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Endo or ortho?
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Endo hands down.
Ortho is getting bullied by corporate and do it yourself orthodontics. I don’t know what the future is for ortho but I would not risk 3 years of post grad education coupled with close to 500-1 mil of debt for a field that is cloudy.
Ortho is getting bullied by corporate and do it yourself orthodontics. I don’t know what the future is for ortho but I would not risk 3 years of post grad education coupled with close to 500-1 mil of debt for a field that is cloudy.
Is it true that endo = back-breaking work? I thought they have those microscopes so they can sit upright? Also I think a lot of them are doing only a few patients a day so not too many hours of practicing dentistry?
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After doing your 5000th endo, filling, extraction, crown, you should be proficient enough where you are barely doing g “back breaking work.” You will be quick enough to fill and drill where in your 1-2 hour slot for endo, 1/3 of the time is spent watching Netflix in the office waiting for patient to get numb or letting the bleach soak before final obturation
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Few thoughts as you make your decision. Are you a more competitive applicant for one over the other? Do you have enough experience to have a compelling reason to pursue endo or ortho? You'll need this to write a solid personal statement and to survive interviews. Are you going to be able to get good letters of recommendation from either department? Any plans to take the GRE for ortho or the ADAT for endo? I know these aren't required at every program, but they are at many. Lastly, many endo programs expect some fulltime experience following school to be a competitive applicant.
Pass opens in just a little over two months. If you are going to apply to endo, you need to get your application submitted ASAP, as spots will start to fill as early as June. Given the prepwork behind an application, you probably don't have a ton of time to make a decision here.
Good luck.
Big Hoss
Pass opens in just a little over two months. If you are going to apply to endo, you need to get your application submitted ASAP, as spots will start to fill as early as June. Given the prepwork behind an application, you probably don't have a ton of time to make a decision here.
Good luck.
Big Hoss
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Ortho. /thread.
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Ortho is deff easier on the body. Looking down a canal all day sounds ****ty....but endo is likely more lucrative.
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Endo is just a different animal. Probably do not require the outgoing people skills that ortho needs. Fewer, higher profit procedures for sure. Less staff. Less overhead. But damn. Whole career revolves around looking in that tiny dark hole. The morticians of dentistry. Tooth zombification.
Ortho. Taking young children, adults and reshaping their oral outward appearance to enhance their future self esteem. It's a miracle. People underestimate what orthos can do to these kids with debilitating dental and skeletal disharmonies. At present QUALITY ortho tx is under-appreciated and under-valued. It's been commoditized.
Endo relies heavily on GP referrals (read: begging). Ortho less so.
With the advent of aligners. DSC, GPs doing aligners ...... they are driving patients back to the orthodontists for retreats lol. I see it EVERY day. Lousy aligner tx. I truly believe there are no more technological advances re: aligners. There are only so many attachments, torquing ridges, clin check 2.0 3.0 4.0. staging sequences, etc. etc. The so called experts diagnosing and tx planning your aligners are in foreign countries. Are they qualified? No one knows.
As for salary. Well ..... it all depends on how hard you want to work. The work is out there whether you do PP in a rural area. Corp or work in pedo/GP offices. It's there. It's just not the same as pre-2007, aligners and you'll have to do it differently.
Lifestyle has been well documented. Orthos can practice forever.
Choose a profession that you will like in the long run.
Ortho. Taking young children, adults and reshaping their oral outward appearance to enhance their future self esteem. It's a miracle. People underestimate what orthos can do to these kids with debilitating dental and skeletal disharmonies. At present QUALITY ortho tx is under-appreciated and under-valued. It's been commoditized.
Endo relies heavily on GP referrals (read: begging). Ortho less so.
With the advent of aligners. DSC, GPs doing aligners ...... they are driving patients back to the orthodontists for retreats lol. I see it EVERY day. Lousy aligner tx. I truly believe there are no more technological advances re: aligners. There are only so many attachments, torquing ridges, clin check 2.0 3.0 4.0. staging sequences, etc. etc. The so called experts diagnosing and tx planning your aligners are in foreign countries. Are they qualified? No one knows.
