Dentist vs. Physician

[David1991]

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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Hey guys, I'm currently wrapping up my senior year in high school and for the last 3 years or so I've been set on being a physician. I wasn't sure what kind exactly but thought maybe general practitioner or maybe something more specific. Recently though, reading some things online (including this forum and another one) I am beginning to lean towards dentistry

I've thought about it slightly in the past but always thought everything was the same as any other doctor. It's not until now that I'm reading that's not true. As a typical physician I'm hearing that your basically:
-working 55+ hours a week
-Have to go through harder schooling/residency
-Have less leniency with work hours
-Are on call
-Have to deal with more malpractice/insurance issues

while I'm reading that dentists:
-have more flexibility with work
-have a slightly easier time through school
-work about 35 hours a week, 4 days a week
-Don't have to deal with as much malpractice/insurance issues

The one (and right now it seems like the only) thing I see physician having over dentists is that I'm really into nutrition, working out, and health issues so I thought that could kind of relate to what I tell my patients but now I'm even hearing that most doctors are basically seeing their patients for a few minutes, giving a general diagnoses, and then giving them a prescription.

I'm going to talk to my dentist and some other doctors, but what do you guys think? I'm guessing you know people from both fields

Thanks a lot,
David .

 

[Streetwolf]

So have you thought about being a nutritionist? If that's what you're interested in...

Of course you should survive a couple years of college before you really make up your mind.

 

[xylem29]

David - information on diet, nutrition, and excercise is an acute necessity for matters relating to oral health. As a dentist, it would be important for you to have some knowledge regarding these topics - incorporating it into your practice on the other hand, unless they have certificates for that type of thing, you can't be providing patients with personal opinions or knowledge re: their diet. You have to stay within your scope of practice, no matter what you do. If you're not a professional who went to school to study nutrition, licensed, regulated, and certified to be providing professional services related to nutrition, then you're not qualified to be counselling patients on their diets.

There are fields in medicine that is heavily related to health, excercise, etc though such as Physiatry and Orthopedic Surgery. If you'd like to focus on more phys ed type of knowledge, these are good for that - you obviously won't find this in dentistry.

 

[David1991]

David - information on diet, nutrition, and excercise is an acute necessity for matters relating to oral health. As a dentist, it would be important for you to have some knowledge regarding these topics - incorporating it into your practice on the other hand, unless they have certificates for that type of thing, you can't be providing patients with personal opinions or knowledge re: their diet. You have to stay within your scope of practice, no matter what you do. If you're not a professional who went to school to study nutrition, licensed, regulated, and certified to be providing professional services related to nutrition, then you're not qualified to be counselling patients on their diets.

There are fields in medicine that is heavily related to health, excercise, etc though such as Physiatry and Orthopedic Surgery. If you'd like to focus on more phys ed type of knowledge, these are good for that - you obviously won't find this in dentistry.

Yea I guess my problem with jobs like nutritionist, trainer, etc.. is that even though I would enjoy them, I wouldn't make as much money. Not that that's all I'm in this for, but it's obviously a part of it.

As for the physiatry/orthopedic surgeon, I would assume those carry the same issues listed above for "physician" though right?

 

[teeth63a]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Hey guys, I'm currently wrapping up my senior year in high school and for the last 3 years or so I've been set on being a physician. I wasn't sure what kind exactly but thought maybe general practitioner or maybe something more specific. Recently though, reading some things online (including this forum and another one) I am beginning to lean towards dentistry.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I've thought about it slightly in the past but always thought everything was the same as any other doctor. It's not until now that I'm reading that's not true. As a typical physician I'm hearing that your basically:.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]-working 55+ hours a week.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]-Have to go through harder schooling/residency.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]-Have less leniency with work hours.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]-Are on call.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]-Have to deal with more malpractice/insurance issues.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]while I'm reading that dentists:.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]-have more flexibility with work.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]-have a slightly easier time through school.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]-work about 35 hours a week, 4 days a week.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]-Don't have to deal with as much malpractice/insurance issues.

