dentistry and stress level

[sulki916]

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i have worked as a dental assistant for the last six months and i think dentistry is rewarding and interesting career. also, i will be starting dental school in august.

however, four dentists ( i have only met five thus far) have warned me not to pursue this career. they think it is too stressful and demanding both physically and psychologically.

now im starting to have doubts. i have only worked as an assistant, so i do not truly know what it is like to perform rct or implant surgeries. im scared that i will have regrets later..

what do you guys think? anyone feel this way at all?

 

[Lidopaine82]

i have worked as a dental assistant for the last six months and i think dentistry is rewarding and interesting career. also, i will be starting dental school in august.

however, four dentists ( i have only met five thus far) have warned me not to pursue this career. they think it is too stressful and demanding both physically and psychologically.

now im starting to have doubts. i have only worked as an assistant, so i do not truly know what it is like to perform rct or implant surgeries. im scared that i will have regrets later..

what do you guys think? anyone feel this way at all?

sounds like the people you've talked to don't even like dentistry. they probably got into it for the wrong reasons. if you know you'll like doing the job and not just the perks, then i think you'll be fine.

 

[mdina]

i have worked as a dental assistant for the last six months and i think dentistry is rewarding and interesting career. also, i will be starting dental school in august.

however, four dentists ( i have only met five thus far) have warned me not to pursue this career. they think it is too stressful and demanding both physically and psychologically.

now im starting to have doubts. i have only worked as an assistant, so i do not truly know what it is like to perform rct or implant surgeries. im scared that i will have regrets later..

what do you guys think? anyone feel this way at all?

I think you will have to rely on answers that come from people who have worked for many years, not the ones who will graduate years from now or graduated recently. I can only tell you the road to get there...It is a nice and rewarding profession, but to be really good at it takes a lot of work and dedication. That means time away from family, friends, love...and at the end you make good money but money is not everything. You must love this profession because yes, it is very demanding, very draining. You get to make a difference in people's lives, hopefully a positive one but that requires dental, psychological and business skills all combined if you want to be not just a good but a successful dentist.

 

[MaxAnn]

sounds like the people you've talked to don't even like dentistry. they probably got into it for the wrong reasons. if you know you'll like doing the job and not just the perks, then i think you'll be fine.

I agree with you 100%. I have heard the dentistry is stressful and hard on your back issues before. Dentistry can harm your body and your mind if you have the unrealistic view that private practice doesn't entail rigorous work, but I have worked with some dentists who complain as though they were Iraq War Veterans.

All dentists who complained of stress were either not well organized themselves, had lazy and/or complacent staff, or lacked people skills necessary to maintain a stable work environment. In other words, it was largely their own fault they were stressed. Also, I found it somewhat hypocritical that a dentist would discourage a potential colleague because they were unsatisfied with their own decision. Many of theses same dentists were content to walk around in scrubs and/or white coats just to be seen as doctors with no intent on doing any dentistry at all. Consequently, there are a bunch of dentists working as instructors who do this same thing.

On the other hand, I have met other dentists who have not mentioned the word stress and seemed confident and comfortable in their daily operations.

You must decide for yourself about dentistry. Try to observe the actions and results of those actions when you are in a dental setting instead of listening to what too many people say. This includes this forum.

 

[Jone]

not enough information about the dentists -- their practice style, demographic of patients, hours, own/associate/contract, location, etc.

good for you for trying to make an informed decision. i've met dentists on both ends of the spectrum. you'll be fine, as long as you know what you're looking for; and luckily dentistry is very flexible as a career.

i have worked as a dental assistant for the last six months and i think dentistry is rewarding and interesting career. also, i will be starting dental school in august.

however, four dentists ( i have only met five thus far) have warned me not to pursue this career. they think it is too stressful and demanding both physically and psychologically.

now im starting to have doubts. i have only worked as an assistant, so i do not truly know what it is like to perform rct or implant surgeries. im scared that i will have regrets later..

what do you guys think? anyone feel this way at all?