As for salary. Well ..... it all depends on how hard you want to work. The work is out there whether you do PP in a rural area. Corp or work in pedo/GP offices. It's there. It's just not the same as pre-2007, aligners and you'll have to do it differently.
Lifestyle has been well documented. Orthos can practice forever.
Choose a profession that you will like in the long run.
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Or...you could combine the two and go into peds, where you’ll learn about pulp therapy and interceptive orthodontics. Problem solved.
Big Hoss
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People on this thread are really underestimating how difficult it is to work with the parents of these kids with Ortho. I’ll take looking down a canal all day long over constantly getting asked by parents “Why cant we use invisalign?” “My friends kids braces only took a year why is my kids taking so much longer” “ I heard from a friend that their kids braces were cheaper” and on and on and on.
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I agree. And the OP listed long-term relationships with patients as a PLUS for ortho, one-and-done a CON for endo. Although it's great to have awesome patients that you look forward to seeing, there are undoubtably those pain in the a** patients (don't brush, break brackets, etc.) and parents (as you said above, complaining) that you have and are stuck with for a long time. I'm sure there are other orthodontists on this board that get a little cringe when you see a certain patient's name on the schedule. It's not all rainbows and unicorns in ortho. That said, it is pretty awesome! The good outweighs the bad imo.
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People are really really really underestimating the fact that ortho is being commoditized by the big boys with big pockets.
I just went on Instagram and saw ads running for cheap aligners without the traditional doc involved. I go on FB and see the same thing. Get started today! X amount off! Guess what I see in malls. Walk in shops with aligners. My local orthodontist has 26 google reviews, My second orthodontist has 22 google reviews. The new walk in shop has 200+ reviews all 5 stars...
Ortho is under the pressure of Wall Street and big money.
Guess what you don't see on FB/Instagram/or walk in shops? Do-it-yourself endo/walk in endo shops.
So whats the take-away from all this? Ortho was and currently is a good job. However, what do you think the future holds? Forget about the lifestyle, the autonomy, the whatever, think about the "future" of whatever job you are going to. Because if the future isn't good, then all the pros that you list- won't be pros.
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Don’t forget the ortho residency programs that are popping up that are graduating almost 20 residents per class, like the Georgia School of Orthodontics and the newest CTOR.
You need to run away as fast as you can when one of the application requirements states, “To meet the financial requirement, you may provide an official bank statement/letter showing sufficient funding for at least one year's total cost. Only liquid accounts (such as savings, checking) can be used as proof; non-liquid funding (such as stocks, bonds, other investments) can not be used as proof of financial funds.”
Big Hoss
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Wow. I didn't know stocks were considered non-liquid. Although who keeps 100k+ in savings/checkings? I guess a high yield savings account can get you 2% returns, but you could easily find a decent dividend yield stock deposit 100k and earn 2% with an increase in stock equity...
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I’d like to comment on the ones that were highlighted in BOLD.
As an ortho, you don’t depend on the GPs for referrals as much as an endo does but you still need the GPs if you want to have a lot of patients and make a lot of money. It’s always better to get new patients from multiple sources: GPs, word of mouth, advertisements, and insurance companies.
Being able to see high patient volume in a day is actually a good thing in ortho. More patients = more money. If you don’t like treating high volume and want to do more hands-on procedures yourself, you can book fewer patients in a day, work more days per week, and hire fewer assistants to help you. I know some ortho offices that only book 10-20 patients a day and the doctors actually sit down and work on their patients. I am lazy and I want to make a lot of money so I book 60+ patients and hire the assistants to do most of the manual labors for me. I am lazy…I’d much rather sit around reading the SDN posts while my assistants work on my patients than doing these hands-on procedures myself.
In 12 years, I have relocated my offices 4 times….no problem at all. I didn’t lose any of my active patients and the GPs continue to refer patients to my new office locations. When you have low overhead, it’s much easier to relocate.
