is dental school harder than medical school?

[ronaldo23]

my cousin in dental school says it is. She said that many of her professors teach the medical and dental first 2 year classes and claim this...but maybe its her bias. Any thoughts?

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[chessknt]

Dont know much about dental school but highly doubtful considering that medicine is a very broad range of systems/diseases whereas dental is very narrow.

 

[Insulinshock]

My second-cousin is in dental school and says the same thing. I highly doubt it would be harder, but i may just be naive.

 

[LadyWolverine]

my cousin in dental school says it is. She said that many of her professors teach the medical and dental first 2 year classes and claim this...but maybe its her bias. Any thoughts?

I'm so tired of this. Who cares? An NP told me her program is harder than medical school. A SMP student told me his program is harder than medical school. A first-year undergraduate nursing student told me her program is harder than medical school. A pharmacy student told me his program is harder than medical school. Several PhD students have told me the same. Who knows? Maybe they are right. I don't care - I went to medical school because I wanted to be a doctor, not because I wanted bragging rights for being in the "most difficult program."

Everyone wants to believe that their program/path/degree is "harder than medical school," as if medical school itself is some understood and accepted standard of difficulty. If other students want to think that their programs are harder than mine, and get some perverse joy in vocalizing their opinions, fine. I have no basis for comparison, and no real reason or desire to argue, so who the F cares? In the end, I will have an M.D., they will have their degree, and we will all enter the workforce. At that point, it won't matter who had the most difficult program. Why on earth would you want to work harder anyway, especially if it doesn't get you anything other than bragging rights in the end? I'm more interested in tangible/otherwise appreciable results.

 

[Raryn]

Think its easier to learn everything you can about the mouth, or about the *entire* human body?

Dental schools clinical stuff might be more hands on, but thats because med students have 3+ years of residency to go through to master all of the procedures necessary.

 

[175961]

I'm so tired of this. Who cares?

nuff said. Business school is harder than law school, law school is harder than med school, dental school is harder than PA school, pharmacy school is harder than dental school and business school combined, PT school is harder than nursing school; however, it is not harder than most dental hygienist programs, undergrad is generally harder than high school, which is harder than grade school. these kinds of arguments will never come to an end, especially on any internet forum. so why bother trying

 

[timurx]

my cousin in dental school says it is. She said that many of her professors teach the medical and dental first 2 year classes and claim this...but maybe its her bias. Any thoughts?

I highly doubt that dental is harder than medical school...i mean why on earth should it be? It would make no sense to make dental students work harder when in fact they have less to learn and ultimately work with that their medical student couterparts. Not to mention they don't go nearly as much torture during the clinical years (a la waking up everyday @ 430 am for ob/gyn rotation and working 30 hr shifts in the hospital for example)

I have a feeling that many of these students are trying to justify their schools/career choices compared to the medical profession, since after all, medical school is the gold standard, they will say anything to justify be it dental/opto/podiatry. Im not saying dental school is not hard...im sure its is full of endless night studying and what not, but lets be honest. Better yet, ask a current resident/first year intern what they think about this question and i think you'll hear an ear-full about just how insane medical school and the profession is.

 

[digitalising]

.

nuff said. Business school is harder than law school, law school is harder than med school, dental school is harder than PA school, pharmacy school is harder than dental school and business school combined, PT school is harder than nursing school; however, it is not harder than most dental hygienist programs, undergrad is generally harder than high school, which is harder than grade school. these kinds of arguments will never come to an end, especially on any internet forum. so why bother trying

Please. Clown college is harder than all of those combined <honks bicycle horn>

 

[Bradstein]

I think the first two years are almost the same between the two.

 

[Lukkie]

way easier, theres a reason lots of people that failed med skool end up going into dental

 

[175961]

.

Please. Clown college is harder than all of those combined <honks bicycle horn>

when I was younger we would go to vegas to visit family and when we were heading to the mall one time they pointed out a clown college to me. at that moment I thought to myself "I wanna go to clown college, that sounds like fun!!!" true story

 

[ronaldo23]

How about PhD programs. like sciences like physics and stuff are they 'harder' than medical school?

