more sociable level, as well as have time to spend with friends and family.....so I voiced these concerns and the attendings I shadowed suggested dentistry. Went back to work as a pathology assistant, and the docs there also agreed that dentists had better lifestyles and seemed to find their jobs very rewarding and enjoyable. So that's when I started shadowing dentists, studied for the DAT, and applied to dental schools.

I didn't know a lot of pre-dents when I was in college, so I can't comment on the following in their parents' footsteps part. My parents aren't medically-inclined at all. In fact, nobody in my family is a doctor of any sort. But I did notice that a lot of the med students I came across during the summer are legacies.

202781 · Feb 6, 2009

lhtran07 said:
I thought I wanted to go the med route for the longest time. I never even got involved in dentistry until this fall. During the summer I shadowed extensively in a teaching hospital...got to work with med students, residents, attendings, nurses, PA's, etc.

Definitely glad I did that because I realized that med was not for me at all!! The patient care/interaction and work was not as I had expected. I like to be more hands-on with treatment and be able to interact with patients on a more sociable level, as well as have time to spend with friends and family.....so I voiced these concerns and the attendings I shadowed suggested dentistry. Went back to work as a pathology assistant, and the docs there also agreed that dentists had better lifestyles and seemed to find their jobs very rewarding and enjoyable. So that's when I started shadowing dentists, studied for the DAT, and applied to dental schools.

I didn't know a lot of pre-dents when I was in college, so I can't comment on the following in their parents' footsteps part. My parents aren't medically-inclined at all. In fact, nobody in my family is a doctor of any sort. But I did notice that a lot of the med students I came across during the summer are legacies.

I understand that a dentist has better hours of work... but is their work more rewarding than a physicians? Does cleaning teeth, filling cavities or putting braces on = preventing a heart attack, saving a persons life, helping a child with leukemia?

Do you think that the physicans recommended dentistry to you because you were not willing to make the sacrifices needed to become a doctor (a medical doctor that is) and you were not willing to essentially hand your life over to your work?
I am really not trying to sound like a jerk or anything but one of the reasons I did not want to become a dentist is because there would be no reason other than the $$$ for me to go into it. I would have a hard time trying to BS myself into thinking that I was actually making some sort of a difference (every profession makes a difference but I would not equate dentistry to medicine. Am I wrong?) ...where as in medicine, it is hard to be a medical professional and not make a significant difference on a daily basis.

dentalplan · Feb 6, 2009

sankondbest said:
I understand that a dentist has better hours of work... but is their work more rewarding than a physicians? Does cleaning teeth, filling cavities or putting braces on = preventing a heart attack, saving a persons life, helping a child with leukemia?

Do you think that the physicans recommended dentistry to you because you were not willing to make the sacrifices needed to become a doctor (a medical doctor that is) and you were not willing to essentially hand your life over to your work?
I am really not trying to sound like a jerk or anything but one of the reasons I did not want to become a dentist is because there would be no reason other than the $$$ for me to go into it. I would have a hard time trying to BS myself into thinking that I was actually making some sort of a difference (every profession makes a difference but I would not equate dentistry to medicine. Am I wrong?) ...where as in medicine, it is hard to be a medical professional and not make a significant difference on a daily basis.

ever heard of toothaches lol? many ppl have severe pain from their teeth that severely alters their moods and thus lifestyle.

dentistry also hits upon very sensitive issues, like appearance. If a person has no front tooth, or has some severe problem due to an accident, that person's morale can plummet...unfortunately. dentists can obviously help in this situation and make the person more enthusiastic about his life - since the person won't be worried that he's always being judged based on his looks.

alanan84 · Feb 6, 2009

sankondbest said:
I understand that a dentist has better hours of work... but is their work more rewarding than a physicians? Does cleaning teeth, filling cavities or putting braces on = preventing a heart attack, saving a persons life, helping a child with leukemia?

Do you think that the physicans recommended dentistry to you because you were not willing to make the sacrifices needed to become a doctor (a medical doctor that is) and you were not willing to essentially hand your life over to your work?
I am really not trying to sound like a jerk or anything but one of the reasons I did not want to become a dentist is because there would be no reason other than the $$$ for me to go into it. I would have a hard time trying to BS myself into thinking that I was actually making some sort of a difference (every profession makes a difference but I would not equate dentistry to medicine. Am I wrong?) ...where as in medicine, it is hard to be a medical professional and not make a significant difference on a daily basis.

If you're looking for recognition, stick with medicine. (Although alot of doctors aren't saving kids lives) I think it's hard to understand the importance of oral health until you get involved in it.

lhtran07 · Feb 6, 2009

sankondbest said:
I understand that a dentist has better hours of work... but is their work more rewarding than a physicians? Does cleaning teeth, filling cavities or putting braces on = preventing a heart attack, saving a persons life, helping a child with leukemia?