An endo makes more only if he is good at communicating with the referring GPs…and if there is a good GPs to endos ratio in the area, where he practices. If he is terrible at communicating with the GPs or if there are already a lot of endos in the area, then he won’t make any $$$. No GP referral = no money.
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It’s not that bad. I usually let my assistants answer most of the questions and deal with all the complaints from the parents for me. Since they are the same type questions that are commonly asked, my assistants are very good at answering them. Once all these questions are answered and the concerns are explained by the staff, the parents are happy.
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You do understand that Invisalign is only suitable for specific cases right? Invisalign is not going to fix a skeletal malocclusion or severe crowding/ spacing issues. Sure, it’s great when suitable, but brackets are absolutely necessary in plenty of patients.
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100% disagree with this. You are way over simplifying endo. Just because you put rotary in the hands of the GP doesn't mean they are equipped or educated to do the insanely difficult retreats, calcified, cases, etc. Would a patient rather spend 45min with a specialist and a microscope, or 2 hours with a GP for multiple visits for the same treatment?
Have you been on the endo interviewing trail? Have you seen the applicants first hand?
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As far as Big Hoss is concerned, so long as MB2 exists, so will the specialty of Endodontics.
Big Hoss
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I think you are grossly simplifying the costs of endo + crown.
Endo crown is way way way cheaper then an implant. Endo and crown is way more affordable then the cost of a ext/sedation/ridge agumentation/bone graft/sinus bump. WAY more affordable. Plus it's way more timely then waiting 6+ months for a tooth and stayplate. Most endo/crown is covered at 50-80% which makes the out of pocket way cheaper as it stays below their yearly maximums. I can guarantee you one visit to the OMFS to prepare the site for implant will be way higher then yearly maximum resulting in a huge out of pocket expense and usually grafts etc aren't covered.
I give all my patients with good/fair prognosis the 100% go for endo. But when it's poor to hopeless then yes implants is a viable option.
Rotary has made endo more accessible to the GP true, but I still find no profit in molar endo. I refer most of my endos to the endodontist because the intricacies of doing it well is hard. At a certain point in my career, I found endo to be a pain in the butt, not worth my time, and not worth the liability risks. Miss a MB2, and or short in a canal and you can get sued. I can sweat for 2 hours doing a molar endo or do a 5 min crown prep and make the same amount. Endo fees for GP have gotten lower and lower to the point where it's questionable doing it. When you look at your profit/loss and realize that the endos you did...that account for .0014% of your total revenue on 1 mil+ ...it's not worth it. So personally for me, I don't do any more endo after reviewing my 2018 numbers.
Yes you are right that OMFS is way more stable and lucrative.
Finally, ortho is a commodity. Toothaches are NOT a commodity. People look at ortho as getting a cup of coffee or walking into a store looking to straighten their 6-11 for the cheapest and quickest price possible to look pretty. Malocclusion be damned. They don't care as long as its cheap quick and without strings. That's what wall street wants and what they see. You don't see pop up endo shops and or fb/instagram ads about the new quirky endodontist in the mall who can take care of your toothaches! But what you do see is ortho.
Toothaches are not a commodity and that's why endo will be in good shape. When patients have a toothache- they do something about it. When patients want to change their smile, they shop around, and in a bad economy, they put it off. But toothaches? Regardless rain or shine, bad economy, good economy, an endodontist/omfs will be in need.
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You are correct. Orthodontists will lose the patients looking for a simple fix for 6-11. Honestly ... these are not the pts most orthos want anyway. As everyone knows .... orthos have always wanted to do COMPREHENSIVE complete ortho tx rather than the simple 6-11, upright 2nd molar, etc. etc. Orthodontists are DENTOFACIAL ORTHOPEDICS AND ORTHODONTICS. Unless @Big Time Hoosier takes all my pedo patients that require early orthopedics.... I will do ok. 🙂.
