Dental vs Medicine

[kiddynamite914]

I've been premed for the length of my undergrad career. I have a 3.877 GPA and I scored a 515 on the MCATs. However, right now I am stuck on the commitment. I've shadowed both doctors (surgeons and non-surgeons) and dentists. I definitely prefer using my hands vs say a pediatrician or family doctor who really doesn't perform much with his/her hands. The general vibe I get is that doctors have more prestige but dentists are much more laid back and have a better lifestyle. I would rather work 40 hours vs 60 and I would love to have time off to spend with family, friends, and travel. I can't deal with becoming a PA or anything else that requires you to have to answer to someone else for the length of your career. I also love business, so is it more common to open up your own practice in medicine or dental? At the end of the day I care about prestige, having a great lifestyle, and making a good amount of money. Any help would be much appreciated.

PS I understand that there are past forums on this but they all are from 2011 and past.

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[WaveRace]

I've been premed for the length of my undergrad career. I have a 3.877 GPA and I scored a 515 on the MCATs. However, right now I am stuck on the commitment. I've shadowed both doctors (surgeons and non-surgeons) and dentists. I definitely prefer using my hands vs say a pediatrician or family doctor who really doesn't perform much with his/her hands. The general vibe I get is that doctors have more prestige but dentists are much more laid back and have a better lifestyle. I would rather work 40 hours vs 60 and I would love to have time off to spend with family, friends, and travel. I can't deal with becoming a PA or anything else that requires you to have to answer to someone else for the length of your career. I also love business, so is it more common to open up your own practice in medicine or dental? At the end of the day I care about prestige, having a great lifestyle, and making a good amount of money. Any help would be much appreciated.

PS I understand that there are past forums on this but they all are from 2011 and past.

To briefly cover the three points you make at the end:
Prestige: medicine wins here. Let go of the prestige mindset if you decide you are going to pursue dentistry. It's an entirely different game over here.
Lifestyle: can be done in either. The ROAD specialties are what you would be looking into in medicine if you are trying to pursue a 40 hour work week. Radiology, ophthalmology, anesthesiology, dermatology.
Money: can be done in either. Really depends on how much debt you are going into, how hard you work when you're out in practice, what you specialize in, and etc.

It seems to me that you want to be a surgeon but don't want the lifestyle commitment. Have you considered ophthalmology (eye surgery)? It's considered to be a lifestyle specialty, but also is surgical by nature. In the end it comes down to what is most important to you personally in your future professional and personal life. You've done the shadowing and the work, just gotta be honest with yourself and pull the trigger. You're clearly capable of going down either path.

 

[DVA1990]

man, I wish you cared about more than money, prestige and life style.

 

[amariesa]

Research every hands-on medical specialty to see if you would like them.
Another thing you might not have considered is that for dentistry, its actual labour, pulling on teeth, twisting your neck, caving your back... over the years, most dentists develop back issues (dont quote me but a study I read a while ago said 87%). Conpared to a general doctor, where you barely do anything hands-on, this is something to consider. Especially when you get to your 50s, and your body isnt like your 20s.

 

[ProspectivePostPreDent]

I would rather work 40 hours vs 60 and I would love to have time off to spend with family, friends, and travel. Dental
I can't deal with becoming a PA or anything else that requires you to have to answer to someone else for the length of your career. Both
I also love business, so is it more common to open up your own practice in medicine or dental? Dental
At the end of the day I care about prestige Medical
having a great lifestyle Dental
and making a good amount of money Both

You can get lifestyle gigs in medicine, but they're typically among the tougher residencies to land, and basically every dental specialty is a lifestyle gig other than OS.

As for money... Working four days a week as a gen dentist or family doctor you'll make 180k minimum by mid career. Specialists make more.

 

[kiddynamite914]

You can get lifestyle gigs in medicine, but they're typically among the tougher residencies to land, and basically every dental specialty is a lifestyle gig other than OS.

As for money... Working four days a week as a gen dentist or family doctor you'll make 180k minimum by mid career. Specialists make more.

What were your reasons for going into dental (I assume based on your username)? How difficult is it to get into endodontics?? I heard mid career they can reach near 400 k

 

[kiddynamite914]

Also more input into the opening up the business aspect of dentistry vs general medicine would be much appreciated ! I understand it’s more common in dentistry but how much more common ?? I love business , and the idea of opening one up and putting in work to help it grow is very appealing. I’ve interned at a construction company for about 5 years now so I really fell in love with business.

 

[ProspectivePostPreDent]

What were your reasons for going into dental (I assume based on your username)? How difficult is it to get into endodontics?? I heard mid career they can reach near 400 k

I want to operate, but I don't want to be stuck in a catacombs like surgeons are. I like the idea of using my hands and having return visits from patients.

I don't know that much about endo, but if you're going for a dental specialty, I highly recommend going by interest rather than pay. Most of them pay very, very well, so it's myopic to not focus on whether root canals vs braces vs gums hold your interest.

 

[738177]

I got into both and chose Medicine. I don't think Dentistry is worth the ROI if your only option is a private dental school that costs $400k+. I didn't wanna take on additional debt to open up a practice and typical associate salaries (~120k) wasn't enough to justify the tuition for me. You have to weigh the pros vs cons yourself. I wouldn't let "prestige" be a factor to be honest. They're both well respected professions.

 

[Life of Pablo]

Why not just do Dental Medicine



I'll see my way out...

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

How difficult is it to get into endodontics?? I heard mid career they can reach near 400 k

Many, if not most, endodontic residencies won’t take you seriously as an applicant without postgraduate work experience. It’s very competitive to get into straight out of school. And yes, they can make a lot of money, since that seems to be very important to you. As far as prestige, you sure aren’t going to impress me. Oh, and many dental residencies charge tuition, so be prepared to tack on another $200,000 to $300,000 to your dental school loans.

Big Hoss

 

[Stanelz]

As far as prestige, you sure aren’t going to impress me.

haha.

to OP...Sounds like you want to be a dentist. Prestige is cool at first....and then you wake up to the nightmare of long hours and never ending stress of medicine.

 

[2TH MVR]

Something that hasn't been written. You have to be a good sales person in dentistry. This is the part of dentistry that I despise the most. Most of medicine is not selling a product or service. Medicine is about "necessary" procedures.

Another possibly insignificant difference. I hate hospitals. Dark, gloomy, E. Coli everywhere, bunch of sick people. In dentistry .... nice office with possibly some windows looking at mountains, patients generally healthy, etc. etc.

Prestige. Seriously. Who cares?

 

[cometx3]

If all you care about is prestige, money, and lifestyle than both medicine and dental will be a huge wakeup call. I don't know a single healthcare professional happy with their career that just went into it for those reasons, most who love their jobs and are happy really are passionate about healthcare. You need to care about healthcare and find it interesting. Do you like healthcare, but would rather work with your hands to treat patients rather than focus on diagnosing complex cases? Do you like running a business? Dentistry might be a better option. Do you love the idea of diagnosing patients and prescribing and managing medication long term? Medicine might be a better option.

 

[FanOfCostco]

Do medicine. I don't want more competition.