 

[diagnodent]

I am a dentist and know tons of dentists. Most of them like dentistry, but there are a few that don't. The difference that I have found is the one's who don't like it don't know how to run a business or have good people skills. There are back issues, but if you work out regularly you can prevent most of them.

 

[ncalcate]

There are back issues, but if you work out regularly you can prevent most of them.

I realize that this is off-topic, but what exercises do you or other practicing dentists recommend to prevent back issues? I work out frequently and do lots of deadlifts as well as upper back work, but I would be curious to know what else you might do. Thanks.

 

[dentalman]

Work your abdominal muscles as well (maybe even more important). Having strong abdominal muscles will put less strain on your back.

 

[mg777]

Loupes seem to help me keep the ol' lumbars nice a straight. W/o them I find myself getting a little too close for comfort w/ the patient's mug.

 

[psiyung]

Dentistry is only as stressful as you make it. Sometimes it can be frustrating, but so can any other profession. Try doing Ophthamology like my brother, and you will understand what stress really is. Certain surgeries come with a consent that includes disabilities such as blindness! Every job that makes good money in any country comes with more responsibilities than others.

 

[psiyung]

Pull ups, lat pull down, and power cleans can make your back very strong.

 

[nuts]

I can guarantee you the stress will decrease the longer you are in this profession. Dentistry is based on logic and practice. The more you use your logic, the better your clinical judgement will be, and the more you practice cutting teeth, the more confidence you will get and thus, your stress will decrease. Well, there are certainly stuff out of your control, like patients who complain about anything; for this, you really need to work on your people-skills or employ good staff.

 

[vize]

to the original poster, those 4 dentists you talked to are probably the same types of people that cause the profession to be the #1 suicidal profession! they go into dentistry thinking, 'oh wow all i have to do is see 5 patients and make $5000 a day'... then after a year they realize it's not that cut and dry, they realize they don't like looking at teeth all day, they realize they hate thinking about going into work, they realize that they hate their lives, and then they kill themselves 😡. on a lighter note, dentistry is great if you are willing to slave your ass hardcore-like for years!

 

[vize]

oh yeah, and to the back problems issue... unless you're grossing 5+ million/yr as the only dentist in your office, you're not going to be working in mouths for 8 hours straight. you get breaks in between.. and this whole back problem issue has me confused because i don't know of 1 dentist who "really" complains of it. i hear the occasional, 'ahh i need to stretch my back' about once a year. to me, it seems the medical surgeons would have the back problems... they are the ones standing up for hours doing a procedure.

 

[pmantz]

#1 suicidal profession!

Not true. Dentists are up there but by no means does the profession have the highest rate. The study I saw ranked police officers/security guards(long irregular hours access to firearms) have the highest rate after the unemployed. Physicians actually have a higher rate of suicide then dentists.

 

[clickytop]

The key is learning to self medicate. Whether that means alcohol, Dr. Phil marathons, or black tar heroin is purely a matter of personal preference.

 

[pmantz]

The key is learning to self medicate. Whether that means alcohol, Dr. Phil marathons, or black tar heroin is purely a matter of personal preference.

Like Lennon said, " Whatever gets you through the night, its alright, alright"

 

[double4life]

i have worked as a dental assistant for the last six months and i think dentistry is rewarding and interesting career. also, i will be starting dental school in august.

however, four dentists ( i have only met five thus far) have warned me not to pursue this career. they think it is too stressful and demanding both physically and psychologically.

now im starting to have doubts. i have only worked as an assistant, so i do not truly know what it is like to perform rct or implant surgeries. im scared that i will have regrets later..

what do you guys think? anyone feel this way at all?

I'm sorry but you really need to stand on your own two feet and think for yourself here. If these docs are that unhappy in this profession, they need to fold up shop and move on to other ventures. You, on the other hand, chose this profession for a reason. You need to look deep inside and nurture that reason and use it as motivation to move on to greater heights. If you were in an interview would you be so bold as to question your motivation in front of an interviewer based on what you presented in this post? Not unless you love getting thin envelopes in the mail you don't! Dentistry is one of those peculiar professions where you better love to show up to work or it's gonna be a long, miserable, and problematic life. Another suggestion is to find new docs to shadow, because these people sound cancerous. But your an all-star. Go git'er done!

