Could really use some advice... really lost

[jthomp2649]

Hey all,

To make a very long story short, in 2012 I had a 3.8 G.P.A and was getting ready to take my DAT. I could think of no other career I wanted besides Dentistry. In early 2013, I had the ulnar and median nerve in my right (dominant) arm severed. I have spent 4 years struggling to figure out what to do with my life, and I keep coming back to Dentistry. There is no other career like it.

So, my question is, has anyone ever heard of a dentist with basically one hand? I have some function in my right hand, I can grip pretty well, but I have very little dexterity. I have considered trying to learn dentistry with my left hand, but I just don't know if having my right hand limited will prevent me from being able to actually do dentistry.

I know that no one can ultimately answer the question for me, but my question really is whether or not anyone in here has ever known a dentist that was successful with either one hand, or one hand with reduced function?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[yuggernaut030]

First of all, I'm sorry about your accident. Nothing is impossible, but it's pretty close to it. It's gonna be a struggle for the rest of your career. Things are hard enough with full function in both hands. Not to mention that dental school is pretty expensive and getting an acceptance would be pretty difficult if you explained your situation. I had to practice hundreds, if not thousands of hours to get to a pretty good speed. I don't know why you would want to put yourself in a situation like that. Out of curiosity, what is it about dentistry that makes you keep coming back to it?

 

[FanOfCostco]

Would you be interested in specializing in dental radiology? im not sure if oral path needs a lot of hand stuff preparing slides and such but u can look into it

 

[Localnative]

I'll probably take some heat for a "false hope" type of response.

You may have heard the story of Vinny Pazienza, pro boxer who suffered a severe vertebral fracture with a grim prognosis. He crawled his way back to pummel Roberto Duran in the later rounds to win a championship bout.

1.) Have you explored the option of seeking a second opinion from a hand surgeon? I know nothing of outcomes following upper extremity nerve repair however this may be something to look into. i.e., secondary repair.
2.) If the window on OT hasn't closed completely, perhaps seeking hand therapy to strengthen the dexterity in your left hand is possible. Teach the left to do the job once assigned to the right.
3.) Office based OS. No, not kidding. Doing exodontia and placing implants doesn't require you to be ambidexterous. One hand retracts/stabilizes the patient. Other hand does the delicate/nondelicate stuff. I'm oversimplifying it but I've seen some creative handiwork/put out some fires set by some guys with 2 left hands (no pun intended). A skilled left hand beats a full house.

Chin up, there is always a way back.

M

 

[jthomp2649]

First of all, I'm sorry about your accident. Nothing is impossible, but it's pretty close to it. It's gonna be a struggle for the rest of your career. Things are hard enough with full function in both hands. Not to mention that dental school is pretty expensive and getting an acceptance would be pretty difficult if you explained your situation. I had to practice hundreds, if not thousands of hours to get to a pretty good speed. I don't know why you would want to put yourself in a situation like that. Out of curiosity, what is it about dentistry that makes you keep coming back to it?

Yeah, that's how I honestly feel about it. I know I could do it, I'm just afraid I won't be able to do it well enough to be a good/successful dentist. I wouldn't have to pay for dental school, so that's not an issue, but getting accepted could be challenging. I haven't decided how I would approach that issue, were I to be apply.

Dentistry is a unique career. I've always wanted to be my own boss and run my own business. I've also always been interested in biology and medicine, and I need to help people. I need to fix things (people/teeth?), make them better. I will go crazy if I'm in a lab or behind a desk all day, every day. I need to be moving. I love having knowledge that people need... even though I never went to dental school, my family still calls me to ask me about tooth problems haha... I don't know why. I tell them what I can from my limited knowledge, but I just have to tell them to call their dentist, and it kills me every time. That should be me fixing their pain. There is also such a profound need for dentistry in underprivileged populations, I think more than most medicine, because of the lack of education.

Medicine would be an obvious second choice, but what led me to dentistry over medicine in the first place was the work life balance. My wife now is in her third year of residency in internal medicine, getting ready for a cardiology fellowship. I have no interest in adding 3 years of residency on top of 4 years of medical school. I also loved the natural progression into self-employment with dentistry.

