Accepted to dental school but not excited

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ParasolPine

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I don't know what's wrong with me, but I'm not as happy as I should be. My friends are happier than I am. I always wanted to do medicine and I feel like by accepting this offer, I'm going to be missing out on med. Has anyone else felt like this?

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I wasn’t in that boat when I got accepted, but if you’re leaning towards medicine, then you already know what to do.

Decisions you make in your life should be informed ones, not ones you make based upon what others say about you or your decisions.

Please do not make an expensive mistake. Two people in my class left dental school because they hated it that much. One of the two got into medicine after all, and the other just fell off the face of the earth.
 
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I don't know what's wrong with me, but I'm not as happy as I should be. My friends are happier than I am. I always wanted to do medicine and I feel like by accepting this offer, I'm going to be missing out on med. Has anyone else felt like this?
Sort of in the same boat. Excited for the experiences and to learn but not so much for the stress due to the amount of knowledge that will be shoved down our throat then tested on. Once I decided to go into healthcare during undergrad, I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform well and it sorta grew into anxiety. Hoping I can deal with that but I am worried about how things may go in that regard. If you really see yourself in medicine then its not to late but you can also work your butt off and shoot for omfs. When I made the switch from med to dental, omfs was what I had in mind. We'll see how things go. At the end of the day, school sucks. But being in a community of like-minded individuals who are in the same age group (for the most part) and have similar goals will make it a lot more enjoyable. Lots of experiences to be had
 
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I don't know what's wrong with me, but I'm not as happy as I should be. My friends are happier than I am. I always wanted to do medicine and I feel like by accepting this offer, I'm going to be missing out on med. Has anyone else felt like this?
Not enough info in your post. Why did you apply to dental school if medicine was your true calling? Stats not high enough therefore you decided on dentistry by default?

Side note. Is your dental school expensive? (over 400K)? Not the best financial decision to go into a field you may not like and then have a huge dental school debt over your head.

If dentistry is it. Then you might consider a dental specialty (OMFS, dental anesthesiology, etc.) that has a medical component.

For what it's worth. I originally wanted to go into medicine. Then I changed to dentistry. Then I didn't like general dentistry .... so I became an orthodontist. Been happy ever since with no regrets.
 
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Sort of in the same boat. Excited for the experiences and to learn but not so much for the stress due to the amount of knowledge that will be shoved down our throat then tested on. Once I decided to go into healthcare during undergrad, I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform well and it sorta grew into anxiety. Hoping I can deal with that but I am worried about how things may go in that regard. If you really see yourself in medicine then its not to late but you can also work your butt off and shoot for omfs. When I made the switch from med to dental, omfs was what I had in mind. We'll see how things go. At the end of the day, school sucks. But being in a community of like-minded individuals who are in the same age group (for the most part) and have similar goals will make it a lot more enjoyable. Lots of experiences to be had
The academics aspect of it is not that bad. They spoonfeed you the material for the most part and the material is less difficult than undergrad imo.
 
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I may be taking this a different way than you mean... but I have experienced a lack of excitement at big life moments a lot in my life. I believe they call it "post-event blues". Where you have been working so hard towards something, finally get it, and immediately slip into a funk/depression. It is pretty common. I think the best way to deal with it is to make sure you have a really balanced life - don't focus on your career too much. That way you always have other things (friends, family, hobbies) to fall back on when you realize a big life event didn't bring you happiness or satisfaction. Feel free to ignore this if it totally is unrelated to your specific situation!
 
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If you want to do a different career do not do dentistry. Do what interests you most; life is too short.
 
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Not enough info in your post. Why did you apply to dental school if medicine was your true calling? Stats not high enough therefore you decided on dentistry by default?

Side note. Is your dental school expensive? (over 400K)? Not the best financial decision to go into a field you may not like and then have a huge dental school debt over your head.

If dentistry is it. Then you might consider a dental specialty (OMFS, dental anesthesiology, etc.) that has a medical component.

For what it's worth. I originally wanted to go into medicine. Then I changed to dentistry. Then I didn't like general dentistry .... so I became an orthodontist. Been happy ever since with no regrets.