Do you think that the physicans recommended dentistry to you because you were not willing to make the sacrifices needed to become a doctor (a medical doctor that is) and you were not willing to essentially hand your life over to your work?
I am really not trying to sound like a jerk or anything but one of the reasons I did not want to become a dentist is because there would be no reason other than the $$$ for me to go into it. I would have a hard time trying to BS myself into thinking that I was actually making some sort of a difference (every profession makes a difference but I would not equate dentistry to medicine. Am I wrong?) ...where as in medicine, it is hard to be a medical professional and not make a significant difference on a daily basis.

Different strokes for different folks. I find dentistry rewarding because it's a field in which I can see myself happy in, whereas I would not have been happy going into medicine. Sure its more prestigious and idealistic to save lives, but what's the point in that if you're miserable doing it? You don't have to save somebody's life in order to make an impact/improve their quality of life.

dentalplan · Feb 7, 2009

lhtran07 said:
Different strokes for different folks. I find dentistry rewarding because it's a field in which I can see myself happy in, whereas I would not have been happy going into medicine. Sure its more prestigious and idealistic to save lives, but what's the point in that if you're miserable doing it? You don't have to save somebody's life in order to make an impact/improve their quality of life.

beautifully stated haha, wow nice man.

this is sorta what i was getting at too...

202781 · Feb 7, 2009

alanan84 said:
If you're looking for recognition, stick with medicine. (Although alot of doctors aren't saving kids lives) I think it's hard to understand the importance of oral health until you get involved in it.

I actually have volunteered MANY hours in a free dental clinic for underserved population. Most of the patients we saw were coming in wanting teeth extracted (usually as a result of drug abuse) and I saw the change that it made in their life.

I have also volunteered many more hours in hospitals and one cannot even begin to compare the difference a physician makes on a daily basis to the difference a dentist makes on a daily basis...I'm sorry you can't.

I am not here to argue dentist vs. physicians though. I was just wanting to know why people choose dentistry

cookand · Feb 7, 2009

As far as the importance of oral health please check the following report from Surgeon General David Satcher in May of 2000 (the links at the bottom include his remarks as well as the full report):

http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/oralhealth/

Here are the key points from the report (taken directly from the Remarks link):

That oral health means much more than healthy teeth;
That oral health is integral to general health;
That safe and effective disease prevention measures exist that everyone can adopt to improve oral health and prevent disease, not all Americans; even so, there are profound disparities in the oral health of Americans;
And that general health risk factors, such as tobacco use and poor dietary practices, also effect oral and craniofacial health.

EDIT: I watched a show on Discovery Health last night that followed a cardiac surgeon in New York. One of his patients had a heart attack on vacation and rushed back to New York to see him. One of the first things the surgeon did was look in the patient's mouth and ask the patient if he took care of his teeth. The patient said he did for the most part and the surgeon went on explaining that poor oral health can initiate heart attacks.

202781 · Feb 7, 2009

cookand said:
As far as the importance of oral health please check the following report from Surgeon General David Satcher in May of 2000 (the links at the bottom include his remarks as well as the full report):

http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/oralhealth/

Here are the key points from the report (taken directly from the Remarks link):

That oral health means much more than healthy teeth;

That oral health is integral to general health;

That safe and effective disease prevention measures exist that everyone can adopt to improve oral health and prevent disease, not all Americans; even so, there are profound disparities in the oral health of Americans;

And that general health risk factors, such as tobacco use and poor dietary practices, also effect oral and craniofacial health.

I understand this. But you could make the same argument for a personal trainer.

Physical fitness means much more than healthy muscles
physical fitness is integral to general health
safe and effective prevention of SOME diseases exist that everyone can adopt to improve physical fitness and prevent disease.
There are profound disparities in the physical fitness of all Americans
General health risk factors, such as tobacco use and poor dietary practices also AFFECT (http://sketchedout.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/red-herring_color.jpg ) overall physical fitness

alanan84 · Feb 7, 2009

sankondbest said:
I actually have volunteered MANY hours in a free dental clinic for underserved population. Most of the patients we saw were coming in wanting teeth extracted (usually as a result of drug abuse) and I saw the change that it made in their life.

I have also volunteered many more hours in hospitals and one cannot even begin to compare the difference a physician makes on a daily basis to the difference a dentist makes on a daily basis...I'm sorry you can't.

I am not here to argue dentist vs. physicians though. I was just wanting to know why people choose dentistry

Great, then you as well understand the importance of dentistry.

Keep in mind that my dentist filling my cavity does more for me than my family doctor telling me that I have a virus, antibiotics won't work, and I just have to wait it out. Oh wait, and don't forget to pay on the way out!

Oh yeah! MD vs. DDS baby! Like, above poster said, just do what will make you happy man.

cookand · Feb 7, 2009

If someone is out of shape, can they correct this on their own? If someone has periodontal disease, TMD, caries, etc. can they correct this on their own?

nanilla · Feb 7, 2009

I have 2 uncle' who are dentists (ortho and general) and another who is a physician. Both dentists have much better lifestyles, work better hours, answer to themselves not to anyone else, less stress, and are making a good deal more money. I shadowed/volunteered at both a dental office, free dental clinic and a hospital and thought dentistry was more appealing, too much politics involved in medicine and many pre-meds have an idealized view of what medicine actually is, partly because of family and our media, and do not realize the crazy hours, stress etc that go along with it (not saying this is you). Enough said.

