--dentistry vs dental hygiene--

[YasmineZ]

hi all. just looking for some advice...ive always been focused on going towards dentistry, its what ive always wanted, so when I was of age to work I got a job in a dental office so I see what they do everyday (im 20 years old) but at the same time ive wanted to be a hygienist.

the thing i hate is my GPA is suffering slightly, most likely because I work two jobs and go to school Monday thru Saturday. Im not the complainer, at all, but I just need advice.1

Im contemplating to complete my Bio degree then apply for the Dental Hygiene program at the community college near me, but my only issue is I dont want to feel like I let myself down, or that im just "giving up" in school...taking the 'easy route'. I know I would love to be a hygienist becasue Im the dork that likes everything and anything dental. Well to be quite honest ive been so engrossed in SO much school work, i don't have enough time to eat sleep see my family. As MUCH as I would love to be a dentist (an orthodontist) I don't know how im supposed to do this for the next 7-9 yrs of my life??

Any opinions would help, tell it to me like it is! Ive been second guessing myself a lot lately because I keep saying to myself, "if im so willing to just give up on dentistry and 'settle' for hygiene, maybe im not that strong determined person meant to be a dentist" I tend to be hard on myself so don't be afraid to!

thanks so much, stacy

Hey Love!!
I'm literally in the EXACT same situation!!
I'm also 20 and have such a hard time choosing between hygiene vs dental school.
I recently got married and always think about doing the 'quicker/easier' way out (hygiene)
But choose whatever you think you love and just go for it!!
Love, passion and purpose = success!

I'm re-motivating myself to go to dental school because I also am finishing my Bachelors as well. I work as a dental assistant because it will look good on my application to dental school and if I do hygiene, that would mean I just gave up . ( And I'm also thinking of Ortho because I heard it is more 'hands on, more surgery'). We have so much in common!!
God bless you on your dental journey!!
Good Luck!

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[FeralisExtremum]

And I'm also thinking of Ortho because I heard it is more 'hands on, more surgery'

lmao ortho is probably the least hands on specialty in dentistry

 

[YasmineZ]

lmao ortho is probably the least hands on specialty in dentistry

Wow, Thanks for the honest reply! Please continue and tell me more!

 

[MendiT13]

.

 

[MendiT13]

lmao ortho is probably the least hands on specialty in dentistry

yup because the assistants do all the work

 

[fit2]

Wow, Thanks for the honest reply! Please continue and tell me more!

I'd say generally less hands-on. But it's really what u make it. Ive seen ortho do 20-30 patients a day max and other do like 70-90 or something crazy like that. Depends how much you want to get involved and how much you want to do on each patient or just pass a bunch of it on the assistants. The guy who takes time on each patient also is doing research so he for example is quite involved in ortho. I guess it rally depends how u want to practice. After seeing the guy with a lot of patient, it almost got kinda boring. He never spent more than 1-2 min on patients
I think the best way to do ortho is to be a GP, take some classes to get some certification so you can perform the same as ortho docs, get certified for Invisalign too and then put braces and Invisalign as a GP. Doing ortho kind of locks you in so you gotta make sure you love it (I find ortho very fascinating...probably would love going into that)

 

[321931]

hi all. just looking for some advice...ive always been focused on going towards dentistry, its what ive always wanted, so when I was of age to work I got a job in a dental office so I see what they do everyday (im 20 years old) but at the same time ive wanted to be a hygienist.

the thing i hate is my GPA is suffering slightly, most likely because I work two jobs and go to school Monday thru Saturday. Im not the complainer, at all, but I just need advice.1

Im contemplating to complete my Bio degree then apply for the Dental Hygiene program at the community college near me, but my only issue is I dont want to feel like I let myself down, or that im just "giving up" in school...taking the 'easy route'. I know I would love to be a hygienist becasue Im the dork that likes everything and anything dental. Well to be quite honest ive been so engrossed in SO much school work, i don't have enough time to eat sleep see my family. As MUCH as I would love to be a dentist (an orthodontist) I don't know how im supposed to do this for the next 7-9 yrs of my life??

Any opinions would help, tell it to me like it is! Ive been second guessing myself a lot lately because I keep saying to myself, "if im so willing to just give up on dentistry and 'settle' for hygiene, maybe im not that strong determined person meant to be a dentist" I tend to be hard on myself so don't be afraid to!

thanks so much, stacy

My dental hygienist makes 90k a year 4 days a week, full benefits, and I'm the mercy of her because patient's like their hygienist more then their dentist. If I lose her, I lose her I may lose a good chunk of patients.

My other dental hygienist makes 70k a year 3 days a week, full benefits, and I'm also at the mercy of her.

If both wanted to go down to 2 days a week, then I would just let up and let them do it.

It's not a bad gig.

 

[jjancari]

Why? Weber State's Hygiene program has a 3.7 sci gpa (entering) and admits based on a points system. That is just one example, but it is much more difficult to get into that program than any dental school.

That is because most hygiene programs are through a community college and you only need to take a few prerequisites; gen chem 1&2, a basic math course (pre-calc), microbio, anatomy and physiology 1&2. I have taken classes through a university and a community college and can tell you it is drastically more difficult to get an A at a university compared to a community college.

 

[SouthernRDH]

Yeah, I'm sorry but I have to agree here. Dental hygiene is competitive, but at Weber State even, it is a 3 year program and you get an undergraduate degree. The first year is prereqs and then the next 2 is DH. I don't even know how you can compare that to a pre-doctoral level program where you have to have about a 3.6 in all of your undergraduate coursework. What did they need a 3.7 in? High School? DH is undergraduate... you get an Assoc. or BS degree.

Unfortunately, unless you've been through it you will ever understand. Dental Hygiene school is very competitive, and the courses are rigorous. It truly bothers me to hear people talk about just an associate degree. That it is, however, it's basically a year of prerequisites and two years of clinicals. It's not as easy as some of you think it is. JS.