Was in the same boat- but realized it much later. Agree that both OMFS and dental anesthesiology offer a medical component that can be rewarding and stimulating. I practiced as an “exodontist” for almost 2 years and then decided to do dental anesthesia for that reason. Both are paid residencies in a hospital setting and work closely with medical physicians. Good luck in whatever you decide.
 
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I don't know what's wrong with me, but I'm not as happy as I should be. My friends are happier than I am. I always wanted to do medicine and I feel like by accepting this offer, I'm going to be missing out on med. Has anyone else felt like this?
Unlike you, I was very excited about the dental school acceptance because at least I could make some money and didn’t get stuck with a useless BS degree in Bio. But like you, I wanted to go to med school because I felt medicine was a more respected profession. Even when I was at dental school, I felt envious every time I saw a med student walking by with a stethoscope on his/her neck…..and I wished I could be in his/her position. I took the MCAT twice and did poorly on both. So the only choice I had was dentistry.

Now looking back, I am glad I wasn’t smart enough for med school. Dentistry is much less stressful.
 
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If you want to do a different career do not do dentistry. Do what interests you most; life is too short.
Because life is too short, IMO, it’s better to graduate early, work hard early (when you are still young and healthy), save/invest your money, and retire (or semi-retire) early.....and not having to worry about paying bills for the rest of your life. I’ve seen so many college kids who wasted too many of their youth years to explore a career that they think would interest them……and got nowhere…. and when they turn 29-30, still have no plan, no diploma, no job. Sad!

Dentistry is just a job. Medicine is just a job. Nothing is excited about working.
 
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Dental school is arduous an can at points feel like it's endless without a break, deeply consider what you want to do because compiling additional outside stressors/distractions will only make the process of school more difficult and along with it you won't have the attention needed toward your studies. Sometimes the only thing you have going for you is knowing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel you are pursuing and that the information will be useful one day. On the other hand if you truly feel a pull toward dentistry you'll have more eustress than distress and the experience will propel you forward.
 
Not enough info in your post. Why did you apply to dental school if medicine was your true calling? Stats not high enough therefore you decided on dentistry by default?

Side note. Is your dental school expensive? (over 400K)? Not the best financial decision to go into a field you may not like and then have a huge dental school debt over your head.

If dentistry is it. Then you might consider a dental specialty (OMFS, dental anesthesiology, etc.) that has a medical component.

For what it's worth. I originally wanted to go into medicine. Then I changed to dentistry. Then I didn't like general dentistry .... so I became an orthodontist. Been happy ever since with no regrets.
To answer your questions: my stats are actually pretty competitive for Canada. I have a 3.94/4.0 cumulative GPA and a 4.0/4.0 for the last 2 years. The reason I didn’t apply to medical school is because of self doubt. I always felt like I wasn’t good enough. In high school, I was practically a failure. I turned that around in uni. I never took my MCAT because I just ruled medicine out completely. It was only this year that I started to think about it because one of my “friends”, who is incredibly stupid (sorry), got in. If she can get in, I’m sure I can too.

Also, I’ve been considering OMFS. Since I made this post, I looked a lot more into the field and it honestly seems fascinating. Are there any recommendations/suggests you have for being competitive? As for my dental school offer, I spoke with my parents and I decided to accept it. Med school, especially here in Canada where stats are insane (4.0, 520+ MCAT), is not guaranteed. As they say, a bird in hand…
 
I don't know what's wrong with me, but I'm not as happy as I should be. My friends are happier than I am. I always wanted to do medicine and I feel like by accepting this offer, I'm going to be missing out on med. Has anyone else felt like this?
Why on earth did you apply? To take someone's happiness away by taking their seat?
 
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Why on earth did you apply? To take someone's happiness away by taking their seat?
I'm sure OP didn't apply maliciously. Sometimes it just takes time and experiences to figure out what you really want.

OP, once you're on the dentistry road, it's hard to get off, especially if you're accruing debt. I think it's normal to be nervous before starting something big and new. But, if dental school really feels wrong, you're allowed to change your mind.
 
