Dentistry Declining Field? I don't think so.

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amaliaaa

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Hello,

I just have a question.

Today I went to a bunch of dental offices asking if I could volunteer. Of course, everyone said no. Nobody wants to take on students. Does anyone else know how to get hours and experience working in a dental office?

Also, in one of the offices I went to, the dentist happened to be at the front desk. Instead of encouraging me to keep going, he kept telling me not to go into the dental field, and to go into any other healthcare field. He said there are more dentists graduating from school then there are retiring, so I will have a difficult time getting patients. I will be competing with dentists graduating from here and dentists coming from other countries who go into two year programs and graduate. He also said that because dental insurance is decreasing there will be less patients available.
I didn't feel like I could trust this man. It seemed to me that he was just trying to get me to go into another field because he thinks that I don't have a real interest in dental medicine. We had only met for five minutes. He doesn't know me at all, so I don't think he can decide if I deserve to go to school or not.
Of course, he did not allow me to volunteer there.

I am frustrated because dentists and professors tell us students to go and gain more experience in the field to decide if the practice is really what we are interested in, but they won't give us a chance to shadow them because they don't want to be bothered in the work place. It's like they forgot what they had to go through when they first started out.
 
Wait, did you ask to volunteer or to shadow? Those are very different, and dentists are much more inclined to let you shadow. Also, have you tried the dentist you go to regularly? They might be more inclined if you're one of their patients. Also, look to community health centers, if you're trying to volunteer that would be one of the best places who usually always take volunteers.

And as far what the dentist told you, he's simply wrong - more dentists are retiring than graduating, something like 5,000 retire every year, and only around 4,000 graduate (as per my intro to dent class). As in the rest of humanity, there are always jerks - even dentists.
 
some hospitals have dental clinics off-site, so maybe you can look into opportunities there.
 
Ok so that means he was absolutely incorrect? When I looked this up online most of the information I found was contradictory to what he said. However, I found one thing that did seem to support his claims.
I don't think it was a reliable source though.
 
You probably should bring some resume or something to show you have an interest and decent grades since you are just going into random offices. Try to shadow your own dentist that knows you.
 
Vicviper said:
Wait, did you ask to volunteer or to shadow? Those are very different, and dentists are much more inclined to let you shadow. Also, have you tried the dentist you go to regularly? They might be more inclined if you're one of their patients. Also, look to community health centers, if you're trying to volunteer that would be one of the best places who usually always take volunteers.

And as far what the dentist told you, he's simply wrong - more dentists are retiring than graduating, something like 5,000 retire every year, and only around 4,000 graduate (as per my intro to dent class). As in the rest of humanity, there are always jerks - even dentists.
Click to expand...

We were shown very similar statistic in our class, but i do have to question on the date the statistic was released. If i remember correctly, I read something similar to the number of dentist retiring out numbering the number of dentist graduating about 4 years ago when i was still a college freshman. Also, as part of a group visiting a dental school, we were told that new dentists should expect a salary of 120K. Again that was told to us 4 years ago, and till this day, it seems everyone is still quoting around that "magical" number.

My point is maybe this dentist is seeing his area becoming saturated overtime and he is experiencing the problems that was described to the OP.

With new schools openning in the next few years, the gap between retiring dentist and graduating dentists will decrease.

Eh what do i know, i m only a D1 😎

To the OP, just go to another dentist to do whatever thats needed to be done 🙂
 
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I think it's harder to volunteer than to shadow. So maybe you should try to start out with shadowing and then build some connections to where they'll let you do some more things.

The dentist that I shadow for tells me that.. what he notices is that not a lot of dental offices are hiring. They're firing more. With that in perspective, I myself find it hard to volunteer to do hands-on things since they already have a good number of staff for the patients coming in.

Shadowing hours do help and do get you in the door. 🙂
 
amaliaaa said:
Hello,

I just have a question.