 

[OceanDMD]

I'm sorry but you really need to stand on your own two feet and think for yourself here. If these docs are that unhappy in this profession, they need to fold up shop and move on to other ventures. You, on the other hand, chose this profession for a reason. You need to look deep inside and nurture that reason and use it as motivation to move on to greater heights. If you were in an interview would you be so bold as to question your motivation in front of an interviewer based on what you presented in this post? Not unless you love getting thin envelopes in the mail you don't! Dentistry is one of those peculiar professions where you better love to show up to work or it's gonna be a long, miserable, and problematic life. Another suggestion is to find new docs to shadow, because these people sound cancerous. But your an all-star. Go git'er done!

Be carefull about listening to a Boston sox fan.........

 

[sulki916]

i simply looked up to these dentists because they have "real experiences" in dentistry. however, i do realize that i should to listen to them with a grain of salt since everyone is different.

thanks everyone for your inputs! =)

 

[dee783]

i simply looked up to these dentists because they have "real experiences" in dentistry. however, i do realize that i should to listen to them with a grain of salt since everyone is different.

thanks everyone for your inputs! =)

i dont think you should disregard their input, after all they are real practicing dentists with real life experience. just don't make any decisions solely based on their experience. it just shows that dentistry isn't for everyone and those that don't go into it for the right reasons may end up regretting it. I think that a lot of pre-dents are under the impression that dentistry equals automatic money and happiness. it's scary to think that we are actually going to have to do work for it!

 

[dentalman]

You have to have attention to detail. Like 0.5 to 1.0 mm detail. If working with your hands in this fine detail would drive you crazy for sure, think about another job ... dentistry will be too stressful. I think most predents underestimate how much they REALLY have to work with their hands in dentistry, even though they keep saying it in interviews, do they really believe it? That's what you should ask yourself.

 

[dentalman]

Okay, that's one of the many questions you should ask yourself.

 

[johntara04]

It seems a lot of dentists that don't like their profession are in it for the wrong reasons or not exceptional dentists.

 

[clickytop]

Like Lennon said, " Whatever gets you through the night, its alright, alright"

great song

 

[boston23]

all of the dentists i've talked to about dentistry as a career have been really positive about it. Obviously, it depends on the dentist. The one dentist I know who I've never talked to about the career is my childhood dentist; I'm sure he would say that he doesn't like it because he's overworked, etc, etc but I really don't think he was a very good businessman and honestly wasn't the best dentist either.

Every dentist I have talked to about it have made it clear that you can make it as stressful as you want or you can make it much less stressful. You can specialize, open up your own office, employ tons of people, work 6 days a week, be a part-time professor at a dental school, do research, etc etc. You could also choose to work a couple of days a week in someone else's office as their employee or stand-in, make less money but be fairly stress free. There are tons of ways to choose to go in dentistry.

I think that one main thing would be that you won't get tired of looking in people's mouths (although I'm sure you could find ways around that...being a consultant or something)... You've spent time as an assistant, you've liked what you've seen, I wouldn't worry too much about what the negative dentists have said.

 

[afrosheen]

maybe those dentists you talked to are just pessimistic people in general who would not like anything they do with their lives. personality is a factor into how you look at what you do for a living

 

[speter33]

oh yeah, and to the back problems issue... unless you're grossing 5+ million/yr as the only dentist in your office, you're not going to be working in mouths for 8 hours straight. you get breaks in between.. and this whole back problem issue has me confused because i don't know of 1 dentist who "really" complains of it. i hear the occasional, 'ahh i need to stretch my back' about once a year. to me, it seems the medical surgeons would have the back problems... they are the ones standing up for hours doing a procedure.

Back problems in dentistry are very real. Do no underestimate the amount of back problems in dentistry. Most if not all dentists develop some sort of a back or neck problem

 

[psiyung]

Back problems in dentistry are very real. Do no underestimate the amount of back problems in dentistry. Most if not all dentists develop some sort of a back or neck problem

Do you have any statistics? Or is this another one of your "certain" theories. I think you're talking out of your ass as you normally seem to do.