I came to this same conclusion 13 years ago while I was an undergrad student, which is why I am a dentist.

In college I was a double major and pre-med student. So I had all my bases convered. I volunteered at a hospital one year and did one day in the ER and one day in the dental clinic. I felt that what I saw in the dental clinic was something that I could do, and wanted to do.

The big plus for dentistry is that right out of school, you can hang up a sign and start your business. No such luck in medicine. With dentistry you can live comfortably and help a lot of other people at the same time.

Your interest in nutrition is integral to oral health. It would be a big marketing tool.

But hey, you need to survive undergrad first.

 

[mirk3]

Dental school is harder than medical school in general, but you have no residency afterwards unless you want to specialize.

 

[aphistis]

I came to this same conclusion 13 years ago while I was an undergrad student, which is why I am a dentist.

In college I was a double major and pre-med student. So I had all my bases convered. I volunteered at a hospital one year and did one day in the ER and one day in the dental clinic. I felt that what I saw in the dental clinic was something that I could do, and wanted to do.

The big plus for dentistry is that right out of school, you can hang up a sign and start your business. No such luck in medicine. With dentistry you can live comfortably and help a lot of other people at the same time.

Your interest in nutrition is integral to oral health. It would be a big marketing tool.

But hey, you need to survive undergrad first.

Agree 100%. 👍

 

[xylem29]

Yea I guess my problem with jobs like nutritionist, trainer, etc.. is that even though I would enjoy them, I wouldn't make as much money. Not that that's all I'm in this for, but it's obviously a part of it.

As for the physiatry/orthopedic surgeon, I would assume those carry the same issues listed above for "physician" though right?

Right that's definitely true - you wouldn't earn as much.

Overall - dentistry appears to be a much much easier path.

There are pros and cons to each field though, that you should consider.

Dentistry Pros:

Shorter duration of schooling and specialization.

Easier training experience (as in no overnight shifts, clerkship, etc)

High income potential.

Flexible hours.

Procedural based work (which is what draws me toward it - in medicine I had shadowed an anesthesiologist and knew right away that the procedural type of work is what I was drawn to, surgery's hours are too much for me to consider).

Dentistry Cons:

Saturation in major urban centres (although this may not be a problem for specialists?)

Private business: There is a chance you will not be successful if people in the area where your practice is located decide you are no good. Or if the economy tanks - for instance if you work in a town that depends on the auto industry.

Neck, back, and hand wear and tear.

Medicine Pros:

More opportunities to find something that you would be interested in (dentistry is like choosing from the start that you want to specialize in oral medicine)

Hospital based shift positions where you are paid a salary, health benefits, pension, no overhead, no patient base/private practice to maintain (so if you need to move, you can just move) - only for certain fields.

Considered to be essential by the government, and people usually cannot be "choosy customers". There is little risk that your pratice will be unsuccessful.

High income potential

Medicine Cons:

Just seems like the entire process towards licensure, including residency, is more gruelling than dentistry.

Length of education and training.

Working hours (so for me, Anesthisiology usually entails one call day at least, and I don't know if I'd be happy about that in the future when I'm older and have a family) - yet with the fields where the hours are good like pathology or radiology, I don't have any interest in that type of work.

Even with the lifestyle fields like Rads and Pathology - the mental stress that one deals with in knowing that if you mis-diagnose, or miss something, you can cause someone's death, is pretty large.

Overall, I'd say it comes down to what you'd like to do and what you value more. You're young though so you've got tons of time to figure that out.

