Dental school right decision?

[ldent1234]

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Hi all,

It's coming down to crunch time and I am looking for some insight so that I can make the right decision. I am currently on track to start dental school this summer but am worried I might not be making the best decision. I graduated with a degree in engineering but had been pre-med throughout the course of college. After graduation, I became very concerned with the lifestyle of a physician because I knew I wanted to work with my hands (so that narrows down possible medical specialties). This ultimately led to me taking the DAT and applying to dental school before I started a job in the healthcare software industry. However all of my experience in college was medicine-focused (ALS lab research, clinical research at Brigham & Women's, neurosurgery/plastics/psych/neuro shadowing, medical device design). I got questioned at each of my dental school interviews why I wasn't going to medical school (as they said my resume would be better suited for a med school applicant). To be honest, I did not do a stellar job on the DAT but my GPA was more consistent with that of a medical school application which must have helped me get in.

Because of the job I have held for the past year, I work extensively with physicians which I think may have ignited my second guessing. My passion has always been medicine as I enjoy the hospital atmosphere and have never seen anything more rewarding than working with extremely ill patients. The difficulty lies in the fact that I love working with my hands. Therefore I do not see myself being content as a family care physician/radiologist/etc. That part of dentistry matches my desires, but I just don't have the same passion for it (I have shadowed both careers and I am basing my level of passion on the way I felt after these shadowing experiences).

Each of my physician mentors have told me to do dentistry (and even that they sometimes wish they did that too), as the lifestyle is much better, but something is holding me back. My dental mentors have told me that an OMF specialty would be a good path to go down but I am hesitant to rely on that (as I have not even began dental school yet and also OMF is extremely hard to match into). The thought of throwing away a dental school acceptance to study for the MCAT and MAYBE getting into medical school scares me although I know I put myself in this position.

How realistic is it to shoot for an OMF specialty?

Has anyone been in this position for (had mixed feelings about dental v. medical school)? If so, how did you ultimately make your decision?

 

[FlyingSky]

my opinion is you should go into med school

I always wanted to be a physician but got into dental school, I just finished dental school, I enjoy the little things I do in dentistry and I knew when shadowing that I could love this field

however my advice to people who have a passion for medicine: go to med school

 

[MahiMahi]

If your passion is not really for dentistry, but rather for medicine, you should consider that. 4 years and $400k in debt is not a good place to decide that you really weren't 100% about this career.

If you go ahead with medicine, you should certainly express in your personal statement that you passed up dental school acceptance because you believed this was your calling.

 

[KillaCam]

Go for OMS if you really want to do OMS. I would get some shadowing in first to see if its what you hoped for. I pretty much knew I wanted to do it straight out the gate and so did many of my friends who matched. OMS is not THAT hard to match into. Work hard and you'll get there if thats really what you want to do.

 

[romoxx23]

My opinion is based on a video at dentalmaverick.com the Dr. Tuan Pham kinda outlines some stuff that helped me rationalize if dentistry was for me. I went for it, but depending on how you feel after watching these free videos you may or may not. Good luck!

 

[confidentandgood]

To be honest, I did not do a stellar job on the DAT but my GPA was more consistent with that of a medical school application which must have helped me get in.

Before I continue, keep in mind that the MCAT covers much more than the DAT, so you may have to reorganize or update a few study tactics.

The thought of throwing away a dental school acceptance to study for the MCAT and MAYBE getting into medical school scares me although I know I put myself in this position.

So don't be too hasty. It takes dedication to study for the DAT and go through the dental school application process, so perhaps you should assess what prompted your initial passion for dentistry. You're in a great position right now, having secured a spot that I'm sure countless other applicants would kill to have. You wouldn't want to make the switch and regret it a few years down the line.

From what I see, you haven't even settled on a specialization in medicine (and you wouldn't be content as a physician). Do some research. Shadow a few more doctors if you need to. Don't wait until you rack up a dental school bill.

How realistic is it to shoot for an OMF specialty?

It's a difficult position to attain for obvious reasons. You seem to be an excellent student, so it's a realistic goal for you if you want to put the work in. But is OMF what you really want?

Btw, I settled on dental school because I found the lifestyle of a dentist (specialized or not) more suited to my goals, and because you do not have to be a physician to make that positive and memorable impact on a patient's health.