202781 · Feb 7, 2009

nanilla said:
I have 2 uncle' who are dentists (ortho and general) and another who is a physician. Both dentists have much better lifestyles, work better hours, answer to themselves not to anyone else, less stress, and are making a good deal more money. I shadowed/volunteered at both a dental office, free dental clinic and a hospital and thought dentistry was more appealing, too much politics involved in medicine and many pre-meds have an idealized view of what medicine actually is, partly because of family and our media, and do not realize the crazy hours, stress etc that go along with it (not saying this is you). Enough said.

So one of the man reasons is not because you would love what you were doing...it is more a lifestyle and salary choice?

As a pre-med (and accepted medical student for 2009), money and lifestyle are not even in the top 10 reasons why I want to be a physician. Love for what I am doing would be #1

dentalplan · Feb 7, 2009

sankondbest said:
So one of the man reasons is not because you would love what you were doing...it is more a lifestyle and salary choice?

As a pre-med (and accepted medical student for 2009), money and lifestyle are not even in the top 10 reasons why I want to be a physician. Love for what I am doing would be #1

Many dentists also, even though they dont say explicitly, love their job for the simple interaction between another human being. Money makes the world go round, but sometimes even this should get boring, and dentists stick around in the career for the learning and knowledge they receive from interacting with many different types of people. Its all part of the life journey.

needa20 · Feb 7, 2009

i find it interesting that one dentist told you to go into medicine, as i have had every doctor tell me the opposite. most i know (including my father) work more hours every year and actually make less money every year. most doctors work 50+ hours per week and some crazy hours. when im in my mid 50's i dont want to be working 50 hrs per week and some 12 hour night shifts. If the dentist you talked to said he was bored, he should expand the scope of what he does. with proper training, a general dentist can do just about anything in the dental field without an additional residency. not to mention the 4 to 6 year residency that doctors must go through

I think you are completely under estimating the impact that a dentist can make. just because they do not save someones life every day does not mean that they do not have just as big of an impact as a doctor. i have had 6 orthopedic operations on myself, and none were lifesaving.... My father was a general practioner for about 15 years, and while im sure he prevented numerous life threating conditions, its not like anyone fell over dead in his office and he brought them back to life. He is not ER and does save peoples lives. but ask most ER doc's what the majority of patients they see in the ER are there for, most have a cold, flu, stomach ache.... most go to the ER because they dont want to go to the GP or have insurance to go to the GP. Of course every once in a while they do ge the satisfaction of saving ones life, but its not the constant glory you elude to.

Me, I absolutely love working with my hands. any project where i can use tools to fix somthing is fun to me, not work. for example i do all my and my wifes car work, fix anything around the house, fix boats, putting up a fence now, work on electronics; I have a God given ability to work with my hands to fix things, and its not work to me, i really love it. so do what suites you best. I dont care about the supposed "prestigue of being an MD, when the aspects of dentisty fit ME better. Im not doing it for the money, but there is great money to be had.

-dentist = potential great money even without specializing (4 yrs of school)
-MD = potental for great money with 4 - 6 year residency when you can pay off loans
-dentist = typically work 35 hours per week (some more, some less)
-MD = typically work 50 hours per week
-dentist = more time with my wife and future children
-MD less time with my wife and future children
-Dentist = typically (the ones i have talked to) fine it relitively easy to be paid by self pay or insurance companies
-MD = can charge what ever they want but have to take what ever insurance companies will pay
-Dentist = still relitively free from socialization
-MD = moving more toward socialized health care (bad for doctors usally)

Both equally rewarding but may be in different ways. That is just my list of pros and cons and does not represent anyone one's feelings but my own. Despite the list, my father is an MD and I had to make a decision to fit my goals, desires, and dreams. for me dentistry is the best fit, plus i love the tools 🙂

Also, yes, I have seen all sides of both fields with my father being a physician and knowing all his physician friends and seen dentistry from most aspects though lots of shadowing, volunteering, being friends w several dentists, and spending lots of time with office managers.

Good luck and God bless

dentalplan · Feb 7, 2009

O and another thing...taking your premise that you love MD because it can save ppl lives. This is true, and great, however, many doctors are not able to save lives ALL the time. Sometimes the exact opposite - death. You have to have a pretty strong will to live with the dark side of medicine as well. Thus, there is the constant fluctuation of saving lives and patient deaths that revolve around a doctor who specializes in that type of work. This is a big reason why I think a lot of people try to avoid this negative aspect of medicine and choose something more ...I dont know...calmer.

Either way...to everyone his own...

vlct0ria · Feb 7, 2009

I gotta say I am not that different from most other pre-dents...with an interest in science, medicine was my first consideration, but the hectic lifestyle didn't appeal to me...and that's when dentistry interested me. My reasons...putting to use all my skills and interests, being in control (mostly in terms of work hours), not having to go through that much more school, comfortable lifestyle, and of course the whole not having to worry too much about killing anyone thing...that's about it. No one in my family has anything to do with dentistry.

