Dentistry vs. Medicine

[DrNo1]

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So I was seriously considering Dentistry for some time, since it is basically the medicine of the oral cavity, jaws and teeth. In addition it offers many advantages to a career in Medicine such as flexible hours, less competitive admissions, and a generally speaking less stressful environment. Many MD's also concur that Dentistry is the career to go into.

However, what keeps me from becoming a pre-dent is the realization that unlike Medicine Dentistry seems to be mostly about business in the US, meaning that after getting your DDS/DDM you are faced with really only one choice. You work in a private practice with the only existing incentive being...big $$$. (as you gain experience you might start teaching Dentistry yourself, but aside from academics, which is an option for any given career...)

The United States seems to be lacking a clinical setting for Dentistry?? Or am I just unaware of one? What are some other disadvantages of a DDS when compared to an MD?

 

[yappy]

I dont think you're supplying a valid negative against dentistry. There are many medical specialties that are privite practice. Also at the end of the day, if you work for a hospital or PP, the bottom line must be meet. Indeed, this explains why there are articles where PP MD's are forced out of business due to lower revenue.

The clinical setting for dentistry is in the privite offices of dentists.

 

[loveoforganic]

Disadvantages are in the eye of the beholder. I would think most, or at least very many dentists would disagree with your assertion that the only motivation they have post-graduation is increasing profit. At any rate, some dentists do make trips into hospitals, whether they're in PP or not (i.e. to work on a severe MR patient)

 

[Junebug1665]

I would say dentistry most certainly does not have "less competitive admissions."

 

[AlbinoPolarBear]

I don't see how having an entrepreneur mentality is a negative aspect to dentistry.

If you're against using a skilled service to provide to those who need it, then you're against capitalism all together.

You're making it seem like dentists are evil for doing it. What about the plastic surgeons who do breast augmentations in their private practice? Or ENTs doing nose jobs? Or family doctors charging you 50 bucks to give you a prescription if you don't have insurance?

Back in the day, not many doctors accepted insurance, and let supply and demand determine the prices. But then the insurance companies came by and offered them an incentive. Take less money for your services, and we will give you more patients. So in exchange for less money, the greater volume of patients more than made up for it. Win/Win. So when the insurance companies got all of the doctors on board, they started dictating the prices. It's gotten really bad now that doctors see more patients, but actually get less money than before. Insurance companies have gotten medical doctors by the balls.

Family doctors are being destroyed by insurance, and with the recent round of Medicare/aid cuts, many of them are shutting down their practice.

http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/05/smallbusiness/doctors_broke/index.htm

The ADA discourages dentists from taking ANY form of insurance. This way, we let the market dictate the price of our service. If you charge too much for a service, they will just go to dentist down the street if it's cheaper. This keeps our profession strong, and allows a career in dentistry to be a good investment.

I love to help people, but who's there to help my family when I go bankrupt?

 

[Seamonkey Doc]

So I was seriously considering Dentistry for some time, since it is basically the medicine of the oral cavity, jaws and teeth. In addition it offers many advantages to a career in Medicine such as flexible hours, less competitive admissions, and a generally speaking less stressful environment. Many MD's also concur that Dentistry is the career to go into.

However, what keeps me from becoming a pre-dent is the realization that unlike Medicine Dentistry seems to be mostly about business in the US, meaning that after getting your DDS/DDM you are faced with really only one choice. You work in a private practice with the only existing incentive being...big $$$. (as you gain experience you might start teaching Dentistry yourself, but aside from academics, which is an option for any given career...)

The United States seems to be lacking a clinical setting for Dentistry?? Or am I just unaware of one? What are some other disadvantages of a DDS when compared to an MD?

Less competitive admissions? People still believe that?

One of the reasons people prefer dentistry is the aspect of a private practice ("You can be your own boss"). That's a clinical setting. What exactly is lacking?

If you think dentistry is just in it for the money and no service, let me tell you that one of dentistry's specialties is public health dentistry

 

[loveoforganic]

I like where this thread is going.

Let the

begin

 

[hmlaw]

I would have to disagree with the statement that admissions are less competitive. Obviously, some medical schools can be very difficult to get into but the United States has a total of 125 allopathic medical schools and 26 osteopathic medical schools. There are 62 accredited dental schools in the U.S. Overall, there are many more medical schools than there are dental schools, so your chances of getting into medical school is better because there are many significantly more seats available.

I think that the process for both medical school and dental school is a huge pain though.