Honestly, I could probably think of dozens of reasons why I love dentistry. But, what you said is what haunts me. This is my living. I've always been of the mind that anything is possible, and when it came to learning to play the guitar with a bum hand, I was able to do it. I had to figure out different ways of strumming and what-not, but I figured it out. The problem is, I will never do it that well. That's fine with a hobby, but I'm afraid of making it my living.

I guess that's why I'm wondering if any dentists managed to do well with one hand... how necessary IS it to have both hands be completely functional. I can't ask you if I, MYSELF, would be be a good dentist without two fully functioning hands... that's impossible for anyone to say. But, has ANYONE, EVER, been a good dentist without two fully functioning hands?

 

[jthomp2649]

Would you be interested in specializing in dental radiology? im not sure if oral path needs a lot of hand stuff preparing slides and such but u can look into it

Interesting thought, but probably for the reasons that I laid out in my reply to yuggernot, I wouldn't enjoy dental radiology. Thank you for the suggestion!

 

[jthomp2649]

I'll probably take some heat for a "false hope" type of response.

You may have heard the story of Vinny Pazienza, pro boxer who suffered a severe vertebral fracture with a grim prognosis. He crawled his way back to pummel Roberto Duran in the later rounds to win a championship bout.

1.) Have you explored the option of seeking a second opinion from a hand surgeon? I know nothing of outcomes following upper extremity nerve repair however this may be something to look into. i.e., secondary repair.
2.) If the window on OT hasn't closed completely, perhaps seeking hand therapy to strengthen the dexterity in your left hand is possible. Teach the left to do the job once assigned to the right.
3.) Office based OS. No, not kidding. Doing exodontia and placing implants doesn't require you to be ambidexterous. One hand retracts/stabilizes the patient. Other hand does the delicate/nondelicate stuff. I'm oversimplifying it but I've seen some creative handiwork/put out some fires set by some guys with 2 left hands (no pun intended). A skilled left hand beats a full house.

Chin up, there is always a way back.

M

I have watched that movie several times. I love that movie... the story is so inspirational. I can't tell you how much I wish that I had broken a bone or some other crazy injury that would eventually heal. Unfortunately, nerve injuries are an entirely different beast, and we don't quite understand them well enough yet. I always love optimism! To answer your questions:

1. So many times. So many. I have talked to so many people about the options. I've tried biofeedback therapy, Platelet Lysate injections, IGF-1 injections. I don't care how much it would cost, I would literally give up everything I own and clear out my bank account, for a surgery or something that had even a fraction of a percent of a chance of giving me my hand back. Thus far, I have found nothing.

2. I would absolutely do that. I've learned how to do most things with my left hand anyway, and definitely one of my main thoughts on how I could proceed with dentistry is exactly that, learning to predominantly use my left hand. My question is, would that work? How Important is having two fully functioning hands? Have you ever known any dentists with a hand that didn't work well?

3. That's interesting, I'd like to hear more about that. What IS office based OS? My wild guess is outpatient services... but I don't know if that makes sense. Could a practice be successful relying solely on those types of procedures? Why do those procedures require less ambidexterity than others? Maybe we could PM sometime?

Thank you for your reply. I always appreciate optimism.

 

[shendo]

OP-
One other thing you would need to think about is whether or not you will be able to qualify for dental disability insurance given your hand condition once you graduate from dental school. Usually, insurance carriers would be very hesitant to provide coverage for preexisting issues such as hand, back, neck issues.
Regarding whether or not you can learn how to do dentistry with your non dominant hand, it is possible. I am naturally left handed, but when I started out in dental school, I decided to learn to do everything with my right hand since I felt that being a left handed dentist had certain disadvantages. I think what helped me was that I was already somewhat ambidextrous to start with. Usually your non dominant hand will be used to hold the mirror, or for retraction so as long as you don't have tremors and still have some dexterity in your right hand, possibly you would still be okay.
As others have mentioned, the best option would try to consider a specialty that would require less manual dexterity, but it seems like you really want to do general dentistry. I think everyone's risk tolerance is difference, so it depends on how much you really desire to become a dentist vs another alternative career. For me, if I had a preexisting hand issue or back issue even before I started dental school, knowing what I know now I would have chosen to explore a different career option.

