How has your life changed since becoming a specialist?

[Utdarsenal]

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Hi everyone,

I'm at a crossroads in life. 27 years old, been a dentist for two years now, no student debt. I've become a bit bored.

My mother and brother are dentists and I currently work full time at my mothers place. Both are general dentists.

I feel like I need to disconnect from my mother and older brother. I don't want to "follow footsteps". I want to set a path for myself and I think specializing may help me create my own path. I don't think I can continue living my life comfortably knowing that I'm just following footsteps and "doing what they did". It may sound strange, but it's how I feel. My mother expects me to buy into her office she's established since I was a baby. I enjoy working there and have picked up the ropes, but I don't feel comfortable in the respect that it all seems like it was her master-plan since the beginning and I don't want to "fall into it". It's a great office, but a part of me wants it and the other part says i'm just following footsteps. Something in me says that I need to be different. Am I being weird?

I'm worried about setting aside three years with potentially no income (married, wife currently doesn't work, but no children), which may set back plans for having kids or a home.

I guess my main question here is, how has your life changed since becoming a specialist? I know this is a broad question and I'm not specifically targeting any specific specialty, but I'd like to know general thoughts.

Has your work-life balance gotten better? Are you happier with yourself that you are now considered a "specialist" in your field and have more of a final say in treatments? Do you feel more fulfilled? Do you feel more comfortable in your own shoes? Have you found it easy to make-up for those 3 years of lost income by earning a bit more every following work-year? How did you handle the situation with your significant other/wife while going to residency?

Thanks and I'd appreciate any advice or inputs. If it helps, I've been thinking about perio (I enjoy doing surgery), but advice from all specialists in general would be much appreciated.

 

[deleted721052]

following!

 

[deleted659902]

Hi everyone,

I'm at a crossroads in life. 27 years old, been a dentist for two years now, no student debt. I've become a bit bored.

My mother and brother are dentists and I currently work full time at my mothers place. Both are general dentists.

I feel like I need to disconnect from my mother and older brother. I don't want to "follow footsteps". I want to set a path for myself and I think specializing may help me create my own path. I don't think I can continue living my life comfortably knowing that I'm just following footsteps and "doing what they did". It may sound strange, but it's how I feel. My mother expects me to buy into her office she's established since I was a baby. I enjoy working there and have picked up the ropes, but I don't feel comfortable in the respect that it all seems like it was her master-plan since the beginning and I don't want to "fall into it". It's a great office, but a part of me wants it and the other part says i'm just following footsteps. Something in me says that I need to be different. Am I being weird?

I'm worried about setting aside three years with potentially no income (married, wife currently doesn't work, but no children), which may set back plans for having kids or a home.

I guess my main question here is, how has your life changed since becoming a specialist? I know this is a broad question and I'm not specifically targeting any specific specialty, but I'd like to know general thoughts.

Has your work-life balance gotten better? Are you happier with yourself that you are now considered a "specialist" in your field and have more of a final say in treatments? Do you feel more fulfilled? Do you feel more comfortable in your own shoes? Have you found it easy to make-up for those 3 years of lost income by earning a bit more every following work-year? How did you handle the situation with your significant other/wife while going to residency?

Thanks and I'd appreciate any advice or inputs. If it helps, I've been thinking about perio (I enjoy doing surgery), but advice from all specialists in general would be much appreciated.

have you considered business ventures outside of dentistry?

 

[Utdarsenal]

have you considered business ventures outside of dentistry?

Yes. It crosses my mind everyday. As does a specialty.

 

[Anondds87]

This is a question I'm interested to see the answers to.

I'm not quite there yet, I worked as a general dentist for 4 years, and same feeling, got a bit bored of it and was looking for the next challenge. I was also in a good financial position, bought a house, and then kind of realised that i was going to be in mortgage debt for the next 30 years, and not much would really change in my lifestyle for a realllly long time. The only way I could really improve my lifestyle would be to take on more debt for a bigger house etc and the quickest way to do that was get a higher paying job so the bank would loan me more. So I thought specialising would do that.

So I thought well if I specialise I can increase my standard of living. I'll basically be in debt for the next 30 years of working anyway. I'll be the first to admit this was pretty stupid, because deep down I knew that taking 3 years of no income, plus the fact that any increase in wages would be taxed highly (so let's say I could make an extra 100k a year i might only take home 60k of that) so would that really be a big benefit after 3 years of lost income plus extra tuition? Plus hoping for that much extra as a specialist is ambitious anyway. So I wasnt really convinced it would be a good financial move - but still, I'd be able to get a bigger mortgage, so I would feel richer even though realistically the numbers probably wouldnt reflect that.


One thing that I also wonder is deep down was I just a bit scared of the thought of 30 more years of dentistry? I think yes, but I also think how much of that is just the thought of 30 years of work being daunting and exhausting with patients etc. So I think maybe it drew me to specialising thinking that might help, but perhaps in hindsight specialising wont really fix that and just delay it for another 3 years.

