DDS/MD?

[deleted988773]

Hi everyone,

Hope everyone's staying safe during these unprecedented times. I wanted to post this here in case anyone might be in a similar position as me and would be able to provide any advise.

I will be starting dental school at my top school choice this fall and I couldn't be any more excited. Though, it's still a bit early in my dental career, I have been looking into the logistics of OMFS. Reason is, I am extremely passionate about providing healthcare and given that OMFS' acquire both an MD & DDS/DMD, I'm curious to know how much internal medicine OMFS can have exposure to.

I have been going back and forth with this especially during this pandemic. I am passionate about dentistry, but ideally as a healthcare provider, I would love to be in the position to be able to provide other healthcare services besides dental-related services as many of the front line workers we are seeing during these times. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

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[2TH MVR]

Hi everyone,

Hope everyone's staying safe during these unprecedented times. I wanted to post this here in case anyone might be in a similar position as me and would be able to provide any advise.

I will be starting dental school at my top school choice this fall and I couldn't be any more excited. Though, it's still a bit early in my dental career, I have been looking into the logistics of OMFS. Reason is, I am extremely passionate about providing healthcare and given that OMFS' acquire both an MD & DDS/DMD, I'm curious to know how much internal medicine OMFS can have exposure to.

I have been going back and forth with this especially during this pandemic. I am passionate about dentistry, but ideally as a healthcare provider, I would love to be in the position to be able to provide other healthcare services besides dental-related services as many of the front line workers we are seeing during these times. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

You're all over the place. How can you be passionate about dentistry, but interested in OMFS and providing front line healthcare. Dentistry and OMFS/Frontline health care are two different fields. Wouldn't going straight into medicine (EM) be more appropriate for your desires?

Consider a worst case scenario where you do not have the stats to be an OMFS. Now you're a general dentist. Odds are that during the next pandemic or health crisis .... the only frontline place you will be will be furloughed in front of your TV.

Bottomline. Not sure any dental related specialty will be considered essential frontline helpers in the future. But you're heart is in the right direction.

 

[AppalachianDentalBoy]

It seems like you need to do more shadowing and learn more about OMS.

 

[clark5013]

The replies seem harsh, but they are true. completely different fields. As a dentist you'll be working on teeth. As an OMFS you wont be a front-line worker, (at least not in the way you're talking about), yes you will have gone to medschool, but you're not treating patients with respiratory illnesses like this. wanting to help is really good though, you may need to rethink how.

 

[charlestweed]

Work hard. Maintain good grades and high class rank. You will have more options later on.

 

[ab117]

A lot of people will tell you that as a predent you have no idea what you want to do and to cool it and wait til you actually have some experience before you set your mind on something. There is definitely some truth to this and many people that say OMFS initially change their minds.

In contrast, my experience is that many people who become OMFS are like me who went to dental school with the sole intention of becoming OMFS precisely because of some of your reasoning. The crossroads between dentistry and medicine is an attractive place to be. But OMFS isn’t exactly a frontline healthcare field even if you do have an MD, so if that’s what’s making you interested, you need to do some shadowing and research. You’d have medical knowledge of course, but you’d still be a surgical subspecialist.

If you look into it more like you’re being advised to and feel confident it’s still what you want to do like I did, plan on taking the CBSE after D1 year if possible many will say it’s too early, but I can personally attest that it’s both feasible and advantageous. Feel free to PM me if you want to ask me anything else.

 

[deleted988773]

Work hard. Maintain good grades and high class rank. You will have more options later on.

Hey thanks a lot for your reply! Would you mind elaborating a bit more?

 

[luisfigo]

Hey thanks a lot for your reply! Would you mind elaborating a bit more?

He's basically saying that there are a lot of people who go to dental school with "ORAL SURGERY!!" in mind, but after the first semester many convince themselves it's not in the cards after getting a reality check. The unfortunate thing is that to really get into OMFS without extra years in between you mostly have to be thinking about it as soon as you start, however you really don't even know if you like it or not, nor do you even know if you like any dental field for that matter until 3rd year.

