Dds Lifestyle + Salary Compared To Md

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badabadabing

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Hi everyone,
I have been debating with many friends of mine what job would suit me best. From what I hear, a dentist has a much more 'predictable' lifestyle than the average MD, such as haviing roughly 9-5 hours, which is something I find very appealing as I am very family oriented. As well many have told me that a dentist on average makes much more money than a family doctor (which is something I would also be intersted in). I always wanted to be a sugeon but cant picture myself being on call so much and going to school untill I'm in my early 30's, so I think I would 'settle' for family dr if thats the path I choose. Dentistry also seems to be riskier in my eyes as a large investment is required upon graduation to establish a practice (ive heard around 150-300k). The last concern of mine is that people tell me that it is very hard to establish yourself as a dentist in a large city since most big cities have too many dentists already, whereas you usually here there is a doctor shortage almost evreywhere.

The reason this is so tough for me is that I could see myself as being very happy doing both. I am not using one as a backup for the other as some do. I truly am intersted in both.

Could someone please let me know if its correct that general dentists really make much more than family doctors

How hard is it to set up shop as a dentist in a big city?

Can a family dr possibly have a similar lifestyle as a dentist while earning a similar salary?

Please let me know what you think
Thanks a lot
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badabadabing said:
Hi everyone,
I have been debating with many friends of mine what job would suit me best. From what I hear, a dentist has a much more 'predictable' lifestyle than the average MD, such as haviing roughly 9-5 hours, which is something I find very appealing as I am very family oriented. As well many have told me that a dentist on average makes much more money than a family doctor (which is something I would also be intersted in). I always wanted to be a sugeon but cant picture myself being on call so much and going to school untill I'm in my early 30's, so I think I would 'settle' for family dr if thats the path I choose. Dentistry also seems to be riskier in my eyes as a large investment is required upon graduation to establish a practice (ive heard around 150-300k). The last concern of mine is that people tell me that it is very hard to establish yourself as a dentist in a large city since most big cities have too many dentists already, whereas you usually here there is a doctor shortage almost evreywhere.

The reason this is so tough for me is that I could see myself as being very happy doing both. I am not using one as a backup for the other as some do. I truly am intersted in both.

Could someone please let me know if its correct that general dentists really make much more than family doctors

How hard is it to set up shop as a dentist in a big city?

Can a family dr possibly have a similar lifestyle as a dentist while earning a similar salary?

Please let me know what you think
Thanks a lot
Click to expand...

If ALL you care about is money ,then maybe you should be careful before you enter a profession. If you don't like what you are doing and are earning big $$$, you will either be miserable everyday of your life or I can guarantee you will retire early or switch professions. Is that a life worth living?

Generally, if you genuinely love what you doing, no matter what the profession, and are willing to work hard, the money will naturally follow.
I would advise you to "shadow" a dentist or talk to dental students to learn more about the profession. Don't just take a "dive" into a profession without knowing the "depth" of the pool you're jumping in!

The passionless life is not worth living!

"You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth. For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step out of life's procession, that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite.

When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music. Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, when all else sings together in harmony?

Always you have been told that work is a curse and labour a misfortune.
But I say to you that when you work you fulfill a part of earth's furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born,
And in keeping yourself with labour you are in truth loving life,
And to love life through labour is to be intimate with life's inmost secret.

You have been told also that life is darkness, and in your weariness you echo what was said by the weary.
And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge,
And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge,
And all knowledge is vain save when there is work,
And all work is empty save when there is love;
And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another and to God.

And what is it to work with love?
It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.
It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit.
It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit,
And to know that all the blessed dead are standing about you and watching.

Work is love :love: made visible.
And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.
For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man's hunger.
And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine.
And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man's ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night."
-excerpt from THE PROPHET , the masterpiece by Kahlil Gibran
 
Money is very important and it sounds sthat you would lie both fields equally. Im not sure what the average dentist makes though.
 
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dentists make less than internal medicine usually. But internal sucks IMO. General dentistry rules -- hands on, variety, projects/proceudres, only refer when you want to, ability to run business alone.
 
$40,000-$45,000/yr depending on location. Some specialists with busy offices are approaching the $100,000 mark.
 
