The chance of getting into a traditional ortho program is about 3.5 % (293 slots for 8200 applicants). Is there an explanation to why there are so little ortho programs in the country, when there is such a huge demand for it?
Thats major propaganda put out by OEC. As someone else said, its not 8200 applicants, its applications. OEC's goal is to push these exaggerated numbers to the unknowing public or the innocent and green dental students in their attempts make it sound like there is going to be an orthodontic labor crisis out there and to help push their insidious business structure. If there is ever a shortage in dentistry per se -- pediatric dentistry would be where the shortage is.
There is also a huge demand for plastic surgery --- do you see private plastic surgery schools opening up de novo out there???
Lazarra claims that his programs will be helping the underserved. This is total bull. When was the last time anyone heard that orthodontics was need based? Sure I will be the first to say everyone should have ortho tx if they need it. However, the more pressing need out there is the GENERAL DENTAL CARE that is needed by millions. Due to poor oral health / education / funding / attention - large groups of kids and adults in rural towns (where water is not flouridated), inner city, indian reservations, and poor / indigent communities are all lacking access to simple dental care. You see large numbers of decayed and missing teeth in these groups of people. That is where the NEED is. Who cares about straight teeth if their all carious.
If Lazarra was really noble and wanted to help -- he should require all his OEC grads to work as general dentists doing general dentistry in offices placed in underserved areas for 2 or more yrs taking care of the real need out there -- then they can do ortho after. And for that matter -- I bet you'll never see one of Lazarra's ortho offices open up in a poor or underseverd community ----- and lets agree that there is a need for ortho for the underserved -- do you think he will provide low cost orthodontic care for this group of people. That answer would be a big NO.
In this article it is mentioned that only 14 students from 125 applicants were accepted to the OEC program. This program works for students that do not want to own their own business, want to have the luxury of working as an orthodontist, and no debt. To my understanding this is a win-win situation for those students and OEC, since they do all the work and all you have to do is show up to work.
GIVE ME A FRICKEN BREAK. This shows exactly how shallow minded you are and how much time you've thought about your above statement. If you don't want to own your own business and only want to show up for work -- there are a myriad of other venues for you to do this --- ALL OF WHICH WILL STILL ALLOW YOU TO HAVE FULL CAREER AUTONOMY, PROFESSIONALLY AND FINANCIALLY. These are called associateships. As well, you can work for the big dental companies out there such as Castle dental, Monarch dental, Heartland dental, etc. etc. And in all these instances you are not bounded by a 7 yr. contract. Your contract for any of these other options is only limited by your negotiations in terms of length, compensation, raises, commission, etc etc. And since the terms in these contracts are much shorter (in the range of 1-2 yrs) as you get better and faster and more experience -- a compensation increase can be re-negotiated to match you experience level. Or after the 1-2 yr contract is over, if you don't like working where you are you can get up and go.
With OEC -- you are bounded for 7 yrs -- you are locked in, no say, no vote, no re-negotiation, no nothing -- good luck with that, why do you think people refer it as an indentured servitude. Sure you can break the contract with OEC but you better be ready to hand over the clothe on your back, your right arm, the kitchen sink and a boat load of cash.
Can someone tell me why OEC students might be less knowledgeable than the traditional ortho students? I think OEC trains these students to the best they can, since these guys will work for them and generate tons of money for them. This is a profitable organization and its all about money.
I can't claim that OEC's programs are poorer academically (although that may have been mentioned by others). No one can prove they are better or worse. But thats not where the issues of concerns are. The concerns involve regulations by the ADA stating that the interview process for applicants and their acceptance into specialty programs must be unbiased. Clearly, do you not see the conflict of interest when you have to sign a 7 yr binding contract stating that you HAVE to work for OEC. So if a better candidate comes along but does not want to sign the OEC contract -- do you seriously believe OEC is going give that person an acceptance. The answer is a big fat Lazarra arse NO.
So you are absolutely right on one thing -- that its all about money --- OEC's money -- Lazarra's money. Who cares about academic integrity.
Would I be interested in this program, at this point the answer is no, since I am not sure if I want to be an orthodontist. Also, would I attend this program, the answer is no, since I do not want to commit to this type of program for 7 years.
Dude you are not committing for 7 yrs. Its 9 yrs -- if you include the time you are in residency for OEC. For that matter, you've also just spent 2-4 yrs undergrad and 4 yrs dental school. So if you or anyone decides to par-take in the OEC venture -- by the time you have career autonomy that could mean (do the math) a total of 15-17 yrs of your life you've decided to given up.
But, if the goal of this program is to make orthodontics more affordable for the public, I am not sure why anyone would want to close it down, except a very small group of people which are the traditional orthodontists.
The vast majority of the public also are crying out that general dental procedures are too expensive. Orthodontics is clearly only a small percentage of the total dental spending in the US. Which is in the billions. So according to your logic. We should also open up private dental schools and graduate double or triple the number of graduating dentist as to make general dental treatment more affordable. Yes that is a super idea. And this would be great for dentistry as a whole -- right?
Or how about make dentistry more like medicine where managed care / insurance company / working close with the large corporations that employ thousands becomes pervasive and have control over which and how dental procedures are performed and charged out. Have all dental procedures be capped by fee schedules made by these dental insurance companies. Have them tell you an extraction would be compensated for but a root canal would not. Or a large 3-4 surface amalgam build up would be compensated for but not a crown. Or comprehensive ortho not needed here and we will only re-imburse you for partial anterior alignment only. etc, etc. Yes, that would be a great way to to make dentistry or orthodontics more affordable. This will also afford us to be looked upon by the public not as health care professionals but a tooth mechanic. Hey come to think of it, tooth mechanic has a nice ring to it.
Why don't you find and read the Wall street journal report on dentistry vs. medicine article that came out recently. It gives you a good perspective why dentistry is doing much better than medicine. Maybe you'll have a different perspective on the comments you've expressed.