Best thing to do is do very well in school, so that you can choose whatever you want, especially when your preferences change, however at the end of the day you should probably go to dental school being cool with being a general dentist or practice owner at worse.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

A DDS/MD doesn't make you a traditional physician. You might feel like it for a few months/years during your rotations in medical school.

If you are having second thoughts about the DDS I can assure you that you will not find solace in the MD portion of your title after a 6 year residency

 

[HatInTheCat]

I went to dental school not thinking of what I really wanted to do career wise. I hate endo but love prosthodontics. Who knew? The point is that you need to see what you like because you never know how it looks until you’re in it

 

[deleted988773]

Thanks for your feedback! Yup, I knew I was going to get some backlash with this post but I'm pretty thick-skinned so it's no biggie to me lol

The replies seem harsh, but they are true. completely different fields. As a dentist you'll be working on teeth. As an OMFS you wont be a front-line worker, (at least not in the way you're talking about), yes you will have gone to medschool, but you're not treating patients with respiratory illnesses like this. wanting to help is really good though, you may need to rethink how.

 

[deleted988773]

You're all over the place. How can you be passionate about dentistry, but interested in OMFS and providing front line healthcare. Dentistry and OMFS/Frontline health care are two different fields. Wouldn't going straight into medicine (EM) be more appropriate for your desires?

Consider a worst case scenario where you do not have the stats to be an OMFS. Now you're a general dentist. Odds are that during the next pandemic or health crisis .... the only frontline place you will be will be furloughed in front of your TV.

Bottomline. Not sure any dental related specialty will be considered essential frontline helpers in the future. But you're heart is in the right direction.

Hey thanks for your response! I think the rationale you are applying to your response is the same rationale that a lot of individuals apply to look down on dentists to convey that "dentists" are not true doctors.

I do admit that I have not done much research on the logistics of OMFS but given that one would have to go through medical school training as well, I figured OMFS might have some sort of input in internal medicine if you will or even provide some sort of medical assistance during difficult times. I do come from a scientific background which can potentially explain my creative mindset and I've noticed 95% of the interactions I've had with individuals in dental care are extremely shortsighted vs interactions I've had with MDs, MDs/PhDs/ PhDs. scientists, etc. I am pursuing dentistry for personal reasons/preferences and I guess many things envisioned by individuals like myself might be far-fetched to average dentists/orthodontists etc. Thanks for your input nonetheless!

 

[deleted988773]

It seems like you need to do more shadowing and learn more about OMS.

Yup working on it!

 

[deleted988773]

The replies seem harsh, but they are true. completely different fields. As a dentist you'll be working on teeth. As an OMFS you wont be a front-line worker, (at least not in the way you're talking about), yes you will have gone to medschool, but you're not treating patients with respiratory illnesses like this. wanting to help is really good though, you may need to rethink how.

Ah yes! Thanks for your advise, just trying to think outside the box here!

 

[deleted988773]

A DDS/MD doesn't make you a traditional physician. You might feel like it for a few months/years during your rotations in medical school.

If you are having second thoughts about the DDS I can assure you that you will not find solace in the MD portion of your title after a 6 year residency

Thanks for your input!

 

[sjv]

Thanks for your feedback! Yup, I knew I was going to get some backlash with this post but I'm pretty thick-skinned so it's no biggie to me lol

Internal medicine exposure is slim, you won't get more than a few months in medical school (some programs are as little as 6-8 weeks). The general surgery training you will receive is not really applicable to the real world in terms of any career providing "other healthcare services" especially at the level of an intern. A 3 year IM or EM or FM residency or 3 more years of Anesthesia (given credit for your gen surg year) would be the shortest path and is essentially required to provide the care you are seeking.

 

[2TH MVR]

Hey thanks for your response! I think the rationale you are applying to your response is the same rationale that a lot of individuals apply to look down on dentists to convey that "dentists" are not true doctors.