 

[TehDoc]

Medical school IS the standard which everyone compares their program to, therefore your cousin can join the group of naive people who want to boost their ego's.

 

[Californian]

depends on which dental school or which med school..
generally, carribean/DO med schools are easier than dental school(admission)
MD school depends also! depends on the school...

overall MD school is little more competitive since there is so many applicants...
but dental school has only 50something something schools and med school has ~125ish schools...

stats wise, avg. MD schools has higher GPA and Mcat is harder than DAT

 

[gasapple]

Aside from my agreement with the previously posted "who cares", when one incorporates the rigorous hand skill training required with aspects of general medicine, you've got quite a hill to climb as a dental student. Dental students spend time in gross lab (overall study, but obvisouly more focus on head and neck) and then many, many more hours in the lab working on hand skills after leaving the gross lab. I also don't think general pathology is as rigorous (baby path book) but they've got oral pathologies and indicators for systemic disease thrown in everywhere. Bottom line, they've got hand skills on top of aspects of medicine. That in itself sums up the difficulty level. RESPEK

 

[gasapple]

depends on which dental school or which med school..
generally, carribean/DO med schools are easier than dental school(admission)
MD school depends also! depends on the school...

overall MD school is little more competitive since there is so many applicants...
but dental school has only 50something something schools and med school has ~125ish schools...

stats wise, avg. MD schools has higher GPA and Mcat is harder than DAT

Hey bud, I don't think we're talking admissions but rather curriculum here in this thread.

 

[parto123]

Having simultaneously completed both medical and dental school I can say with absolute certainty that they are the exact same difficulty! What are the odds?

 

[GamjaXnamjA]

I'm so tired of this. Who cares? An NP told me her program is harder than medical school. A SMP student told me his program is harder than medical school. A first-year undergraduate nursing student told me her program is harder than medical school. A pharmacy student told me his program is harder than medical school. Several PhD students have told me the same. Who knows? Maybe they are right. I don't care - I went to medical school because I wanted to be a doctor, not because I wanted bragging rights for being in the "most difficult program."

Everyone wants to believe that their program/path/degree is "harder than medical school," as if medical school itself is some understood and accepted standard of difficulty. If other students want to think that their programs are harder than mine, and get some perverse joy in vocalizing their opinions, fine. I have no basis for comparison, and no real reason or desire to argue, so who the F cares? In the end, I will have an M.D., they will have their degree, and we will all enter the workforce. At that point, it won't matter who had the most difficult program. Why on earth would you want to work harder anyway, especially if it doesn't get you anything other than bragging rights in the end? I'm more interested in tangible/otherwise appreciable results.

well said ladywolverine!

 

[parto123]

.

 

[RySerr21]

how would anybody on this thread be able to answer this question. altho intution would lead one to believe medical school is more difficult just b/c it seems like so much more information, no one cann really answer this questin unless they go through both educations.

but like so many others have said..................who cares.

 

[chitownGpremed]

How about PhD programs. like sciences like physics and stuff are they 'harder' than medical school?

they are almost totally different - in phds the class work is secondary, you live and die by your research

 

[m_rivera84]

I think the first two years are almost the same between the two.

That's what my cousin says too. He has to learn about the basic sciences behind the body, as well. I believe his classes are from 10-5, which is either more or equal to medical schools. Also has to attend summer sessions (or fall behind) like med students. But I don't know much about either first hand, so...