Today I went to a bunch of dental offices asking if I could volunteer. Of course, everyone said no. Nobody wants to take on students. Does anyone else know how to get hours and experience working in a dental office?

Also, in one of the offices I went to, the dentist happened to be at the front desk. Instead of encouraging me to keep going, he kept telling me not to go into the dental field, and to go into any other healthcare field. He said there are more dentists graduating from school then there are retiring, so I will have a difficult time getting patients. I will be competing with dentists graduating from here and dentists coming from other countries who go into two year programs and graduate. He also said that because dental insurance is decreasing there will be less patients available.
I didn't feel like I could trust this man. It seemed to me that he was just trying to get me to go into another field because he thinks that I don't have a real interest in dental medicine. We had only met for five minutes. He doesn't know me at all, so I don't think he can decide if I deserve to go to school or not.
Of course, he did not allow me to volunteer there.

I am frustrated because dentists and professors tell us students to go and gain more experience in the field to decide if the practice is really what we are interested in, but they won't give us a chance to shadow them because they don't want to be bothered in the work place. It's like they forgot what they had to go through when they first started out.
Click to expand...

don't worry about what that dentist told you. I have also seen similar stats suggesting that more dentists are retiring than graduating. Trust me, you get that DDS/DMD degree and you will make a VERY comfortable living, end of story

As far as volunteering goes, just ask to shadow them. If you don't find anyone, ask your pre-dental club in your school to hook you up with one of their affiliated dentists. Most schools have this

I admire you for taking the initiative and trying to get involved. Your on the right path toward obtaining some dental exposure. Keep at it, and you'll eventually find someone who will let you shadow/observe them while they work
 
amaliaaa said:
Hello,

I just have a question.

Today I went to a bunch of dental offices asking if I could volunteer. Of course, everyone said no. Nobody wants to take on students. Does anyone else know how to get hours and experience working in a dental office?

Also, in one of the offices I went to, the dentist happened to be at the front desk. Instead of encouraging me to keep going, he kept telling me not to go into the dental field, and to go into any other healthcare field. He said there are more dentists graduating from school then there are retiring, so I will have a difficult time getting patients. I will be competing with dentists graduating from here and dentists coming from other countries who go into two year programs and graduate. He also said that because dental insurance is decreasing there will be less patients available.
I didn't feel like I could trust this man. It seemed to me that he was just trying to get me to go into another field because he thinks that I don't have a real interest in dental medicine. We had only met for five minutes. He doesn't know me at all, so I don't think he can decide if I deserve to go to school or not.
Of course, he did not allow me to volunteer there.

I am frustrated because dentists and professors tell us students to go and gain more experience in the field to decide if the practice is really what we are interested in, but they won't give us a chance to shadow them because they don't want to be bothered in the work place. It's like they forgot what they had to go through when they first started out.
Click to expand...

I still think that dentistry is "safe" under all of the administrative B.S. In my opinion, it is the field of medicine that is beginning to decline, at least financially. Under the new Obama plan, financial reimbursements will be cut and resources allocated in god know which way. It really seems like the only way for a physician to survive is to become specialized.

Also, healthcare is going in the direction of being cost efficient so I believe medicine will expand the duties of physician assistants and nurse practitioners...meaning there will be more competition. Primary care physicians will be ousted out, and/or their duties will be equal to that of those PA's and NP's (some make just as much money as the doc's).

I think we are still ok. People need dentists at one point or another. I'm disappointed that your dentist said that about this field. Which state are you from may i ask? Perhaps it is saturated?
 
...Or perhaps the data about dental retiring rates isn't recent enough to consider the economic disaster of the last few years. I know of 3 dentists that were going to retire a few yrs ago, but now they've told me they'll probably still be practicing when I'm finished with D-school (they lost a lot of $ when the market tanked). The good news is, they all said to call them up for a job, so maybe things will be OK in 4 or 5 yrs!
 
amaliaaa said:
Hello,

I just have a question.