 

[littlemisspiggy]

If you think dentistry is just in it for the money and no service, let me tell you that one of dentistry's specialties is public health dentistry

👍

 

[321931]

Do what you like. I cannot stress this enough. Money, hours, workload goes out the window when you really enjoy what you do.

Now that I am a Dental Student who was also on the fence with Medicine, I do have some regrets about not pursuing Medicine. Medicine, in my opinion, is just more interesting. Its an ever evolving field with many new breakthroughs. Yes Dentistry does have it's breakthroughs, but lets get real its nothing much if you're going to private practice as a General Dentist or hell even a specialized one. In your own practice, you pick and choose what you use. Some of the old Dentists still use their techniques that were taught long time ago.


Am I dissatisfied with Dentistry? No. Not really. It's fun, interesting, and the people interaction is a nice change of pace (sometimes.) But it's a very specific field that some people can, can't or LOVE to put up with. I primarily choose it for the lifestyle/hours.

If I could go back in time, I would go do something that I "enjoy" more. It's going to be your life for the rest of your...life. While money, hours, lifestyle is important, all that becomes a wash if you hate/dislike/have no passion in what you're doing.

 

[DrNo1]

If you think dentistry is just in it for the money and no service, let me tell you that one of dentistry's specialties is public health dentistry

I take back that statement, realizing that I offended the entire profession. I'm sorry guys, there's really much more of an incentive to becoming a dentist than just the money 🙂

 

[DrNo1]

I don't see how having an entrepreneur mentality is a negative aspect to dentistry.

If you're against using a skilled service to provide to those who need it, then you're against capitalism all together.

I never said that I am against private practices in any way. (I couldn't see myself doing PP, for a variety of reasons, but that doesn't mean that I condemn it)

I pointed out the limited options you have after graduating from Dental school in the US as a disadvantage. As for the clinical setting. I know in Germany for example, some dentists are employed by public hospitals.

 

[doc toothache]

I would have to disagree with the statement that admissions are less competitive. Obviously, some medical schools can be very difficult to get into but the United States has a total of 125 allopathic medical schools and 26 osteopathic medical schools. There are 62 accredited dental schools in the U.S. Overall, there are many more medical schools than there are dental schools, so your chances of getting into medical school is better because there are many significantly more seats available.

The number of professional school and the number of "seats available" is not a good measure of how competitive it is to gain acceptance. DS with an applicant/enrollee ratio of 2.43 is slightly more competitive than for med school at 2.28. Med schools are more competitive in terms of gpa at 3.61 sgpa/3.67 overall gpa vs ds at 3.48 sgpa and 3.48 ogpa.

 

[iralex801]

To all the people arguing whether med or d school is more competitive:

Look at it objectively and put your emotions aside. The average GPA of accepted med students is higher than average GPA of dental students. This means that is is more competitive to get into med than dent.

Also, you can make an argument that the MCAT is harder than the DAT, which I personally believe, but this is subjective.

Lastly, it doesn't really matter. People care about the darnest things.

 

[Sublimazing]

To all the people arguing whether med or d school is more competitive:

Look at it objectively and put your emotions aside. The average GPA of accepted med students is higher than average GPA of dental students. This means that is is more competitive to get into med than dent.

Also, you can make an argument that the MCAT is harder than the DAT, which I personally believe, but this is subjective.

Lastly, it doesn't really matter. People care about the darnest things.

Med school is def more competitive than dental school, but dental school has become extremely more competitive in the past 2 decades and especially in the past 5-8 years

 

[iralex801]

Med school is def more competitive than dental school, but dental school has become extremely more competitive in the past 2 decades and especially in the past 5-8 years

Yes, I completely agree. You can tell by how big the GPA gap between the 2 professions was in the past and how small it is now. I believe that they will be equally competitive in the future.

 

[Seamonkey Doc]

I take back that statement, realizing that I offended the entire profession. I'm sorry guys, there's really much more of an incentive to becoming a dentist than just the money 🙂

No offense taken on my part, I'm sure you had good intentions.

As for the competition between medical and dental schools, it's up for interpretation. The only thing you can accurately compare between the two groups are GPA's because the standarized exams are different. The GPA gap is not that different. The MCAT is different (and in my opinion, tougher) from the DAT since it has physics and writing but no PAT

 

[lemoncurry]

I used to think that private practice, teaching and/or research were the only options for dentistry until I actually started dental school. The field of dentistry is huge, and there are LOTS of opportunities for clinical dental practice, especially at Federally Qualified Health Centers, or you could do Indian Health Service, or military dentistry, or Public Health. Most states have some sort of public health clinic that has a dental component and the dentist gets paid by the state (which usually has funds from the Fed). This is the sort of thing that I am interested in and will be pursuing.

