Give me 10 reasons why i should choose dentistry over medicine

do what YOU want, who cares what they're doing, all their reasons for medicine are crap anyway. When you're setting up your practice and rollin in the benjamins they'll be doing their ob/gyn rotation during the never ending residency and up to their elbows in placenta, if thats not reason enough I don't know what is

 

I'm thinkin the average dentist is making more than the average doctor these days. It all depends on how much you wanna work. You get to work with people. You get to work with your hands performing micro-surgery on a moving object. You get to be the boss. You get make tough decisions. Every mouth is different. You get to make your own hours and actually spend time with your family. And yes, no placenta involved.

 

The average M.D. owning a family practice actually makes considerably less than the average dentist owning his own practice. Roughly 40 k less a year if I recall.

 

#1 - is WRONG. You can set your own hours if you run your own practice.
#2 - To some extent, it depends what kind of dentist/doctor you are. Many things may be repetitive, but if you get bored with it you don't really like it. If you think any part of this statement is valid, why are you even considering dentistry?
#3 - WRONG again. It's all relative to how good you are at what you do and whether you have specialized or not.
#4 - You're right complete BULL HERE as well.

You don't have a single valid statement here.

apaul is right. You have to do what YOU WANT. No one else can make that decision for you.

 

I sense the troll is strong in this thread.

 

Dentists don't work Fridays.

General dentists make more than primary care doctors., but they can't touch the medical specialties. But if dentists were to work Fridays, then they come much closer. Work the same number of hours, and they can exceed the income.

Dentists have to do things...prep, make dentures, etc. Doctors just talk all day (They see more patients, but they just talk, listen, and prescribe meds.), so the work's less physical. But there's more of a mental drain from the stress.

 

Everyone's a troll to you.

 

STOP TROLLING TROLL

 

Let him make his own decisions. He should consider everything and make an informed decision.

Dentistry has its downside, afterall. The totality of dentistry leads to high suicide. So there's more going on than we may consider. Hey, living in the shadows of doctors is pretty much an aspect of dentistry. Might as well come to terms with that, so it won't affect you as much in the future.

 

chill out

 

um, rule 0 noob? am i right armor?

 

I have so much to learn from you!!

Thank you for keeping me entertained.

 

1). It's not just labor work, and in no way do some dentists have to work 8 hours a day. The dentist that i worked with worked 3 days a week, and 2 of the days were 5 hours. And they were still doing well. And if you ask me, the best reason to go into dentistry is to work with your hands. It no where near as stressful as something like surgery, where surgeons work with their hands, but after 10 hours in the same surgery, I'd get a little tired.

2). The actual work may be repetive, but the patients are not.That was the attracted me to dentistry...you meet new people everyday in a low stress environment. Patients become more like friends that customers. So see it as a way to hangout and talk with friends.

3). Ask any doctor, dentists make more money. HMO's have completely changed medicine.

4). Most dentists are just as smart as doctors. Many dental schools teach dentistry as a subspecialty of medicine, meaning you learn everything that medicine entails, but then you go on to specialize in medicine, and in just 4 years. Do you consider an ophthalmologist a failed doctor? It basically the same thing as dentistry.

your friends are just jealous that you made the wiser choice. 15 years from now when you're enjoying life as a dentist, making good money, enjoying your job, meeting new people, and not working nearly as hard while they barely have time to spend with their families while making nothing, you realize you made the better choice. go with your gut.

 

How about just one reason: Because I like dentistry more than medicine.
If you are having problems justifying this to yourself, maybe dentistry is not for you. Who cares what other people think! Conversely, nor should the premeds have to justify themselves to you.

 

What are you talking about?

Exactly. Don't be a *****.

 

Enough said

 

zOMg liek if you don't SAVE LIVES yuo are not even a real doctor

 

if anyone calls me a doctor instead of a dentist i'll slap them in the mouth.

 

my point is just as an ophthalmologist is a doctor that specializes in eye treatment, a dentist is a doctor that specializes in treatment of the mouth.

 

Doctors, yes. Physicians? No. Our training is similar, but with several significant differences. Why does having a job title without the word "physician" bother so many folks?

To the OP, if you can't come up with them yourself, you need to do more career research before making a decision as important as attending professional school.

 

i believe the point of contention is the degree earned: DDS/DMD vs. MD/DO.


furthermore, i motion to put forth a concerted effort to convince undergrads 'anyone who is anyone goes for the MD.' hopefully this reduces dental professional saturation and ensures that dentistry stays a sweet deal.

 

i agree. the title shouldn't mean anything. it's about who you are, not the letters behing your name. seems pretty shallow if you ask me

haha, well i guess dentistry terrible. who wants to looks at peoples' mouths all day anyway?