 

[vaio]

i have worked as a dental assistant for the last six months and i think dentistry is rewarding and interesting career. also, i will be starting dental school in august.

however, four dentists ( i have only met five thus far) have warned me not to pursue this career. they think it is too stressful and demanding both physically and psychologically.

now im starting to have doubts. i have only worked as an assistant, so i do not truly know what it is like to perform rct or implant surgeries. im scared that i will have regrets later..

what do you guys think? anyone feel this way at all?

i am a dental student...i feel no stress what so ever...maybe a little come exam time but that's expected. As far as the profession is concerned I feel it is chill and stress-free

 

[johntara04]

Do you have any statistics? Or is this another one of your "certain" theories. I think you're talking out of your ass as you normally seem to do.

I really don't think you need statistics on this to know it is true. Go back to your 8th grade biology/anatomy class and think about what they taught you about muscles and angles. Just think about the positions you put yourself in as a dentist. They are a lot of bad angles (especially when you are in a hurry, and you forget proper posture) and you put a lot of strain on your shoulders and back. If you don't take care of yourself (good posture, exercise, eat right, etc) as a general dentist, you WILL have back and/or shoulder problems.

But every job has some physical risk like this. Carpo-tunnel, bad backs, knees, etc.

 

[Buckeye4life]

Do you have any statistics? Or is this another one of your "certain" theories.

I'm not trying to start anything here and I don't have any statistics, but I was checking out others forums out of curiousity and thought I'd post. As a physical therapist, I saw one dentist in the clinic for lower back pain with radiculopathy. I had him do prone press-ups, back extensions, curls, and other exercises to target his core muscles. We were having a tough time trying to modify his body position at work to keep his lumbar region in more of an extended position instead of a flexed one and his upper thoracic/cervical region more neutral instead of flexed as well. I am assuming this is a common position most dentists maintain for extended periods of time, which would be a major contributor to neck and LBP. Just my $.02.

 

[clickytop]

I really don't think you need statistics on this to know it is true. Go back to your 8th grade biology/anatomy class and think about what they taught you about muscles and angles. Just think about the positions you put yourself in as a dentist. They are a lot of bad angles (especially when you are in a hurry, and you forget proper posture) and you put a lot of strain on your shoulders and back. If you don't take care of yourself (good posture, exercise, eat right, etc) as a general dentist, you WILL have back and/or shoulder problems.

But every job has some physical risk like this. Carpo-tunnel, bad backs, knees, etc.

Your hearing starts to go as well...the high pitch of the handpieces all day, every day tends to do that.

 

[I-Baby]

Do you have any statistics? Or is this another one of your "certain" theories. I think you're talking out of your ass as you normally seem to do.

No need for the animosity lol. Let's be nice kids 😀 There is truth to what he is saying. I have talked to numerous dentists who have had back and neck problems due to being hunched over for prolonged periods of time. My mom was just telling me how a dentist that comes to her pharmacy regularly retired partly because of back and neck problems. So I don't think he/she is talking just to talk...

 

[2quik]

I dont think the OP meant to correlate dentistry and stress w/ back and neck problems. I think the OP means to say that dentistry can be very stressful buisness-wise. From what I have heard, it CAN BE very stressful. I hear some dentists, once they've opened a practice cant stop worrying about their buisness and so on.
I dont think this forum is very helpful in terms of answering the OP's question b/c we're all pre-dent or in dental school. You might want to try asking the real doctors who have opened a practice on dental town how stressful they think it is.

 

[Daurang]

The clinical side of dentistry is only as stressful as you make it to be. Do whatever procedure you're comfortable with and you'll never stressed out by that. One exception is I do get a few of those PIA denture patients so I just give them their money back and send them elsewhere to relieve my stress; not worth the headache and chairtime.

The business side be stressful because federal, state, local government is always shaking you down for more money via new regulations and taxes and fees. Some office equipment or pipe is always breaking costing you more money and time to fix. Your computer hardware/software unnecessarily constantly need upgrading, troubleshooting, and maintenance which costs mucho money and time (ex. Windows Vista, Quickbooks 2007, Office 2007, most dental software). Having too few patients can be stressful and having too many patients can be stressful. Your employees can cause you stress. I have seriously considered being a plumber or electrician or nail salon owner because they make tons of money, too, but every field has it's own stress so I'm stuck here for now.