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To answer your questions: my stats are actually pretty competitive for Canada. I have a 3.94/4.0 cumulative GPA and a 4.0/4.0 for the last 2 years. The reason I didn’t apply to medical school is because of self doubt. I always felt like I wasn’t good enough. In high school, I was practically a failure. I turned that around in uni. I never took my MCAT because I just ruled medicine out completely. It was only this year that I started to think about it because one of my “friends”, who is incredibly stupid (sorry), got in. If she can get in, I’m sure I can too.

Also, I’ve been considering OMFS. Since I made this post, I looked a lot more into the field and it honestly seems fascinating. Are there any recommendations/suggests you have for being competitive? As for my dental school offer, I spoke with my parents and I decided to accept it. Med school, especially here in Canada where stats are insane (4.0, 520+ MCAT), is not guaranteed. As they say, a bird in hand…
Sounds like you are on the right path and you have the support of your parents. Plenty of good threads on sdn on preparing for OMFS. Sounds like that would be a perfect fit for you. One last thing. As you get older ..... any prestige issues of not being an MD doctor will soon go away. As a dental GP or specialist you have the potential to equal if not surpass the incomes of our MD colleagues. Lifestyle as a dentist/specialist is so much more laid back as compared to some of the medical specialties.

I have an MD anesthesiologist, two Internists, Surgeon specializing in female cancer, pediatrician, Emerg Dr. in my neighborhood. I wouldn't trade places with any of them. I see them constantly running to the hospital on the weekends, late hours. I smile and wave at them while I'm drinking a cold brewski.

Good luck and stay the course.
 
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edit:
op chose dental after all. Congratulations
 
I'm sure OP didn't apply maliciously. Sometimes it just takes time and experiences to figure out what you really want.

OP, once you're on the dentistry road, it's hard to get off, especially if you're accruing debt. I think it's normal to be nervous before starting something big and new. But, if dental school really feels wrong, you're allowed to change your mind.
We all know why OP applied - to have a back up plan
 
Sort of in the same boat. Excited for the experiences and to learn but not so much for the stress due to the amount of knowledge that will be shoved down our throat then tested on. Once I decided to go into healthcare during undergrad, I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform well and it sorta grew into anxiety. Hoping I can deal with that but I am worried about how things may go in that regard. If you really see yourself in medicine then its not to late but you can also work your butt off and shoot for omfs. When I made the switch from med to dental, omfs was what I had in mind. We'll see how things go. At the end of the day, school sucks. But being in a community of like-minded individuals who are in the same age group (for the most part) and have similar goals will make it a lot more enjoyable. Lots of experiences to be had
What made you make the switch from medical to dental?

And to OP: I had and still have the same exact feelings as you in terms of wanting to do medicine over dentistry. I too wasnt extremely excited to have gotten in into dental school but here I am now starting my second year. I think that in the end once we begin working we will have a different mentality but for now it is easy to compare ourselves and envy the medical students!
 
What made you make the switch from medical to dental?

And to OP: I had and still have the same exact feelings as you in terms of wanting to do medicine over dentistry. I too wasnt extremely excited to have gotten in into dental school but here I am now starting my second year. I think that in the end once we begin working we will have a different mentality but for now it is easy to compare ourselves and envy the medical students!
How do you feel now that you're in second year? Are the courses stimulating? Do you ever regret your decision?
 
Sounds like you are on the right path and you have the support of your parents. Plenty of good threads on sdn on preparing for OMFS. Sounds like that would be a perfect fit for you. One last thing. As you get older ..... any prestige issues of not being an MD doctor will soon go away. As a dental GP or specialist you have the potential to equal if not surpass the incomes of our MD colleagues. Lifestyle as a dentist/specialist is so much more laid back as compared to some of the medical specialties.

I have an MD anesthesiologist, two Internists, Surgeon specializing in female cancer, pediatrician, Emerg Dr. in my neighborhood. I wouldn't trade places with any of them. I see them constantly running to the hospital on the weekends, late hours. I smile and wave at them while I'm drinking a cold brewski.