I do admit that I have not done much research on the logistics of OMFS but given that one would have to go through medical school training as well, I figured OMFS might have some sort of input in internal medicine if you will or even provide some sort of medical assistance during difficult times. I do come from a scientific background which can potentially explain my creative mindset and I've noticed 95% of the interactions I've had with individuals in dental care are extremely shortsighted vs interactions I've had with MDs, MDs/PhDs/ PhDs. scientists, etc. I am pursuing dentistry for personal reasons/preferences and I guess many things envisioned by individuals like myself might be far-fetched to average dentists/orthodontists etc. Thanks for your input nonetheless!

You know. When I 1st read your post .... you sounded like you had good intentions with being in a position to be a first responder. I essentially tried to relate to you that most things dental including OMFS are not considered an essential 1st responder profession in a health crisis. I also mentioned that EM or some other MD profession maybe a better choice for your goals.

But I guess an AVERAGE/SHORTSIGHTED dentist/orthodontist such as myself whose been in practice for the last 27 years cannot possibly envision such things as compared to a PRE-DENT such as yourself.

 

[deleted988773]

You know. When I 1st read your post .... you sounded like you had good intentions with being in a position to be a first responder. I essentially tried to relate to you that most things dental including OMFS are not considered an essential 1st responder profession in a health crisis. I also mentioned that EM or some other MD profession maybe a better choice for your goals.

But I guess an AVERAGE/SHORTSIGHTED dentist/orthodontist such as myself whose been in practice for the last 27 years cannot possibly envision such things as compared to a PRE-DENT such as yourself.

I apologize for my rude response, I did not meant to come off as a knuckle head but the argument that you initially responded with resonated with the same old argument I see all the time in regards to denigrating the dental profession.

I do have the best intentions for this post. I highly doubt I'm the only dental student who is thinking outside the box to find waysin bridging the gap between dentistry and medicine specially during these times. After all, dental care providers are part of the healthcare umbrella. Again, I apologize if I offended you... cheers!

 

[2TH MVR]

I apologize for my rude response, I did not meant to come off as a knuckle head but the argument that you initially responded with resonated with the same old argument I see all the time in regards to denigrating the dental profession.

I do have the best intentions for this post. I highly doubt I'm the only dental student who is thinking outside the box to find waysin bridging the gap between dentistry and medicine specially during these times. After all, dental care providers are part of the healthcare umbrella. Again, I apologize if I offended you... cheers!

We're good. Like I said in my 1st post. Your heart is in the right place.

 

[P7898]

Too much time. Life is short. Live.

 

[deleted972255]

Like everyone is saying, even if you chose to do a 6 yr omfs program that includes an MD (over say, a 4 year program), you're really not going to be treating the same patients as an internist-they are much more qualified to handle a patient medically than you are.
Also, practicing dentistry (extractions and implants) is how you would pay off your enormous amount of loans and interest after dental school tuition, medical school tuition and the years of accrued interest.
For all intents and purposes you are a dentist more than a physician, even as a DDS/DMD, MD.

 

[schmoob]

You need to decide what it is you want to do. Do you want to be a dentist of a physician? Not all all OMFS have their MD. And the ones that do is to supplement their medical knowledge. There is no difference in their scope of practice.
Ask yourself, in what situations would utilizing your MD other than OMFS be appropriate AND practical.

 

[dentistrydmd]

Hi everyone,

Hope everyone's staying safe during these unprecedented times. I wanted to post this here in case anyone might be in a similar position as me and would be able to provide any advise.

I will be starting dental school at my top school choice this fall and I couldn't be any more excited. Though, it's still a bit early in my dental career, I have been looking into the logistics of OMFS. Reason is, I am extremely passionate about providing healthcare and given that OMFS' acquire both an MD & DDS/DMD, I'm curious to know how much internal medicine OMFS can have exposure to.