That's more than $60,000 below the ADA figure. Personally, I'm inclined to believe the numbers put out by our professional organization. Might they be a bit optimistic? Sure, but I don't think for a minute they're as inflated as this figure suggests.
 
aphistis said:
That's more than $60,000 below the ADA figure. Personally, I'm inclined to believe the numbers put out by our professional organization. Might they be a bit optimistic? Sure, but I don't think for a minute they're as inflated as this figure suggests.
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well i hope your correct :) , but i was just going by the data i had :D
 
I'm pretty sure that salary.com reports exactly what the name of the website claims - salaries. How many dentists out there are salaried? I don't know exactly but I'm positive it's a pretty small percentage. The only salaried dentists I can think of are military, prison, and public health dentists. Oh, and teachers. All of these career paths are much less lucrative than private practice - that's why nobody stays in the military or goes into teaching right after graduating. I would bet those numbers are pretty skewed.

The numbers given for physicians may be more accurate because such a large percentage actually are salaried employees.
 
Head over to dental town. If you hang out there long enough, you'll realize that they are a diverse group of people with different lifestyles. Many are quite wealthy, while others scrape by. In the real world, there will be a lot of personal decisions beyond your profession and salary which will effect your lifestyle. Off the top of my head, these include decisions to get married and have children, and getting locked into a mortgage. Gambling addictions and divorces also take there toll on some. Many get caught up in a rat-race and don't save a lot for retirement. Ie. Vacations, sports cars, rolex watches.
Sure the money can be great, but never live beyond your means. Even with dentistry there will be a limit. This is the advice I live by.
 
Before we all get too worked up about "averages" it's important to remember that average earnings don't mean a whole lot in the world of dentistry. There is such a phenomenal discrepancy between the highest and lowest earners that it's near impossible to predict where you are going to fall on the scale. In many professions you pretty much know up front what you're going to earn within $10,000-15,000. On the other hand you can take two dentists at graduation from the same school, similar class rank, grades, skill level, and in ten years one of them could be earning $400,000/yr and the other barely hitting $100,000.

There's just no telling. :)
 
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The DDS (DMD) vs MD salary. Primary care physicians make similar money to general practice dentists. Specialists make quite a bit more in both fields. There is more managed care for physicians and dentists do not have a required residency.

Do what you want to do based on your desires. You will be spending a lot of your time and money on your future. It's not a significant of difference in the amount of money so follow your happiness.
 
DrTacoElf said:
http://www.salary.com
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Salary.com is far from correct when it comes to dental numbers. It makes me wonder how correct their other data is.

For example, they list Orthodontists as making $105,000 median. That number might be correct if the Orthodontist only works one day a week, and even that might be iffy. :D
 
From the salary.com website

This basic report is based on broad national data, reported exclusively by human resource departments of tens of thousands of employers from all sizes, industries and locations. Although these numbers are based on national data, the results are most similar to the data from companies with approximately 1,000 employees.
Click to expand...
 
Also, when all these averages are being put out, they include ALL dentists....which includes all of us when we graduate and made didly $hit our first couple of years out....and once we start our practices, we still make crap at the beginning and then it eventually booms up.....but you can see why the average would seem low then....
 
One of the many reasons I chose dentistry over medicine is the lack of a required residency in dentistry.

In internal medicine, you do a 4 year residency where you work 80 hours a week and are lucky to pull in $40K per year. In dentistry, even if you do a GPR, you still have 3 more years of earnings ahead of you while an MD is doing a residency. We all know that a general dentist won't be making $160K a year fresh out of graduation or a GPR program, but by the time an MD finishes his/her residency, you can bet that the dentist is making low $100s if not more.

The same thing applies to specialties in both fields (except maybe OMFS). You can do a 2 to 3 year endo/perio/ortho residency, and then be out making serious money a couple of years after. For any lucrative specialty in medicine (except maybe dermatology), you're looking at 5 year residency and two year fellowship. So by the time that MD finishes his/her residency and fellowship, you as an endodontist are already making $250K and have been doing so for the past couple of years. And then the MD has to spend lots of time setting up a practice, establishing a name for him/herself, etc.