 

[jackbauer!]

Your hearing starts to go as well...the high pitch of the handpieces all day, every day tends to do that.

electric hand pieces are turning into the new standard, no?

jb!🙂

 

[mellow_yellow]

i have worked as a dental assistant for the last six months and i think dentistry is rewarding and interesting career. also, i will be starting dental school in august.

however, four dentists ( i have only met five thus far) have warned me not to pursue this career. they think it is too stressful and demanding both physically and psychologically.

now im starting to have doubts. i have only worked as an assistant, so i do not truly know what it is like to perform rct or implant surgeries. im scared that i will have regrets later..

what do you guys think? anyone feel this way at all?

Congratulations on getting into d-school!

I think its good that you are questioning dentistry as a career. Every profession has its pros and cons. I believe everyone should look at both pros and cons before diving into any career. I think some students go to dental schools without looking at the negative aspects of dentistry. Dentistry interests me, but so do a million other things. So in order to make a decision, I need to really ask myself why dentistry is for me and the other careers are not.

Don't let the misery of other dentists deter you from doing what you want. If becoming a dentist is something you really want, then do it. You are not the same as those dentists you observed, so don't think you will have the same opinion of dentistry once you start practicing.

 

[red88m]

I think that the practice will determine your stress level, not just dentistry itself. If you have 10 chairs and stagger book all day, then you'll probably get frustrated easily. Also, if you've hired a bunch of slackers or people with cancerous attitudes, or if you haven't hired enough people to run the place efficiently, you'll be stressed.
I've worked as a front desk/insurance person and as an RDH in about 7 different practices over the years. It seems that the bigger practices have more stressed out dentists. They complained about the schedule or were busy yelling at the staff. But one of the small offices (3 chairs) had a pretty stressed out dentist- I think that was b/c we accepted capitation/HMO plans which did not pay enough for procedures (eg. $275 for a crown, and THAT'S ALL). So his schedule was packed in order to make enough money.
As far as back issues go, find a good massage therapist or chiropractor and see them frequently (I go about once a month). Work out, and sleep on the right mattress/pillow. Those curvy tempurpedic pillows are great.
Anyway, I think the key is prevention. Hire/fire as needed and keep the staff happy, be paid what you're worth and take the time you need to do the job right, and you'll hopefully prevent stress. That's the great thing about being the boss.

 

[bass for less]

Not true. Dentists are up there but by no means does the profession have the highest rate. The study I saw ranked police officers/security guards(long irregular hours access to firearms) have the highest rate after the unemployed. Physicians actually have a higher rate of suicide then dentists.

I know this sounds sad... (comparing who has the lousiest job!), but where can you find that info?

 

[pmantz]

I know this sounds sad... (comparing who has the lousiest job!), but where can you find that info?

I think I did a google search, with key words, " profession suicide rate", I think I modified it a little after getting my results.

 

[KOM]

electric hand pieces are turning into the new standard, no?

jb!🙂

That explains why my grandfather and father can't hear ****...

Or is it selective hearing?

 

[KOM]

And to the OP - dentistry is stressful - my father tried steering me away from it even, but to no avail. However, working 30 years doing the same thing might make anyone a bit ancy. Compare it with something else you might like to pursue and then make the decision. Most careers suck in the long run when you could be out scuba diving, fishing, hiking, camping, flying, or hunting, but once you have something to compare it to and consider the alternative you'll come around. 👍🙂

By the way...orientation this week for the U of MN and school starts Monday! I'm so stoked - with that in mind - for everyone in the class of 2011 or 2010 (UoP) who's about to start or who has already started...BEST OF LUCK TO YOU ALL!

 

[Kung Foo]

Once you make it though dental school, you will really know what stress is.... In private practice, where you will spend most of your professional life, you actually have control over your environment, and that alone makes all the difference in the world.