I've stated it before as an anecdotal one example. At the Corp I work for ..... ONLY orthodontists do braces. ONLY OMFS does surgery. ONLY Periodontists perform perio surgery and implants (although rumor is this will be changing). Our GPs (general dentists) treat ALL kids
................ and ENDO. That's right. No endodontists. None. Nada. Experienced GPs perform ALL the RCTs. Molars included.
I am paid well to treat ortho patients. More so than the GPs in the Corp I work at. The Corp could save money and hired "experience, additionally trained" GPs to peform ortho, but they don't. They fully know that having an Orthodontist treating their ortho pts will save them money in the long run. No redos. No complaints. No less than ideal tx ideals: alignment and occlusion. Less potential for lawsuits.
So. Regardless of business climate ..... there will always be a need for competent, properly trained and credentialed orthodontists. 👍
Could you elaborate on why periodontists performing perio surgery and implants at your corp may change and why may this be the case?
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That's what I thought too when I applied for ortho years ago. Since most patients get braces for esthetic reasons, I was worried that I would have to do a lot of talkings to sell cases. I am an introvert person and I speak English with an accent. At that time, I thought endo would be a better option because of all the reasons you stated...... but I couldn't apply for endo because most endo programs don't accept new grads and require either GPR or work experience. Now looking back, I think ortho is the right choice for me because there are plenty of jobs available at corp offices, private ortho offices, and GP offices (if one is not picky). It's also not as hard as I thought it would be to convince the parents to pay for their kids' braces. Most of the time, I only spend around 3-5 minutes to look at each kid's mouth and to talk to the parents. And an hour later later, the kid leaves my office with braces in his mouth. Being an endo, I would have to go door to door talking to the GPs because this is the only source of new patients I can get. For some reasons, I am more nervous when I talk to the GPs than when I talk to the patients.
Rainee, when you have kids, you will realize how important it is for your kids to have a beautiful smile, which helps boost the self-esteem. Like a college saving, many parents put the money aside for their kids' braces a few years ahead. I've seen a lot of parents who have really messed up teeth (collapsed VDO and flared incisors due to multiple missing posterior teeth, loosed teeth due to perio, ill fitting partial dentures etc). These parents would elect to extract an infected tooth in their own mouth (instead of saving it with RCT and crown) so they can afford to pay for their kids' braces. Paying for their kids' braces is their #1 priority right now.....because they want in 2-3 years, their kids will enjoy a Quinceneara, go to HS, or go to a senior prom without braces. Many parents have to drive their kids 30+ miles each way to see me every month because I charge reasonable fees and I also offer Sat and Sun appointments. Some, who don't have money, have to drive their kids all the way to TJ, Mexico to get low cost ortho tx there.
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The Corp is pushing for additionally trained GPs to HELP with implant placement. The current periodontist is frankly overwhelmed with work.
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Have the GPs already started doing Invisalign at your Corp?
Awesome, thank you. It is nice to see that a specialist other than OMFS is still in demand in todays climate. So much doom and gloom, it can be discouraging. Especially for those who may like to specialize but are not gunning for OMFS.
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We do ZERO invisalign. It is not profitable. It was not profitable in private practice and it is not at Corp. Braces cost literally nothing. As most can surmise .... I am not a big fan of aligner tx.
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There are plenty of jobs available for ortho, endo, pedo, perio and OMFS. Some places may ask you to work on the weekends. You may have to treat high volume of HMO patients in order to make up for the low payments the from the insurance companies (hopefully, with the additional specialty training, you can do everything fast). If you work as an in-house specialist at a GP office, the GP owners may not provide you the right equipment (ie a microscope for endo, self-ligating brackets for ortho, a CBCT for OS etc)....there may be no well-trained assistant to help you. The GP owners may not pay you well intially because they don't save enough patients for you. If you are not picky and are flexible with what your employers provide you, you can have very busy work schedule and earn very good income. As a specialist, you will have to travel to multiple offices in order to have full time 5-6 days/week schedule.