Plus, who wants to work 80 hour weeks as a resident?
 
I think if you have the marks to go to med........do it!!!!!
 
ItsGavinC said:
I think that stat shows that dentists make MORE than internal medicine guys, which is the exact same thing I was saying.
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I meant I agree with Gavin. Sorry to be confusing.
 
in regards to how much dentists make a year....:

well i live in nj and have been working at a dentist office for the past 2 years. My boss makes approximately $75 grand every 4 months. so you can do the math. i m currently an undergrad (currently a senior) majoring in bio and have been thinking about going to med school until when i started working at my current job , where i fell in love with it. so now i'm a prospective dental student and have my boss as a great resource, as he graduated from Boston University School of Dentistry and teaches in NYU school of Dentistry. :cool:

Regards
TD
 
Smilemaker100 said:
If ALL you care about is money ,then maybe you should be careful before you enter a profession. If you don't like what you are doing and are earning big $$$, you will either be miserable everyday of your life or I can guarantee you will retire early or switch professions. Is that a life worth living?

Generally, if you genuinely love what you doing, no matter what the profession, and are willing to work hard, the money will naturally follow.
I would advise you to "shadow" a dentist or talk to dental students to learn more about the profession. Don't just take a "dive" into a profession without knowing the "depth" of the pool you're jumping in!

The passionless life is not worth living!

"You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth. For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step out of life's procession, that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite.

When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music. Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, when all else sings together in harmony?

Always you have been told that work is a curse and labour a misfortune.
But I say to you that when you work you fulfill a part of earth's furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born,
And in keeping yourself with labour you are in truth loving life,
And to love life through labour is to be intimate with life's inmost secret.

You have been told also that life is darkness, and in your weariness you echo what was said by the weary.
And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge,
And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge,
And all knowledge is vain save when there is work,
And all work is empty save when there is love;
And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another and to God.

And what is it to work with love?
It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.
It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit.
It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit,
And to know that all the blessed dead are standing about you and watching.

Work is love :love: made visible.
And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.
For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man's hunger.
And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine.
And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man's ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night."
-excerpt from THE PROPHET , the masterpiece by Kahlil Gibran
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Thats some gay ****
 
SHAWNNYC1 said:
Thats some gay ****
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:D :D :laugh: :D :D :laugh: :laugh:

True dat! Flamming! It doesn't even make sense, Confucius said! :confused:
 
1. Smilemaker is a girl. It's OK for her to post cheesy, sappy stuff like that.
2. She's from India, she has a different take on a lot of things.
3. We all like her so cut her some slack.

:)
 
Do we need to have this thread again?
 
Dr.SpongeBobDDS said:
1. Smilemaker is a girl. It's OK for her to post cheesy, sappy stuff like that.
2. She's from India, she has a different take on a lot of things.
3. We all like her so cut her some slack.

:)
Click to expand...

My apology! ;)
 
Having been through medschool, and now going through internship I can tell you that you will be making a LOT of sacrifices. The hard work in going through medschool and residency doesnot compare with dental school (I have many many friends in dentistry). Dentistry is a very good profession. General medicine and family medicine currently are in the ****z. I would not go to medschool for general internal medicine or family practice (you have to be a real *******). Medschool in itself is tough intially. But if you're smart and work hard you will get through without any problem. First three years are tough, and 4th yr is a joke. I played plenty of golf in my 4th year of medschool (went to hospital on the average of 20-30 hrs/wk). Currently i am 26 yrs old, in 140K in debt (interest accruing), will finish anesthesiology residency in 2008. My internship involves 7 months of "hell", but i have been working 66-70 hrs per wk in many of these months. Many of the rules have changed, and they give us on average 1 day/wk off in our internship. Now the other 5 months are full of cush electives where I will be working on the average of 40 hrs/wk. And this is the hardest year of my career. Next three years will be anesthesiology and they are not nearly as bad, but I will be working on the average of 60 hrs/wk. But these hours involve taking care of 2-3 surgical cases per day and sitting through them. Next three years involve 2-3 weekends off per month with post call days off on the weekdays (if i am on call on Monday, I get off 7 am on Tuesday). Many weeks will be less than 50 hrs and once in a while I will be working 70-80 hrs/wk. In residency, I get paid 40K (standard across the nation), but I can moonlight in those free weekends and pull in 1500 over the weekend (but that involves overstreching yourself). Oh, and once I graduate residency, the sky is the limit. I have already been approached with offers. One example: work in a outpatient surgical endoscopy center 7-3 M-F, no call, no weekends. Starting salary 300K, including malpractice, and more importantly income sharing with group (adds roughly another 40-50K per year depending on the volume). And I fogot to add the 10 wks of vacation per year. Most cases involve supervision of nurses. Many offers I know the people have gotten have ranged from starting salary of 200K to 400k. once you become partner (generally takes 2 years) in a group, well lets just say you will be one happy Motherf**ker. BTW there are many fields in medicine that have similar lifestyles and compensation (Radiology (even better), Opthamology, Urology, Pathology, Dermatology (skin dz creeps me out), radiation oncology, etc)