PDizzle · Feb 7, 2009

sankondbest said:
So one of the man reasons is not because you would love what you were doing...it is more a lifestyle and salary choice?

As a pre-med (and accepted medical student for 2009), money and lifestyle are not even in the top 10 reasons why I want to be a physician. Love for what I am doing would be #1

I've read all your responses and have come to the conclusion that you have the ever so common, "God complex" already, and you are not even a medical student yet! You think that a MD is more noble a cause than a dentist and probably any other profession. Go ahead and keep your ultimate superiority attitude and come back here after you kill your first patient! It will happen...don't kid yourself.

How many doctors have you been to as a patient?? I hate to burst your little fantasy bubble but there are some really crappy doctors out there that don't give a rats a** about their patients. They are walking prescription pads! They barely listen to a word you say, they just want to know what drug to shove down your thoat so you can leave and open up a new examination room.

No matter how you sugarcoat it, you think dentists are below you. If you came here to flaunt your MD acceptances, which you mentioned several times in your posts, then move on and take Mother Teresa with you. We really don't care.

nanilla · Feb 7, 2009

Sankondbest- I highly doubt money and lifestyle are not in your top ten. Ultimately, I think I would enjoy dentistry but its a job, these are the things you think about: what kind of lifestyle can I live, what kind of hours will I work etc.

dentalplan · Feb 7, 2009

PDizzle said:
I've read all your responses and have come to the conclusion that you have the ever so common, "God complex" already, and you are not even a medical student yet! You think that a MD is more noble a cause than a dentist and probably any other profession. Go ahead and keep your ultimate superiority attitude and come back here after you kill your first patient! It will happen...don't kid yourself.

How many doctors have you been to as a patient?? I hate to burst your little fantasy bubble but there are some really crappy doctors out there that don't give a rats a** about their patients. They are walking prescription pads! They barely listen to a word you say, they just want to know what drug to shove down your thoat so you can leave and open up a new examination room.

No matter how you sugarcoat it, you think dentists are below you. If you came here to flaunt your MD acceptances, which you mentioned several times in your posts, then move on and take Mother Teresa with you. We really don't care.

pdiz lol that was epic..nice job

PDizzle · Feb 7, 2009

dentalplan said:
pdiz lol that was epic..nice job

Arrrggg!

202781 · Feb 7, 2009

PDizzle said:
I've read all your responses and have come to the conclusion that you have the ever so common, "God complex" already, and you are not even a medical student yet! You think that a MD is more noble a cause than a dentist and probably any other profession. Go ahead and keep your ultimate superiority attitude and come back here after you kill your first patient! It will happen...don't kid yourself.

How many doctors have you been to as a patient?? I hate to burst your little fantasy bubble but there are some really crappy doctors out there that don't give a rats a** about their patients. They are walking prescription pads! They barely listen to a word you say, they just want to know what drug to shove down your thoat so you can leave and open up a new examination room.

No matter how you sugarcoat it, you think dentists are below you. If you came here to flaunt your MD acceptances, which you mentioned several times in your posts, then move on and take Mother Teresa with you. We really don't care.

Sounds like someone has an inferiority complex🙄

Here is the reason I am asking...I am curious. I have ALWAYS had an obsession with dental health and from a VERY young age wanted to be a dentist. I was just wondering if others felt the same way or if they became interested in the profession for other reasons.

I do not need to flaunt my MD acceptances to boost my ego...I just look in a mirror to do that

PDizzle · Feb 7, 2009

sankondbest said:
Sounds like someone has an inferiority complex🙄

Here is the reason I am asking...I am curious. I have ALWAYS had an obsession with dental health and from a VERY young age wanted to be a dentist. I was just wondering if others felt the same way or if they became interested in the profession for other reasons.

I do not need to flaunt my MD acceptances...my body works better for that.

I wouldn't be an MD if you waved a magic wand and made me one today. Stick my finger up someone's a** 20 times/day....no thank you.

The fact that you imediatley think I have an inferiority complex goes to prove that you simply think you are better than everyone else! Can you see that?

You didn't have an obsession with the dental field, you liked the smell of a dental office....big difference!

Ugh.., you're not even a medical student yet and you think you're Jesus.

dentalplan · Feb 7, 2009

i agree with dizz here...

also...if you know anything about the humanities....u suffer from the terrible plague that narcissus suffered. Narcissus looked at his self image and perceived it as ideal. That is what you're doing according to your last post - getting off on your self image when you look into a mirror.

This has dangerous implications that I won't discuss here - but - I just recommend that you stop trolling lest something seriously bad happens. I thought ppl aspiring to be MDs were smart....guess a few are not hehe.

202781 · Feb 7, 2009

PDizzle said:
I wouldn't be an MD if you waved a magic wand and made me one today. Stick my finger up someone's a** 20 times/day....no thank you.

The fact that you imediatley think I have an inferiority complex goes to prove that you simply think you are better than everyone else! Can you see that?

You didn't have an obsession with the dental field, you liked the smell of a dental office....big difference!