 

[jthomp2649]

OP-
One other thing you would need to think about is whether or not you will be able to qualify for dental disability insurance given your hand condition once you graduate from dental school. Usually, insurance carriers would be very hesitant to provide coverage for preexisting issues such as hand, back, neck issues.
Regarding whether or not you can learn how to do dentistry with your non dominant hand, it is possible. I am naturally left handed, but when I started out in dental school, I decided to learn to do everything with my right hand since I felt that being a left handed dentist had certain disadvantages. I think what helped me was that I was already somewhat ambidextrous to start with. Usually your non dominant hand will be used to hold the mirror, or for retraction so as long as you don't have tremors and still have some dexterity in your right hand, possibly you would still be okay.
As others have mentioned, the best option would try to consider a specialty that would require less manual dexterity, but it seems like you really want to do general dentistry. I think everyone's risk tolerance is difference, so it depends on how much you really desire to become a dentist vs another alternative career. For me, if I had a preexisting hand issue or back issue even before I started dental school, knowing what I know now I would have chosen to explore a different career option.

What career option do you think you would have explored?

 

[cellowars]

Yeah, that's how I honestly feel about it. I know I could do it, I'm just afraid I won't be able to do it well enough to be a good/successful dentist. I wouldn't have to pay for dental school, so that's not an issue, but getting accepted could be challenging. I haven't decided how I would approach that issue, were I to be apply.

Dentistry is a unique career. I've always wanted to be my own boss and run my own business. I've also always been interested in biology and medicine, and I need to help people. I need to fix things (people/teeth?), make them better. I will go crazy if I'm in a lab or behind a desk all day, every day. I need to be moving. I love having knowledge that people need... even though I never went to dental school, my family still calls me to ask me about tooth problems haha... I don't know why. I tell them what I can from my limited knowledge, but I just have to tell them to call their dentist, and it kills me every time. That should be me fixing their pain. There is also such a profound need for dentistry in underprivileged populations, I think more than most medicine, because of the lack of education.

Medicine would be an obvious second choice, but what led me to dentistry over medicine in the first place was the work life balance. My wife now is in her third year of residency in internal medicine, getting ready for a cardiology fellowship. I have no interest in adding 3 years of residency on top of 4 years of medical school. I also loved the natural progression into self-employment with dentistry.

Honestly, I could probably think of dozens of reasons why I love dentistry. But, what you said is what haunts me. This is my living. I've always been of the mind that anything is possible, and when it came to learning to play the guitar with a bum hand, I was able to do it. I had to figure out different ways of strumming and what-not, but I figured it out. The problem is, I will never do it that well. That's fine with a hobby, but I'm afraid of making it my living.

I guess that's why I'm wondering if any dentists managed to do well with one hand... how necessary IS it to have both hands be completely functional. I can't ask you if I, MYSELF, would be be a good dentist without two fully functioning hands... that's impossible for anyone to say. But, has ANYONE, EVER, been a good dentist without two fully functioning hands?

I'm not a dentist, but, perhaps you could be one if you got your dexterity at least close to normal with physical therapy.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[yuggernaut030]

Yeah, that's how I honestly feel about it. I know I could do it, I'm just afraid I won't be able to do it well enough to be a good/successful dentist. I wouldn't have to pay for dental school, so that's not an issue, but getting accepted could be challenging. I haven't decided how I would approach that issue, were I to be apply.

Dentistry is a unique career. I've always wanted to be my own boss and run my own business. I've also always been interested in biology and medicine, and I need to help people. I need to fix things (people/teeth?), make them better. I will go crazy if I'm in a lab or behind a desk all day, every day. I need to be moving. I love having knowledge that people need... even though I never went to dental school, my family still calls me to ask me about tooth problems haha... I don't know why. I tell them what I can from my limited knowledge, but I just have to tell them to call their dentist, and it kills me every time. That should be me fixing their pain. There is also such a profound need for dentistry in underprivileged populations, I think more than most medicine, because of the lack of education.

Medicine would be an obvious second choice, but what led me to dentistry over medicine in the first place was the work life balance. My wife now is in her third year of residency in internal medicine, getting ready for a cardiology fellowship. I have no interest in adding 3 years of residency on top of 4 years of medical school. I also loved the natural progression into self-employment with dentistry.

