How Many Dentists Are Needed in 2040

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futuredrzou

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I am a first year dental student. I always wanted to be a dentist. My best friend dad was a dentist, he was wealthy and well respected in my community. During college, I always focus on my gpa and on how can I be a great applicant for dental school. It just recently started to search about informations on how to tackle the debt and the economy of dentistry. I found this incredible study :


They examined some of the factors likely to impact the number of dentists needed in 2040:
1) the oral health of the population
2) changes in the utilization of dental
3) new technologies
4) the growth of large capitated dental group practices
5) the demand for dental care

They came to the conclusion that by 2040 the surplus of dentists could vary from 32% to 110%.

I am scared. The lifestyle that I dreamed about dont seem to be possible. It seems that dentistry is becoming the new pharmacy. I need advices from current dentist. Is it true ?Should I dropout and apply to med school next year ?

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Forgot about the vaccine against oral bacteria
 
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do you want to be a dentist? if yes, stay in school
if you are looking just for $, i think you would be better served looking for other things. we (dentists) aren't even deemed 'essential' right now. i'm just seeing 'emergency patients' ... to reduce the burden on hospitals (essential business).
 
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Should you dropout and apply to med school?
Yes. Do it. Let us know how it goes.
 
I am a first year dental student. I always wanted to be a dentist. My best friend dad was a dentist, he was wealthy and well respected in my community. During college, I always focus on my gpa and on how can I be a great applicant for dental school. It just recently started to search about informations on how to tackle the debt and the economy of dentistry. I found this incredible study :


They examined some of the factors likely to impact the number of dentists needed in 2040:
1) the oral health of the population
2) changes in the utilization of dental
3) new technologies
4) the growth of large capitated dental group practices
5) the demand for dental care

They came to the conclusion that by 2040 the surplus of dentists could vary from 32% to 110%.

I am scared. The lifestyle that I dreamed about dont seem to be possible. It seems that dentistry is becoming the new pharmacy. I need advices from current dentist. Is it true ?Should I dropout and apply to med school next year ?
In 2040, dentistry in other parts of the country will probably be like what we see right now in CA and NYC. If you are willing to work hard and know how to control your overhead like many of my successful dentist friends here in CA, you should be fine. I am pretty sure your friend’s dad has worked very hard as well. Having DDS degree doesn’t guarantee success.

Since it’s still early, I guess you can still switch to medicine and don’t lose too much time and money. Keep in mind that doctors usually have to work harder than dentists....8+ hours a day, odd hours, and on the weekends. Make sure you have backup plan in case you don’t get accepted to med school because you still have pay back the student loan debt owed for your first dental school year. Good luck!
 
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Dude I think you should try and relax a little. A lot can happen in 20 years. Something originally brought you to dentistry, be true to yourself, work hard and remember not everything is about the money. Dentistry will not fully go the way of pharmacy because of the unique doctor-patient relationship. No one cares who their pharmacist is, but people definitely care who is working in their mouth.
 
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