Dentistry not worth it. Period.

[privatedds]

Hey guys,

Made a new acct to just clarify to folks that dentistry is not really worth it anymore.

I have been graduated for 4 years so I guess I do have a little bit of say in claiming that it's not really worth it.

A lot of folks back in dental school wasted their money thinking that they will make tons once they graduate and pay back loan in no time.

But, reality ain't like that.

A lot of friends make only around 150k as an associate and as you know, the pay doesn't really go up significantly. Its either you stay as associate or open your practice to make big bucks (but of course, you will have to take out a loan for an office which will cost you around 500k to have basic stuff)

Is it really worth it?

150K after tax and all those medicare/FICA BS taken off is worth around 90K. From this, you gotta pay your student loan + interest + car lease + car insurance + rent + electricity + cell phone bill + malpractice + disability insurance and etc etc. In the end, you are lucky to save 20k into your savings account.

And honestly, dentistry is not really fun. Hack, if it was fun, why would anyone pay you to do it?

I guess a lot of dental students are going to say "Oh I love doing restorations" "Oh I love doing crown preps"
"I love root canals" "I love extractions" blah blah, but you know what? I loved them all when I got 2-3 hours to work on a god damn single tooth. Not the case in private practice where you will be pressured to produce and you gotta do several restos in one visit or finish molar endo in less than an hour. It hurts my neck, my back and etc. Dentistry is a painful profession and pretty tedious as well.

So give it a thought. Actually, no. You don't know when you are in cushy dental school. Even residency is a joke compared to private practice. Do an observation of an medicaid office and ask yourself if you are going to be able to do it. (And don't pull this BS that you are gonna see only good insurance and FFS pts)




So my suggestion - go to cheap school, and if possible do that military thing which pays tuition. I regret I didn't do it.

---

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[jyee19]

May I ask what your monthly student loan amount is? And where you are working now?



Army HPSP

 

[privatedds]

May I ask what your monthly student loan amount is? And where you are working now?



Army HPSP

I won't disclose the amt but as far as my location, I'm in Northeast Tri-state area. (not in NYC or it's five boroughs tho)

 

[nonociceptors]

And honestly, dentistry is not really fun. Hack, if it was fun, why would anyone pay you to do it?

What does that even mean? Are you saying if it was fun people would perform dental procedures on themselves? Where'd you graduate from?

 

[jyee19]

Sorry. Just want to understand where you draw the line financially in determining whether or not our profession is worth it.


Army HPSP

 

[DentFuture111]

Hey guys,

Made a new acct to just clarify to folks that dentistry is not really worth it anymore.

I have been graduated for 4 years so I guess I do have a little bit of say in claiming that it's not really worth it.

A lot of folks back in dental school wasted their money thinking that they will make tons once they graduate and pay back loan in no time.

But, reality ain't like that.

A lot of friends make only around 150k as an associate and as you know, the pay doesn't really go up significantly. Its either you stay as associate or open your practice to make big bucks (but of course, you will have to take out a loan for an office which will cost you around 500k to have basic stuff)

Is it really worth it?

150K after tax and all those medicare/FICA BS taken off is worth around 90K. From this, you gotta pay your student loan + interest + car lease + car insurance + rent + electricity + cell phone bill + malpractice + disability insurance and etc etc. In the end, you are lucky to save 20k into your savings account.

And honestly, dentistry is not really fun. Hack, if it was fun, why would anyone pay you to do it?

I guess a lot of dental students are going to say "Oh I love doing restorations" "Oh I love doing crown preps"
"I love root canals" "I love extractions" blah blah, but you know what? I loved them all when I got 2-3 hours to work on a god damn single tooth. Not the case in private practice where you will be pressured to produce and you gotta do several restos in one visit or finish molar endo in less than an hour. It hurts my neck, my back and etc. Dentistry is a painful profession and pretty tedious as well.

So give it a thought. Actually, no. You don't know when you are in cushy dental school. Even residency is a joke compared to private practice. Do an observation of an medicaid office and ask yourself if you are going to be able to do it. (And don't pull this BS that you are gonna see only good insurance and FFS pts)




So my suggestion - go to cheap school, and if possible do that military thing which pays tuition. I regret I didn't do it.