Now ask yourself this question, do I feel Lucky. :D
 
300K starting?+40-50K, including malpractice insurance and working 7-3 with no weekends or on calls. This is UNGODLY. this is not even mentioning the partnership thing, which will make you one happy mother_f**ker, what is that equivalent to 1million a year on three days a week????

it just sounds inflated.
 
I dont know what guest is talking about. Family docs are starting around 500K now, and anesthesiologists are harder to sign than pro athletes. Last I heard, Shaq's new contract is a drop in the bucket compared to what a physician's assistant can expect. But the best career by far is in sanitation or cafeteria work. Dude, my advice to you is to drop out of med/dental school and start mopping!
Seriously, I dont think we have any idea of what we will make until we get out there and start working so all the back and forth is just speculation. Most practitioners I talk to are unwilling to answer questions about what they are making, so all I have heard is hype.
 
say_awwww said:
I dont know what guest is talking about. Family docs are starting around 500K now, and anesthesiologists are harder to sign than pro athletes. Last I heard, Shaq's new contract is a drop in the bucket compared to what a physician's assistant can expect. But the best career by far is in sanitation or cafeteria work. Dude, my advice to you is to drop out of med/dental school and start mopping!
Seriously, I dont think we have any idea of what we will make until we get out there and start working so all the back and forth is just speculation. Most practitioners I talk to are unwilling to answer questions about what they are making, so all I have heard is hype.
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I agree that once you get out thats the only time you'll know really exactly how much you're going to make. This process however takes a couple of years because once you get out the main thing you're trying to do is learn your craft - perfecting your skills - learning all the new and current techniques (thats not taught in dental school) and going to continuing ed courses -- then once you get out there talk to cohorts, established dentist,specialists, etc., and compare between being an associate (least pay - slave labor), junior partner (better but still slave to senior partner), your own office (best, but if your starting out -- your poor due to loans so your slave to bankers and such), only when you have your own practice 5 years or more, in good location, get involved in community, and have good reputation, good knowledge of elective (cosmetic) techniques, and treat people well, and of course deliver with excellent treatment results will you reach the critical mass of being a successful dentist and you have potential to make lots of cash - and with investments and good partnering with financial advisors and accountants -- you can make 7 figures and retire in 10 yrs (so thats total 15 if you count building your practice for 5 yrs. or more). yes thats 7 figures, of course, thats before taxes, still thats where your accountants come in --- they will keep you away from being in the 40 percentile tax bracket. If you guys really want to know, those that report a high income in their tax returns are the stupid ones. Nobody should ever report a high income -- the more you report the more uncle sam takes. The smart guys who are doing really well have good accountants so that the their taxable income is much less than what they really make each year. a good accountant knows all the loopholes and can legally and potentially save you tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars. whoever boast a high income and report it as such on their return are just boasting and stupid. thats why people don't want to tell you how much they make!! along the same line I would never drive my bmw to my office cause if patients see this it turns them off.

anyways bottom line is as far as my experience -- general dentist would probably start at around 95 - 140k, specialists from 120 - 180k. and then this amount increases once start getting smart and open your own office in a good location where there is need and not much competition (this is where you may have to decide on sacrificing lifestyle of big or coastal city but make more cash or small boonie town but make tons of cash type of decision -- theres always a happy medium ).