 

[boss3]

...

 

[wired202808]

Dental doesn't just look at GPA which is why you are wrong for saying "objectively...higher GPA...med better" For example, an interview for dental school is something that separates D-school from med school. They look for personable, professional, and confident individuals who they know will (with those attributes) thrive in a practice being that a dentist's career is strongly based of building lasting relationships, making their patients feel comfortable and safe, and hopefully getting referrals. To elaborate, my father is a business man, and through him I have had much exposure to what it takes to successfully engage in day to day services with people. I now have a friend who has a higher GPA and DAT than myself, but has no people skills whatsoever. We both got interviews at numerous schools (some of the same). I am going to dental school and he is not....I can only assume why, but I bet it is a safe assumption. However, this same individual got into med school. Maybe because med school does focus more on GPA because they want individuals with a greater mental capacity (who may have less people skills) because hopefully a surgeon only has to do his job once and doesn't have to see the patient again, and thus doesn't require people skills.

My point: You cannot make a statement about difficulty of admittance based so simply and "objectively" on GPA. I would say that depending on your niche, one grad school may be harder for YOU to get into than others. And I am not suggesting that med schools don't look for personable, professional individuals, because I'm positive they do, but perhaps there are CERTAIN traits that certain schools focus on more than others.

I I hope this makes sense

as my old boss used to say.. it only takes one school to make a mistake... and you're admitted.

 

[Indomitable]

Do what you like. I cannot stress this enough. Money, hours, workload goes out the window when you really enjoy what you do.

Now that I am a Dental Student who was also on the fence with Medicine, I do have some regrets about not pursuing Medicine. Medicine, in my opinion, is just more interesting. Its an ever evolving field with many new breakthroughs. Yes Dentistry does have it's breakthroughs, but lets get real its nothing much if you're going to private practice as a General Dentist or hell even a specialized one. In your own practice, you pick and choose what you use. Some of the old Dentists still use their techniques that were taught long time ago.


Am I dissatisfied with Dentistry? No. Not really. It's fun, interesting, and the people interaction is a nice change of pace (sometimes.) But it's a very specific field that some people can, can't or LOVE to put up with. I primarily choose it for the lifestyle/hours.

If I could go back in time, I would go do something that I "enjoy" more. It's going to be your life for the rest of your...life. While money, hours, lifestyle is important, all that becomes a wash if you hate/dislike/have no passion in what you're doing.

A lot of the joints used in orthopedics have come about because of discoveries in dentistry (implants, etc). If it's research you want, then you have to seek it. Fewer discoveries may mean more opportunities to discover if you have the mind to.

 

[UltimateHombre]

My point: You cannot make a statement about difficulty of admittance based so simply and "objectively" on GPA. I would say that depending on your niche, one grad school may be harder for YOU to get into than others. And I am not suggesting that med schools don't look for personable, professional individuals, because I'm positive they do, but perhaps there are CERTAIN traits that certain schools focus on more than others.

Your example of this happening is very poor. This is one instance, with one person, with an assumption that his interviews sucked.

To say that med schools don't look for outgoing, personable people is wrong. That is why they too, have interviews.

The fact is both professions want students who have strong academic and people skills. How admissions committees decide and measure these things is anybody's guess.

iralex is right... the only measurable, quantitative thing we have to go by is the GPA. The interview is not measurable quantitatively and is very subjective, since different schools have different things they value and look for in an applicant.

 

[deleted103644]

Haha, let me throw in an MD perspective here.

There is a move to increase the number of MDs, so it is possible it is less competitive, particularly when you include newer schools, DO and Caribbean MD programs. There's more room at the bottom.

That said, if you compare the students getting into good medical schools and good dental schools, those MD programs are clearly more competitive.

Not accepting insurance is definitely a plus if you're looking to make money, but various specialties also do that in medicine.

Personally I'd get bored with dentistry (or podiatry), and after working in a public hospital I can't think of anything less desirable than working with mouths (or feet) all day.

To the person who thinks medical schools don't place as much weight on interviews and don't value interpersonal skills - just because you're going into dentistry doesn't mean you should abuse inhalants.

Apologize for any typos, iOS autocorrect is a pain.

 

[Sublimazing]

That said, if you compare the students getting into good medical schools and good dental schools, those MD programs are clearly more competitive.