Would you do a residency program if you were to pick one freely? If so, which one?

 

[privatedds]

Would you do a residency program if you were to pick one freely? If so, which one?

OS/pedo/endo/ortho.

Perio/Prostho are too expensive and hard to get a job.

Oral Medicine/Oral Path/Oral Rad - I don't even know if these residencies even exist.

 

[socal6]

You make a fair point about going to cheaper schools or the military route. Military was actually one of the first things my dentist pushed for when I shadowed him and is something I would absolutely consider if my situation were a little different.

However it's important to keep in mind that dentistry will mean different things to different people. I hope no one gets discouraged from pursuing dentistry after reading this post if that is what they truly want to do. There are different challenges to be considered in each profession and some might find the demands of dentistry worthwhile. It doesn't sound like you do, so I hope you find what makes you happy. All the best.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

🙄

 

[Mason91]

Hey guys,

Made a new acct to just clarify to folks that dentistry is not really worth it anymore.

I have been graduated for 4 years so I guess I do have a little bit of say in claiming that it's not really worth it.

A lot of folks back in dental school wasted their money thinking that they will make tons once they graduate and pay back loan in no time.

But, reality ain't like that.

A lot of friends make only around 150k as an associate and as you know, the pay doesn't really go up significantly. Its either you stay as associate or open your practice to make big bucks (but of course, you will have to take out a loan for an office which will cost you around 500k to have basic stuff)

Is it really worth it?

150K after tax and all those medicare/FICA BS taken off is worth around 90K. From this, you gotta pay your student loan + interest + car lease + car insurance + rent + electricity + cell phone bill + malpractice + disability insurance and etc etc. In the end, you are lucky to save 20k into your savings account.

And honestly, dentistry is not really fun. Hack, if it was fun, why would anyone pay you to do it?

I guess a lot of dental students are going to say "Oh I love doing restorations" "Oh I love doing crown preps"
"I love root canals" "I love extractions" blah blah, but you know what? I loved them all when I got 2-3 hours to work on a god damn single tooth. Not the case in private practice where you will be pressured to produce and you gotta do several restos in one visit or finish molar endo in less than an hour. It hurts my neck, my back and etc. Dentistry is a painful profession and pretty tedious as well.

So give it a thought. Actually, no. You don't know when you are in cushy dental school. Even residency is a joke compared to private practice. Do an observation of an medicaid office and ask yourself if you are going to be able to do it. (And don't pull this BS that you are gonna see only good insurance and FFS pts)




So my suggestion - go to cheap school, and if possible do that military thing which pays tuition. I regret I didn't do it.

I swear I saw the exact same post somewhere on "Dental" forum not too long ago.
Dentistry is still one of the highest paid professions. Any profession that brings in a 6 figure income will cost a lot of money. It's not just dentistry; medicine, pharmacy, Ph.D level careers, and etc. Not may people make 150k/year..
To me, it sounds like you're saying "I'm not happy 'cause I'm not making half a million/year"
Dentistry not being fun is really just a personal preference; to me, dentistry is one of the most prestigious and interesting professions (at least compared to many many many other jobs out there). You get to serve other people and make a direct impact on your patients' lives while you get to be your own boss and work 4 days/week and while still making a decent amount of money.
My dentist who's been practicing about 10 years now has 2 huge offices. His offices are booked to the fullest and let me tell you, he makes damn too much money. Now, I'm not saying that everyone will be like him, but it really all depends on your performance, passion, and energy you put in with a bit of luck and business skills.
I'm sorry to hear that you no longer have a passion for your career but I'm sure there are many dentists out there who truly enjoy what they do every day, but I guess to each his own..
I agree that one must give dentistry a hard thought before jumping into it but I truly think that the pros outweigh the cons significantly.