MD wanna be's (oral surgeons) make the most -- then the finger masturbators (endodontist) --- then the wire benders (orthodontists) --- then the "i love kids who scream all the time" dentists - who by the way wish they were orthodontists - who by the way are also called pedodontist but they hate being called this and would rather be called pediatric dentist are next in the salary department, then come the glorified hygienists (periodontist) who don't make enough money so they have to include implants in their job description are next, then the self-induced torture of continuing fixed prostodontics- for another 2-3 yr dentist (prosthodontist) who apparently has to do general dentistry anyways because why would a general dentist refer bread and butter crowns and bridges to them i don't understand --- they are next. but anyways --- not scientific but they all make enough money.

hope that helps for all who want to know. i don't profess that all this is fact but its my personal experience as an orthodontist who have been out for 4 yrs now.

P.S. --- anyone considering orthodontic education company (OEC), don't even go there. YOU ARE SERIOUSLY MAKING A HUGE MISTAKE --- you will be an indentured servant for seven years. for a guy who is a shark and wants to eat all you little innocent ortho hungry neophytes.

later
 
SHAWNNYC1 said:
Thats some gay ****
Click to expand...

Some gay s**t?! :mad: I would say that it is more like human s**t! Can't you at least be more eloquent when you write (that is, if you are university educated :rolleyes: ). And I am not gay...I am as feminine as the most femine a woman can be especially since my zodiac sign is Taurus. Venus is the ruling planet of my zodiac sign- the goddess of love, art and beauty. And no, I don't take astrology seriously , but everything they say about Taurean women absolutely applies to me- artistic, passionate, down to earth,feminine and STUBBORN AS HELL! Anyhow, I just wrote that to kid around... ;)

That gay s**t is called poetry or poetic writing or spiritual writing. Unlike some people on this forum, I have other interests besides dentistry and have some sort of "spiritual values". If you do what you do for a living simply for the "big bucks" then you have a problem. The basic gist of the Gibran selection from "The Prophet" ( which is a written work that has been an international bestseller for years ) which I put on the forum, is about loving your work . In any case, I won't go into this any further. Some people need to get more "enlightened". :rolleyes:
 
Dr.SpongeBobDDS said:
1. Smilemaker is a girl. It's OK for her to post cheesy, sappy stuff like that.
2. She's from India, she has a different take on a lot of things.
3. We all like her so cut her some slack.

:)
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Thanks for those words of kindness , Dr SpongeBobDDS. But I am not from India! None of my posts indicate that I am from that realm of the world! If you read some of my posts, you will see references to Montreal, McGill University etc. Yes, I am a Canuck! I hail from the Great Big White North- Canada! My ancestors have been on this continent for over 100 years.

And guess what...people from Montreal are multicultural- that is why I have a different take on a lot of things. Unlike some places in this world, I have grown up and interacted with people from various ethnic/religious backgrounds and languages. As a matter of fact, most Montrealers can speak 3 languages fluently. I speak two fluently - french and english . I am presently working on perfecting my spanish.
 
Smilemaker100 said:
Thanks for those words of kindness , Dr SpongeBobDDS. But I am not from India! None of my posts indicate that I am from that realm of the world! If you read some of my posts, you will see references to Montreal, McGill University etc. Yes, I am a Canuck! I hail from the Great Big White North- Canada! My ancestors have been on this continent for over 100 years.

And guess what...people from Montreal are multicultural- that is why I have a different take on a lot of things. Unlike some places in this world, I have grown up and interacted with people from various ehtnic/religious backgrounds and languages. As a matter of fact, most Montrealers can speak 3 languages fluently. I speak two fluently - french and english . I am presently working on perfecting my spanish.
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That spiritual diatribe was really gay though :laugh:
 
coodoo said:
That spiritual diatribe was really gay though :laugh:
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Accuse me of being sentimental but I think that if you ask most women, they will admit that they are more attracted to men who are in touch with their "feminine" side and yet are still manly. A man without a heart or without some sort of humanity left in him, is a man I can never relate to- especially if he works in the health care sector , where he needs "people skills" such as empathy and compassion.
 
