How do you respond to ignorant people?

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ucla2134

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Every time i go out and socialize, people ask me what am i gonna do? I tell them that i will be a future dentist. Their respond is either:

1/ I heard dentists have the highest suicide rate😱
2/ Dentists cannot get into med school. 😡😡😡

I can argue against number 2, i can just get in med school if i want to. But the suicide rate, i don't know to respond to that.

What do you guys say in number 1 situation?
 
it's an old wive's tale. there is no data that supports such ridiculous suppositions. it's a true as "if you eat fish and yogurt together you will get freckles".

from the APA: "... experts on suicide say that statistics on its relation to occupation are not clear. There is no national data set on occupation and suicide. Local studies indicate elevated rates in different occupations, but the data usually "turn out to be frail," says prominent suicide researcher David Clark, PhD."

Futhermore, "Occupation is not a major predictor of suicide and it does not explain much about why the person commits suicide."

"One of the largest studies in the area was conducted by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in 1995, which concluded that there is a higher suicide rate in the medical field. But beyond that, NIOSH researchers said, the picture is equivocal: Often the studies are only of one geographic area, sometimes they have methodological problems, and sometimes they contradict each other."


apa.org
 
ucla2134 said:
Every time i go out and socialize, people ask me what am i gonna do? I tell them that i will be a future dentist. Their respond is either:

1/ I heard dentists have the highest suicide rate😱
2/ Dentists cannot get into med school. 😡😡😡

I can argue against number 2, i can just get in med school if i want to. But the suicide rate, i don't know to respond to that.

What do you guys say in number 1 situation?
Click to expand...

Punch them in the face, knock their teeth out and then say " Now What?":laugh:
Oh and the suicide rate thing is a complete myth.
 
Last I read, Pharmacists had the #1 suicide rate. Also, you could tell them that Dentist, Physicians and Pharmacists have a high suicide rate because they actually know how to do it. I haven't found any data on attempted suicides per occupation. I am guessing that if there were, these three occupations would come in far down the line because almost everybody who tries will succeed... Not really debunking what they heard but it shows that there are many different ways to respond to their idiotic questions.
 
Who cares about either one! Just getting defensive or arguing either point shows them that theres a shred of truth to any of it. Truth is almost all of us can get into med school if we want but clearly 99% of us chose dentistry for a good reason. The suicide argument, who cares! LOL...everybody is different, I think clumping all dentists together is ridiculous! Both are extremely lame arguments and I would simply laugh them both off!
 
My biochem prof once told me exactly the same thing when I asked for a reference. lol
 
so what if dentist people have the highes suicide rate it doenst mean you have to kill yourself. yuo dont have to if you dont watn to. im not gonno.
 
Why would you respond at all to ignorant people?
 
1) Say, "Geez! I hope I don't increase that total! :laugh:"
2) Say, "Yeah I think it is a bit easier, but I guess it's starting to get pretty competitive."

A serious answer/argument is not worth it. Pick your ego up, dust it off, and chill out. After all, we dentists have come a long way from our barbershop days😉
 
ucla2134 said:
Every time i go out and socialize, people ask me what am i gonna do? I tell them that i will be a future dentist. Their respond is either:

1/ I heard dentists have the highest suicide rate😱
2/ Dentists cannot get into med school. 😡😡😡

I can argue against number 2, i can just get in med school if i want to. But the suicide rate, i don't know to respond to that.

What do you guys say in number 1 situation?
Click to expand...

1.) Say "False. Black bear."
2.) Say "I guess I'm just destined to be a dentist dummy."

People who say ridiculous things can't be reasoned with sometimes. As Jay-Z would say, just brush that dirt off your shoulders.
 
ucla2134 said:
What do you guys say in number 1 situation?
Click to expand...


Ask them,"Do know any dentists who have committed suicide?"

"Most dentists I know seem pretty happy with the whole 4day work-week thing, being your own boss, great pay, not having to take orders from a complete dumb-a@#, setting your own hours ... god why am I even wasting my breath on this dumb-a@# question.":meanie:
 
My yearbook teacher told me the same thing. She was like "So what are you going to do as a profession once you graduate? - graphic design?"

I replied : "No, I plan on becoming a dentist one day."

Yearbook teacher: "Oh really? Dentists have the highest suicide rate, it's from the mercury in the fillings. Be carefull."

Me: "Okay, thank you... I guess.."
 
ucla2134 said:
Every time i go out and socialize, people ask me what am i gonna do? I tell them that i will be a future dentist. Their respond is either:

1/ I heard dentists have the highest suicide rate😱
2/ Dentists cannot get into med school. 😡😡😡

I can argue against number 2, i can just get in med school if i want to. But the suicide rate, i don't know to respond to that.

What do you guys say in number 1 situation?
Click to expand...


1/ "If you dont get out of my face with that i wil make dentists known for highest homicide rates"
2/ "I will make more money than your doctor"

lol j/k (kinda) I really hate when people say these two things also, it gets a bit aggrevating...but who cares usually people who say these things know nuthin.
 