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

I swear I saw the exact same post somewhere on "Dental" forum not too long ago.
Dentistry is still one of the highest paid profession. Any profession that brings in a 6 figure income will cost a lot of money. It's not just dentistry; medicine, pharmacy, Ph.D level careers, and etc. Not may people make 150k/year..
To me, it sounds like you're saying "I'm not happy 'cause I'm not making half a million/year"
Dentistry not being fun is really just a personal preference; to me, dentistry is one of the most prestigious professions. You get to serve other people and make a direct impact on your patients' lives while you get to be your own boss and work 4 days/week and still make a decent amount of money. I'm sorry to hear that you no longer have a passion for your career but I'm sure there are many dentists out there who truly enjoy what they do every day, but I guess to each his own..
I agree that one must give dentistry a hard thought before jumping into it but I truly think that the pros outweigh the cons significantly.

You are very wise my friend ^.^

 

[oralcare123]

One of those threads again...

 

[cacazor]

Sorry. Just want to understand where you draw the line financially in determining whether or not our profession is worth it.


Army HPSP

Why are you ending every post in "Army HPSP"...?

 

[redhotchiligochu]

Well, there's always 2 flip sides of a coin.

Many booksmart but completely naive predents think once they graduate from dental school, they'll be making $200+k. Not only is that unlikely, close to 40% of it is taxed anyway. There's also a reason why dentistry is the #2 most suicidal profession too.

The real world is not about getting a 3.8 GPA and 26AA.

 

[customx]

If the school you will attend will set you back $350-500k+ then you really need to evaluate your loan repayment strategy. The military, and NHSC are both great options, but you need to make certain they are the right fit for you. Look into PAYE and REPAYE, but be prepared to be hit with a $200k+ tax bill in 20-25 years when the unpaid portion of your loan is considered to be income, and thus taxable. I wouldn't pay too much attention to these kinds of posts. If you want financial advice from practicing and retired dentists, I advise you to check out the finance section on Dental Town.

 

[frozenicecreamDMD]

I would love it to start making 150k a year after graduation, heck 125k a year is fine as well.

I will live in a state with no state income tax so federal and Medicare/medicaid will end up being only 27% effectively.

sorry but coming from a background with a family of 4 surviving on 30k before tax will make you appreciate >100k income this much.

but I am not coming from a 500k dental school. nowadays, 300k dental school is a good deal for anyone and most or all 300k dental schools are public schools.

if you make a 150k a year and have 100k after tax, you can put 30k to loans, 20k to saving, and live well comfortably with 50k. why you need to lease car when you complain money is tight? buy a used car, then buy a lower coverage for auto insurance which will be cheaper than autoinsurance for the leased car. cell phone bill? switch to pre paid with no unlimited data, malpractice and disability insurance for dentists arent that expensive compared to some fields in medicine. I mean you can cut a lot of expense down and you will see the extra money flowing out.

even if you make 300-400k a year and spend like a boss all the time, u will still be tight with money.

 

[cacazor]

If the school you will attend will set you back $350-500k+ then you really need to evaluate your loan repayment strategy. The military, and NHSC are both great options, but you need to make certain they are the right fit for you. Look into PAYE and REPAYE, but be prepared to be hit with a $200k+ tax bill in 20-25 years when the unpaid portion of your loan is considered to be income, and thus taxable. I wouldn't pay too much attention to these kinds of posts. If you want financial advice from practicing and retired dentists, I advise you to check out the finance section on Dental Town.

You would pay about 200k lump sum in 25 years (300 months) because you get hit about 400k in taxable forgiveness. Just clarifying.
Your payout under IBR/PAYE would be nearly doubled whatever you took out for your principal. I guess if we're talking about a 25 year period, it's not the worse thing in the world.

I would love it to start making 150k a year after graduation, heck 125k a year is fine as well.

I will live in a state with no state income tax so federal and Medicare/medicaid will end up being only 27% effectively.

sorry but coming from a background with a family of 4 surviving on 30k before tax will make you appreciate >100k income this much.

but I am not coming from a 500k dental school. nowadays, 300k dental school is a good deal for anyone and most or all 300k dental schools are public schools.

if you make a 150k a year and have 100k after tax, you can put 30k to loans, 20k to saving, and live well comfortably with 50k. why you need to lease car when you complain money is tight? buy a used car, then buy a lower coverage for auto insurance which will be cheaper than autoinsurance for the leased car. cell phone bill? switch to pre paid with no unlimited data, malpractice and disability insurance for dentists arent that expensive compared to some fields in medicine. I mean you can cut a lot of expense down and you will see the extra money flowing out.

even if you make 300-400k a year and spend like a boss all the time, u will still be tight with money.