I'm halfway through my specialty atm, not really sure if I've made the right decision. No one discouraged me from doing a specialty, and realistically I wish they had. Everyone kind of had the opinion "it will be worth it in the end". I disagree. I think specialising is only worth it if you can get to live in a place you want for the 3 years, and it's not going to be expensive.

The best advice i got before specialising was "would you rather work 3 days a week doing a job you dont like (in reference to pedo - where I am they are paid extremely well) or 5 days a week doing a job you do like (implying the 3 days of pedo would pay the same as 5 days of another specialty). Personally I'd rather work 3 days a week and chill rather than have to work 5 days. No one loves their job - if they genuinely did they'd do it for free, but they dont, so work as little as possible". I thought this was a great perspective as it didnt come with the "oh follow your passion and everything will be worth it" bs because you really dont know if you're gonna love a specialty until it's too late. And I think it's ok to admit that we are driven by money and lifestyle but a lot of people dont want to say it out loud.

Do I find the work I do as a specialist more interesting than general dentistry? Yes. But it still feels like a job. I'm honestly not sure if it's worth the lost income and debt. And it's not a very professional opinion for me to give -basically I'm only focusing on superficial things- but I wish I heard it before I made the decision.

 

[charlestweed]

In order for you to enjoy doing surgeries, you have to have patients to work on. And in order to get patients, you have to visit different GP offices begging them to refer patients to you. Are you ok with doing this?

How do you plan to pay for the perio residency? Are you going to take out student loan? or your mom will help you?

 

[Utdarsenal]

This is a question I'm interested to see the answers to.

I'm not quite there yet, I worked as a general dentist for 4 years, and same feeling, got a bit bored of it and was looking for the next challenge. I was also in a good financial position, bought a house, and then kind of realised that i was going to be in mortgage debt for the next 30 years, and not much would really change in my lifestyle for a realllly long time. The only way I could really improve my lifestyle would be to take on more debt for a bigger house etc and the quickest way to do that was get a higher paying job so the bank would loan me more. So I thought specialising would do that.

So I thought well if I specialise I can increase my standard of living. I'll basically be in debt for the next 30 years of working anyway. I'll be the first to admit this was pretty stupid, because deep down I knew that taking 3 years of no income, plus the fact that any increase in wages would be taxed highly (so let's say I could make an extra 100k a year i might only take home 60k of that) so would that really be a big benefit after 3 years of lost income plus extra tuition? Plus hoping for that much extra as a specialist is ambitious anyway. So I wasnt really convinced it would be a good financial move - but still, I'd be able to get a bigger mortgage, so I would feel richer even though realistically the numbers probably wouldnt reflect that.


One thing that I also wonder is deep down was I just a bit scared of the thought of 30 more years of dentistry? I think yes, but I also think how much of that is just the thought of 30 years of work being daunting and exhausting with patients etc. So I think maybe it drew me to specialising thinking that might help, but perhaps in hindsight specialising wont really fix that and just delay it for another 3 years.

I'm halfway through my specialty atm, not really sure if I've made the right decision. No one discouraged me from doing a specialty, and realistically I wish they had. Everyone kind of had the opinion "it will be worth it in the end". I disagree. I think specialising is only worth it if you can get to live in a place you want for the 3 years, and it's not going to be expensive.

The best advice i got before specialising was "would you rather work 3 days a week doing a job you dont like (in reference to pedo - where I am they are paid extremely well) or 5 days a week doing a job you do like (implying the 3 days of pedo would pay the same as 5 days of another specialty). Personally I'd rather work 3 days a week and chill rather than have to work 5 days. No one loves their job - if they genuinely did they'd do it for free, but they dont, so work as little as possible". I thought this was a great perspective as it didnt come with the "oh follow your passion and everything will be worth it" bs because you really dont know if you're gonna love a specialty until it's too late. And I think it's ok to admit that we are driven by money and lifestyle but a lot of people dont want to say it out loud.

Do I find the work I do as a specialist more interesting than general dentistry? Yes. But it still feels like a job. I'm honestly not sure if it's worth the lost income and debt. And it's not a very professional opinion for me to give -basically I'm only focusing on superficial things- but I wish I heard it before I made the decision.

Thank you so much. This is the type of input I was really trying to get.

I think that's the same battle I have at the moment. I'm having that existential crisis where I'm thinking, do I really want to be doing this grind for 30+ years? I'm maybe 70% sure that doing a specialty like perio would "probably" make it easier for me in the respect that I'll be doing more of what I enjoy on a daily basis but as you mentioned, the "it's just a job" mentality will likely still be lingering and I'm not sure if it'll give me more personal fulfillment.

