Does it really matter?

[San Diego Bob]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Does graduating from a prestigious school of dentistry matter in the course of your career in dentistry, during the course of your practice will a patient actually go as far as asking where you got your credentials? Is this a common question by patients? And will holding a diploma from a reputible school like UCLA..etc.. give more appeal to potential clients; will they be more drawn to you because of your credentials? As oppose to graduating in an accellerated school like College of the pacific who offers a 3 year program. My question is at the end will it really matter? Post graduation, what varibles are factored in to having a sucessfull career, is marketing by word of mouth or is the sucess essentially a reflection of your credentials...
thanks in advance... 😀 😉
Bobby

 

[briansle]

I don't think success as a dentist is a result of which dental school you graduate from, but rather a result of being able to find a niche within a community.

For example, in Southern Califonia especially, I know there are alot of korean dentists, who got their dental degrees for no-name Korean schools, can't even really speak english but make a crap load of money.

Their success seems to be due to the fact that they've been able to take advantage of the large korean population here and carved a niche out for themselves. Apparantly, people tend to go to dentists who they are comfortable with, and race is a factor.

So bottomline, if money=success, then being a successful dentist=being a good buisnessman.

 

[Sprgrover]

It makes no difference at all. None. Ziltch. Run a search here on SDN and you will find plenty of old threads devoted to this same question and it has been covered many times by many people. How good of a dentist you are does not depend on the name emblazoned on your degree but rather your manual skills, ability to establish rapport with patients, and effectively retain and manage your staff (among other things). I'll echo the conclusions of other's about choosing a dental program: pick one that emphasizes a clinical approach to their curriculum, isn't too cotsly, and in an area that you would feel comfortable calling home for the next four or so years.

 

[Sprgrover]

Here's a good thread that you might like which surfaced last month:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=139202

 

[San Diego Bob]

thank you so much, this site has since been very kind and helpful.

Here's a good thread that you might like which surfaced last month:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=139202

 

[toothcaries]

Does graduating from a prestigious school of dentistry matter in the course of your career in dentistry, during the course of your practice will a patient actually go as far as asking where you got your credentials? Is this a common question by patients? And will holding a diploma from a reputible school like UCLA..etc.. give more appeal to potential clients; will they be more drawn to you because of your credentials? As oppose to graduating in an accellerated school like College of the pacific who offers a 3 year program. My question is at the end will it really matter? Post graduation, what varibles are factored in to having a sucessfull career, is marketing by word of mouth or is the sucess essentially a reflection of your credentials...
thanks in advance... 😀 😉
Bobby

simple rule for choosing the "right" dental school...
if you have a choice, pick the program that offers you the best financial aid package in a locale that u can see yourself living for the next 4 years.

 

[Dr.BadVibes]

It makes no difference at all. None. Ziltch. Run a search here on SDN and you will find plenty of old threads devoted to this same question and it has been covered many times by many people. How good of a dentist you are does not depend on the name emblazoned on your degree but rather your manual skills, ability to establish rapport with patients, and effectively retain and manage your staff (among other things). I'll echo the conclusions of other's about choosing a dental program: pick one that emphasizes a clinical approach to their curriculum, isn't too cotsly, and in an area that you would feel comfortable calling home for the next four or so years.

Exactly..prestige should play no factor in your choice in school....try and find the best school that has a good mix of clinical exposure, and price....two most important factors in my mind....

 

[ItsGavinC]

Excellent answers.