Is being a dentist mentally stimulating?

[Darkskies]

Hi,
I've been contemplating applying to dental school and I will be shadowing dentists throughout the span of my final semester of college. I have had some MCAT practice and although I haven't taken the exam officially I do very well on the critical reading portion of the exam(just naturally while the other sections I'm sure I can do well on with proper practice and remembering formulas).

I guess I kind of take some pride in this and was disappointed to find out that the DAT exam's verbal portion is a joke where all you have to do is scan the passage and find the answer. I seemed to get a vibe that the DAT exam overall is more of a "memorize all you can about biology/chemistry (which might actually make it harder than the MCAT in that sense) and then fill in the answers" test. I know I know that I should not base my future career decision off of how well of a critical thinking test the respective standardized exam is but still this has been on my mind.

That being said, how intellectually challenging is dental school and for that matter how intellectually challenging is the career? Do dentists make many diagnoses or is the day mainly packed with spending a lot of time doing 'construction work' on common run of the mill cases so to speak? Basically what I'm asking is whether the important aspects of the job is to know how to model/build/repair teeth(the architectural portion of the job) or if it is more 50/50 where a good knowledge of biology/chemistry and critical thinking is essential as well.

I just wanted to iterate that I am posting this thread in a serious tone and I do not mean any disrespect to anyone. I hope my questions do not rub anyone the wrong way and would like meaningful posts that don't have the intent of flaming me. Thank you very much and I appreciate all responses!
Darkskies

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[Atu14]

Hi,
I've been contemplating applying to dental school and I will be shadowing dentists throughout the span of my final semester of college. I have had some MCAT practice and although I haven't taken the exam officially I do very well on the critical reading portion of the exam(just naturally while the other sections I'm sure I can do well on with proper practice and remembering formulas).

I guess I kind of take some pride in this and was disappointed to find out that the DAT exam's verbal portion is a joke where all you have to do is scan the passage and find the answer. I seemed to get a vibe that the DAT exam overall is more of a "memorize all you can about biology/chemistry (which might actually make it harder than the MCAT in that sense) and then fill in the answers" test. I know I know that I should not base my future career decision off of how well of a critical thinking test the respective standardized exam is but still this has been on my mind.

That being said, how intellectually challenging is dental school and for that matter how intellectually challenging is the career? Do dentists make many diagnoses or is the day mainly packed with spending a lot of time doing 'construction work' on common run of the mill cases so to speak? Basically what I'm asking is whether the important aspects of the job is to know how to model/build/repair teeth(the architectural portion of the job) or if it is more 50/50 where a good knowledge of biology/chemistry and critical thinking is essential as well.

I just wanted to iterate that I am posting this thread in a serious tone and I do not mean any disrespect to anyone. I hope my questions do not rub anyone the wrong way and would like meaningful posts that don't have the intent of flaming me. Thank you very much and I appreciate all responses!
Darkskies

Dude, your post cracked me up

 

[browncrack]

A smart person like you really deserves Medical School. Perhaps you should study for and take both the MCAT and the DAT. Whichever one you get the higher percentile on will be where you apply for admission.

 

[Lily143]

Is this kid serious??

 

[uclaDDS101]

Hi,
I've been contemplating applying to dental school and I will be shadowing dentists throughout the span of my final semester of college. I have had some MCAT practice and although I haven't taken the exam officially I do very well on the critical reading portion of the exam(just naturally while the other sections I'm sure I can do well on with proper practice and remembering formulas).

I guess I kind of take some pride in this and was disappointed to find out that the DAT exam's verbal portion is a joke where all you have to do is scan the passage and find the answer. I seemed to get a vibe that the DAT exam overall is more of a "memorize all you can about biology/chemistry (which might actually make it harder than the MCAT in that sense) and then fill in the answers" test. I know I know that I should not base my future career decision off of how well of a critical thinking test the respective standardized exam is but still this has been on my mind.

That being said, how intellectually challenging is dental school and for that matter how intellectually challenging is the career? Do dentists make many diagnoses or is the day mainly packed with spending a lot of time doing 'construction work' on common run of the mill cases so to speak? Basically what I'm asking is whether the important aspects of the job is to know how to model/build/repair teeth(the architectural portion of the job) or if it is more 50/50 where a good knowledge of biology/chemistry and critical thinking is essential as well.

I just wanted to iterate that I am posting this thread in a serious tone and I do not mean any disrespect to anyone. I hope my questions do not rub anyone the wrong way and would like meaningful posts that don't have the intent of flaming me. Thank you very much and I appreciate all responses!
Darkskies

I can definitely see where you're coming from. I have had many of the same concerns regarding the dental field in the past. If you are looking forward to the same diagnostic diversity found in medicine, I'm afraid you won't find it in general dentistry. For the most part, you will be looking at 2 diseases: dental caries and gingivitis/periodontitis. From the sound of your aspirations, I don't think (speculatively) that you will be satisfied with a career in general dentistry, a career that is so heavily reliant on manual (versus mental) dexterity. As for me, I have been looking hard to find my niche in this field. My search has brought my interests to areas like oral pathology and oral surgery. Maybe you should look into these specialties. You may find them more desirable than general dentistry. Ultimately, though, if you think you would be absolutely miserable as a general dentist, just don't bother applying to dental school.