 

[sshashid87]

A few of my cousins are DMDs and while they never said that their program was harder (they are...normal...not arrogant...), I've heard that the first few years has quite a bit of overlap with medical school. From what I understand, they do go through anatomy and some of the intro medical school courses, and then go onto to pure dental training. That said, medical school is probably harder to get into and it's quite probable that's its harder than DMD school, but most likely the first few years are about the same. Still, their education is not easy by any means, and it shouldn't be looked down upon. But really, who cares? You can stroke your own ego and say DMD is harder than MD, or vice versa but in the end you're going to have to pass required exams and are going into different fields. Dentists won't be able to perform as an physician and I really don't think the opposite is possible either. Do what you want to do, doesn't really matter about the other guy. When I go to med school (hopefully 2010), I'm not going to be checking up on my dentistry school friends and trivializing their school choice by saying I have to know more than you (sounds like a 3rd grade argument, no?) Not trying to flame, just add an opinion. But I don't know, I'm not a doctor. (just lowly pre-med taking a break from MCAT studying)

 

[Narmerguy]

None of us would honestly know. You have the misfortune of having to find someone that's completed both to get an honest answer.

 

[Livingapparatus]

Having simultaneously completed both medical and dental school I can say with absolute certainty that they are the exact same difficulty! What are the odds?

case closed

 

[cbrons]

I'm so tired of this. Who cares? An NP told me her program is harder than medical school. A SMP student told me his program is harder than medical school. A first-year undergraduate nursing student told me her program is harder than medical school. A pharmacy student told me his program is harder than medical school. Several PhD students have told me the same. Who knows? Maybe they are right. I don't care - I went to medical school because I wanted to be a doctor, not because I wanted bragging rights for being in the "most difficult program."

Everyone wants to believe that their program/path/degree is "harder than medical school," as if medical school itself is some understood and accepted standard of difficulty. If other students want to think that their programs are harder than mine, and get some perverse joy in vocalizing their opinions, fine. I have no basis for comparison, and no real reason or desire to argue, so who the F cares? In the end, I will have an M.D., they will have their degree, and we will all enter the workforce. At that point, it won't matter who had the most difficult program. Why on earth would you want to work harder anyway, especially if it doesn't get you anything other than bragging rights in the end? I'm more interested in tangible/otherwise appreciable results.

lol.... i doubt any of those are harder. everyone wants to say their thing is harder than med school but we all know who has the hardest what and ironically all the ones with the soft stuff wanna try and out do the ones with the hardest stuff, its just a joke. in the end, we all know whats the hardest.

 

[engineeredout]

Engineering Undergraduate >> Med school, Dental school, podiatry school, nursing school, PT school, Business school, Law school, & clown college combined.

Case closed.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

.

Please. Clown college is harder than all of those combined <honks bicycle horn>

I bet it would be...you wont see me juggling and riding a unicycle.

 

[LikeClockWork]

Everyone wants to believe that their program/path/degree is "harder than medical school," as if medical school itself is some understood and accepted standard of difficulty. If other students want to think that their programs are harder than mine, and get some perverse joy in vocalizing their opinions, fine. I have no basis for comparison, and no real reason or desire to argue, so who the F cares? In the end, I will have an M.D., they will have their degree, and we will all enter the workforce. At that point, it won't matter who had the most difficult program. Why on earth would you want to work harder anyway, especially if it doesn't get you anything other than bragging rights in the end? I'm more interested in tangible/otherwise appreciable results.

True dat. I'm going to have to remember this mentality because it makes a hell of a lot more sense than most things I've heard about this topic.

 

[PreMedMommy]

How about PhD programs. like sciences like physics and stuff are they 'harder' than medical school?

IMHO, PhD in Physics is much much harder than med school. This is coming from someone with a BS in physics, (and the bs doesn't mean bachelor of science). I'd rather shoot myself in foot before you could make me sit through that much more quantum mechanics. Then again, I guess its about where my talent lies.

 

[bcat85]

Who cares?

This pretty much sums it up.

 

[SirGecko]

Engineering Undergraduate >> Med school, Dental school, podiatry school, nursing school, PT school, Business school, Law school, & clown college combined.

Case closed.

I certainly hope so!

On the topic, obviously no one can answer this question (though people could answer if engineering undergrad is harder than medical school) and it probably would even vary from person to person.

 

[bodonid]

is medical school harder than cosmetology school?

 

[Dedikated2liftn]

is medical school harder than cosmetology school?

Hell no.