I don't think you thought this one through very far. The people who get into Harvard Dental are just as qualified as any medical student. The top end of us have 4.0s and enough ECs and experience to make anyone's eyes bleed. A Gpa can only be so high.

Personally I'd get bored with dentistry (or podiatry), and after working in a public hospital I can't think of anything less desirable than working with mouths (or feet) all day.

This is def an opinion; I'm In a "medically" geared residency and have had my fair share of internal medicine. Placing a foley catheter on morbidly obese people, doing digital rectal exams, and palpating all manner of disgusting malformations/infections/wounds...I'll take yanking a tooth out over any of those any day of the week.

 

[wired202808]

Haha, let me throw in an MD perspective here.

There is a move to increase the number of MDs, so it is possible it is less competitive, particularly when you include newer schools, DO and Caribbean MD programs. There's more room at the bottom.

That said, if you compare the students getting into good medical schools and good dental schools, those MD programs are clearly more competitive.

Not accepting insurance is definitely a plus if you're looking to make money, but various specialties also do that in medicine.

Personally I'd get bored with dentistry (or podiatry), and after working in a public hospital I can't think of anything less desirable than working with mouths (or feet) all day.

To the person who thinks medical schools don't place as much weight on interviews and don't value interpersonal skills - just because you're going into dentistry doesn't mean you should abuse inhalants.

Apologize for any typos, iOS autocorrect is a pain.

Bolded portion #1 is not true whatsoever
Bolded portion #2 assumes that you prefer to work with meth heads that have compacted colons where you literally have to remove their dry *** because they didn't have a stool for a month (True story that happened to my MD buddy during his residency)

No thanks. I'll take a smelly mouth anyday 😉

 

[yappy]

Yeah to be fair with dentistry... many of the patients are literate-nice-healthy-people. They're not the same type you see rolling into the ER after a fight and alot of drinks in them. Most are upper - upper middle class people who are interesting to talk to. When I've shadowed my orthodontist it was an even better situation.

Why is anyone debating if it's hard to get into one or the other? Greater importance should be placed on the actual jobs rather than the educational process. The thing you're going to be doing for 30+ years is more important than the admission process. If you want to be a doctor and dont have great grades - work on retaking bad grades for A's and go DO. etc.

To answer the origial post: To me, looking at medicine, you have an interesting study but they're in the process of getting SLAMMED by insurance and the gov. I think that the excitment diminishes no matter what field you go into as you progress through it. So if one is equally interested in medicine and dentistry - I think you have the options in dentistry to earn alot more money (see: multi practices, ortho, OMFS, peds, or endo). With these fields you will be reimbursed for your effort and get more autonomy in treating patients. You will not have as much hospital admin or hospital employee (techs or RNs) to deal with. In the end you will have alot more control of your working hours and income if you go with dentistry.


Having said that - dont take wired too seriously as he's a little misinformed when it comes to medicine.

Bolded portion #1 is not true whatsoever
Bolded portion #2 assumes that you prefer to work with meth heads that have compacted colons where you literally have to remove their dry *** because they didn't have a stool for a month (True story that happened to my MD buddy during his residency)

No thanks. I'll take a smelly mouth anyday 😉

 

[Seamonkey Doc]

Haha, let me throw in an MD perspective here.

There is a move to increase the number of MDs, so it is possible it is less competitive, particularly when you include newer schools, DO and Caribbean MD programs. There's more room at the bottom.

That said, if you compare the students getting into good medical schools and good dental schools, those MD programs are clearly more competitive.

Not accepting insurance is definitely a plus if you're looking to make money, but various specialties also do that in medicine.

Personally I'd get bored with dentistry (or podiatry), and after working in a public hospital I can't think of anything less desirable than working with mouths (or feet) all day.

To the person who thinks medical schools don't place as much weight on interviews and don't value interpersonal skills - just because you're going into dentistry doesn't mean you should abuse inhalants.

Apologize for any typos, iOS autocorrect is a pain.

How does "students getting into good medical schools and good dental schools" lead you to the conclusion that MD programs are more competitive? You need good grades for both medical schools (MD and DO) and dental schools.

This whole school expansion blurb applies to dental schools too. Ask any dental school applicant from this year, or any who are applying this coming cycle, and can tell you that new dental schools are opening.

Good for you for realizing that podiatry and dentistry weren't for you. I mean I couldn't really tell if you were into that with your Med school student perspective 🙄
I rather see disgusting teeth and rotten gums or even gross feet rather than dealing with other kinds of orifices and bodily fluids.