I just ignore comments like that and do my thing.
Fighting over it/trying to enlighten them won't benefit me in any way...
 
even though I'm totally joking....

doctors don't have the time to kill themselves......dentists have Fridays 😀


ignore those ppl, who will be laughing when you make more working 4 days/week than they do in 3 weeks
 
Being in a hospital setting daily, I can say that medical providers spend more time with computerized charting than actual patient contact. As a dentist, you have the advantage of being rewarded with patient interaction on a continuous basis with much less political harassment and enhanced clinical autonomy. Spend a day with a internal medicine resident and see how much time is devoted to computer orders, documentation and sleepless nights. You will be glad you choose the path you did. With the increasing research of the oral-systemic- disease connection, as a dentist you are an integrated portion of a patient’s health.
 
I just kinda blow them off and remind myself that I will probably make more money than them anyway and I'll be doing something I love.

This is even worse when I tell people the I am majoring in exercise science. Its kinda fun to leave out the dental school part for few seconds as they try to decide if I am serious or if I am going to be a PE teacher (which my major is not designed at all for that profession anyway)
 
Great interview response 😉

JDPBSN said:
Being in a hospital setting daily, I can say that medical providers spend more time with computerized charting than actual patient contact. As a dentist, you have the advantage of being rewarded with patient interaction on a continuous basis with much less political harassment and enhanced clinical autonomy. Spend a day with a internal medicine resident and see how much time is devoted to computer orders, documentation and sleepless nights. You will be glad you choose the path you did. With the increasing research of the oral-systemic- disease connection, as a dentist you are an integrated portion of a patient’s health.
Click to expand...
 
1) Me- Do you have any substantial evidence to support your claim. Them- no. Me- Then quit spreading false information.
2) I chose dental school over med school (If necessary, explain why).

Or you could go the sarcastic route as Cyrano indicated.
 
ucla2134 said:
Every time i go out and socialize, people ask me what am i gonna do? I tell them that i will be a future dentist. Their respond is either:

1/ I heard dentists have the highest suicide rate😱...This is in fact true, and I always wondered why, until I had a dentist explain it to me:
Whenever you provide a service for a high cost, your clients will expect tremendous results, and that's not always the case in life. Life is messy and not everything goes on as planned. Imperfection is simply part of life, and this applies to dentistry as well.
As a dentist, you're providing a very costly service to your clients. Dentistry is also a very delicate field, which requires a great deal of precision, and let's not forget that you're required to maintain such high level of precision while you're looking into a tiny hole (mouth) all day long. Subsequently, maintaining such high level of precision and producing perfect results in a consistent manner becomes a great challenge, which results in tremendous amount of stress and pressure on the dentist. Aside from the physical toll, dentistry will also take an emotional toll on the dentist. How different individuals deal with this tremendous amount of pressure depends merely on one's personality. Some people will simply snap under the pressure and commit suicide, while others enjoy the challenge and try to learn from their mistakes. This is not limited to dentistry. Look at real estate, and you'll find people who snapped and committed suicide as the market went down the toilet.
In conclusion, not every individual who becomes a dentist is likely to commit a suicide, but those weak individuals who choose dentistry as a career are more likely to do so, simply because it's a very stressful field.
2/ Dentists cannot get into med school. 😡😡😡
Hmmm. Well, it's pointless to argue which one is better. Your mouth is part of your body and if anyone is knowledgeable enough about dentistry and medicine, they'll know that your oral health directly affects the general health of your body. So, people who say you've chosen dentistry simply because you can't get into medical school are simply not educated enough about either field, and you wouldn't be able to change their mind, because they simply don't know the facts.
I can argue against number 2, i can just get in med school if i want to. But the suicide rate, i don't know to respond to that.

What do you guys say in number 1 situation?
Click to expand...
Besides, at the end of the day, what's important is that you have chosen to become a dentist based on certain facts, values, and dreams. You don't need to justify your decision, as long as you know it's the right one!
 
nze82 said:
Besides, at the end of the day, what's important is that you have chosen to become a dentist based on certain facts, values, and dreams. You don't need to justify your decision, as long as you know it's the right one!
Click to expand...

Some people just do not do the research and end up propagating myths.

There are many studies on this.
For one http://jada.ada.org/cgi/content/full/132/6/786
 
1/
Dentistry is indeed stressful, and unlike other medical professions, we are dental surgeons. Once we take a bur to someone's tooth, that's permanent.. there's no turning back. Compare this with other health professions where you may have a few days or so to go back on your previous diagnosis. Dentists are entrusted to perform their best every single time. With that said, ER doctors have a high rate of suicide. Just think about the pressure they are under to perform their best in every emergency procedure.

2/
Dentistry is so different from medicine.. the 2 of them cannot be compared when you consider all the aspects. If you don't like the field, then you are going to be miserable.
 
you should move cuz i never get asked those questions, people respect doctors where im from..
 
Last edited:
what kind of do you hangout with?
when i tell people i want to go to dental school, they usually respond:
1) wow. you're gonna be rich
2) wicked. ummm... NHS doesn't cover dental check-up any more... and that part of my teeth hurt. can you take a look at it?
 
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