Smilemaker100 said:
Accuse me of being sentimental but I think that if you ask most women, they will admit that they are more attracted to men who are in touch with their "feminine" side and yet are still manly. A man without a heart or without some sort of humanity left in him, is a man I can never relate to- especially if he works in the health care sector , where he needs "people skills" such as empathy and compassion.
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1) take chill pill

2) inhale

3) exhale

4) repeat daily
 
dort-ort said:
MD wanna be's (oral surgeons) make the most -- then the finger masturbators (endodontist) --- then the wire benders (orthodontists) --- then the "i love kids who scream all the time" dentists - who by the way wish they were orthodontists - who by the way are also called pedodontist but they hate being called this and would rather be called pediatric dentist are next in the salary department, then come the glorified hygienists (periodontist) who don't make enough money so they have to include implants in their job description are next, then the self-induced torture of continuing fixed prostodontics- for another 2-3 yr dentist (prosthodontist) who apparently has to do general dentistry anyways because why would a general dentist refer bread and butter crowns and bridges to them i don't understand --- they are next. but anyways --- not scientific but they all make enough money.

hope that helps for all who want to know. i don't profess that all this is fact but its my personal experience as an orthodontist who have been out for 4 yrs now.

P.S. --- anyone considering orthodontic education company (OEC), don't even go there. YOU ARE SERIOUSLY MAKING A HUGE MISTAKE --- you will be an indentured servant for seven years. for a guy who is a shark and wants to eat all you little innocent ortho hungry neophytes.

later
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Finger masturbators, that?s good. I?m guessing you don?t see much of this, but do you know any gp?s who have had patients stolen by periodontists? I think Perio is starting to get talked about more (especially on here) since it's one of the easier residencies to get into. I could be wrong though.
 
Zurik5 said:
Finger masturbators, that?s good. I?m guessing you don?t see much of this, but do you know any gp?s who have had patients stolen by periodontists? I think Perio is starting to get talked about more (especially on here) since it's one of the easier residencies to get into. I could be wrong though.
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That'd be one stupid periodontist. Stealing one or two patients is hardly worth the huge bad karma it'd inflict. You'd completely lose that dentist as a referral base, and if word percolated out (count on it) you could start seeing the same from other dentists concerned about losing their patients to you. It's a pretty steep price to pay just to have a couple extra prophies twice a year.
 
aphistis said:
That'd be one stupid periodontist. Stealing one or two patients is hardly worth the huge bad karma it'd inflict. You'd completely lose that dentist as a referral base, and if word percolated out (count on it) you could start seeing the same from other dentists concerned about losing their patients to you. It's a pretty steep price to pay just to have a couple extra prophies twice a year.
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Oh, I agree. I?ve just read posts on dentaltown where gps were super pissed that their periodontist stole a patient or two. Seems like a vague speciality to me. Didn?t you say a while back that you were interested in perio, Bill? Are you still interested, and if so why? I?m curious.
 
Zurik5 said:
Oh, I agree. I?ve just read posts on dentaltown where gps were super pissed that their periodontist stole a patient or two. Seems like a vague speciality to me. Didn?t you say a while back that you were interested in perio, Bill? Are you still interested, and if so why? I?m curious.
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Enh. If I specialize, it'd most likely end up being in surgery. I've always loved watching surgery, oral or otherwise, and I think it'd be super satisfying. Having said that, I'm just a D2 and slaving away in the preclinic labs, so I'm waiting till I actually start DOING dentistry before I think too hard about specializing. I'm not at all convinced I'll pull the grades needed to match even if I want to, and I'm not at all unhappy about the prospect of a career in general dentistry.
 