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If you're thinking of doing endo, be a GP instead. Why limit yourself? RCTBUCrn is a fast way of making money. Approx 30+ min doctor time for 2500, not a bad deal. I think the problem with ortho is that it's treated like a product rather than a service. However, from a GP perspective, it can be easy money for "easy cases". As mentioned, if you focus on upper and lower 6, no bite changes, no existing occlusal/TMJ issues, it's pretty profitable and quick as a GP. I want it to go even faster, so one thing I'm looking into incorporating is periodontally accelerated osteogenic orthodontics (Wilckodontics). There definitely is a race to the bottom on price, but I wonder if speed will overcome people's price objections and allow me to turnover the case a lot faster (less visits, faster completion, faster money).
Technology has made calcified cases a lot easier. Most cases that I see now are single visit, although I hear a lot of older dentists/endodontists still perform 2+ visit RCT's. Multiple 2 hour visits to the GP sounds extremely exaggerated, and if a GP does take that long, then they should not be performing RCT's due to lack of profitability and skill. A GP can be as good and fast as an endodontist.
That's the good thing about being a GP. Pain is a priority for most patients. A patient goes in with tooth pain, they got a few options... medication, ext, ext + immediate implant, rctbucrown, crown for CTS, lanap/srp for perio or rct only. One way or another, they will come see their GP and either you get paid to rx medication or they get treatment.
We're on the opposite ends of the endo spectrum. Endo alone accounts for 8-9% of my production (that's without the buildup and crown). I think you might be overstating the liability involved with endo. You're not going to get sued easily or lose your license with a short fill or a missed MB2... as long as you have good documentation, make sure you have good pre-op diagnosis, intermediate radiographs such as WL and make sure you can see the rubber dam clamp on the radiographs (if you can't get a clamp on, take a photo of your rubber dam if kept on there with floss or wedges).
RCTBUCrn is very palatable to patient's finances due to relatively larger insurance coverages, more instant gratification because you walk out with a fully treated permanent restoration, and instant money (not like implants where you have to wait for osseointegration, then scan the implant for abutment/crown, then deliver.... ugh). Implants are an important service, because endos fail, but at least with the endo, you have an extra option. When implants fail, explant and graft is just a horrible non-productive timewaster. I still love RCTBUCrn more... 30 min doctor time for 2500, very little if any follow ups, only on a prn basis after 1 week follow up. Unlike implants... follow up after potential follow up... check soft tissue healing, check osseointegration, fabrication of implant crown takes a long longer on CEREC, more appointments. When implants don't work, that really kills time because you gotta fix any bony defects that may have occurred.
Technology has made calcified cases a lot easier. Most cases that I see now are single visit, although I hear a lot of older dentists/endodontists still perform 2+ visit RCT's. Multiple 2 hour visits to the GP sounds extremely exaggerated, and if a GP does take that long, then they should not be performing RCT's due to lack of profitability and skill. A GP can be as good and fast as an endodontist.
That's the good thing about being a GP. Pain is a priority for most patients. A patient goes in with tooth pain, they got a few options... medication, ext, ext + immediate implant, rctbucrown, crown for CTS, lanap/srp for perio or rct only. One way or another, they will come see their GP and either you get paid to rx medication or they get treatment.
We're on the opposite ends of the endo spectrum. Endo alone accounts for 8-9% of my production (that's without the buildup and crown). I think you might be overstating the liability involved with endo. You're not going to get sued easily or lose your license with a short fill or a missed MB2... as long as you have good documentation, make sure you have good pre-op diagnosis, intermediate radiographs such as WL and make sure you can see the rubber dam clamp on the radiographs (if you can't get a clamp on, take a photo of your rubber dam if kept on there with floss or wedges).