Ugh.., you're not even a medical student yet and you think you're Jesus.

First of all have you looked at my screen name? it is Sankondbest (2nd best)...does that suggest that I have a "God Complex"?
Second of all You are a real ****. And because you immediately suspected that I have a superiority complex based on 3 posts all but PROVES that you have an inferiority complex. Sorry I have an inquisitive mind capable of thinking beyond myself and wanting to understand others. Really sorry about that. Next time I will just not ask and not open up the lines of communication between the two fields.

202781 · Feb 7, 2009

dentalplan said:
i agree with dizz here...

also...if you know anything about the humanities....u suffer from the terrible plague that narcissus suffered. Narcissus looked at his self image and perceived it as ideal. That is what you're doing according to your last post - getting off on your self image when you look into a mirror.

This has dangerous implications that I won't discuss here - but - I just recommend that you stop trolling lest something seriously bad happens. I thought ppl aspiring to be MDs were smart....guess a few are not hehe.

I guess sarcasm is lost on you

Whatev I am out. Thanks to SOME of you for answering my question, it really opened up my mind

dentalplan · Feb 7, 2009

you only need 1 post to tell that you have a superiority complex LOL...

insecure much?

202781 · Feb 7, 2009

dentalplan said:
you only need 1 post to tell that you have a superiority complex LOL...

insecure much?

Interact with people...ever?

cookand · Feb 7, 2009

Would you care to reply to my last post which was in response to your post which was in reply to my 1st post?

202781 · Feb 7, 2009

cookand said:
Would you care to reply to my last post which was in response to your post which was in reply to my 1st post?

Ohh... Sorry about that. You are absolutely right. A dentist provides services that a person would have difficulty doing on their own.

I guess the analogy breaks down after a while. My point is that every profession provides services that a person is in need of (otherwise they would not be in business...doctor, plumber, dentist, Fisherman...whatever they are).

My point is that the preventitive or cosmetic nature of dentistry, while essential, does not have the personal or social impacts that a physician could potentially make.

I am NOT knocking dentistry AT ALL. I was simply wondering why people were interested in going into the field out of all the different professions they could choose. Please stop thinking that I am making medicine out to be a "better" profession. I agree with other posters that have said to each his own. And I am just wondering why people feel a certain way. (I have many dental friends who are MUCH smarter than I or many other pre-meds I know could EVER dream of being.)

dentalplan · Feb 7, 2009

sankondbest said:
Interact with people...ever?

ya i just did by answering your original questions a few times lol..

PDizzle · Feb 7, 2009

sankondbest said:
Ohh... Sorry about that. You are absolutely right. A dentist provides services that a person would have difficulty doing on their own.

I guess the analogy breaks down after a while. My point is that every profession provides services that a person is in need of (otherwise they would not be in business...doctor, plumber, dentist, Fisherman...whatever they are).

My point is that the preventitive or cosmetic nature of dentistry, while essential, does not have the personal or social impacts that a physician could potentially make.

I am NOT knocking dentistry AT ALL. I was simply wondering why people were interested in going into the field out of all the different professions they could choose. Please stop thinking that I am making medicine out to be a "better" profession. I agree with other posters that have said to each his own. And I am just wondering why people feel a certain way. (I have many dental friends who are MUCH smarter than I or many other pre-meds I know could EVER dream of being.)

I am going to make the assumption that you are a decent guy and I don't want to continue a flame war but my beef with your posts are this:

You say you have this question that you are just wondering about. You say you just want the reasons why we chose dentistry over medicine. But you are not asking inquisitive questions to understand our reasonings, you are trying to make a statement. (See the bolded text from your post...your words, not mine) This is further reinforced when people answer you and you debate them on it, discounting their reasons like.. better lifestyle, less hours, work with their hands, autonomy, likes running their own business, etc.

Based on your posts, you do not know that much about the dental profession. You think dentistry is preventative and cosmetic in nature? How about restorative? How about curing an oral disease? You can die from an abscessed tooth without care. Dental pain is one of the most intense types of pain there is. Women liken it to giving birth! There is so much more to health care than the actual saving of a life (which you will not do nearly as much as you think....maybe you watch too much House 🙂). Modern day medicine is to improve the quality as well as the duration of life.

Another quote, "A dentist provides services that a person would have difficulty doing on their own."

How about impossibility? You think you can give yourself a root canal? Be my guest and go for it! :laugh:

Good luck in your future career and I sincerely hope you become a good doctor and are happy with your choice.

cookand · Feb 7, 2009

sankondbest said:
Ohh... Sorry about that. You are absolutely right. A dentist provides services that a person would have difficulty doing on their own.

I guess the analogy breaks down after a while. My point is that every profession provides services that a person is in need of (otherwise they would not be in business...doctor, plumber, dentist, Fisherman...whatever they are).

My point is that the preventitive or cosmetic nature of dentistry, while essential, does not have the personal or social impacts that a physician could potentially make.