Good luck and stay the course.
Thank you, much appreciated. Part of the reason that I considered dentistry is because of the work-life balance. I hope it'll be a fulfilling career! I just don't want to wake up one day, 10-15 years from now, thinking "what the hell am I doing?".
 
Why on earth did you apply? To take someone's happiness away by taking their seat?
I applied because I felt like I had to. Every single one of my friends in undergrad (we were in a small cohort-based program) got in somewhere. Whether that be medicine, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy etc. I hadn't taken the MCAT and it was too late for my in-province school, so I took the DAT instead. I don't mean to take the seat away from anyone else, but I feel like I earned it. I may not be happy about it, but I definitely earned it.
 
It used to bother me that MDs are automatically considered as being more prestigious than dentists. Now that I have the DDS to my name, I just don’t care anymore. On the other hand, I have a classmate that went to dental school with the sole purpose of specializing in OMFS. He/she loved subjects like histology/physiology and absolutely hated everything that is teeth related (oh the irony). He/she ended up dropping out at the end of D3 year and will apply to med school in the near future. That person wasted 300k and 3 years of their life. Just a really unfortunate situation.
 
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Who cares!? Love your life. Are you a dentist yet?
I am. For a very long time. And I know, that dentistry is hard enough to learn and practice to not be sure. Especially considering current cost of dental school
 
What made you make the switch from medical to dental?

And to OP: I had and still have the same exact feelings as you in terms of wanting to do medicine over dentistry. I too wasnt extremely excited to have gotten in into dental school but here I am now starting my second year. I think that in the end once we begin working we will have a different mentality but for now it is easy to compare ourselves and envy the medical students!
theres a couple of reasons.. the specialties I was drawn to are the most competitive for example dermatology.. I didn’t wanna go through 4 years of med school to end up in a specialty I didn’t choose but fell into due to competitiveness. I also wanted to do more procedural work every day. I figured who does that more then dentists? I also talked to others who switched from med to dental and found out we shared a lot of interests/worries about what to do and none of them regretted going to dental school so that’s sort of when I made my mind up.
 
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You will find your path, but never believe anyone who says you can't do something because you are not smart enough. You have time. I bounced around until I entered medical school at 30, am almost 60 and am having a fantastic career. I have a friend who was told she was too dumb to go to Medical School by her premed boyfriend. She was smarter than him but went went all in for dental school, went to UCSF. Practiced for a year, unhappy, applied to UCSF Medical School, got in, excelled, did 3 years of a general surgical residency and walked away when they wouldn't let her go home for a family medical emergency. She did a year of oral surgery fellowship, and is now 15 years out and wildly successful. Being happy in your profession is a gift most people will never experience. Take your time and find your passion.
 
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You will find your path, but never believe anyone who says you can't do something because you are not smart enough. You have time. I bounced around until I entered medical school at 30, am almost 60 and am having a fantastic career. I have a friend who was told she was too dumb to go to Medical School by her premed boyfriend. She was smarter than him but went went all in for dental school, went to UCSF. Practiced for a year, unhappy, applied to UCSF Medical School, got in, excelled, did 3 years of a general surgical residency and walked away when they wouldn't let her go home for a family medical emergency. She did a year of oral surgery fellowship, and is now 15 years out and wildly successful. Being happy in your profession is a gift most people will never experience. Take your time and find your passion.
So is your friend currently a practicing dentist or a practicing physician or both?
 
Keep applying to medicine while you're in dental school.
MDs don't have to sell their services, DMDs (in general) are practically salespeople.
 
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Keep applying to medicine while you're in dental school.
MDs don't have to sell their services, DMDs (in general) are practically salespeople.
I wish this wasn't true. Patients will more often get a second opinion with another dentist whereas they'll accept a doctor's recommendation without a second thought.

I've interacted with dentists and dental students, and most are genuinely good people trying to help others. From what I've seen, you have to essentially sell YOURSELF as a dentist. You have to be good at what you do, look attractive (people associate that with success/honesty), and make the patient feel good.