 

[SirGecko]

is medical school harder than cosmetology school?

Cosmetology is a cutthroat school my friend. Plus everyone has shears.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

is medical school harder than cosmetology school?

Im a beauty school Drop out..

*chubbychaser breaks out into song*

 

[TehDoc]

No one knows.

 

[HupHolland]

My 2 cents:

The first 2 years of dental school are much more time consuming than the first 2 years of med school. Why? The same basic sciences you take as med students (cell bio, histo, micro, neuro, physio, anatomy, path, pharm, biochem) combined with clinical/lab courses. Both components require quite a bit of studying and practicing, respectively.

The final 2 years of dental school are much less time consuming than final 2 years of med school. We're basically in the clinic from 9-5 treating patients with no call and little coursework. You're doing rotations, working your ass off and getting drilled.

I feel justified to make the above 2 statements because my roommate is a med student and we're both very aware of how much pain and suffering each goes through. However, I agree with lady wolverine... who gives a ****? At the end of 4 years I get my DDS and you get your MD. I do what I like, you do what you like. Case close.

-Hup!

 

[175961]

case closed

Case closed.

Case close.

Case closed??

 

[Dedikated2liftn]

Cosmetology is a cutthroat school my friend. Plus everyone has shears.

Ha, well we get a scalpels and bone saws. Considering all the cut-throat d-bags out there in this field, I'm much more scared being a med student.

 

[Law2Doc]

my cousin in dental school says it is. She said that many of her professors teach the medical and dental first 2 year classes and claim this...but maybe its her bias. Any thoughts?

Let's put it this way. While in law school, I lived in a graduate dorm with med students, law students, and dental students. The dental students had by far the most free time and went out in the evening the most, with law a reasonably close second place and medicine dead last by a large margin. That's not very scientific, but if you can go out the way these guys/gals did during the first two years of dent school, then it simply cannot be comparably hard, because they didn't put the same kind of time in; you won't have that kind of nightlife in med school. Obviously folks in dental school are going to say it's rough. And sure they are going to have overlapping profs -- we had some dental profs (a couple, not that significant) overlap in our med school as well. Doesn't mean it's the same class you are taking, or the same class average you are competing against.

 

[mathaihurts]

My 2 cents:

The first 2 years of dental school are much more time consuming than the first 2 years of med school. Why? The same basic sciences you take as med students (cell bio, histo, micro, neuro, physio, anatomy, path, pharm, biochem) combined with clinical/lab courses. Both components require quite a bit of studying and practicing, respectively.

The final 2 years of dental school are much less time consuming than final 2 years of med school. We're basically in the clinic from 9-5 treating patients with no call and little coursework. You're doing rotations, working your ass off and getting drilled.

I feel justified to make the above 2 statements because my roommate is a med student and we're both very aware of how much pain and suffering each goes through. However, I agree with lady wolverine... who gives a ****? At the end of 4 years I get my DDS and you get your MD. I do what I like, you do what you like. Case close.

-Hup!

I completely agree with this quote, as someone who is also in dental school and lives with med students. the penn med students, in particular, think that most of the penn dental students are crazy, owing to all the classes and labs we have to attend. One of my friends in the dental school class is dating a med student in the same year, and while she certainly works hard, she noted that it's a less intense schedule because their classes are pass/fail, they don't require attendence, don't have science labs, and their basic science courses are just that: basic. Unlike in dental school, med students don't have to learn specialized info on parts of the body...yet.

Ultimately I think that's what separates dental from med school...the fact that we have to begin our specializing (in the head, neck, and mouth) and hand skills right away, whereas doctors can choose to after getting their initial degree.

As for entrance requirements, the applicant pools are relatively similar since people seem to know that dentists make doctor $ with less hospital politics and hassle, and generally can have more relaxed work schedules. There's also the same shortage in dentists that there is in all of medicine, making the field very attractive in terms of job security.