Today I went to a bunch of dental offices asking if I could volunteer. Of course, everyone said no. Nobody wants to take on students. Does anyone else know how to get hours and experience working in a dental office?

Also, in one of the offices I went to, the dentist happened to be at the front desk. Instead of encouraging me to keep going, he kept telling me not to go into the dental field, and to go into any other healthcare field. He said there are more dentists graduating from school then there are retiring, so I will have a difficult time getting patients. I will be competing with dentists graduating from here and dentists coming from other countries who go into two year programs and graduate. He also said that because dental insurance is decreasing there will be less patients available.
I didn't feel like I could trust this man. It seemed to me that he was just trying to get me to go into another field because he thinks that I don't have a real interest in dental medicine. We had only met for five minutes. He doesn't know me at all, so I don't think he can decide if I deserve to go to school or not.
Of course, he did not allow me to volunteer there.

I am frustrated because dentists and professors tell us students to go and gain more experience in the field to decide if the practice is really what we are interested in, but they won't give us a chance to shadow them because they don't want to be bothered in the work place. It's like they forgot what they had to go through when they first started out.
Click to expand...

Try public health dental clinic for low income population. In the clinic where I volunteer they are many predents, dental assistant and hygiene students. I don't think they will ever say no to volunteers, you can ask LOR from the dentists there too.
Also, Some areas are saturated with dental professionals, especially in my area, many out of state people move here, and there are more and more people graduating, but there is always a high demand in other areas and also many dentists are retiring. Just check the stats in your area, if its saturated, you can either compete for the money ;-) there or relocate to an area where there is actually a great need of dentists. Either way, dentistry is still a good field in my opinion.
 
Keep this in mind. Even if there are going to be slightly fewer dentists in the future, the population needs far less dental work than it did a generation or two ago. Have you heard the terms pre-fluoride dentition and post-fluoride dentition? A mouth full of fillings used to be common, now it is quite rare.

For that reason I think our chairs will be far more empty than our predecessors.
 
Ostracized said:
Keep this in mind. Even if there are going to be slightly fewer dentists in the future, the population needs far less dental work than it did a generation or two ago. Have you heard the terms pre-fluoride dentition and post-fluoride dentition? A mouth full of fillings used to be common, now it is quite rare.
For that reason I think our chairs will be far more empty than our predecessors.
Click to expand...

And that, my friend, should be a good thing. Already now there are quite a few class A-hole general dentists who either pander crap patients don't need, or try to do what specialists do instead of referring out, resulting in more damage/harm to patients. So as long as this keeps going on, there'll be plenty of work for dentists (they'll just create a problem). It's only the honest ones who suffer. I thought dentists' motto was also to first do no harm? This is in Houston, by the way, I can't speak for the whole country.
By the way, as long as Coca-Cola and Pepsi continue to make profits, so will dentistry continue to thrive :laugh:
 
lvtran said:
By the way, as long as Coca-Cola and Pepsi continue to make profits, so will dentistry continue to thrive :laugh:
Click to expand...

Diet soda now outsells regular soda, and the gap widens every year. Adjust your career spreadsheet accordingly.
 
sideways said:
Diet soda now outsells regular soda, and the gap widens every year. Adjust your career spreadsheet accordingly.
Click to expand...

Ah, I forgot pop was the only cause of cavities. C'mon, you knew what point they were making...

Until they come out with a method of brushing and flossing that happens without the person having to do anything, there will always be patients in your chair.
 
Let's not get too glum. I'm working for my father this summer and he's booked solid for the next few months, albeit the patients are mostly older folks who grew up in a pre-flouride world. Mind you, his practice is in a large metropolitan area and his dentist friends are experiencing similiar success as well.
 
amaliaaa said:
Hello,

I just have a question.

Today I went to a bunch of dental offices asking if I could volunteer. Of course, everyone said no. Nobody wants to take on students. Does anyone else know how to get hours and experience working in a dental office?