Honestly, I could probably think of dozens of reasons why I love dentistry. But, what you said is what haunts me. This is my living. I've always been of the mind that anything is possible, and when it came to learning to play the guitar with a bum hand, I was able to do it. I had to figure out different ways of strumming and what-not, but I figured it out. The problem is, I will never do it that well. That's fine with a hobby, but I'm afraid of making it my living.

I guess that's why I'm wondering if any dentists managed to do well with one hand... how necessary IS it to have both hands be completely functional. I can't ask you if I, MYSELF, would be be a good dentist without two fully functioning hands... that's impossible for anyone to say. But, has ANYONE, EVER, been a good dentist without two fully functioning hands?

I can only imagine how frustrated and conflicted you may be. I'm really sorry....
I was going to suggest fields like FM, IM, psych, derm, etc (basically any non-surgical residency). Some of the IM/FM docs I rotated with during med school worked in a clinic from 7 to 5, had about an hour and half for lunch, and occasionally took call (couple times a month). It didn't seem like a bad work-life balance. Of course residency is a different story, and your wife would know much more about that than any of us would.

I vaguely recall hearing or reading about a dental student who got into an accident early on in dental school, and having to learn to use his left hand. I never followed up to find out what happened, but I'm sure he is doing fine now. Very inspiring story. Like I said, it's not impossible, but it's going to be really tough.

 

[OMFS Coordinator]

I'll probably take some heat for a "false hope" type of response.


3.) Office based OS. No, not kidding. Doing exodontia and placing implants doesn't require you to be ambidexterous. One hand retracts/stabilizes the patient. Other hand does the delicate/nondelicate stuff. I'm oversimplifying it but I've seen some creative handiwork/put out some fires set by some guys with 2 left hands (no pun intended). A skilled left hand beats a full house.

M

Office based OS would require he finish an OS residency. I don't think OP is interested in a 4 year residency. Also it would require a minimum of 25 orthognathic surgeries, which would be difficult with limited dexterity.

 

[Localnative]

I have watched that movie several times. I love that movie... the story is so inspirational. I can't tell you how much I wish that I had broken a bone or some other crazy injury that would eventually heal. Unfortunately, nerve injuries are an entirely different beast, and we don't quite understand them well enough yet. I always love optimism! To answer your questions:

1. So many times. So many. I have talked to so many people about the options. I've tried biofeedback therapy, Platelet Lysate injections, IGF-1 injections. I don't care how much it would cost, I would literally give up everything I own and clear out my bank account, for a surgery or something that had even a fraction of a percent of a chance of giving me my hand back. Thus far, I have found nothing.

2. I would absolutely do that. I've learned how to do most things with my left hand anyway, and definitely one of my main thoughts on how I could proceed with dentistry is exactly that, learning to predominantly use my left hand. My question is, would that work? How Important is having two fully functioning hands? Have you ever known any dentists with a hand that didn't work well?

3. That's interesting, I'd like to hear more about that. What IS office based OS? My wild guess is outpatient services... but I don't know if that makes sense. Could a practice be successful relying solely on those types of procedures? Why do those procedures require less ambidexterity than others? Maybe we could PM sometime?

Thank you for your reply. I always appreciate optimism.

I personally do not know any dentists in your situation. I do know a neurosurgeon who had a bad upper extremity injury, healed up and is back on the horse. I had an eye injury from a sparring session. Scared the crap out of me, but now I'm practicing without restriction.

You could strengthen the manual dexterity in your left hand with fine motor coordination exercises. Office based oral surgery (3rd molar extractions, implant placement and bone grafting, canine exposure, etc) is not what I would call delicate surgery. Pursuing a microvascular fellowship might be a bit much however most of bread and butter oral surgery is far from this. The majority of OSs are in the office most hours and days of the week. Less guys and gals are spending time in the OR doing full scope stuff. Nothing wrong with that at all. You need to make a living and be happy, right?

PM me with any questions. And don't listen to the naysayers (ahem, OMFS Coordinator). Even if your heart is dead set on General Practice and not specialization... tincture of time is what you need to redevelop those skills in the historically less dominant hand/wrist/forearm.