 

[ProZackMI]

i have worked as a dental assistant for the last six months and i think dentistry is rewarding and interesting career. also, i will be starting dental school in august.

however, four dentists ( i have only met five thus far) have warned me not to pursue this career. they think it is too stressful and demanding both physically and psychologically.

now im starting to have doubts. i have only worked as an assistant, so i do not truly know what it is like to perform rct or implant surgeries. im scared that i will have regrets later..

what do you guys think? anyone feel this way at all?

I used to be a psychiatrist (well, still am, but practice law now) and when I was in private practice, I had, over the course of two years, four dentists as patients with diagnoses ranging from dysthymia to borderline personality d/o and major depression to bipolar affective d/o. Several of them were being treated (not by me) for cervicalgia, cervical radiculopathy/degenerative disc disease, and DJD of the AC joints due to all the neck/UE work involved in dentistry. One of my patients had undergone a C5 lami/decompression due to C4 HNP with UE involvement/radiculopathy and had severe post lami pain syndrome. 🙁

It can be a very rewarding career, but it has its downside too. Psychologically, the dentists I've treated seemed to feel trapped, bored, and limited professionally. One ended up leaving general dentistry to specialize in endo and he seemed to enjoy that more. Another patient left dentistry and wound up attending law school with me. He now makes over 500K doing biotech patent law.

No matter what you hear, however, every career has its ups and downs. Don't buy into this crap about dentistry being worse than other professions. Each of us has certain strengths and weaknesess and coping mechanisms that enable us to navigate through life's bullsh*t. Some handle stress better than others regardless of profession.

So, while some dentists can get depressed, bored, and feel unsatisfied, many others love their chosen career.

 

[DDSY]

I know this sounds sad... (comparing who has the lousiest job!), but where can you find that info?

Do Dentists have the highest suicide rate?
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010420.html

 

[pine88]

I didn't read all the posts so I don't know if anyone posted stats for back/neck problems, but they showed us statistics for that the first week of school. Pretty high. Don't remember them off the top of my head but maybe another Pacific noob (Armor?) will come along and post specifics.

My neck has been a mess since the first week of school. I have to do phys. therapy a few times a weak. Now that we finally got our loupes though hopefully it should be better.

So far I know 1 dentist, periodontist actually, that doesn't like his job. I'm pretty sure it's because he should be doing something more creative, in an artistic way. The procedures are too structured for him.

I had the opposite experience though. All the dentists (besides Mr. Perio) really encouraged me to pursue dentistry, meanwhile all the doctors...they also told me to go into dentistry. Most of them said the medical field (lfor doctors) was a mess and not worth it.

 

[Silent Cool]

i am a dental student...i feel no stress what so ever...maybe a little come exam time but that's expected. As far as the profession is concerned I feel it is chill and stress-free

Nice. 😎

 

[yappy]

Wow. old thread brought back to life.

It was interesting reading it, though. I feel like one of the biggest challenges to dentistry are the physical problems of the neck and back - that's freaky. I wonder if we can mitigate those work related injuries through exercise?

I have a hard time understanding why dentistry would be more stressful than many other medical professionals. I work in a tertiary-care academic hospital and see physicians in what I would consider truly stressful sits (people dying, crying family members, life/death situations, malignant nursing staff & attending physicians) and think that dentistry offers much more control and a less stressful environment.

 

[Surive123]

Wow. old thread brought back to life.

It was interesting reading it, though. I feel like one of the biggest challenges to dentistry are the physical problems of the neck and back - that's freaky. I wonder if we can mitigate those work related injuries through exercise?

I have a hard time understanding why dentistry would be more stressful than many other medical professionals. I work in a tertiary-care academic hospital and see physicians in what I would consider truly stressful sits (people dying, crying family members, life/death situations, malignant nursing staff & attending physicians) and think that dentistry offers much more control and a less stressful environment.

Stress:

- Finances
- Physical stress, toll on the body
- Tangible results that can be criticized etc...whereas in medicine this is more of a gray area
- Notion that nobody wants to see the dentist. "Rather give birth again than go to the dentist" - dealing with those kind of patients.

etc...