 

[keyboard27]

I don't think you thought this one through very far. The people who get into Harvard Dental are just as qualified as any medical student. The top end of us have 4.0s and enough ECs and experience to make anyone's eyes bleed. A Gpa can only be so high.



This is def an opinion; I'm In a "medically" geared residency and have had my fair share of internal medicine. Placing a foley catheter on morbidly obese people, doing digital rectal exams, and palpating all manner of disgusting malformations/infections/wounds...I'll take yanking a tooth out over any of those any day of the week.

Why are you required to do this kind of stuff if your doing a GPR (or some variation there of)? That is ridiculous. What kind of program were you/are you in?.😴

 

[UltimateHombre]

Why are you required to do this kind of stuff if your doing a GPR (or some variation there of)? That is ridiculous. What kind of program were you/are you in?.😴

Pretty sure he is a dental anesthesiology resident. They rotate through several medical specialties and usually train right along side MD anesthesia residents.

http://dentanes.osu.edu/aboutus/curriculumplan/index.cfm

 

[Sublimazing]

Why are you required to do this kind of stuff if your doing a GPR (or some variation there of)? That is ridiculous. What kind of program were you/are you in?.😴

your emoticon confuses me but, the resident's doctor coat is the same for all specialties and brands of healthcare...so sometimes I'll walk into a room and announce myself as a cardiologist, sometimes I'm a urologist, sometimes I'm an ED doc...it really all depends on what mood i am in...

but in reality..i actually did all that stuff in my general residency. I was located at a big hospital with no other dental residents so when they made our schedules they basically just threw us in with the first year med residents doing their general/transition year.

The GPR was also a "medtrack" (not an official term) one...so we got a good 5-6 months of things more related to medicine (IM, peds, surg, anesth, ED...) While this was a waste of time for anyone wanting to do general dentistry, for me it secured me interviews at almost all the DA programs and had some awesome experiences (sprinkled with some nasty ones)

 

[KittySquared]

Not sure why this thread exists... Comparing medicine and dentistry? There's no comparison here. Both fields are multifaceted and have a ton of components to them. It's like apples and oranges.

 

[wired202808]

Yeah to be fair with dentistry... many of the patients are literate-nice-healthy-people. They're not the same type you see rolling into the ER after a fight and alot of drinks in them. Most are upper - upper middle class people who are interesting to talk to. When I've shadowed my orthodontist it was an even better situation.

Why is anyone debating if it's hard to get into one or the other? Greater importance should be placed on the actual jobs rather than the educational process. The thing you're going to be doing for 30+ years is more important than the admission process. If you want to be a doctor and dont have great grades - work on retaking bad grades for A's and go DO. etc.

To answer the origial post: To me, looking at medicine, you have an interesting study but they're in the process of getting SLAMMED by insurance and the gov. I think that the excitment diminishes no matter what field you go into as you progress through it. So if one is equally interested in medicine and dentistry - I think you have the options in dentistry to earn alot more money (see: multi practices, ortho, OMFS, peds, or endo). With these fields you will be reimbursed for your effort and get more autonomy in treating patients. You will not have as much hospital admin or hospital employee (techs or RNs) to deal with. In the end you will have alot more control of your working hours and income if you go with dentistry.


Having said that - dont take wired too seriously as he's a little misinformed when it comes to medicine.

If you think you'll be excluded from compacted rectal exams, esp when you finallyyyyyyyy pick MD as your career choice then you are sorely mistaken. 🙂 I'm not misinformed about anything, I knew all aspects of various careers before I picked dentistry. And last time I checked you were the one on all MD and Dental boards trying to pick a future career. So its like the pot calling the kettle black 🙂

 

[Sublimazing]

Not sure why this thread exists... Comparing medicine and dentistry? There's no comparison here. Both fields are multifaceted and have a ton of components to them. It's like apples and oranges.

well...it's not. They're similar on a lot of fronts. They def. have their differences...but i think a lot of us had to make a decision in UG between Dent and Med because they share so many similarities. I know I took the DAT and the MCAT...I got interviews at med schools and dental schools...I made my decision last minute (relatively speaking)...and after 4 years of dental school I'm doing a residency that isn't particularly related to dentistry...and i interact with a lot more MDs on a daily basis than DDSs.

It's a real choice you have to make...and a lot of people will regret their choice (on both sides) and a lot of people will love their choice. There's pros and cons to every job, and it really comes down to the individual.