M

 

[OCDFlosser]

Hey, sorry to hear about your troubles. I would maybe consider what it is about dentistry that is so appealing to you? I think that you should definitely look into something that doesn't require dexterity, because even with normal usage of my hands, it is sometimes frustrating and difficult to get things right. I can picture you getting into dental school, going through the 4 years, acquiring 300K+ debt, getting out, having trouble with your handskills and comfort, being frustrated, wishing you hadn't become a dentist...etc. I know you have other passions! It would be best for your sanity that you don't invest your entire heart and soul into a career that will only compromise your comfort and potentially kill you with stress.
Best of luck <3

 

[Longshot.308]

Do you ever watch shark tank.....in the words of Mr. Wonderful.

“It's a stupid idea, it's going to zero, take it behind the barn and shoot it.”

I am not trying to be mean but give you some realistic perspective. Yes it is extremely important to have 2 highly functional hands to do dentistry.

No...no one on this forum knows a dentist that practices with one hand because they don't exist.

You already have the answer to your question. You learned to play the guitar but "The problem is, I will never do it that well"

The odds of you learning to do great dentistry with your nondominant hand with the other having poor dexterity is almost 0.

People say you can do anything you set your mind to. That is not true. Some injuries and life events affect us in a way that we will never be the same or able to do what we did before. If you're an NFL player and become paralyzed you will never play again regardless of what your mind says. We say these things to people because it feels good. The reality is that injuries and life events cause us to adjust our course in life and acknowledge our limitations and how then can we pursue a life with the parameters we have.

I think you always wanted to be a dentist and now that you have this severe limitation that will prevent you from doing it you want it even more. Its become a unicorn that you want to chase and think that if you could just catch it you will find happiness. Dentistry is a great career but there are long hard days of frustration. There are days that those of us that really love dentistry think man this is a hard tough profession. I think you have built this up in your mind as the only thing that can make you happy. There are many other careers that you can be happy in.

My advice to you it to mark this off this list and go find something else to apply your talents to and be happy doing that.

 

[gryffindor]

I know that no one can ultimately answer the question for me, but my question really is whether or not anyone in here has ever known a dentist that was successful with either one hand, or one hand with reduced function?

I experienced a career ending disability last year, my 12th year of being a dentist. I have weak to no function in the fingers of both of my hands. I'd like to think I am still a good dentist because I did practice with no restrictions for many years so I know what the procedures are supposed to feel like. There are pathways for disabled dentists, but they are not easy to find and require a lot more commitment from me than what I currently give to run my practice and take care of my child. If I had experienced this disability before I was a dentist, knowing what I know now, I would not have gone through with dentistry. There are a lot of other ways to make it if your goal is to be self employed within health care. I almost think medicine would be a better route because it is more applicable degree and there are lots more cerebral specialties and non-clinical admin pathways in hospitals (though this would not be the self-employed model you seek). I have no interest in going back for Oral Radiology, Oral Path or Public Health at this point. Even Oral Path requires conducting a thorough head & neck exam on a patient, something I no longer have the tactile sense to do.

And absolutely you will have trouble getting disability insurance. Disability has been one of the few saving graces in my situation. The second is that I was already a practice owner when this happened so I just had to change my practice model to keep the doors open. If I had been an associate, I would have been instantly unemployed. And the third is that I went to dental school when it was still "cheap" so I'm not under pressure to repay $3k+/month. There is a program to have loans forgiven if you become disabled, but there are strict income limits if you do it.

 

[321931]

Sorry but I don't think it's going to work.

You won't qualify for disability insurance.
You might get booted from school. I know of a few students that were booted because they may endanger the public.
If you get sued because of a laceration or problem...good luck. You won't garner any sympathy from the jury because you couldn't retract the cheek due to problems with your arm. If anything, you will lose. The end.
Some boards require a clean bill of health to practice.

It doesn't matter if you overcame all odds to be the "dentist" that practiced with one hand and another being a bum hand. You will always be a liability to insurance companies, and to the public. That's why they won't insure you (disability) and you might get booted from school.

No. I wouldn't do it.