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choosing specialty
Started by dentodontics
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1) Find out what your biggest strength is, or what you are good at.
2) Find out what kind of work gives you the ultimate gratification.
3) Combine the above; try to see where you can put your strength to its best use, while enjoying what you do.
4) Go for it, regardless of thoughts like future of the specialty, salary after graduation, etc. I believe that anything in life is what WE make of it! If you want to be good at something, you WILL be!
As for me, I felt like I was good at problem solving; not just in dentistry but also outside of it. Also, I thought I had a creative mind. When I started working on patients, what made me happy at the end of the day was the feeling that I was a part of making his/her life better- when patients told me they gained weight because of their new teeth (dentures), or they smiled a lot more now that they have teeth! So, I figured out that Prosthodontics was the area where I could put my earlier stated strengths to their best use, while getting the ultimate satisfaction out of it.
This is just how I chose my specialty. To each his own! 🙂
2) Find out what kind of work gives you the ultimate gratification.
3) Combine the above; try to see where you can put your strength to its best use, while enjoying what you do.
4) Go for it, regardless of thoughts like future of the specialty, salary after graduation, etc. I believe that anything in life is what WE make of it! If you want to be good at something, you WILL be!
As for me, I felt like I was good at problem solving; not just in dentistry but also outside of it. Also, I thought I had a creative mind. When I started working on patients, what made me happy at the end of the day was the feeling that I was a part of making his/her life better- when patients told me they gained weight because of their new teeth (dentures), or they smiled a lot more now that they have teeth! So, I figured out that Prosthodontics was the area where I could put my earlier stated strengths to their best use, while getting the ultimate satisfaction out of it.
This is just how I chose my specialty. To each his own! 🙂
What's your motivation for specializing in the first place? General dentistry is already a pretty good gig. Not saying you shouldn't specialize, but defining your motivation for specialization may help guide your decision.
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Thank you for contributing guys!
For all the specialist on here please contribute if you can. Your feedback can really help.
Thank you all
For all the specialist on here please contribute if you can. Your feedback can really help.
Thank you all
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i always felt that it was important for me to specialize. I have been working as a general dentist and I enjoy the work but I am not satisfied with the income, lifestyle, how physically demanding it is, and the feeling of the lack of “mastery” when doing certain procedures.
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Those are all legitimate reasons to specialize in my opinion, so I'd agree you're on the right track. Practice ownership could be another route, but assuming you've already ruled that out as an answer... I'd shadow a periodontist, prosthodontist, and endodontist for a few days each. I'm thinking perio will interest you based on the "fine" surgeries and integration with prosth, but obviously it's something you'll have to decide yourself.
Also make sure you consider: the cost of residency, difficulty of acceptance (some specialties are more competitive and some programs require the ADAT), where you would like to practice (among other things, this can influence the type of procedures you're doing), etc...
Once you're somewhat decided, I'd recommend doing externships at a couple programs you may be interested in (both to solidify your interest and to help you gain an interview invitation). Consider attending the national meeting for whatever specialty you choose and start lining up your application by February/March if you plan to apply next year (e.g. contact faculty and/or the specialists you shadowed for letters, study for the ADAT if needed and take it in May/June, order enough hard-copies of transcripts and such, decide which programs you're applying to and submit everything as early as possible).
Also make sure you consider: the cost of residency, difficulty of acceptance (some specialties are more competitive and some programs require the ADAT), where you would like to practice (among other things, this can influence the type of procedures you're doing), etc...
Once you're somewhat decided, I'd recommend doing externships at a couple programs you may be interested in (both to solidify your interest and to help you gain an interview invitation). Consider attending the national meeting for whatever specialty you choose and start lining up your application by February/March if you plan to apply next year (e.g. contact faculty and/or the specialists you shadowed for letters, study for the ADAT if needed and take it in May/June, order enough hard-copies of transcripts and such, decide which programs you're applying to and submit everything as early as possible).
That is a great plan!
i have worked with different specialists and got to see some of the things that they do. The work of perio and endo seems great!
Would you say that as a practice owner you can, on average, have a better lifestyle and income than specialty practices!