I am NOT knocking dentistry AT ALL. I was simply wondering why people were interested in going into the field out of all the different professions they could choose. Please stop thinking that I am making medicine out to be a "better" profession. I agree with other posters that have said to each his own. And I am just wondering why people feel a certain way. (I have many dental friends who are MUCH smarter than I or many other pre-meds I know could EVER dream of being.)

First off, I never claimed that you thought 'medicine' was a better proffesion. Secondly, the fact that you think dentistry is simply cosmetic and preventive or doesn't have the impact of a physician is just not true.

If a patient of yours was pre-hypertensive, would you not advise changing their current lifestyle? All doctors should practice preventative medicine, don't you agree?

Ask a psychiatrist the importance of a nice smile.

I supplied you with but one article that demonstrates the importance of oral health. There are many more.

You realize not everyone is born with a perfect dentition. You realize the importance of that to maintain oral health. You realize the importance of oral health to overall health. How have you come to your conclusion?

bjhath · Feb 7, 2009

sankondbest said:
My point is that the preventitive or cosmetic nature of dentistry, while essential, does not have the personal or social impacts that a physician could potentially make.

I am NOT knocking dentistry AT ALL. I was simply wondering why people were interested in going into the field out of all the different professions they could choose. Please stop thinking that I am making medicine out to be a "better" profession. I agree with other posters that have said to each his own. And I am just wondering why people feel a certain way. (I have many dental friends who are MUCH smarter than I or many other pre-meds I know could EVER dream of being.)

I think you are overlooking the impact a dentist has on patients' health. You allude to it in your first sentence with regards to the essential, preventative nature of dentistry. Though I may not be heroically saving peoples' lives, like they do on TV, my work will directly impact my patients' health. An abscessed tooth, left untreated, can cause death. But, that abscess can be prevented with proper dental hygiene or cured in a visit to the dentist.

I hope you were being sarcastic when you claim that you are not, making medicine out to be a better profession, than dentistry. Because you do! And in the same post! In the previous paragraph! Please reread the first sentence of your quoted post. You say, and I quote, "dentistrydoes not have the personal or social impacts that a physician could potentially make. If you're not making medicine out to be better than dentistry, can you please explain what you did mean? 🙄

My question to you, is the same one you posed here. Why would anyone choose to become an MD out of all fields in the health profession?

As for me, I have chosen dentistry because of the combination of directly impacting peoples' health, the independence I can have in owning my own practice, and working with my hands creatively. Med school never crossed my mind. I found dentistry and know it is a good fit. Money? nah. It will be there at some point, but taking on ~$750k of debt for school and a practice doesn't seem to be an efficient way to make money.

Please go elsewhere if you want to troll. If you want to have an open minded, mature discussion, please hang around.

202781 · Feb 7, 2009

bjhath said:
I think you are overlooking the impact a dentist has on patients' health. You allude to it in your first sentence with regards to the essential, preventative nature of dentistry. Though I may not be heroically saving peoples' lives, like they do on TV, my work will directly impact my patients' health. An abscessed tooth, left untreated, can cause death. But, that abscess can be prevented with proper dental hygiene or cured in a visit to the dentist.

I hope you were being sarcastic when you claim that you are not, making medicine out to be a better profession, than dentistry. Because you do! And in the same post! In the previous paragraph! Please reread the first sentence of your quoted post. You say, and I quote, "dentistrydoes not have the personal or social impacts that a physician could potentially make. If you're not making medicine out to be better than dentistry, can you please explain what you did mean? 🙄

My question to you, is the same one you posed here. Why would anyone choose to become an MD out of all fields in the health profession?

As for me, I have chosen dentistry because of the combination of directly impacting peoples' health, the independence I can have in owning my own practice, and working with my hands creatively. Med school never crossed my mind. I found dentistry and know it is a good fit. Money? nah. It will be there at some point, but taking on ~$750k of debt for school and a practice doesn't seem to be an efficient way to make money.

Please go elsewhere if you want to troll. If you want to have an open minded, mature discussion, please hang around.

Thank you. That was the answer I was wondering about. It is intriguning to understand why ANYBODY chooses their profession.

I decided to go into medicine particularly for the social impact that I could make as a physician. I plan on using my medical degree to foster change not only within the community and state I live in, but I also hope to be an advocate for proper and adequate health care access for all people. I am sure there are pre-dents that have similar goals with trying to promote access to dental care to all people. I guess I was wondering if anyone would mention this as their reason to go into dentistry because as practiced in the United States, dentistry is largely private in nature and access is somewhat restricted to those with insurance or those who can afford to pay out of pocket. I was wondering if any pre-dents were going into dentistry specifically so they could be an advocate more public dental clinics. (I ask this because I shadowed a retired dentist who worked in a mobile unit that would provide free care to people in our community.)

somethinpositiv · Feb 7, 2009

sankondbest said:
Hi,
My name is "Sankondbest"

cruel, cruel parents...

JamesOSU · Feb 7, 2009

I can't wait to hear how much you've changed people's lives for the better and all this mushy stuff when you're 3 years deep in your residency at some hospital where you have 5 min with each patient and are sleep-deprived, working for someone else, and numbingly unpassionate about individual patients anymore.