Also, in one of the offices I went to, the dentist happened to be at the front desk. Instead of encouraging me to keep going, he kept telling me not to go into the dental field, and to go into any other healthcare field. He said there are more dentists graduating from school then there are retiring, so I will have a difficult time getting patients. I will be competing with dentists graduating from here and dentists coming from other countries who go into two year programs and graduate. He also said that because dental insurance is decreasing there will be less patients available.
I didn't feel like I could trust this man. It seemed to me that he was just trying to get me to go into another field because he thinks that I don't have a real interest in dental medicine. We had only met for five minutes. He doesn't know me at all, so I don't think he can decide if I deserve to go to school or not.
Of course, he did not allow me to volunteer there.

I am frustrated because dentists and professors tell us students to go and gain more experience in the field to decide if the practice is really what we are interested in, but they won't give us a chance to shadow them because they don't want to be bothered in the work place. It's like they forgot what they had to go through when they first started out.
Click to expand...

Have ppl not taken into account population growth? Sure new schools are opening and more ppl are graduating, but we are more populated than 20 yrs ago as well, and more aware of our teeth and the problems they can have...so we go to the dentist more frequently now as well or so I hope..
 
Ostracized said:
Keep this in mind. Even if there are going to be slightly fewer dentists in the future, the population needs far less dental work than it did a generation or two ago. Have you heard the terms pre-fluoride dentition and post-fluoride dentition? A mouth full of fillings used to be common, now it is quite rare.

For that reason I think our chairs will be far more empty than our predecessors.
Click to expand...

Do you have stats to back that up? I would assume exactly the opposite, but I want to stress that my view is an assumption.

People are living longer and many of those older patients still have their teeth. Those teeth are going to need care, so demand from that demographic should actually increase instead of decrease.
 
10 character
 
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sideways said:
Diet soda now outsells regular soda, and the gap widens every year. Adjust your career spreadsheet accordingly.
Click to expand...

Soda is bad for teeth for two reasons: (1) Sugar, and (2) Carbonation.

Even though diet soda doesn't have sugar, the carbonation in ANY soda (diet or regular) is bad for teeth. So the person's original statement still stands.
 
dentalWorks said:
👍
This was the only useful piece of information from this whole thread.

Its amazing to see that dentistry, by 2018 is NOT declining, there is an increase in number of dentists
Click to expand...

...and furthermore, an increase in the general population, as well as an increase in the geriatric population. I think dentists will be ok...
 
And also, I was just pointing out that people will always need dentists even if people stopped getting cavities (which won't happen).
 
Concerning the "decline" of dentistry, I read this article a couple years ago. Granted, we are in a recession, so the numbers aren't quite as relevant at this point in time. I'm guessing the rate of retiring has dropped slightly, but is probably no lower than equal to the number of students graduating.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/11/business/11decay.html

The real question is if you WANT to go into dentistry. Sure the pay is nice, but is it a field you feel excited about? Do what interests you and don't care what people say. Just my two cents.
 
The dental landscape is changing pretty rapidly, and practitioners who lived through the golden age are bitter at some of the changes.

-Corporate dentistry is taking up an ever increasing position in the market. They are able to afford better marketing and equipment. Talk to a Dentist working in a corporate mill, they will be itching to get out

-Dental school tuition is getting beyond ridiculous. I came out of school with 60K debt from both degrees. What are you expecting?

-Some area's are very saturated, like California and New Jersey. A Dental School friend of mine who did a 2 year GPR (UCLA + VA) still had a very hard time finding full time. She moved to Canada eventually.

-Caries rates are way down, trust me. But replacement fillings are up due to the shorter lifespan on composite vs. traditional materials.

-There are many underserved area's. Do your research. The idea that you can set up where you want to live an always be succesful is BS. Do some market research, find out what the ratio's are in the area you want to be in.

If you want dental, go for it. Just don't go in with the illusion that it is a instant silver spoon. You make a good living, but most of my college buddies who are doing really well are definitely not dentists.

Rob
 
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