I've seen dentists on youtube/social media open up these fancy 5-star looking offices that cost millions of dollars just to attract patients. Whereas a GI or cardiologist can rent a hole in the wall and have patients flock there through referrals.
 
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Keep applying to medicine while you're in dental school.
MDs don't have to sell their services, DMDs (in general) are practically salespeople.
Sad but true. That's why I am not going the private practice model.
 
You will find your path, but never believe anyone who says you can't do something because you are not smart enough. You have time. I bounced around until I entered medical school at 30, am almost 60 and am having a fantastic career. I have a friend who was told she was too dumb to go to Medical School by her premed boyfriend. She was smarter than him but went went all in for dental school, went to UCSF. Practiced for a year, unhappy, applied to UCSF Medical School, got in, excelled, did 3 years of a general surgical residency and walked away when they wouldn't let her go home for a family medical emergency. She did a year of oral surgery fellowship, and is now 15 years out and wildly successful. Being happy in your profession is a gift most people will never experience. Take your time and find your passion.
Your friend could afford to switch profession because she had very low debt. My sister also graduated from UCSF dental school (in the early 2000s) and she only owed $65k. I am not sure if one can do this in this present time due to the ridiculous amount of tuitions that schools charge their students. To earn a DDS degree at this present time, one has to borrow at least $300k…..yes, even for a public dental school like UCSF. And if he/she goes to med school, that’s another $300k that he/she will have to borrow. After med school, he/she will have to do a few more years of residency trainings and get paid slightly above the minimum wage. He/she won’t start making a 6-figure income until he/she turns 34-35. When will he/she be able to pay back the student loan debt and retire comfortably? What about getting married and spending time to raise kids?
 
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Keep applying to medicine while you're in dental school.
MDs don't have to sell their services, DMDs (in general) are practically salespeople.
It’s true that MDs don’t have to sell their services. They are forced to provide the services even if they don’t want to. My cousin is a MD anesthesiologist. Many of the patients at his hospital are illegal immigrants and don’t have insurance. He has to treat them because it’s his job, which is to save lives. Sure, he can send these patients the bills afterward but what is the chance that these patients will pay him? Probably, 0%. And if he makes mistake, the patients can still sue him.

At least we, dentists, can refuse to provide services to people who can't pay. Unlike the doctors, we are not obligated to treat everyone and to save life. We can say no to medicaid and HMO plans because they don’t pay us enough. We can skip the stupid insurance companies and collect the $$$ directly from our patients. We can say no to working on the weekends. The MD’s who sign up with the HMO plans can only pray that many of the patients who are on these HMO plans don’t show up at their offices so they don’t have to work too hard.

The OP said he’s in Canada. I believe Canada has a socialized healthcare system. I’ve heard that it takes several weeks/months for the patients to book an appointment to see their doctors. So that means that the doctors there have to work like dogs in order to meet the high demand. I hope they are compensated well for their hard work.
 
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I like to compare what dentists (in general) do versus what physicians(in general) do, i.e. most anesthesiologists don't treat illegal immigrants most of their time. For every disgruntled physician, I would wager there is a non-disgruntled physician (and same goes for dentists).

It's true, we have to wait weeks to months to see specialists but they work as much or as little as they want (which goes the same with dental specialists).
 
It’s true that MDs don’t have to sell their services. They are forced to provide the services even if they don’t want to. My cousin is a MD anesthesiologist. Many of the patients at his hospital are illegal immigrants and don’t have insurance. He has to treat them because it’s his job, which is to save lives. Sure, he can send these patients the bills afterward but what is the chance that these patients will pay him? Probably, 0%. And if he makes mistake, the patients can still sue him.
I've never heard anything like this before.... from what I understand doctors sign contracts with hospitals or private groups, and will get paid regardless of the patient paying. That's why in EM only 10% or so of patients pay their bills (most don't have insurance) and yet EM still averages $200/hr and up to $350/hr for locum tenens in less desirable places. Heck, I even heard of $5-600/hr during COVID in some smaller places for a few weeks.