 

[NAVY DDS 2010]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Hey guys, I'm currently wrapping up my senior year in high school and for the last 3 years or so I've been set on being a physician. I wasn't sure what kind exactly but thought maybe general practitioner or maybe something more specific. Recently though, reading some things online (including this forum and another one) I am beginning to lean towards dentistry.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I've thought about it slightly in the past but always thought everything was the same as any other doctor. It's not until now that I'm reading that's not true. As a typical physician I'm hearing that your basically:.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]-working 55+ hours a week.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]-Have to go through harder schooling/residency.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]-Have less leniency with work hours.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]-Are on call.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]-Have to deal with more malpractice/insurance issues.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]while I'm reading that dentists:.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]-have more flexibility with work.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]-have a slightly easier time through school.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]-work about 35 hours a week, 4 days a week.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]-Don't have to deal with as much malpractice/insurance issues.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The one (and right now it seems like the only) thing I see physician having over dentists is that I'm really into nutrition, working out, and health issues so I thought that could kind of relate to what I tell my patients but now I'm even hearing that most doctors are basically seeing their patients for a few minutes, giving a general diagnoses, and then giving them a prescription. .

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I'm going to talk to my dentist and some other doctors, but what do you guys think? I'm guessing you know people from both fields.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Thanks a lot,.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]David .

I agree with you in some things and a few I don't. The ones that I don't agree with are the schooling issues you claim that physicians have harder schooling. I completely disagree with that. We (dental students) take a good portion of the same classes that med students take plus we have all the dental classes and lab work at the same time. We have the pharmacology classes, internal medicine, general pathology, systemic pathology, oral pathology, gross anatomy, physiology, micro, etc that med students have. Realistically, the first two years of dental school are harder. It is during the 3rd and 4th years that school is easier. We are beat down like med students are at hospitals. That is where like stinks for them.

Also, the times you listed that physicians work are misleading. It really depends on where you practice and what your specialty is. There are specialties that do only owrk 8-5 jobs and then there are specialties in certain areas where they are the only specialist for many miles. They may have to hire a specialist to come into the area to cover for them for a period of time so they can take a vacation. I know a couple specialists who are the only ones for over 100 miles who rarely get a vacation and at times (if patients are injured) work nearly 100 in a week. So, the amount of hours a physician works depends on the specialty and location they practice.

More flexibility with work - depends on if you own your practice or not. If you do an associateship or work for a corporate company, you lose the flexibility. Plus, if you own your own practice, you have less flexibility to move if your family has a reason to move. It is much harder to find someone to take over a practice. Now, if you know for sure you are going to live somewhere for good, then this is not a factor. But, if you move to an area and feel it is a good place to set up a practice and you build it, then you run the risk of getting stuck with living there even if you change your mind on the area.

 

[David1991]

teeth63a: How is nutrition integral to oral health? I mean I understand certain foods can hurt/help your teeth but as far as being a dentist I wouldn't really be giving out any advice past not eating a lot of sugar and coffee right?

Mirk3: Dental school is harder than med school? I've never heard that, if anything I've heard it's easier. I have heard that it's can be harder to get into any dental school than any med school.

xylem 29: Thanks for such a detailed response, you bring up a lot of good points. Those positives of dentistry and negatives of medicine are really whats drawing me more and more towards dentistry. As for the cons of dentistry and pro's of medicine...well the pro's of medicine are definitely nice but other than the issue of a practice going bad for dentistry the cons don't seem very bad (I'll get loupes for the back problems 😀)
-and yea I don't have any interest in pathology or radiology either

Navy DDS: Thanks for the input, you bring up some good points too. I'm not surprised dental school is just as hard but that basically doesn't affect my decision since it would be the same either way.
-as for hours per week, although i'm sure dentists can have some tough hours it does seem that overall they have less than most doctors and like you said dentists aren't going to be stuck working 100 hours (or even more than 60 really) like some doctors might.
-I don't plan on moving around much but that'll have to be thought about some other time because of course I wouldn't know at this point

Thanks again everyone

 

[predentn]

Mirk3: Dental school is harder than med school? I've never heard that, if anything I've heard it's easier. I have heard that it's can be harder to get into any dental school than any med school.

 

[carbide]

What do you value more?

1. Your career being your life.
2. Having a balance between career and personal time.
3. Your personal time.

If you chose any option other than 1. then dentistry is for you!
Gross oversimplification to make a point.

 

[jay47]

Seriously, ROFL.....

 

[jay47]

teeth63a: How is nutrition integral to oral health? I mean I understand certain foods can hurt/help your teeth but as far as being a dentist I wouldn't really be giving out any advice past not eating a lot of sugar and coffee right?