You definitely don't want to be paying just 30k just on student loans lol.
500k principal at 6% APR is already 30k alone
300k is also more like 350k school once interest capitalizes after 4 years. That's still 21k. You will shave off 9k a year.

Yeah sure anything beats trying to live off of 30k. But did you really go through 4 additional year of schooling just to earn 50k? You can earn 50k with a bachelor (yes even with a B.S in biology) without 4 years of lost income. If you majored in a more marketable degree, even better... In a good field, someone 4 years into their career can command a pretty comfortable income

Now consider that most states do have state taxes and private schools quoted at 400k (465 capitalizing). How exactly does it make it worth?

You can work your butt off doing something else and make a ton more moneys. Opportunity cost is a real thing.

 

[ncide]

Not many people can ask a bank to loan them 500k to start up a business like you can in dentistry. Make the jump and become an owner, that is where real money is to be made. Associateship should not be a long term plan.

 

[DMDDDSHopeful]

There are positives and negatives to each career. It's just that simple. You have people leaving with $150k+ debt for a Bachelors that earns $15/hr. Everything is perspective and relative.

 

[workofshart]

150k puts you in the top 10% of households. If your wife or husband works you will likely be in the top 5% if not higher. Your earning potential as a practice owner is even greater. Nobody is going to feel bad for you or any of us when it comes to money. Whether people realize it or not we are very fortunate to have the aptitude and drive to enter a profession with a salary most Americans could only dream of.

Sent from my SM-G550T using SDN mobile

 

[doc toothache]

Will you be changing careers?

 

[setdoc7]

Making money is not easy. Anyone who told you that was wrong. Dentistry has the potential to make a great amount of money, but it takes work and risk, as do all business ventures.

 

[Carbohydrates]

Dammm,

Back at it again with the not worth it skit

 

[pgex2t]

TL;DR: Life sucks

 

[mroerdh22]

How long have you been practicing?

 

[personalstatementsbyeric]

You mean to say you are not successful, but you have enough time to go on a predental forum, make an account and fill us in on your lack of success? Shocker.

 

[CareerNumTwo]

A lot of friends make only around 150k as an associate ... 150K after tax and all those medicare/FICA BS taken off is worth around 90K. From this, you gotta pay your student loan + interest + car lease + car insurance + rent + electricity + cell phone bill + malpractice + disability insurance and etc etc. In the end, you are lucky to save 20k into your savings account.

LoL. Talk about first world problems.

@privatedds: Get a financial advisor, live below your means (seriously, how many financially savy people lease a car these days?), pay your bills like everyone else in the world, and go work more hours instead of whining on a board for people who haven't even begun their journey to dental school.

You may have "been graduated for 4 years," but you sound like a brat.

 

[odpropofol]

I swear I saw the exact same post somewhere on "Dental" forum not too long ago.
Dentistry is still one of the highest paid professions. Any profession that brings in a 6 figure income will cost a lot of money. It's not just dentistry; medicine, pharmacy, Ph.D level careers, and etc. Not may people make 150k/year..
To me, it sounds like you're saying "I'm not happy 'cause I'm not making half a million/year"
Dentistry not being fun is really just a personal preference; to me, dentistry is one of the most prestigious and interesting professions (at least compared to many many many other jobs out there). You get to serve other people and make a direct impact on your patients' lives while you get to be your own boss and work 4 days/week and while still making a decent amount of money.
My dentist who's been practicing about 10 years now has 2 huge offices. His offices are booked to the fullest and let me tell you, he makes damn too much money. Now, I'm not saying that everyone will be like him, but it really all depends on your performance, passion, and energy you put in with a bit of luck and business skills.
I'm sorry to hear that you no longer have a passion for your career but I'm sure there are many dentists out there who truly enjoy what they do every day, but I guess to each his own..
I agree that one must give dentistry a hard thought before jumping into it but I truly think that the pros outweigh the cons significantly.

Clear case of survivorship bias.

 

[redhotchiligochu]

You mean to say you are not successful, but you have enough time to go on a predental forum, make an account and fill us in on your lack of success? Shocker.