RCTBUCrn is very palatable to patient's finances due to relatively larger insurance coverages, more instant gratification because you walk out with a fully treated permanent restoration, and instant money (not like implants where you have to wait for osseointegration, then scan the implant for abutment/crown, then deliver.... ugh). Implants are an important service, because endos fail, but at least with the endo, you have an extra option. When implants fail, explant and graft is just a horrible non-productive timewaster. I still love RCTBUCrn more... 30 min doctor time for 2500, very little if any follow ups, only on a prn basis after 1 week follow up. Unlike implants... follow up after potential follow up... check soft tissue healing, check osseointegration, fabrication of implant crown takes a long longer on CEREC, more appointments. When implants don't work, that really kills time because you gotta fix any bony defects that may have occurred.
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Unfortunately, most patients don't know how long it is supposed to take to do a RCT. It's the GP's decision to refer the case out or not. If the GP doesn't have a solidly booked schedule and has plenty of free time, he will try to perform the RCT himself even if it takes him 2 hours to finish. To the GP, it's still better than sitting around doing nothing.
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[QUOTE="TanMan, post: 20778211, member: 48348" I want it to go even faster, so one thing I'm looking into incorporating is periodontally accelerated osteogenic orthodontics (Wilckodontics). There definitely is a race to the bottom on price, but I wonder if speed will overcome people's price objections and allow me to turnover the case a lot faster (less visits, faster completion, faster money).[/QUOTE]
It's good to do fast ortho tx if the patient can afford to pay the whole amount up front. I actually don't want to finish the case too fast. I prefer the case to be stretched out to 18-24 months so the patients/parents have time to save enough to make the monthly payments. More affordable payment plan = higher case acceptance rate. High acceptance rate = more stable income. It's hard if you have 2-3 kids who need braces at the same time. The majority of the American people are living paycheck to paycheck. People are making monthly payments on everything....cars, house, gym membership, Disneyland annual pass.
It's good to do fast ortho tx if the patient can afford to pay the whole amount up front. I actually don't want to finish the case too fast. I prefer the case to be stretched out to 18-24 months so the patients/parents have time to save enough to make the monthly payments. More affordable payment plan = higher case acceptance rate. High acceptance rate = more stable income. It's hard if you have 2-3 kids who need braces at the same time. The majority of the American people are living paycheck to paycheck. People are making monthly payments on everything....cars, house, gym membership, Disneyland annual pass.
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Our orthodontic specialists say that as well... I want to see if there's a segment that wants to undergo accelerated orthodontic treatment for about the same price or slightly less. If I can shift the risk to a third party credit company with lenient lending standards and have them spread out the payments, I think that it may work. 5-9 months of treatment with 24 payments to a third party and collecting upfront from the patient or third party.
[/QUOTE]
Some. If they need sedation, need significant vertical/horizontal augmentation, need more keratinized tissue, or All-on-X's. I'll throw in some slam dunk single units to my referrers just to be fair about it.
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I think you're forgetting about the very real subset of dentists who really enjoy doing endo and really enjoy not dealing with the every day challenges of being a GP. I love endo, and I loathe prepping crowns, or any prosth work for that matter, pumping out fillings, etc (doesn't mean I don't appreciate it when those things are done right, it's just not my cup of tea). Specializing allows me to focus on an area of dentistry that I value the most and get the most enjoyment out of doing. So do I limit myself to that? Hell yes, I do.
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In an ideal world, I'd prefer to do endos all day long. It's fun, it's relaxing, and it's very gratifying work. Unfortunately, local market conditions would not allow me to do that. From a financial perspective, it makes sense to do endos and crowns (GP). Fun and profitability should go hand in hand.
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Craziness. My day literally consists of assistant topical, say hi, pump anesthetic 2 min, go back to stocktwits/sdn/reddit for 5 min, prep crown in 5 min, assistant packs cord, i take mold, and done for the next hour. I'm currently binge watching survivor in my office.
Sitting through 1-2 hours of intensive concentration root canal is madness to me.
Everyone is different though. I'm glad for our specialists.
Serious question, how do you crown prep in 5 minutes? New grad and trying to get faster.. Thank you.