The DAT could possibly be easier than the MCAT if you're someone who aced the SAT or ACT (there's a math and verbal section comparable to these exams; for me this was like a freebie, but for others it was a struggle) and you can handle the Perceptual Ability Test (PAT). The PAT, in particular, tends to weed out the most people, since you really have to be able to mentally manipulate structures in seconds to do well. Take a practice exam for the PAT and you'll know what I mean. Some people just get it, and others, it seems, never will!

Science-wise, I actually used MCAT study materials borrowed from friends since the ones from Kaplan for the DAT sucked. I thought basic science was similar on the exam to my MCAT study materials, but am relieved that I didn't have to brush up on my physics, since the DAT (unlike the MCAT) doesn't test this.

I also had to take far more required classes than my med school friends in the sciences to even apply; Biochem, Neuroscience, Psychology, and 9 hrs of English were all mandatory pre-dental requirements for me, in addition to the usual ones common to both pre-med and pre-dental students. To be really competitive though, one has to usually take more (I did). It was also explicitly required on some of my applications that I have worked with or shadowed in the dental field for a minimum of 30 hrs, and have a letter of recommendation from a dentist to prove it.

Since dental schools accept far lower numbers of students per class and there are so few schools to begin with, for now I'd say getting into a school, especially a top-tier one, is extremely tough, and certainly more competitive than the majority of med schools. It's virtually impossible to get into an out-of-state dental school, even in states that aren't traditionally known for having good public universities...I got into Columbia and Penn, for example, but was rejected outright from UNLV!

So in all, it's just a totally different game, this whole med vs. dental school thing. I wouldn't apply to dental (or med) school based on a false perception of difficulty, because it'll be really tough to motivate yourself to perform in dental school (or even apply) if you have no interest in teeth or oral medicine...trust me!

 

[engineeredout]

I thought this thread looked familar. Guess I have excellent three month old memory.

 

[Wylde]

Dont know much about dental school but highly doubtful considering that medicine is a very broad range of systems/diseases whereas dental is very narrow.

That doesn't make sense. You could make the argument that dental is harder, since you have to learn minutia about a very specific field.

I am sure they are comparable. Both are professional health fields with a lot to learn, since they will be using this information to make healthcare decisions. I know a lot of dental students actually take the medical school curriculum (at the school's associated med school) the first 2 years.

My bet is that they are comparable. Both schools are just about memorizing information anyway.

PS: I think graduate school (namely getting a doctorate) is the most difficult. You actually have to THINK instead of just memorizing stuff.

 

[patekpremed]

...PS: I think graduate school (namely getting a doctorate) is the most difficult. You actually have to THINK instead of just memorizing stuff.

This is the most pea-brained thing I have ever read. You think that when someone comes into a physicians office with multiple problems involving multiple body systems, there is no thinking involved?

Getting a doctorate does involve thinking, but that doesn't make it the most difficult, unless you aren't a "thinker" in which case you probably shouldn't be on this message board in the first place. I sure hope my doctor is a thinker...

 

[Chemist0157]

I doubt that dental school is actually more difficult than medical school for the same obvious reasons mentioned above. Still, the only way to be objective is to participate in both...of course, schools differ in difficulty too.

Basically, who knows (or who cares).

 

[Pinkertinkle]

Medical school is harder than anything. Anyone who says otherwise is just jealous because they couldn't get in or regret not trying. Waahh.

 

[silverhorse84]

I thought this thread looked familar. Guess I have excellent three month old memory.

Haha, I was thinking the same thing

 

[Law2Doc]

I doubt that dental school is actually more difficult than medical school for the same obvious reasons mentioned above. Still, the only way to be objective is to participate in both...of course, schools differ in difficulty too.

Basically, who knows (or who cares).

The OMFS surgery folks will have gone through dental school and the rotation years of med school, so that would be the group who could give you the best insight, if you really wanted to know.

 

[Chemist0157]

The OMFS surgery folks will have gone through dental school and the rotation years of med school, so that would be the group who could give you the best insight, if you really wanted to know.

They could give some insight, but I still don't really care, lol.

I'm just going to medical school and focusing on that.