LOL I've NEVER seen you act savage on SDN before lol...

 

[cacazor]

You mean to say you are not successful, but you have enough time to go on a predental forum, make an account and fill us in on your lack of success? Shocker.

lmao lack of success in what way? By earning near the median salary of all dentist?

 

[personalstatementsbyeric]

LOL I've NEVER seen you act savage on SDN before lol...

I just think it's unprofessional for someone to go on a forum and start a thread like this. I see it on med school forums talking about primary care in the same way. Income should not be the end all be all - if it is, you are in the wrong profession 🙂

...also, part of me believes OP isn't an actual dentist, rather a troll

 

[privatedds]

Welcome to real life. I heard all this negative talk from other professions and business owners.

I have shadowed enough dentists to form my own opinion. The successful ones are happy and doing well. Even the newer graduates I met are happy though they have $1 million in loans from school and for new practice start up. They are stressed but loans and real life are stressful across all professions.

HAHAHAHA "I have shadowed enough dentists to form my own opinion." LOOOOOL. Get a grip kiddo.

I just think it's unprofessional for someone to go on a forum and start a thread like this. I see it on med school forums talking about primary care in the same way. Income should not be the end all be all - if it is, you are in the wrong profession 🙂

...also, part of me believes OP isn't an actual dentist, rather a troll

Unfortunately, I am a dentist 🙂

 

[privatedds]

How long have you been practicing?

4 years inc. 1 year of GPR.

Not many people can ask a bank to loan them 500k to start up a business like you can in dentistry. Make the jump and become an owner, that is where real money is to be made. Associateship should not be a long term plan.

ROFL. Seriously? D1 telling class of 2012 to open up a dental office? Do you know how complicated and challenging it is to open an office? Please learn how to do class II prep before you post.

 

[Biomechanix]

Production, production, production!
Thanks for the insight OP.

I worked in a dental office and everything you've mentioned is pretty accurate from my experience. The dentists that owned the office where I worked made a ton of money ever since they opened their practice in the early 80s. It definitely isn't what it used to be. I've known them all my life and they have spoken to me about taking over/buying in their practice after dental school. However, I am really considering going towards the military route with the HPSP scholarship.

I'm just a pre-dent applying this cycle, but would like to know if you have any examples of friends/classmates that went down the military route and how they are today.

 

[privatedds]

Production, production, production!
Thanks for the insight OP.

I worked in a dental office and everything you've mentioned is pretty accurate from my experience. The dentists that owned the office where I worked made a ton of money ever since they opened their practice in the early 80s. It definitely isn't what it used to be. I've known them all my life and they have spoken to me about taking over/buying in their practice after dental school. However, I am really considering going towards the military route with the HPSP scholarship.

I'm just a pre-dent applying this cycle, but would like to know if you have any examples of friends/classmates that went down the military route and how they are today.

They are the happiest and the least worried people. Do military 100%, unless that dentist friend of yours is a family member.

In all honesty, OP raises good points, but the grass is always greener on the other side:
GD: "Specialists are pooping $$$"
OMFS: "Ortho doesn't work nearly as hard as me"
Pedo: "Ortho is robbery"
Ortho: "Don't go into dentistry to make $$"

Ortho isn't robbery anymore 😉

 

[nowaysurvey]

"The grass is always greener on the other side"

The OP and threads like this make me sick.

Your post...is pretty much all complaints. Are you a lil' b**** or something? Sounds like you got smacked hard by reality.
Did you actually think reality after dental school was going to be ezpz?
Seems to me like you didn't do enough research before you got into this mess. Whoever said paying back loans and managing life was easy?
Man, if I was your parent I'd slapped you. Think about what your folks had to do for you up until whenever they let you free.

"And honestly, dentistry is not really fun. Hack, if it was fun, why would anyone pay you to do it?" This comment...are you for real? FFS, why even work at all?

I'm sure if you were a physician, a pharmacist, or anything else for that matter, you'd still end here on these forums complaining about so and so.

It also seems you're in it for all the wrong reasons. If money was your sole goal, I think you should have done business or accounting. In the health field, your first priority is working with people (and this can be a pain in the butt sometimes) and then all the paperwork that follows. If you don't like that, you need to reconsider your career options.