 

[deleted103644]

How does "students getting into good medical schools and good dental schools" lead you to the conclusion that MD programs are more competitive? You need good grades for both medical schools (MD and DO) and dental schools.

This whole school expansion blurb applies to dental schools too. Ask any dental school applicant from this year, or any who are applying this coming cycle, and can tell you that new dental schools are opening.

Good for you for realizing that podiatry and dentistry weren't for you. I mean I couldn't really tell if you were into that with your Med school student perspective 🙄
I rather see disgusting teeth and rotten gums or even gross feet rather than dealing with other kinds of orifices and bodily fluids.

Sorry, should have phrased that better.

The students getting into top medical schools have better statistics than those getting into top dental schools. I doubt many people apply to both, but if someone did they would get into higher caliber dental schools than medical schools, make sense? If you look at dental students and medical students at the same institution, the dental students are at least less intellectually curious if not outright less intelligent. Not clear on the oral-maxillofacial pathway, but I'd make an exception for that if that's what you want.

If you're dealing with people who don't take care of themselves, believe it or not the mouth and feet can be more disgusting than the ass. Most dentists stick to people who can pay out of pocket, so it's not an issue (and your specialty is impossible to find in the hospital - thanks).

All honesty, never even considered dentistry or podiatry. If I had only wanted to make money I'd have gone to finance. I'm clearly in enemy territory here so I'll stop now, but wanted to give a different opinion for people still deciding.

 

[wired202808]

Sorry, should have phrased that better.

The students getting into top medical schools have better statistics than those getting into top dental schools. I doubt many people apply to both, but if someone did they would get into higher caliber dental schools than medical schools, make sense? If you look at dental students and medical students at the same institution, the dental students are at least less intellectually curious if not outright less intelligent. Not clear on the oral-maxillofacial pathway, but I'd make an exception for that if that's what you want.

If you're dealing with people who don't take care of themselves, believe it or not the mouth and feet can be more disgusting than the ass. Most dentists stick to people who can pay out of pocket, so it's not an issue (and your specialty is impossible to find in the hospital - thanks).

All honesty, never even considered dentistry or podiatry. If I had only wanted to make money I'd have gone to finance. I'm clearly in enemy territory here so I'll stop now, but wanted to give a different opinion for people still deciding.

😱 im shocked at how ignorant you really are. There are less dental schools in America, we do not have any DO or Carib schools to go to and we all fight hard to those seats. Dental students are often on the same level, if not brighter and more "intellectually curious" than med students. Again thats probably due to the fact that we've worked just as hard as med students to get into a super competitive program. If you prefer to work with the a** thats your choice but dont come to the dental board and start knocking on our levels of interest. We like building relationships with patients, treating them with regards to overall systemic health, and ensuring a top level of health care.

PS You wouldnt make nearly as much money in Finance as you would in Dentistry so please dont speak on issues you clearly know nothing about. Stick with medicine if thats your "forte" 😉

 

[bing12]

Sorry, should have phrased that better.

The students getting into top medical schools have better statistics than those getting into top dental schools. I doubt many people apply to both, but if someone did they would get into higher caliber dental schools than medical schools, make sense? If you look at dental students and medical students at the same institution, the dental students are at least less intellectually curious if not outright less intelligent. Not clear on the oral-maxillofacial pathway, but I'd make an exception for that if that's what you want.

If you're dealing with people who don't take care of themselves, believe it or not the mouth and feet can be more disgusting than the ass. Most dentists stick to people who can pay out of pocket, so it's not an issue (and your specialty is impossible to find in the hospital - thanks).

All honesty, never even considered dentistry or podiatry. If I had only wanted to make money I'd have gone to finance. I'm clearly in enemy territory here so I'll stop now, but wanted to give a different opinion for people still deciding.

Would an MD student score higher than a DMD student on an exam, statistically speaking, yes.

Are they more intelligent?...going into a field that is getting run by the government and corporations, as well as working on avg 30-50% more than dentists and being on call ( for the most part) while medicine is becoming a more and more unattractive field to enter.

There is a reason why many MD's will tell you they should have gone into dentistry, while dentists tell you to practice on your golf swing.

You would have went into Finance, clearly that statement alone really exposes your lack of understanding. Finance is one of the most difficult fields to be very successful in.

 

[doc toothache]

Sorry, should have phrased that better.

