Help :( future dentist

[bornpescado]

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So I've just decided to become a dentist. I'm in my second year at a community college and I'm kind of freaking out because I'm getting older which means I need to decide on a career. I decided to major in nutritional sciences and try to use that to get into some dental school. Is that possible? I'm taking care of lots of sciences right now and plan to transfer to uc davis to get my degree. Is nutritional sciences a good major to cover all sciences required for any dental school? I decided on nutritional sciences because I want a backup in case I decide to not become a dentist. <br />
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And for any dentists out there already, I have a question: I want to have a family someday and I'm wondering if being a dentist is time consuming. I know the school part is from all the studying, but after that? Once you're actually a dentist? I want to make sure I'm not going to miss my kids growing up someday and I was wondering what a dentists' lifestyle is like. Thanks for your help!

 

[Bereno]

So I've just decided to become a dentist. I'm in my second year at a community college and I'm kind of freaking out because I'm getting older which means I need to decide on a career. I decided to major in nutritional sciences and try to use that to get into some dental school. Is that possible? I'm taking care of lots of sciences right now and plan to transfer to uc davis to get my degree. Is nutritional sciences a good major to cover all sciences required for any dental school? I decided on nutritional sciences because I want a backup in case I decide to not become a dentist. <br />
<br />
And for any dentists out there already, I have a question: I want to have a family someday and I'm wondering if being a dentist is time consuming. I know the school part is from all the studying, but after that? Once you're actually a dentist? I want to make sure I'm not going to miss my kids growing up someday and I was wondering what a dentists' lifestyle is like. Thanks for your help!

2 things:

first, you are far from being too old. I am in my 7th year of undergrad... but that's also because I have a degree in finance, and then am effectively getting a second degree in biology. Being in CC, you have plenty of time to finish the pre-reqs.

Second, sounds like you don't know much about the profession quite yet. you NEED to shadow some dentists, and ask them these kinds of questions. You also need to know what its like day to day for a dentist. All said and done, do this first and them come back here to let us know what you think about the profession. 👍

Good luck! 🙂

 

[hardline]

Having spoken to several dentists (10+) and asking the question about having a quality life outside of the practice, the answer is yes! If you have your own practice it is plausible to work for 4 days / week while maintaining a healthy business. This leaves plenty of time for being an active family member and you can proudly watch your kids grow.

The first dentist I shadowed ran a practice with her husband and they alternated days of work. It seemed to work out well because they had a child of their own as well as one on the way. I would personally love to run a practice in a similar fashion. 😀