 

[Svart Aske]

Go into oral pathology; I'm sure there's a lot of problem-solving and diagnostic work there. Alternatively, you can try out quantum physics for "intellectual stimulation."

 

[Darkskies]

I can definitely see where you're coming from. I have had many of the same concerns regarding the dental field in the past. If you are looking forward to the same diagnostic diversity found in medicine, I'm afraid you won't find it in general dentistry. For the most part, you will be looking at 2 diseases: dental caries and gingivitis/periodontitis. From the sound of your aspirations, I don't think (speculatively) that you will be satisfied with a career in general dentistry, a career that is so heavily reliant on manual (versus mental) dexterity. As for me, I have been looking hard to find my niche in this field. My search has brought my interests to areas like oral pathology and oral surgery. Maybe you should look into these specialties. You may find them more desirable than general dentistry. Ultimately, though, if you think you would be absolutely miserable as a general dentist, just don't bother applying to dental school.

Thank you for writing one of the few helpful responses. I admit that my post might have made me sound like I'm egotistical or 'full of myself' but I did not mean to come across that way at all. What I find amazing is that despite writing that the thread was being created in all seriousness and that my intent was not to rub anyone the wrong way or offend anyone the majority of the posts were sarcastic flames directed against me.

I especially love browncrack's post that had the overall message of telling me not to choose my future career based off of how hard some standardized exam is. HELLO, did you even read my post? I even agreed beforehand that choosing my profession based off of the standardized exam is silly just so I wouldn't receive a flame like yours!

I apologize again for offending anyone and I just want to reiterate that I am neither cocky nor selfish and I do not consider myself to be a super genius who is 'too good' for dental school. This is so far from what I'm trying to convey!

All I wanted/want to know was whether the job of being a dentist involves diagnoses,treatment planning,etc. that would draw heavily from one's biology/chemistry knowledge in the same or more or less the same proportions as the manual aspect of the job. I have a great interest in diseases and I would very much prefer an area of dentistry that places more of an emphasis in that realm. I understand that my opening post might not have relayed this idea so clearly but even so I tried my utmost to make it crystal clear that I don't want any flames and that the thread was being created with no intent to troll/offend.

Dentistry can't be all manual right? Why else would there be 2 full years of didactic courses?

Anyways like I said, I am very grateful to uclaDDS101 for his advice and would very much appreciate more like his! Thank you,

Darkskies

 

[Mackchops]

Fair question. Spend some time shadowing a dentist and you'll figure out the answer right away.

I have yet to meet a physician/dentist/etc who draws upon gen chem 101 on a daily basis. The thought is actually quite ridiculous. Maybe you need to understand chem 101 to fully grasp biochemistry which, in turn, is required to fully comprehend human physiology. And knowing how the human body should operate is crucial when studying the many different ways it can go wrong. Which is essential when discussing pharmacology and other treatment modalities. Etc etc etc... Ultimately as a physician or a dentist your job is to prevent and treat disease -- in dentistry we happen to be very good at both. A dentist understands the physiology of "biologic width" when considering the crown/root ratio of a tooth that may or may not ultimately have a good long-term prognosis following RCT/post/core/crown restoration. But clinical experience and literature review, more so than "chem 101" are going to be the relevant materials one draws upon when developing a treatment plan in this case. However, this being the case doesn't mean dentistry isn't "mentally stimulating" -- in fact, it requires a good deal of critical thinking. However, it's more so on the reconstruction side of things -- "how are we going to bring this patient's mouth back to form, function, and esthetics" -- than in diagnosing the problem. If you like teeth and the oral cavity there is always oral path (diagnosing and treating benign and malignant diseases of the oral soft and hard tissues), oral surgery (surgical removal and reconstruction of diseases and disorders of the oral and maxillofacial region), or even oral medicine (treatment planning and dental treatment of the medically complex patient) to consider if you want to focus more on diagnosising problems in the oral cavity.

Dentistry is excellent at preventing and arresting disease or restoring function if disease has progressed too far. We do a great job of treating our patients and improving their quality of life. I find myself mentally exhausted most days in ways you'll really only discover by spending some time at your dentist's office. However, if this isn't attractive to you, then seriously consider a career in research -- where you are "creating" new knowledge, not simply applying it.

 

[Yellow Snow]

Clinical medicine (or dental work, whatever), be it as a DDS/MD, provides an intimate experience that is stimulating and dramatic and you certainly have to use your brain. But your job is to interpret the research and apply it to solve your patient's problems. You most likely won't be generating new treatment modalities. You're applying things you've memorized or read about or observed. This is clinical practice. Knowledge of the basic sciences is important but for reasons that you need to memorize and be taught in school. You can go into clinical research trying out new procedures, etc. after you get your DDS if that is what you want to do.

As far as the DAT, its just something you do. It was a strange test, that's for sure but I don't think it has any deep implications.

***read your post after hitting send MackChops. You said it better than me.

 

[aphistis]

Only if you're doing it right.

 

[Andrew324]

Only if you're doing it right.

By far the best response