Even if somebody showed up at a private family practice clinic with no money they'll just be sent to the ER
 
I wish this wasn't true. Patients will more often get a second opinion with another dentist whereas they'll accept a doctor's recommendation without a second thought.

I've interacted with dentists and dental students, and most are genuinely good people trying to help others. From what I've seen, you have to essentially sell YOURSELF as a dentist. You have to be good at what you do, look attractive (people associate that with success/honesty), and make the patient feel good.

I've seen dentists on youtube/social media open up these fancy 5-star looking offices that cost millions of dollars just to attract patients. Whereas a GI or cardiologist can rent a hole in the wall and have patients flock there through referrals.
Accept government insurance (Medicaid and Medicare) and HMO and bold can be you too. Outpatient elective medical specialties face the same challenges dentistry does.

I don’t get why people are afraid of “sales”? Dentistry is a public facing job that concerns people’s health. Why should anyone trust you, or accept what you recommend, without a persuasive explanation? A good medical professional will provide a recommendation, alternatives, as well as risks and benefits in the way that a patient will understand and appreciate.

I recently “fired” my father’s cardiologist because he didn’t “sell” (aka explain himself and appear competent). Dentistry is no different.
 
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Accept government insurance (Medicaid and Medicare) and HMO and bold can be you too. Outpatient elective medical specialties face the same challenges dentistry does.
True. Dermatology and ophthalmology, two of the prestigious ROAD specialties due to superb lifestyles, need to advertise a lot for their services like dentistry. Same goes for plastic surgery.
 
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I've never heard anything like this before.... from what I understand doctors sign contracts with hospitals or private groups, and will get paid regardless of the patient paying. That's why in EM only 10% or so of patients pay their bills (most don't have insurance) and yet EM still averages $200/hr and up to $350/hr for locum tenens in less desirable places. Heck, I even heard of $5-600/hr during COVID in some smaller places for a few weeks.

Even if somebody showed up at a private family practice clinic with no money they'll just be sent to the ER
My cousin didn’t hear anything like this until he graduated and started working. That’s when he realized that he has to hire a biller to send out bills and to collect payments from patients’ insurances for him. The hospitals only bill the patients the surgical procedures. Anesthesiologists have to bill the patients separately. Yes, he gets paid a small amount (according to him, a verrrrry small amount.....it's so small that it's not worth spending a night sleeping in the hospital away from his wife and kids) from the hospital regardless he has patients to treat or not. To get a decent pay, he has to sit down and treats (sedates) the patient. Guess how much he gets for an epidural case? $200 if a patient has medicaid. He is practicing in California and everything is oversaturated here. Anesthesiologists probably do a lot better in other states.
 
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My cousin didn’t hear anything like this until he graduated and started working. That’s when he realized that he has to hire a biller to send out bills and to collect payments from patients’ insurances for him. The hospitals only bill the patients the surgical procedures. Anesthesiologists have to bill the patients separately. Yes, he gets paid a small amount (according to him, a verrrrry small amount.....it's so small that it's not worth spending a night sleeping in the hospital away from his wife and kids) from the hospital regardless he has patients to treat or not. To get a decent pay, he has to sit down and treats (sedates) the patient. Guess how much he gets for an epidural case? $200 if a patient has medicaid. He is practicing in California and everything is oversaturated here. Anesthesiologists probably do a lot better in other states.
That's interesting. I'm reading up on it now and apparently, medicare pays 13-20 cents on the dollar and Medicaid even less, for anesthesia services. Glad I wasn't considering it as a specialty.
 
How do you feel now that you're in second year? Are the courses stimulating? Do you ever regret your decision?
Honestly I don’t know what I can tell you at the moment. Its not like I dread what we are doing in school. There’s some aspects of it that I don’t like since we are being taught old ways of dentistry but then I do enjoy coming to lab to practice procedures. I still keep going back and forth in my head and think to myself what it would have been like if I had went to medical school. Especially when I study these biomed classes that are not relative to dentistry but very important for medicine. I could also be having a grass is greener attitude as well. Reading comments in this forum as well as other also gives me a sense of perspective that medicine isn’t as glamorous as I make it out to be so that’s another thing to consider. I am already 100k in debt and like others mentioned, it’s not easy to just give all that up and pursue medicine. You have to take into account getting into med school, getting good connections and research, good stats on step to have a chance to get into specialty of your choosing. That’s why I picked dental cause I wouldn’t be happy being a prKmart care physician. I also think to myself if I gave up easily, lots of conflicting thoughts. So this has really affected me mentally speaking cause it’s one of the most important decisions that I had to make and am unsure if I made the right one.
 
