Dentist planning on going to Medical School, Will I get looked down on?

[TurtleTeef]

Hi, I'm Native American (Not really but the government says I am enough) so I got College and am getting Dental school pretty much free. (They actually only cover only like 85% of my Dental School costs, but my parents are covering it very easily since my dad was a pretty good dentist).

I am planning on finishing my mandatory commitment, saving up my cash during my 3 years of dental on the reservation, and then maybe possible, if the stars are aligned, and the blue moon is out, applying for the same scholarship but only medical. If not, I'll pay out of pocket. Ill be around 27 or 28 when I am applying for my medical school cycle, but here's my question.

Will Medical School look down on me being a dentist? I'm thinking they are looking at that spot and saying "We should probably give that to an upcoming student rather than someone who already has a stable job", should I be concerned? I really don't want to do Dentistry for the rest of my life, only reason I'm in it right now is because it almost Free.

Thanks for the read and maybe reply,
Warmly,
Teef

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[sinombre]

No. But they will ask you “why medicine and not dentistry?” As long as you have a good answer you won’t be at a disadvantage.

 

[premedeq]

No. But they will ask you “why medicine and not dentistry?” As long as you have a good answer you won’t be at a disadvantage.

Agreed. Have you thought about what you want to do, medicine-wise? I know there are dental- anesthesiology residency programs that allow you to (someone correct me if I'm wrong) perform most of the same duties as an MD/DO trained anesthesiologist. At my institution, dental-anesthesiology residents train in general surgery ORs, etc...

Just though it might be something you'd be interested in. Best of luck whichever direction you decide!

 

[longhaul3]

What about OMFS? You can apply straight out of dental school and skip up to 2 years of med school while getting paid and then finish MD plus residency in 5 years total.

 

[puahate]

What about OMFS? You can apply straight out of dental school and skip up to 2 years of med school while getting paid and then finish MD plus residency in 5 years total.

I agree with the line of thinking but OMFS is competitive.

 

[TurtleTeef]

Thanks for the replies everyone! This puts me at ease!

What about OMFS? You can apply straight out of dental school and skip up to 2 years of med school while getting paid and then finish MD plus residency in 5 years total.

Ah yes, I must address OMFS. I don't think I am competitive enough, that is unless OMFS programs are willing to look past my Dental Science grades. I excel greatly at the Science classes and pretty much everything BUT the teeth part, I just really can't/could not get my brain to engage in it.

Thank you for the reply!

 

[Deecee2DO]

As a dentist you will be at an advantage if anything and certainly not looked down upon. The closest you can get to a physician without actually being one is a dentist or podiatrist IMO I think both of the training routes are the only two degrees even remotely comparable to med school. Just make sure you can explain the switch. Heck I was a chiropractor before med school and wasnt looked down on and chiros are the peasants of healthcare lmao

 

[chaim123]

As a dentist you will be at an advantage if anything and certainly not looked down upon. The closest you can get to a physician without actually being one is a dentist or podiatrist IMO I think both of the training routes are the only two degrees even remotely comparable to med school. Just make sure you can explain the switch. Heck I was a chiropractor before med school and wasnt looked down on and chiros are the peasants of healthcare lmao

The real worry is going to be making sure that Teef is running towards medicine and not away from dentistry. This isn't a "career change" per say. It's practicing for a very short period of time and immediately switching to a new field. They want to make sure the same thing won't happen with medicine.

 

[M&L]

I completely agree with what was said . I listened to one of interview prep videos, and advisor addressed that topic , and he said that you need to show growth , evolution vs running away from dentistry . For example , your reason might be - “as I was going through dental school I realized that there are a lot more problems that people in my community have , besides lack of dental care . And this really gave me passion to do more, and expand my medical knowledge “. That’s just an example

 

[Deecee2DO]

The real worry is going to be making sure that Teef is running towards medicine and not away from dentistry. This isn't a "career change" per say. It's practicing for a very short period of time and immediately switching to a new field. They want to make sure the same thing won't happen with medicine.

It shouldnt be a “worry” per se he would be fine if he just has a good story for adcoms and details why his heart is in medicine vs dentistry. Specialty interest may be something to think about is he wanting to go the ENT route which is (sort of) related to dental or going completely off path and wants to do say Ob/gyn. Like I said in previous posts I was a chiro who practiced for literally a year and switched entering med school at the age of 28 and I had no issues with adcoms with the changing career question it actually made my app unique and was advantageous to me I believe