The students getting into top medical schools have better statistics than those getting into top dental schools. I doubt many people apply to both, but if someone did they would get into higher caliber dental schools than medical schools, make sense? If you look at dental students and medical students at the same institution, the dental students are at least less intellectually curious if not outright less intelligent. Not clear on the oral-maxillofacial pathway, but I'd make an exception for that if that's what you want.

Digging a hole for your other foot?

 

[trinstudent]

Sorry, should have phrased that better.

The students getting into top medical schools have better statistics than those getting into top dental schools. I doubt many people apply to both, but if someone did they would get into higher caliber dental schools than medical schools, make sense? If you look at dental students and medical students at the same institution, the dental students are at least less intellectually curious if not outright less intelligent. Not clear on the oral-maxillofacial pathway, but I'd make an exception for that if that's what you want.

If you're dealing with people who don't take care of themselves, believe it or not the mouth and feet can be more disgusting than the ass. Most dentists stick to people who can pay out of pocket, so it's not an issue (and your specialty is impossible to find in the hospital - thanks).

All honesty, never even considered dentistry or podiatry. If I had only wanted to make money I'd have gone to finance. I'm clearly in enemy territory here so I'll stop now, but wanted to give a different opinion for people still deciding.

I'd like to point out that Columbia's dental school prides itself on the fact that it is not uncommon for their dental students to outscore the medical students on exams. I wonder how it is at similar school's that combine medical and dental school the first two years (i.e. Harvard, UConn).

 

[deleted103644]

😱 im shocked at how ignorant you really are. There are less dental schools in America, we do not have any DO or Carib schools to go to and we all fight hard to those seats. Dental students are often on the same level, if not brighter and more "intellectually curious" than med students. Again thats probably due to the fact that we've worked just as hard as med students to get into a super competitive program. If you prefer to work with the a** thats your choice but dont come to the dental board and start knocking on our levels of interest. We like building relationships with patients, treating them with regards to overall systemic health, and ensuring a top level of health care.

PS You wouldnt make nearly as much money in Finance as you would in Dentistry so please dont speak on issues you clearly know nothing about. Stick with medicine if thats your "forte" 😉

Many of my friends in finance were making 6 figures right out of college. It's probably worse now, but still greater potential than dentistry. Same with the law if you go corporate. As I said, I'm not motivated by money as much as wanting to go into a field that interests me.

Was I defending DO or Caribbean schools? The bottom is lower in medicine but the top is higher - not a hard concept to grasp.

 

[deleted103644]

I'd like to point out that Columbia's dental school prides itself on the fact that it is not uncommon for their dental students to outscore the medical students on exams. I wonder how it is at similar school's that combine medical and dental school the first two years (i.e. Harvard, UConn).

Is the dental school p/f? The med school is, at least for classes that overlap with dentistry.

 

[wired202808]

Many of my friends in finance were making 6 figures right out of college. It's probably worse now, but still greater potential than dentistry. Same with the law if you go corporate. As I said, I'm not motivated by money as much as wanting to go into a field that interests me.

Was I defending DO or Caribbean schools? The bottom is lower in medicine but the top is higher - not a hard concept to grasp.

Dude you have zero clue on the stuff thats coming out of your mouth. Dentistry outearns finance any day and twice on sunday. Law isnt making any money whatsoever so please dont even mention that. I'm also interested in the field that I enjoy but you dont see me bashing MDs and saying the job is boring or less "intellectually stimulating."

Stop insulting dental students, Grow up and act like a mature medical student. And no most school's aren't pass fail and YES it is just as hard to get into a d-school as med. So please stop making up stuff.

 

[deleted103644]

Dude you have zero clue on the stuff thats coming out of your mouth. Dentistry outearns finance any day and twice on sunday. Law isnt making any money whatsoever so please dont even mention that. I'm also interested in the field that I enjoy but you dont see me bashing MDs and saying the job is boring or less "intellectually stimulating."

Stop insulting dental students, Grow up and act like a mature medical student. And no most school's aren't pass fail and YES it is just as hard to get into a d-school as med. So please stop making up stuff.

Missed my point. If Columbia's med students are taking tests pass/fail and the dental students are not, you really can't compare their test scores.

I'm not insulting dental students, and it wouldn't surprise me if it is harder to get into dental school in general than medical school because there are fewer programs. That's not the point I was making. I am sure it is harder to get into Columbia medical school than Columbia dental school, for example.

Likewise, if you compare top programs (and not ALL programs) lawyers are doing fine. A Harvard law grad going into corporate law will probably out earn most dentists, definitely if they make partner. Their market is rough right now, but this is still true.