Mirk3: Dental school is harder than med school? I've never heard that, if anything I've heard it's easier. I have heard that it's can be harder to get into any dental school than any med school.

xylem 29: Thanks for such a detailed response, you bring up a lot of good points. Those positives of dentistry and negatives of medicine are really whats drawing me more and more towards dentistry. As for the cons of dentistry and pro's of medicine...well the pro's of medicine are definitely nice but other than the issue of a practice going bad for dentistry the cons don't seem very bad (I'll get loupes for the back problems 😀)
-and yea I don't have any interest in pathology or radiology either

Navy DDS: Thanks for the input, you bring up some good points too. I'm not surprised dental school is just as hard but that basically doesn't affect my decision since it would be the same either way.
-as for hours per week, although i'm sure dentists can have some tough hours it does seem that overall they have less than most doctors and like you said dentists aren't going to be stuck working 100 hours (or even more than 60 really) like some doctors might.
-I don't plan on moving around much but that'll have to be thought about some other time because of course I wouldn't know at this point

Thanks again everyone

Nutrition is ABSOLUTELY imperative to oral health. It's hard to explain unless you've had advances biology classes, or even been to college for that matter, but I promise that as a dentist you will (or should) be discussing nutrition with your patients.

I don't think there is any way to compare the two, even from students that have been to both because they will at least have to have been to one before they went to the other, making their present experience biased. However, dental school is definitely no cakewalk, and neither is medschool. If I were to estimate, I would say it is generally more difficult to get into dental school simply because there are so less. Now, the stats are about the same, the app/acc ratio is about the same, but, for ONE individual getting into one school, it may be just a little harder for dental students. However, medical school students are still a very qualified, hard working bunch.

You said you don't have any interest in pathology or radiology? Well, you haven't taken either of those courses (like you will in med or dental school) so don't cross anything off of your list yet.

The single biggest thing for me was that I DID NOT want to work in a hospital or clinic. I have always wanted to own my own business, doing something. Dentistry will allow me to do that in a stable, and self created environment. Now, just go watch your dentist: they work very hard, but they also seem to have a lot of fun (at least mine did).

 

[David1991]

The single biggest thing for me was that I DID NOT want to work in a hospital or clinic. I have always wanted to own my own business, doing something. Dentistry will allow me to do that in a stable, and self created environment. Now, just go watch your dentist: they work very hard, but they also seem to have a lot of fun (at least mine did).

Thats definitely a good observation and in line with my thinking too. Whenever I've pictured my career as a physician it was always in a building with others but very much like how I see my current general doctor's office or dentists office (with the end goal to have my own practice), not being one of hundreds of doctors working in a hospital.

 

[Murl]

David my wife is in residency right now. I'm glad you are thinking about these things before you make a decision because many people are blind sided. It is true that you typically work much more than 55 hours a week, and get very little sleep because the pager goes off all of the time, I have to live with that too 🙁. In my opinion I hate the way medicine is practiced. I would hate to have my wife's job. Some people also don't realize how much power the the patients have over you if you are with a hospital or clinic that is not your own. My wife finds that people who live in the south don't care about nutrition anyway. She talks to them about losing weight, eating healthy, etc, and they never change a thing. I may have a different opinion than most.........

 

[Locutus of Borg]

David my wife is in residency right now. I'm glad you are thinking about these things before you make a decision because many people are blind sided. It is true that you typically work much more than 55 hours a week, and get very little sleep because the pager goes off all of the time, I have to live with that too 🙁. In my opinion I hate the way medicine is practiced. I would hate to have my wife's job. Some people also don't realize how much power the the patients have over you if you are with a hospital or clinic that is not your own. My wife finds that people who live in the south don't care about nutrition anyway. She talks to them about losing weight, eating healthy, etc, and they never change a thing. I may have a different opinion than most.........

Murl,

Could you elaborate on what you said about the patients having power over the physician who does not own the hospital or clinic?

Much appreciated.