Dizz, thanks for saying all that so I didn't have to. This has been a frustrating thread to read with someone saying "I'm not saying dentistry is less than medicine" while constantly doing just that in the same paragraph! It's like shaking your head No but saying Yes. In a word, hypocrite.

JamesOSU · Feb 7, 2009

More important question is "Why would you ever want to go to Med School?" You know that 50% of physicians wish they weren't practicing anymore!? [SOURCE: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1225239/medical_doctors_would_leave_their_jobs.html?cat=5 ] The old adage "I want to help people" doesn't fly anymore than it does in an interview... so why?

You make the same or less money for MORE hours in medicine (and yes, money is inevitably important, not just to have but to foster a life style for you and your family)

More time with family with dentistry

No eFed up shifts and 12 hours nights and crap in dentistry

No required residencies in dentistry

You are your own boss

Insurance is easier to collect, less of a headache, no nationalized dentistry

Less stressful because people aren't dying on you.

You DO see a great impact on all patients you treat. I wonder what would happen if you had a bad tooth ache? Would you go to the dentist, have it fixed, then think nothing of it? No, I bet that dentist would be your effing hero.

Ugh, I can't talk to pretentious pre-meds like this, it's just bad mojo in here.

NyCzPeter · Feb 7, 2009

Grass is always greener on the other side. Every MD I know congratulates me for choosing dentistry, and every dentist I know asked me why I didn't go into medicine.

Anyhow, this guy is obviously trolling. He probably just got his med acceptance and is now flaunting his status to perhaps boost that insecure ego.

Well buddy, the medical community is a small one so you'd best watch your tongue.

diagnodent · Feb 7, 2009

The problem with students in the PRE- stage of education is that they think they know everything. There is no right or wrong career choice. The right career is the one you want to do when you are 40 for 25 more years until retirement. It's very absurd for 20 year olds to come on these boards criticizing other 20 year olds career path. People who shadow docs or dentists think they know all there is about that career but do not see in the details of that choice.

Not every doc/dentist/any other career is going to be happy with what they do when they are 40. People choose different paths for different reasons. The problem is most 20 year olds don't actually know whats going to be important to them in 20 years....if you can predict that early in life then you will be better off. You may think your career is going to be the most important thing in your life when you're 20, but by the time you get to be 40 if that is still the case then you lost out on a lot that life has to offer.

chund · Feb 7, 2009

If you become a GP then you wont be saving lives, you wont have the capability in your office (general anesthesia), ultimately you will be sending them somewhere else. and you cant say what type of MD you'll be now you can only aspire.

I like dentistry because think of how many times you see your dentist as opposed to your doctor. I have seen three different doctors one time each for the last 6 years. I have no relationship with them. As a dentist you can see the whole family while growing rapport and engaging them personally. If you are just pumping out scrips and asking a level of pain while pointing to a number chart given to you by a pfizer rep, that is nothing I am interested in.

toothhead · Feb 7, 2009

diagnodent said:
Not every doc/dentist/any other career is going to be happy with what they do when they are 40. People choose different paths for different reasons. The problem is most 20 year olds don't actually know whats going to be important to them in 20 years....if you can predict that early in life then you will be better off. You may think your career is going to be the most important thing in your life when you're 20, but by the time you get to be 40 if that is still the case then you lost out on a lot that life has to offer.

This is absolutely true. If you have anything in the form of a hobby, interest or talent you want to nurture, medicine will squeeze it out of your lifestyle. Your family and friends will not see you very often. Spending time with your pets and going on long vacations will also be a thing of the past (unless you're a derm). And when you're 80, almost dead, and looking back, I guarantee that in one way or another, you will wonder if you didn't miss out on a giant chunk of your life.
Also, your idealized perception of "saving people's lives" is an immature view. Thousands of people are in engineering for everything from telecommunications to designing toys and love what they do. Chefs, writers, chemists and optometrists all love what they do, and none of them are directly "saving people's lives" but are affecting people nonetheless. If you chose medicine because of its heroics factor, reconsider, because you're ultimately not going to leave any greater mark on the universe than any other person who made money, gave to charity, volunteered somewhere, or made some sort of impact through their work. 99.999% of the greatest people in the world whom we admire were not medical doctors. And despite your insistence that you're not "talking down" to dentists, your complete lack of understanding that your career is not a determinant of what you will actually do in the world is immature at best, arrogant at worst.

buckleman · Feb 7, 2009

sankondbest said:
Hi,
My name is "Sankondbest" and I have some serious questions for pre-dents...I am just wondering why ya'll choose dentistry over any other medical field.

I am wondering first of all how you guys got interested in dentistry. Because it seems like a pretty specific field to choose (especially for young people to choose the profession) Is it the money? The type of work you can do? The hours?...

Most of the Pre-dents I know are either following in a parents footsteps (going to take over their parents practice) or are sort of pushed into a medical field by their parents who want their children to be successful so they can brag about them to their friends (Their words not mine). Is this accurate of 75%+ of pre-dents or are my friends just skewing my view.