And FFS you're only four years in, I don't think any anyone in your shoes is expecting a Porshe or a Mercedes at that point.

To all pre-dents out there, dentistry is what you make out of it. It is certainly not for everyone, but if you are willing to grind, grind, and grind after dental school for several years, I don't see why you can't be in a situation where you'll be content with your finances.

As for the OP, it must suck to be you. You're only four years in, and who knows, you could possibly have another 30 years+ at this.

I do wish you the best though. Either suck it up and move on or pack up and change careers.

Good luck.

 

[zombieboi1]

I dont see why op is getting all this hate. He only present another side of dentistry that some predent havent thought about. He back up his statement with numbers to help prove his points. I thought it was a great post op.

 

[Advance]

Lol. Can we let this thread die. I swear there's one of these threads every application cycle....

 

[bjpenn]

I can totally see where OP comes from. Lots of my friends struggle because they work in desirable areas vs underserved areas.

Pre-dents: Its really difficult to truly understand what we go through despite all the hours of shadowing. The enthusiasm you guys show is necessary to apply and get through dental school. I totally get why you guys get defensive when we complain about our profession. Please come and find me if you are looking for a job after dental school.

At the end of the day, life is up and down no matter what you do and what you make of it.

 

[cacazor]

I dont see why op is getting all this hate. He only present another side of dentistry that some predent havent thought about. He back up his statement with numbers to help prove his points. I thought it was a great post op.

No one likes being told that their sacrifice would have been made in vain. When reality hits too close to home, people start to get defensive (and offended).

Funny how some folks here are talking about setting some "realistic" expectation for yourself, yet continue to admire the one million dollar dentist who graduated ages ago with little debt and didn't have to run against corporate dentistry. Meanwhile, also criticizing OP for not being happy about his income in a discussion of whether or not dentistry is worth it financially. Talk about cognitive dissonance geeze

 

[privatedds]

And FFS you're only four years in, I don't think any anyone in your shoes is expecting a Porshe or a Mercedes at that point.

To all pre-dents out there, dentistry is what you make out of it. It is certainly not for everyone, but if you are willing to grind, grind, and grind after dental school for several years, I don't see why you can't be in a situation where you'll be content with your finances.

Prolly a only site where pre-dent gives a life and career advice to a dentist.

I can totally see where OP comes from. Lots of my friends struggle because they work in desirable areas vs underserved areas.

Pre-dents: Its really difficult to truly understand what we go through despite all the hours of shadowing. The enthusiasm you guys show is necessary to apply and get through dental school. I totally get why you guys get defensive when we complain about our profession. Please come and find me if you are looking for a job after dental school.

Spot on. 1000 hours of shadowing is still less than 1 hour of experience as a dentist.

No one likes being told that their sacrifice would have been made in vain. When reality hits too close to home, people start to get defensive (and offended).

Funny how some folks here are talking about setting some "realistic" expectation for yourself, yet continue to admire the one million dollar dentist who graduated ages ago with little debt and didn't have to run against corporate dentistry. Meanwhile, also criticizing OP for not being happy about his income in a discussion of whether or not dentistry is worth it financially. Talk about cognitive dissonance geeze

😎😎😎😎😎

 

[privatedds]

I dont see why op is getting all this hate. He only present another side of dentistry that some predent havent thought about. He back up his statement with numbers to help prove his points. I thought it was a great post op.

Thank you.

 

[DentFuture111]

More questions for OP
Have you considered moving to relatively less urban areas?
What's the best option for you right now to cope with the current dilemma?

I would like to hear you realistic opinions.

 

[Polkadotfan]

I think we really need to define "worth it financially" because we all have different ideas of it...
Being comfortable vs. Well-off
I'm ok with comfortable.
I've lived uncomfortable. I've lived paycheck to paycheck. I've looked into the debt. I understand the risk and I have heard of the hardships.
I still feel for me that dentistry is worth it in the long-run but I have different experiences to pull from. Others really might need to look into their options (I have, trust me).

 

[privatedds]

More questions for OP
Have you considered moving to relatively less urban areas?
What's the best option for you right now to cope with the current dilemma?

I would like to hear you realistic opinions.