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There's a lot of variability when it comes to GP/specialist practices and I think the definition of "lifestyle" is pretty subjective, but if you search the forums you'll find many people more experienced than myself who have answered that question in some form. I will say that if your intention is to own a practice (as a GP or specialist), and you're not 100% committed to specializing, then it's worth looking into further before pulling the trigger on the specialty option (especially if it's going to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and 2-3 years of your life). Whatever you decide, you're in a good field and can't really go wrong.
Everyone's reasons for choosing a specialty will be different. I didn't decide to go into Ortho until the latter part of D2. After getting a "taste" of general dentistry and some of the specialties .... I did not hesitate to pursue ortho. I have zero regrets.
I believe, as others have posted, that you choose what will make you happy. Money is not the end all to everything. Yes ... money is good, but you have to enjoy what you do to ultimately enjoy the money. Plenty of GPs and specialists making different levels of money. One advantage specialists have over GPs is that specialists typically make more money in the Corp scene. Private practice tends to even the playing field.
Choose a life long profession and career. Not a job trading time for money.
I believe, as others have posted, that you choose what will make you happy. Money is not the end all to everything. Yes ... money is good, but you have to enjoy what you do to ultimately enjoy the money. Plenty of GPs and specialists making different levels of money. One advantage specialists have over GPs is that specialists typically make more money in the Corp scene. Private practice tends to even the playing field.
Choose a life long profession and career. Not a job trading time for money.
Great post,
I definitely would like to be a owner dentist and don’t see myself working Corp all my life.
Do you think that it would be more challenging as a specialist in private practice than a GP office?
I like doing fixed pros, surgeries and endo. I don’t like doing fillings, cleanings, anything simple.
I’m artistic and meticulous with my hands. I like providing quality work.
Specialties that I thought about:
Endo- enjoy the work, good ergonomics, financially stable??
Perio- enjoy surgeries, not sure how challenging it is in private practice.
Pedo- like kids and seems to be financially stable but don’t like loud noises, simple and fast restorations.
pros??
Re: your question. What is more challenging? Specialty vs. general practice. It all depends. Both are successful as long as you choose the right location. You've read enough threads about the saturated areas. If I was starting out .... it's a rural or semi/rural area to get out of the rat race.
The other issue with being a specialist is the "referral" needs. Some specialists (perio, endo, OMS) require more GP referrals than say the Orthos and Pedos. You have to decide how much you are willing to "beg" for referrals. I can tell you with time .... this process is not fun.
As for your choices. My 2 cents.
Endo. Definitely financially stable. Fewer patients in a day with higher profit margins. Lower overhead with less need for support staff. Don't need a large office to see many patients (ortho) and you don't need the fancy, kid oriented office like a pedo. Relies on GP referrals. Now .... could I spend my entire career using a microscope looking into a small, dark hole lol. No I couldn't.
Perio. Relies on GP referrals. Alot. Always going to need perio. Perio disease is rampant. But you will see all the GP referrals that they are too scared to treat due to liability. Treating patients that ignored their soft tissue care. Not the healthiest bunch of patients. Not like patients a pedo or ortho sees. I would imagine that perio liability ranks right up there or surpasses oral surgery. The positive. I believe a periodontist is more suited to placing implants (especially anterior teeth) since they are more in tune with soft tissue esthetics. We all know that placing an implant is probably the easy part. It's how the surrounding tissue adapts to the implant and final prosthesis. That's the difference.
Pedo. You better like young, young kids. You need the fancy, pedo oriented offices. The pedo play land. Probably have to deal with mommy and daddy all the time. Similar to ortho, but more intensive dealing with parents. You're working on a dentition that is temporary (young kids) which is a positive. You can bring in an ortho to be a full service pedo/ortho practice. One stop shopping. Parents love that stuff. Less need for referrals.
Prostho. My wife and I see a pros for all our dental needs. Yes .... we pay more, but my wife requires additional expertise due to her challenging dental needs. I feel that I am being treated by a specialist GP. A GP with school based, additional training. The bad? He does not advertise on his office window that he is a prosthodontist. It's in his brochure. I'm not sure patients know what a prosthodontist is. They know what a dentist, ortho, pedo, endo, OS, perio is .... but prostho. Probably not.
So you see. Every specialty is different. Pick the one that you will enjoy. If you are happy at what you do ... the financial rewards will follow.
Great post. Are perio and endo referrals hard to come by?