I am asking these questions because I was always interested in going into dentistry from a young age (all of my friends thought I was unusual) because I LOVED the smell of a dental office. Once I started to realize what dentists actually do, I decided to go into medicine (actually at my dentists recommendation). He told me that he was often bored by his daily work and that he wishes he had gone into medicine as it would have been 100x more interesting (Obviously I have been accepted by several medical schools so I have accepted his advice). I was just wondering why ya'll are interested in the field

At first, I was like any other gun hoe pre med, I was ready to be a doctor to cure the diseases that people fight against everyday. The battle between good and evil! (I've watched too much power rangers when I was a child) However, when I was at a mission trip in a latin american country. I had the opportunity to be in the shoes of an MD and a DDS. How so you might ask? Well, I diagnosed a person with diabetes by the smell of alcohol (or fruity smell) which would be ketoacidosis (made sure to ask if the person was drinking, and he/she said no!) so, used a glucose stick and :highfive:

I found the person had a high amount of glucose excretion!

DDS: I did teeth extractions and some general oral surgery. There was a patient that came in and had a bacterial infection in the gums, it was a giant abcess :scared:

, I drained that bad boy and the relief on the persons face was what changed my mind to DDS!

Also, I don't like to have a person's life under my hands, I would like to sleep at nights.

(This is copywritten and you may not utilize this material for any purposes especially for your personal statements)

bjhath · Feb 7, 2009

sankondbest said:
Thank you. That was the answer I was wondering about. It is intriguning to understand why ANYBODY chooses their profession.

I decided to go into medicine particularly for the social impact that I could make as a physician. I plan on using my medical degree to foster change not only within the community and state I live in, but I also hope to be an advocate for proper and adequate health care access for all people. I am sure there are pre-dents that have similar goals with trying to promote access to dental care to all people. I guess I was wondering if anyone would mention this as their reason to go into dentistry because as practiced in the United States, dentistry is largely private in nature and access is somewhat restricted to those with insurance or those who can afford to pay out of pocket. I was wondering if any pre-dents were going into dentistry specifically so they could be an advocate more public dental clinics. (I ask this because I shadowed a retired dentist who worked in a mobile unit that would provide free care to people in our community.)

That's cool that you are entering medicine for those reasons.

I think it's possible to have the best of both worlds with respect to private practice and community service. I think the example of the dentist you shadowed illustrates this point. I am guessing that he worked in a practice prior to retiring and working in the mobile unit.

For myself, "impacting peoples' health" includes service to my community and I plan to incorporate service/access in to my practice. No plans to take gov't insurance (too much risk and interference), but will provide free/reduced fee care along with mission work inside/outside the U.S. I think a balance can be struck between serving the community and earning an income.

Good luck to you in med school.

Enso · Feb 7, 2009

somethinpositiv said:
cruel, cruel parents...

I was thinking the same thing. :wtf:

armorshell · Feb 7, 2009

toothhead said:
This is absolutely true. If you have anything in the form of a hobby, interest or talent you want to nurture, medicine will squeeze it out of your lifestyle. Your family and friends will not see you very often. Spending time with your pets and going on long vacations will also be a thing of the past (unless you're a derm). And when you're 80, almost dead, and looking back, I guarantee that in one way or another, you will wonder if you didn't miss out on a giant chunk of your life.
Also, your idealized perception of "saving people's lives" is an immature view. Thousands of people are in engineering for everything from telecommunications to designing toys and love what they do. Chefs, writers, chemists and optometrists all love what they do, and none of them are directly "saving people's lives" but are affecting people nonetheless. If you chose medicine because of its heroics factor, reconsider, because you're ultimately not going to leave any greater mark on the universe than any other person who made money, gave to charity, volunteered somewhere, or made some sort of impact through their work. 99.999% of the greatest people in the world whom we admire were not medical doctors. And despite your insistence that you're not "talking down" to dentists, your complete lack of understanding that your career is not a determinant of what you will actually do in the world is immature at best, arrogant at worst.

Epic win.

alanan84 · Feb 7, 2009

buckleman said:
At first, I was like any other gun hoe pre med, I was ready to be a doctor to cure the diseases that people fight against everyday. The battle between good and evil! (I've watched too much power rangers when I was a child) However, when I was at a mission trip in a latin american country. I had the opportunity to be in the shoes of an MD and a DDS. How so you might ask? Well, I diagnosed a person with diabetes by the smell of alcohol (or fruity smell) which would be ketoacidosis (made sure to ask if the person was drinking, and he/she said no!) so, used a glucose stick and I found the person had a high amount of glucose excretion!

DDS: I did teeth extractions and some general oral surgery. There was a patient that came in and had a bacterial infection in the gums, it was a giant abcess , I drained that bad boy and the relief on the persons face was what changed my mind to DDS!

Also, I don't like to have a person's life under my hands, I would like to sleep at nights.

(This is copywritten and you may not utilize this material for any purposes especially for your personal statements)

Does this post not confuse anyone else? Why in the world would someone with no training be doing oral surgery even in a latin america country?! WTF!?

Can I ask a question to pre-dents.

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