 

[CanaDMD]

Hi all,

It's coming down to crunch time and I am looking for some insight so that I can make the right decision. I am currently on track to start dental school this summer but am worried I might not be making the best decision. I graduated with a degree in engineering but had been pre-med throughout the course of college. After graduation, I became very concerned with the lifestyle of a physician because I knew I wanted to work with my hands (so that narrows down possible medical specialties). This ultimately led to me taking the DAT and applying to dental school before I started a job in the healthcare software industry. However all of my experience in college was medicine-focused (ALS lab research, clinical research at Brigham & Women's, neurosurgery/plastics/psych/neuro shadowing, medical device design). I got questioned at each of my dental school interviews why I wasn't going to medical school (as they said my resume would be better suited for a med school applicant). To be honest, I did not do a stellar job on the DAT but my GPA was more consistent with that of a medical school application which must have helped me get in.

Because of the job I have held for the past year, I work extensively with physicians which I think may have ignited my second guessing. My passion has always been medicine as I enjoy the hospital atmosphere and have never seen anything more rewarding than working with extremely ill patients. The difficulty lies in the fact that I love working with my hands. Therefore I do not see myself being content as a family care physician/radiologist/etc. That part of dentistry matches my desires, but I just don't have the same passion for it (I have shadowed both careers and I am basing my level of passion on the way I felt after these shadowing experiences).

Each of my physician mentors have told me to do dentistry (and even that they sometimes wish they did that too), as the lifestyle is much better, but something is holding me back. My dental mentors have told me that an OMF specialty would be a good path to go down but I am hesitant to rely on that (as I have not even began dental school yet and also OMF is extremely hard to match into). The thought of throwing away a dental school acceptance to study for the MCAT and MAYBE getting into medical school scares me although I know I put myself in this position.

How realistic is it to shoot for an OMF specialty?

Has anyone been in this position for (had mixed feelings about dental v. medical school)? If so, how did you ultimately make your decision?

Choose a job you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life - Confucius (apparently)

Forget about the work hours. When it comes down to it, what do you want to wake up to each and every morning?

Simple analogy for your case : the beautiful girl you love but needs a ton of attention and needs to be constantly catered to or the ugly girl who's easy going and super chill?

Now I'm not saying medicine is beautiful and dentistry is ugly (LOL), but in your case that's essentially your point of view. Pick your poison!

 

[deleted547631]

Hi all,

It's coming down to crunch time and I am looking for some insight so that I can make the right decision. I am currently on track to start dental school this summer but am worried I might not be making the best decision. I graduated with a degree in engineering but had been pre-med throughout the course of college. After graduation, I became very concerned with the lifestyle of a physician because I knew I wanted to work with my hands (so that narrows down possible medical specialties). This ultimately led to me taking the DAT and applying to dental school before I started a job in the healthcare software industry. However all of my experience in college was medicine-focused (ALS lab research, clinical research at Brigham & Women's, neurosurgery/plastics/psych/neuro shadowing, medical device design). I got questioned at each of my dental school interviews why I wasn't going to medical school (as they said my resume would be better suited for a med school applicant). To be honest, I did not do a stellar job on the DAT but my GPA was more consistent with that of a medical school application which must have helped me get in.

Because of the job I have held for the past year, I work extensively with physicians which I think may have ignited my second guessing. My passion has always been medicine as I enjoy the hospital atmosphere and have never seen anything more rewarding than working with extremely ill patients. The difficulty lies in the fact that I love working with my hands. Therefore I do not see myself being content as a family care physician/radiologist/etc. That part of dentistry matches my desires, but I just don't have the same passion for it (I have shadowed both careers and I am basing my level of passion on the way I felt after these shadowing experiences).

Each of my physician mentors have told me to do dentistry (and even that they sometimes wish they did that too), as the lifestyle is much better, but something is holding me back. My dental mentors have told me that an OMF specialty would be a good path to go down but I am hesitant to rely on that (as I have not even began dental school yet and also OMF is extremely hard to match into). The thought of throwing away a dental school acceptance to study for the MCAT and MAYBE getting into medical school scares me although I know I put myself in this position.

How realistic is it to shoot for an OMF specialty?

Has anyone been in this position for (had mixed feelings about dental v. medical school)? If so, how did you ultimately make your decision?

How would you feel if you had an acceptance to both medical school and dental school? Which would you go with? That's the answer to your question.