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Simplify your preps. 330 depth cut occlusal =1.5 mm clearance. I usually make 4 cuts on occlusal. That takes 30 seconds. Then I take barrel burr flatten out the occlusal. That takes 30 seconds/1 minute.Then take chamfer go in a circle 3-5 min. Easy prep is quick. Hard prep then 5 min deep decay hard to reach second molar or cheek/tongue etc. Assistant packs cord. I come back and refine maybe 1-2 min with chamfer.
I only use three burrs for routine preps.
If large decay and build up necessary then you can extend time to 15 min or so depending on caries excavation etc.
My mentor taught me to cut with purpose. Make every cut count. There’s no need to go in a circle doing a chamfer for 15 minutes and slowly make a margin. You can do it in 1-2 strokes and be done with it.
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Different folks, different strokes. But that's the beauty of dentistry; providers can tailor what services they offer to fit with what they enjoy doing and are good at (granted, as long as supply and demand agrees with it). Doing procedures you hate and have no interest in devoting time to are never going to be profitable. I'd much rather have that intense concentration for fewer patients in a single day as opposed to hopping around patient to patient as most GPs do. But then again, I almost became an air traffic controller, so that tells you something about my personality 😉
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Very true.
Endo .... few patients with intense concentration. GPs hopping around to 10-15 or more patients a day. Ortho ..... to be profitable .... we need to see 60-100 patients a day. I don't mind it. The day goes by pretty quickly. Lots of delegation. Most adjustments can be simple change the colors to more advanced wire bending. It all depends on the schedule. I basically coordinate the flow to meet the demands at that moment. Some days are crazy. Most days are less crazy. I like it. I would be bored with just a few patients a day.
Of all the specialities ... I have the least interaction with endos. Our worlds just do not meet.
So ... if you're more of an introvert, perfectionist, not a great multi-tasker, like small staffs, etc. etc. ENDO.
If you're an extrovert, like crowds, like talking all day (my wife says I talk too much lol), good with people and staff.
Able to multi-task 5-6 patients waiting for adjustments, review new patient diagnostics and develop TP, note all patient notes and new patient notes digitally, see 2 new patients, be available for ortho consults for the GPs on the general side, etc. etc. etc. ..... all in 30 minutes or less. Ortho is for you. It can be a **** show, but I like it.
Choose what you like.
I have most of the qualities you described for endo (more of an introvert, not a great multi-tasker, etc), but I really like ortho. Would it be a bad idea to choose ortho, or there's still ways to shine/survive in ortho?
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Choose what you like. I was also somewhat of an introvert as a young person. With time and confidence I blossomed into the extrovert I am today. Also realize that with endo and ortho ... You'll need to connect with referral GPs. GPs want personable specialists. They also want their patients to come back from the specialist HAPPY.
Point is being outgoing with your colleagues and patients can only be a good thing, and most likely a necessary trait in this competitive environment.
Thank you!
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You can work for the corp offices. Most of corp patients are low income patients and they only care about the low tx fee and affordable payment plan. They don't mind about the long wait time nor about the lack of communication from the doctor and staff. Some patients' parents don't speak English. You don't need to sell cases there. Just tell the patients your recommended tx plan and the manager or the treatment coordinator will sell the cases for you. No need to go around begging the GPs for referrals. You can focus more of your time on patient treatments and worry less about talking to patients (or their parents) to keep them happy. You just show up for work and get paid......$1000-1500/day....not bad.
If you have the desire to be your own boss and to open your own office, you may have to lower the tx fee to attract the same type of patients that the corp offices attract. That's because most of the high income earners will go see the orthodontists, who have great people skill and can convince their patients to pay $6-7k for ortho tx. To make up for the low fee, you have to be fast and treat high patient volume (60-80 patients) in a day. Use simple ortho mechanics so your staff can easily understand and can perform the work you ask them to do as quickly as possible. Some of the good things about treating low income patients are they are more appreciative of what you've done for them, they don't look up things on the internet, they trust the doctor more, and they rarely ask questions.....so you don't need to spend a lot of time explaining things to them.
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Just practice. You will get there after graduation. Can cut teeth with eyes closed.