I'm not going to comment again, but enjoy your career choices, whatever they end up being.

 

[trinstudent]

Is the dental school p/f? The med school is, at least for classes that overlap with dentistry.

Yes, the dental school is H/P/F.

 

[FLOSS UR TEETH]

Haha, let me throw in an MD perspective here.

There is a move to increase the number of MDs, so it is possible it is less competitive, particularly when you include newer schools, DO and Caribbean MD programs. There's more room at the bottom.

That said, if you compare the students getting into good medical schools and good dental schools, those MD programs are clearly more competitive.

Not accepting insurance is definitely a plus if you're looking to make money, but various specialties also do that in medicine.

Personally I'd get bored with dentistry (or podiatry), and after working in a public hospital I can't think of anything less desirable than working with mouths (or feet) all day.

To the person who thinks medical schools don't place as much weight on interviews and don't value interpersonal skills - just because you're going into dentistry doesn't mean you should abuse inhalants.

Apologize for any typos, iOS autocorrect is a pain.

😕
Dentistry is not easy to get into

 

[HawkJ2010]

Which career path (DDS or MD/DO) has an overall brighter future? I am set on becoming a dentist but I'd like to hear some input from both sides.

 

[qkchen]

Was I defending DO or Caribbean schools? The bottom is lower in medicine but the top is higher - not a hard concept to grasp.

In other words, as a whole, everything averages out to be about the same. You shouldn't just ignore the lower-tiered med schools and focus exclusively on the top-tiered ones; otherwise, that generates a bias. Not that numbers say much about anything anyways, but it's not entirely correct to say that pre-meds go into meds cuz their GPAs are higher, whereas pre-dents and everyone else go into their respective fields because they had lower GPAs than the med ppl.

Bottom line, if you want to do what medical ppl do, then go into medicine; if you want to do what dentists do, go into dentistry. That's really all it should boil down to so I'm not sure why there are ppl trying to belittle the non-medicine health professions.

 

[wired202808]

Missed my point. If Columbia's med students are taking tests pass/fail and the dental students are not, you really can't compare their test scores.

I'm not insulting dental students, and it wouldn't surprise me if it is harder to get into dental school in general than medical school because there are fewer programs. That's not the point I was making. I am sure it is harder to get into Columbia medical school than Columbia dental school, for example.

Likewise, if you compare top programs (and not ALL programs) lawyers are doing fine. A Harvard law grad going into corporate law will probably out earn most dentists, definitely if they make partner. Their market is rough right now, but this is still true.

I'm not going to comment again, but enjoy your career choices, whatever they end up being.

This is the best thing you've said in this thread! Thanks for insulting our profession. Goodbye.

 

[DPad]

Dentistry all the way baby! Lol it's not just coincidence that NYU law grads are suing the school cuz they can't find jobs. Corporate jobs are hard to come by.

Dentists if they work hard and have good business sense can make a lot of $$$.

I personally was in med for almost all 4 years undergrad but realized dentistry is my calling. If I wanted to do surgery in med school I wouldn't get as much patient interaction. I'd also be competing for limited residency. I've also wanted to have a PP, which would be VERY difficult with med ESP haggling with insurance companies. I've found that dentistry has all the aspects and lifestyle i loo for and know id be happy with it.

 

[deleted103644]

Heh, I guess I lied. Saw this and thought it might be informative.

http://www.nature.com/bdj/journal/v193/n8/full/4801599a.html

 

[ToldYouSo]

😱 im shocked at how ignorant you really are. There are less dental schools in America, we do not have any DO or Carib schools to go to and we all fight hard to those seats. Dental students are often on the same level, if not brighter and more "intellectually curious" than med students. Again thats probably due to the fact that we've worked just as hard as med students to get into a super competitive program. If you prefer to work with the a** thats your choice but dont come to the dental board and start knocking on our levels of interest. We like building relationships with patients, treating them with regards to overall systemic health, and ensuring a top level of health care.

PS You wouldnt make nearly as much money in Finance as you would in Dentistry so please dont speak on issues you clearly know nothing about. Stick with medicine if thats your "forte" 😉

Besides the fact that this part comes off as defensive, the same ignorance you're labeling the poster with is what you're showing right now. Just by looking at the GPA averages alone for med school and dental school matriculates, the higher average goes to medical students; and there's nothing wrong or shameful about that. You don't need to feel like equalizing yourself to them to make dentistry a valid career choice.