For Children of Dentists!

[thetriumph]

Hi, everyone with a parent as a dentist. I was just curious a couple things, since I personally do not have any dentists in the family:

1) How was life growing up as a child of a dentist? (I know, this is a broad and laughable question, but please answer in a way that addresses the possibility of any positive or negative impact on your parent-child relationship directly related to your parent's occupation, or that addresses your exposure to the field, etc.)

2) Are you planning on going into the profession? Why or why not?

Thanks so much--I hope we get some interesting answers!

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[ummjoey]

Hi, everyone with a parent as a dentist. I was just curious a couple things, since I personally do not have any dentists in the family:

1) How was life growing up as a child of a dentist? (I know, this is a broad and laughable question, but please answer in a way that addresses the possibility of any positive or negative impact on your parent-child relationship directly related to your parent's occupation, or that addresses your exposure to the field, etc.)

2) Are you planning on going into the profession? Why or why not?

Thanks so much--I hope we get some interesting answers!

1) from what i can remember, i think my childhood was a generally positive one. my parents were never really strict on me. they sort of let me develop in my own way. i am not saying they didnt teach me anything. they taught me a lot about life. treat others the way you want to be treated, put others before yourself............which i think is a good thing because i am happy the way i turned out.

according to my parents i been going to their dental practice since i was born? they wouldnt be home so they had to take me long with them to work. i have the utmost respect for my parents and i am in good relations with them. i am very thankful for them.

2) yes. my reasons are probably similar to others. i will be able to help others.

sorry nothing really interesting?

if you are looking for ideas for your personal statement.......i would suggest writing it on your own. you want your personal statement to sound like you and not a bunch of people from a forum. i made the mistake of asking too many people to proof read my personal statement and all the changes made my personal statement sound not like me? i eventually changed everything back to make my personal statement more personal!

sorry again for accusing you of looking for ideas for your personal statement.

 

[Sublimize23]

Hi, everyone with a parent as a dentist. I was just curious a couple things, since I personally do not have any dentists in the family:

1) How was life growing up as a child of a dentist? (I know, this is a broad and laughable question, but please answer in a way that addresses the possibility of any positive or negative impact on your parent-child relationship directly related to your parent's occupation, or that addresses your exposure to the field, etc.)

2) Are you planning on going into the profession? Why or why not?

Thanks so much--I hope we get some interesting answers!

1) My Dad's profession is what first exposed me to the world of dentistry. Growing up, I was always working with my hands, either taking things apart, building models, making things, etc. So of course, as a young kid of 12 or 13, I worked at my dad's office answering phones and cleaning up. The first few times I watched him work professionally, everything clicked. Dentistry is a way for me to combine my natural talents with everything I enjoy. My parents never pushed me to go into any field, and let me do my own thing. Even when I was struggling in 9th and 10th grade, they supported other alternatives to college that I had considered/thought were my only options. Growing up otherwise was really pretty normal, both my parents' jobs provided a comfortable living so we never really had to worry about money issues, however their jobs both require demanding hours at times, so that was an issue. More my mom, who is not a dentist, than my dad, though.

2) Yes, I am. See above.

 

[thetriumph]

Cool, thanks for your responses! Neither of my parents are dentists, and I don't have dentists in my family, so I definitely was not looking for ideas for my personal statement, but I can understand why this question might be perceived as such. I was asking this because I hope to have a family one day, and I think that would be a top priority for me. Thus, in looking out for my future children, I guess I was just wondering how life as a parent and dentist would be, and whether my children would be in any way, positively or negatively, affected by that.

I guess there's no right or wrong answer to this question--I was just wondering if I might stumble upon something interesting.

Thanks for the advice about writing your own personal statement and not having too many people read/change it. That's great advice that I plan to take.

 

[Cymbidium]

BOTH of my parents are dentists.

1. We weren't allowed candy or gum. Especially gum. DO NOT get caught with gum! I'll be 30 in December and I STILL hide or spit out my gum before I see either of my parents.

2. We were their guinea pigs. They would go to a seminar and learn something and then try it out on us (some of them were beneficial, like whitening and invisalign), but some sucked, like they took out my 12 year molars on the theory that my wisdom teeth would come in straight and not crowd my teeth (or something like that). Good theory except I still don't have 2 of my wisdom teeth in!

 

[doc3232]

BOTH of my parents are dentists.

1. We weren't allowed candy or gum. Especially gum. DO NOT get caught with gum! I'll be 30 in December and I STILL hide or spit out my gum before I see either of my parents.

2. We were their guinea pigs. They would go to a seminar and learn something and then try it out on us (some of them were beneficial, like whitening and invisalign), but some sucked, like they took out my 12 year molars on the theory that my wisdom teeth would come in straight and not crowd my teeth (or something like that). Good theory except I still don't have 2 of my wisdom teeth in!