I know that I enjoy working in a slow-paced environment where I can take pictures of every step of treatment if I really wanted to. It makes me appreciate the profession a little more instead of running from room to room trying to get as much treatment done as possible. I think specializing "might" help me obtain that a little more.

In the end, unfortunately, I do think it's a race to try to retire as soon as possible. The question is, which route would make you the happiest and also be able to get there sooner, hopefully?

 

[Utdarsenal]

In order for you to enjoy doing surgeries, you have to have patients to work on. And in order to get patients, you have to visit different GP offices begging them to refer patients to you. Are you ok with doing this?

How do you plan to pay for the perio residency? Are you going to take out student loan? or your mom will help you?

Yes. I love teaching so I can picture myself throwing CE events to invite GP's.
I will take a student loan out.

 

[Svart Aske]

I would go for it. Choose the path of least regret; I hate the idea of looking back and wonder “what if”. However you have to make a decision that makes financial sense, so choose which program you apply to wisely. I don’t think perio programs vary that much in quality of education and clinical experience, so try come out of it with as little student debt as possible.

 

[monkeykey]

This is a question I'm interested to see the answers to.

I'm not quite there yet, I worked as a general dentist for 4 years, and same feeling, got a bit bored of it and was looking for the next challenge. I was also in a good financial position, bought a house, and then kind of realised that i was going to be in mortgage debt for the next 30 years, and not much would really change in my lifestyle for a realllly long time. The only way I could really improve my lifestyle would be to take on more debt for a bigger house etc and the quickest way to do that was get a higher paying job so the bank would loan me more. So I thought specialising would do that.

Oof 30 year house mortgage? As a dentist?! How much house are you buying compared to your income? I you trying to really BALL OUT like a playa?

 

[charlestweed]

Yes. I love teaching so I can picture myself throwing CE events to invite GP's.
I will take a student loan out.

That’s great that you are willing to visit the GP offices. My wife and I are both specialists and we really hate doing this. But we didn’t really have any choice because we needed the patients to fill the chairs so we could pay our bills. We owed $450k in student loans + $350k home loan + $120k business loan for my wife’s office + $75k business loan for my ortho office. When the student and business loans were paid off and our children got older, my wife and I stopped spending our time communicating with the GPs the way we used to. Consequently, the referrals from the GPs dropped significantly for my wife’s office. I am still doing ok because my referring GPs know I charge reasonable fees and I also get referrals from my existing patients….plus I still have my 11 days/month associate job at the corp. My wife’s office used to be solidly booked 12 days/month. Now, she only works 3-4 days/month at her own office. Now, she prefers to travel to multiple GP offices to work as an in-house specialist….easy money….no more a** kissing.

 

[BingDent]

The grass is always greener on the other side.

Jobs are not always meant to be enjoyable/fulfilling. A job’s primary purpose to make a living. If you want something you enjoy, get a hobby.

 

[ibuprofen400mg]

GPs love me because I always say yes and take care of their complications. I stay after hours everyday just in case a local GP sends me a broken root tip case that he couldnt handle. I am the bottom bitch in this world but who cares? I take home multi-million dollars every year.

 

[BingDent]

I once heard a consultant named Greg Stanley spoke in a podcast.

He says some dentist have a perspective problem (I call it a first world problem). They get depression and crisis (even taking anti-depressants) and yet, they have a great life, family, and high income.

He proposed this problem can be fixed by spending a month or two in some third world country and come back with a brand new set of perspective...problem solved.

 

[Utdarsenal]

I once heard a consultant named Greg Stanley spoke in a podcast.

He says some dentist have a perspective problem (I call it a first world problem). They get depression and crisis (even taking anti-depressants) and yet, they have a great life, family, and high income.

He proposed this problem can be fixed by spending a month or two in some third world country and come back with a brand new set of perspective...problem solved.

haha... makes me laugh because I actually started this thread recently after having coming back from a 3 week break in a third world country. Yes, it definitely helps.
Still trying to find an answer within myself, though.. before the break, my mind was extremely cluttered/cloudy. Step by step.

 

[Utdarsenal]

GPs love me because I always say yes and take care of their complications. I stay after hours everyday just in case a local GP sends me a broken root tip case that he couldnt handle. I am the bottom bitch in this world but who cares? I take home multi-million dollars every year.

Great..
Did you go into OS directly after school or did you work as a GP for a while? If you first worked as a GP, how would you compare your daily work life as (not speaking about money here)?
Do the procedures you do make you happier than before? Does the whole concept of being a “specialist” on your field make you feel more fulfilled?
thanks

 

[ibuprofen400mg]

Great..
Did you go into OS directly after school or did you work as a GP for a while? If you first worked as a GP, how would you compare your daily work life as (not speaking about money here)?
Do the procedures you do make you happier than before? Does the whole concept of being a “specialist” on your field make you feel more fulfilled?
thanks

1. Entered directly
2. Yes and Yes.