1) They say "location, location and location" but location isn't all. First, it's really hard to move once you are settled in one place. It is quite a hassle to move to different place. (And quite a lot of money / time from work to be wasted), so you can't move to different place just because office 3 hours away pays you $700 instead of $600. You never know if that office is sketchy/has problems/etc. When you are living off from income you make, you will be very careful and conservative about choices you make.

2) Just because it's urban, doesn't mean all offices are ****ty. Just because it's rural, doesn't mean all offices are great. It's possible to find a decent office in suburb area / another reason why it is hard to move.

3) Dentist is a very lonely job. Unlike dental school / residency, there is no one you can really talk to. In an office where you are the only doctor, you can't really make "dental related conversations" or "personal life conversations" to dental assistans or office manager just as you would to friends. Even if there are 2 doctors in office, each doctor is busy seeing his/her own pt and it's hard to socialize with another doctor. This is another reason why it is so hard to go to middle of nowhere just for money, because you won't have any friends to talk to even after work and you will be pretty lonely. (Oh did I tell you that as a dentist you don't really get a lunch break to have chit chat with others? You will prolly work over lunch til 12:30 and spend the rest of 30 minutes writing your charts like a madman)

 

[nowaysurvey]

Prolly a only site where pre-dent gives a life and career advice to a dentist.



Spot on. 1000 hours of shadowing is still less than 1 hour of experience as a dentist.



😎😎😎😎😎

Prolly a only site where a dentist gives complaints about why his or her life sucks and is extremely miserable to pre-dents. Gee whiz, I almost couldn't type this sentence since autocorrect fixed it for me.

I should have been more clear, but what I said was something several dentists have told me and I'm positive that advice holds good weight. But it's a probably a no brainer that that advice works for many careers.

Don't get me wrong, you provided some insight and I appreciate that (dentistry is certainly easier said then done), but you did so in a rather terrible way.

Post title is "Dentistry not worth it. Period." Second line in thread says "...dentistry is not really worth it anymore." Last line of the thread (and in another thread titled" How to choose a good dental school / what to do"), you give advice on how to pursue dentistry. I'm conflicted. Is it worth it or not? Make up your mind. If it's not, well then okay but holy crap. Move on and please give me advice on what is worth it now because I spent the last 4 years prepping for this.

I've talked to a few dentists (a couple family) who are recent graduates. They have no reason to lie or misled me. Sure, some said it's hard work / tedious / etc, but all agreed that it'll eventually pay off. So to me, you're one of a kind. Maybe you dun goofed up and if you did, why don't you do something about it rather than go here and complain? From your post, I feel like you seriously didn't know what you got yourself into and that's all on you. Again, dentistry isn't probably for everyone and is what you make out of it.

"And honestly, dentistry is not really fun. Hack, if it was fun, why would anyone pay you to do it?" I can't stop laughing at this.

Again, no hate. All the best.

 

[privatedds]

"And honestly, dentistry is not really fun. Hack, if it was fun, why would anyone pay you to do it?" I can't stop laughing at this.

Again, no hate. All the best.

In few years, if you become a dentist, you will think of that statement when you only have 1 hour to do a RCT on calcified 2nd molar and file separates. I promise 😉

No hate as well!

 

[nonociceptors]

Please come and find me if you are looking for a job after dental school.

Saving for when I graduate in 2020. Keep that spot open for me boss 😉

 

[nonociceptors]

In few years, if you become a dentist, you will think of that statement when you only have 1 hour to do a RCT on calcified 2nd molar and file separates. I promise 😉

No hate as well!

I quoted that part earlier and really wanted to know what you meant. I don't disagree with anything else you wrote, just that part about it not being fun. So dentistry isn't fun and if it was nobody would pay you to do it? Can't you say that about anything? Either something got mistranslated from your brain to the words or your words to my brain but I'm not putting that together haha.

 

[privatedds]

I quoted that part earlier and really wanted to know what you meant. I don't disagree with anything else you wrote, just that part about it not being fun. So dentistry isn't fun and if it was nobody would pay you to do it? Can't you say that about anything? Either something got mistranslated from your brain to the words or your words to my brain but I'm not putting that together haha.

Just meant that it's such a pain in the ass job that you get paid to do it.