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Anyone else feel this way or is it just me?
 
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Anyone else feel this way or is it just me?

It depends on your expectation vs reality. The closer they are the more content (not the same as happy) you will be. For example, a customer will be pissed if they're told the pizza will take 5 minutes but it takes 10. On the other hand, they'll be thrilled if they're told to wait 20 minutes but it's ready in 15.

I worked with several pre-health students. One had DO stats but after shadowing/research decided it wasn't for him and pursued PT instead (also had a related side business that he could maintain during PT but not DO school).

Another kid was pre-pharm and was aware of the ****ty job market. He simply didn't want to grind 2-4 more years to get into med and then ANOTHER 4-10 (med + residency). He was totally content with making 80-110k in a relatively low barrier to entry job.

A friend of mine dropped out after 2 years of podiatry school (he settled for it after 2 failed DO cycles). His expectations didn't match reality and settling can sometimes be worse than just taking a step back and reevaluating the situation.

I have classmates who came in wanting to do primary care and it's relatively easy to match in our state. They're doing the bare minimum (they're all smart but why do extra work for the same result?) and they're happier than ever. They take multiple days off per week to socialize, even travel/take mini-vacations DURING school.

On the other hand, if someone wants to do ortho or make big bucks in a lucrative specialty but doesn't want to put in the work then they'll be miserable.

So ask yourself: What is my expectation vs reality? Did you "settle" for DS over MS? Each person is unique and only you can answer this for yourself.
 
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Honestly I don’t know what I can tell you at the moment. Its not like I dread what we are doing in school. There’s some aspects of it that I don’t like since we are being taught old ways of dentistry but then I do enjoy coming to lab to practice procedures. I still keep going back and forth in my head and think to myself what it would have been like if I had went to medical school. Especially when I study these biomed classes that are not relative to dentistry but very important for medicine. I could also be having a grass is greener attitude as well. Reading comments in this forum as well as other also gives me a sense of perspective that medicine isn’t as glamorous as I make it out to be so that’s another thing to consider. I am already 100k in debt and like others mentioned, it’s not easy to just give all that up and pursue medicine. You have to take into account getting into med school, getting good connections and research, good stats on step to have a chance to get into specialty of your choosing. That’s why I picked dental cause I wouldn’t be happy being a prKmart care physician. I also think to myself if I gave up easily, lots of conflicting thoughts. So this has really affected me mentally speaking cause it’s one of the most important decisions that I had to make and am unsure if I made the right one.
Dude, I totally feel you. I keep thinking of what if's and going back and forth in my head even though others would probably kill to be in dental school right now. I like the work we do in lab but lectures on stuff that won't even be on the boards is making me scratch my head and the fewer/less attractive options for loan repayment for dental compared to medical doesn't make me feel any better. I know it's been a while since you replied on here, but has your situation gotten any better/changed?
 
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Dude, I totally feel you. I keep thinking of what if's and going back and forth in my head even though others would probably kill to be in dental school right now. I like the work we do in lab but lectures on stuff that won't even be on the boards is making me scratch my head and the fewer/less attractive options for loan repayment for dental compared to medical doesn't make me feel any better. I know it's been a while since you replied on here, but has your situation gotten any better/changed?
Feel free to PM me!
 
. If you really see yourself in medicine then its not to late but you can also work your butt off and shoot for omfs.
The Pinocchio complex is the worst thing in oral surgery. Please don't feed that monster.

"I wanna be a *REAL* doctor so I'm gonna gun for a 6, and only 6, year OMFS residency)"

If OP falls into this category, s/he should immediately quit dental school.
 
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