How bad is gum for you (assuming you don't chew it too hard)?

 

[tamkhan]

How bad is gum for you (assuming you don't chew it too hard)?

Wrigley's is bad for you. It sticks to teeth; at least mine.


I don't have any dentists in the family, either. I remember going to the dentist when I was young; he would give me wall stickers of teenage mutant ninja turtles and thundercats for every tooth he fixed. It was well worth it!

 

[Predentknight]

I have had similar experiences to many of the responses above. My dad chose to expose me to the business aspect as well as the clinical aspect of orthodontics which is his specialty. I listened to who moved my cheese audio tapes growing up and was exposed to all of the issues/benefits of owning a business. Very positive experience in that my dad always took off time on the weekends to make sure we could do things.

 

[Chuda2008]

1) My experience with my father dentist will be very different from most. My Dad retired/took a leave of absence from dentistry for twelve years and stayed home with my brother an I. So we had two basically at home parents. He then went back to dentistry part time when I started high school. From job shadowing and working with him I learned about dentistry, but it still did not have a big impact on family life. I think dentistry is like any professional graduate degree that allows you to have the career that you want. Yes it can be the super fast paced long hour job if you want a highly successful, lucrative, private practice. You can also decide to have a much more relaxed situation by either working in a large practice, working in community dentistry, or something like that. I think much of it comes down to what you want from life and where your priorities are.

2) Yes, I am going into the profession. I like the working in the healthcare field, I like working with my hands, and I like the flexibility that I feel dentistry can offer.

Unwanted advice:
During my interviews, many of the schools seemed to like the fact that I had a dentist father because it allowed me to have a realistic idea of what general dentistry is. Because you don't have that experience, I would make sure that you have enough hours working/shadowing/volunteering in a general dentist practice to convince the schools that you also have a realistic idea of what being a dentist is. I would also try to highlight this experience during your interviews.

 

[georgiadat]

sugar free gum is actually good for you bc it stimulates salivary glands which have antibactirial, pH buffer, etc. chew on that

 

[Hysteria24]

2) Are you planning on going into the profession? Why or why not?

It will probably be difficult to find people not going into the profession here on in the “pre-dental” forum.




And in response to the whole gum thing:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20971420/

 

[alanan84]

And in response to the whole gum thing:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20971420/

That's awesome! I didn't know that! I chew sugar free gum all day long!

 

[Saied]

my dad was a dentist for 20 years in IRAN. usually in those are dentists are really rich but that wasnt the case for me. i lived a normal life just like any other kids in iran. life in america is pretty much the same since my dad cant be a dentist in here(yet). i enjoy life as much as i can because life passes by quickly if u dont know what ur going to do.

of course im going to be a dentist. but im not doing it for the money. im doing it for my dad cause my dad wants me to. at first i wanted to become a pilot but now i relize i want to become a dentist and i could be a pilot half time

hope it helps

 

[Neuro178]

my dad was a dentist for 20 years in IRAN. usually in those are dentists are really rich but that wasnt the case for me. i lived a normal life just like any other kids in iran. life in america is pretty much the same since my dad cant be a dentist in here(yet). i enjoy life as much as i can because life passes by quickly if u dont know what ur going to do.

of course im going to be a dentist. but im not doing it for the money. im doing it for my dad cause my dad wants me to. at first i wanted to become a pilot but now i relize i want to become a dentist and i could be a pilot half time

hope it helps

Shouldn't you become a dentist because you want to? Not because your dad wants you to? You'll probably be happier if you become a pilot full-time, if that's what you really want to do... My brother-in-law is a pilot and loves it a lot more than his day job.

 

[Saied]

yes you are right. but my dad cant become a dentist in america for a while so i want to make him happy by doing what he used to do. maybe then he wouldnt feel bad. and dentists make alot of money. maybe after i finish dental school and pay off my loans i will change my job and be a pilot. ill be 27 by then and i would have alot of time to become a pilot.

thanks

 

[Chase]

but my dad cant become a dentist in america for a while so i want to make him happy by doing what he used to do.

Yes, we've established that.

maybe after i finish dental school and pay off my loans i will change my job and be a pilot. ill be 27 by then and i would have alot of time to become a pilot.

This plan will work, if you enter dental school at the age of 16. Don't you realize the kind of loans you'll need to take out just for dental school?!!

 

[ebobe]

just wanted to quickly say that my dad is a dentist and i love that he is. he was always around for us and took lots of vacations. he could always cancel patients if i was sick and he had to stay home with me. being an active parent is definitely important, and if you choose to be a dentist, you can definitely be an active parent.

 

[Saied]

i will be joining the US airforce so they could probebly pay for it. after working for a couple of years i could become one. and btw im not planning to pilot all the time, just as a hobby.