 

hmm....
Let them think MD is better than DDS/DMD
Let them feel MD makes more $ than DDS/DMD
Let them brag about how superior MD is than DDS/DMD

but you only live through life once, you sure you wanna live it with what "them" says instead of what your heart tells you to do?

 

Your friends are just afraid of the unknown. All they know is pre-med, and never considered pre-dent, even though it is the same thing in undergrad, you take the same classes, but in the end you take different test.
If you like dentistry go for it, it will allow you to stand out from the status quo. All in all your friends are afraid.
You should tell them now they will have 1 less person to compete against, for a spot in med school. you are doing them a big favor for switching.

 

Two words...... "Managed Care"

 

Dentistry and Medicine are really two different professions, believe me. As a dentist you will not just be a "tooth doctor." You are that and about a million other things too. Just think about what YOU want to do. I have known for years dentistry is from me, and anything anyone has said has never made me second guess that (and i've heard it all). Your friends may even be going into medicine for the wrong reasons if these are the kinds of things they are saying to you.

 

That was nice of you to start us off with reasons 1 and 2! Do you really need any more?

In my experience, people who are happy with their decisions don't feel the need to convince others. Why do your friends want you to go to med school? Sounds like they want you to convince them that they are making the right decision.

 

If you specialize in dentistry you can make just as much as a medical specialty. Also, there are some (this is not the norm) GP dentists that are taking home well over 1 million a year.

 

...so much hatred of medicine. The culture lives on! There's gonna be a revolution someday. I tell ya. No more living in the shadows of doctors!

Lower GPA = more rounded people!

Say no to insurance and managed care!

Long live OMFS! Down with plastic surgery!

 

wth's rule 0, chump? maybe I'm not caught up on the SDN lingo. I'm involved in this thing called life.


....zing.

 

You CAN, but the vast majority don't.

 

1. Both are pretty stressful but dentists can't generally cause as much harm unless you are an Oral Surgeon.
2. If you think it is boring, then it probably isn't for you. Let me go on about this one though. A DETECTIVE eh?

Do you think this is an episode of Grey's Anatomy or House, MD (neither of which I watch but I know enough about them)? Nah, this is real life. I know MANY MDs because of working where I do, friends, family etc. I don't think any of them would describe it as intense detective work. That's just for entertainment. Your treatment is limited by HMOs now. You tell them what you want. They tell you no way... too expensive etc. In addition, you send someone to Quest, they come back with high levels of something or another and you treat them for it. I think "medical mysteries" as you are counting on are EXTREMELY few and far between. Sorry to burst your bubble.

 

No, you give us 10 reasons why we shouldn't believe that you are still in high school.

 

Oof, teh pwnz0rz.

 

If you are even asking the question, Dentistry is not for you. Medicine is for those who aren't sure, because there is a much larger scope of work you can do. If you like things like building models, working with your hands, carving detailed sculpture, etc. and you think you can run your own business, Dentistry may work for you. Don't waste 4 years and hundreds of thousands just because your friends are doing it. Not all Doctorates are the same. it bothers me that people think they have to be a doctor or dentist just because they don't know what they want to do with thier life. There are thousands that get rejected from dental school that really want to be dentists because others apply without really thinking it through and end up hating it. go MD please.

Anyway, have a good one

 

Well good! You can always play detective with your explorer in dentistry. Searching for the elusive...tooth decay? Scratch that...doesn't make dentistry sound interesting at all. Guess you just have to love the field.

 

Dental physician, heh. Might as well be our name

 

Let's say that dentistry is a "specialty" of medicine. Then a specialty of dentistry is really a super-specialty.

 

Dental forensics much?

 

Go to medical school. You'll be happier there.

 

Man, I am glad armorshell and bruinpredent are not in my class. These are probably the dorkiest people I have ever met in my damn life. It really astonishes me...back to NBA playoff basketball!

To the op...go drink a beer

 

you're right, most are premed...most have mommy's and daddy's who tell them they have to be doctors to be respected in society and in the family...most jump the bandwagon, then decide to switch to dental the end of their 3rd year, and don't get in because they have nothing to set themselves apart except their cut-throat nature and the mindset that "dental school is easy to get into and i'll be making bank." trust me...i see it all too often.

question is...do you like bandwagons?

 

haha, thanks

to be compared to the great armorshell, especially in terms of dorkiness, is a great honor indeed

 

wow..you just proved my point. I think I see some brown, nutty stuff on your lips and nose..

 

haha, aww poor thing...are you still bitter that i told you to cry me a river not too long ago?

 

Anyone on an intardnet chat forum is a dork, even if you are into 'sports' or rule 0 noob!

 

Closing.