I have been going back and forth with this especially during this pandemic. I am passionate about dentistry, but ideally as a healthcare provider, I would love to be in the position to be able to provide other healthcare services besides dental-related services as many of the front line workers we are seeing during these times. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

OMFS does not necessarily need to go to Med School. Whether you are an OMFS with an MD or not you have the same scope of practice. It may however improve your chances of getting a fellowship or moving up in academia by virtue of having the MD but thats really all it does. I would encourage you to take a look at the programs out there for OMFS there arent that many spots for programs with MD component. OMFS is still a specialty of dentistry not medicine.

 

[PhansterZ]

The MD makes you a physician, but to be able to practice medicine, you would have to finish a medical residency. Treating COVID patients is multi-disciplinary approach, with a team of internists and specialists. If you need an emergent airway, aka intubation, emergency medicine (3 year residency) or anesthesia (4 year residency) will be the ones taking care of it. If they require ICU (Intensive care unit) admission, then a team of pulmonary/critical care (3 year Internal medicine + 1/2 year fellowship), and internal medicine physicians will take care of the patient. If you're wondering how much internal medicine you're exposed to, If you go for the MD, you get 8 weeks of internal medicine as a third year medical student, and maybe a few more weeks as a 4th year. Enough for me to comfortable practice internal medicine without getting sued? Absolute not.

As an OMFS, you are trained in the surgical airway, so you can help with tracheotomy if required. But only the OMFS in academic centers will have the opportunity to treat COVID patients. Most OMFS are in private practice, practicing dentistry, which is electively performing wisdom teeth extractions and placing dental impants. Why? These pays the bills and provides a comfortable work/life balance.

During the crisis, a lot of the elective procedures were cancelled, so not only did it affect our department, but many medical specialties too. Procedures went down significantly with most the residents having a lot more downtime. Across the country, friends in OMFS, dermatology, ophthalmology, anesthesia, plastic surgery, ENT etc were recruited to help out in the ICU due to the elective nature of their specialty. Once the COVID crisis stabilized and they allowed elective procedures again, we all went back to our departments.

Your heart is in the right place. But your skills as a dentist, or a private practice OMFS, will likely not translate directly to helping COVID patients.

 

[deleted988773]

The MD makes you a physician, but to be able to practice medicine, you would have to finish a medical residency. Treating COVID patients is multi-disciplinary approach, with a team of internists and specialists. If you need an emergent airway, aka intubation, emergency medicine (3 year residency) or anesthesia (4 year residency) will be the ones taking care of it. If they require ICU (Intensive care unit) admission, then a team of pulmonary/critical care (3 year Internal medicine + 1/2 year fellowship), and internal medicine physicians will take care of the patient. If you're wondering how much internal medicine you're exposed to, If you go for the MD, you get 8 weeks of internal medicine as a third year medical student, and maybe a few more weeks as a 4th year. Enough for me to comfortable practice internal medicine without getting sued? Absolute not.

As an OMFS, you are trained in the surgical airway, so you can help with tracheotomy if required. But only the OMFS in academic centers will have the opportunity to treat COVID patients. Most OMFS are in private practice, practicing dentistry, which is electively performing wisdom teeth extractions and placing dental impants. Why? These pays the bills and provides a comfortable work/life balance.

During the crisis, a lot of the elective procedures were cancelled, so not only did it affect our department, but many medical specialties too. Procedures went down significantly with most the residents having a lot more downtime. Across the country, friends in OMFS, dermatology, ophthalmology, anesthesia, plastic surgery, ENT etc were recruited to help out in the ICU due to the elective nature of their specialty. Once the COVID crisis stabilized and they allowed elective procedures again, we all went back to our departments.

Your heart is in the right place. But your skills as a dentist, or a private practice OMFS, will likely not translate directly to helping COVID patients.

Thanks a lot for your constructive feedback. This really helped a lot! Would you mind if I PM you for further advise/questions?