aphistis said:
Enh. If I specialize, it'd most likely end up being in surgery. I've always loved watching surgery, oral or otherwise, and I think it'd be super satisfying. Having said that, I'm just a D2 and slaving away in the preclinic labs, so I'm waiting till I actually start DOING dentistry before I think too hard about specializing. I'm not at all convinced I'll pull the grades needed to match even if I want to, and I'm not at all unhappy about the prospect of a career in general dentistry.
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I don't understand why people appear to articulate as though they are settling for general dentistry. By gosh, thats what you came to dental school for. And the caveat that seems to be pushed aside is as a general dentist you can do what ever you want. In addition, and this is a major, major key point, when you get out all you really need to do is attend lots of CE courses in the area that you like and become competent in that procedure and then do it. I am simplifying this a bit so don't parse my comments. Since some will say just because taking a couple of weekend courses on new endo techniques won't make you comparable to a formally trained endodontist and I absolutely agree with this and it applies to all CE in every field. However if you are organize, systematic, persistent, and work hard you will be quite competent to do procedures that specialists do. And still have the luxury to refer out if you get a high maintenance patient that you don't like -- how wonderful is that!!! So GENERAL DENTISTRY actually holds a super advantage because of this. So don't discount. Then add the ability to include elective cosmetic dental work -- GP's do just fine. Don't kid yourself.

To get back to Perio specialty, I know lots of perio colleagues who are doing extremely well and all have busy practices. and the make just as much as any other specialty. And they don't have to steal patients!! I am saying this and I am not a periodontist, just know them as friends and colleagues.

Sorry I will stop rambling now.
 
dort-ort said:
I don't understand why people appear to articulate as though they are settling for general dentistry. By gosh, thats what you came to dental school for. And the caveat that seems to be pushed aside is as a general dentist you can do what ever you want. In addition, and this is a major, major key point, when you get out all you really need to do is attend lots of CE courses in the area that you like and become competent in that procedure and then do it. I am simplifying this a bit so don't parse my comments. Since some will say just because taking a couple of weekend courses on new endo techniques won't make you comparable to a formally trained endodontist and I absolutely agree with this and it applies to all CE in every field. However if you are organize, systematic, persistent, and work hard you will be quite competent to do procedures that specialists do. And still have the luxury to refer out if you get a high maintenance patient that you don't like -- how wonderful is that!!! So GENERAL DENTISTRY actually holds a super advantage because of this. So don't discount. Then add the ability to include elective cosmetic dental work -- GP's do just fine. Don't kid yourself.

To get back to Perio specialty, I know lots of perio colleagues who are doing extremely well and all have busy practices. and the make just as much as any other specialty. And they don't have to steal patients!! I am saying this and I am not a periodontist, just know them as friends and colleagues.

Sorry I will stop rambling now.
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Speaking of mis-parsing, I think that's what you did to my comments. ;) You haven't been here long enough to be familiar with my post history, but I'm very aware of the advantages of general dentistry over specialization. *If* I were to apply for a specialty residency, it'd be for an aspect of dentistry I absolutely adore; otherwise the lack of variety would kill me. The breadth of scope of general practice is extremely appealing to me, and many others here, I expect.
 
hey guest,

its good to have a skeptical mind. It does seem a lot. BUT the common consensus is that anesthesiologists generally make 2.5-3X family docs. No kidding. The nurse anesthestists that work under the direction of the anesthesiologist make around 120-160K. There are several websites which show the jobs that are still not filled. gasjobs.com, gaswork.com. Try these. BTW the sweetest jobs are in the southeast and midwest, many of which are not advertised.
 
badabadabing said:
How hard is it to set up shop as a dentist in a big city?
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You ask a couple times about establishing practice in a big city as a dentist, and I wonder why. To be honest with you, there is a shortage of both dentists AND doctors...in poor areas of big cities. This may not be a lot to set up, considering how cheap the real estate will be in poor areas. However, this will not create the salary you are looking for. Also, doctors for rich families and even middle class families in big cities are not in demand to be honest with you. If you plan on being a dentist or a GP, I suggest you live in a rural area where you can really help people, be the only dr/dentist there, and live quite well off that. Maybe that's just what I would do however. :confused:
 
Zurik5 said:
Finger masturbators, that?s good. I?m guessing you don?t see much of this, but do you know any gp?s who have had patients stolen by periodontists? I think Perio is starting to get talked about more (especially on here) since it's one of the easier residencies to get into. I could be wrong though.
Click to expand...


...the black hole of perio is very much alive.

i remember my 'mentor' complaining about this very subject years ago...
 
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