Is pedo dying?

[teehee69]

?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[nealofgrafton]

if you are asking you are definitely not a dentist. wait until you get into clinic

 

[qdogmillionaire]

With the plethora of schools opening and crazy number of new pedo grads coming out, limited job availability except in medicaid mills pappoosing kisd and ruining their lives and gp "kids" dentists opening up, do you guys think going pedo is still worth it?

Pediatrics is one of the safest specialties in that there will always be children. There is a reason that so many resident positions are being added- because there is a need.

 

[teehee69]

What about the lack of jobs except at Medicaid mills pappoosing kids and the plethora of “kids” dentists opening next door?

 

[free99]

What about the lack of jobs except at Medicaid mills pappoosing kids and the plethora of “kids” dentists opening next door?

You're looking in the wrong places for jobs.

 

[Rumple]

What about the lack of jobs except at Medicaid mills pappoosing kids and the plethora of “kids” dentists opening next door?

Those jobs are usually taken by early out GP’s because of the income potential. I promise they aren’t papoosing kids... the second they have behavior issues they refer them to pediatric dentists. The specialty isn’t going anywhere, and pediatric dentists are doing well financially (overall).

 

[shulk]

I'm not sure if "Children of Men" was just a fictional movie or a documentary these days, but if it was a documentary, peds should definitely be worried.

 

[teehee69]

Anecdotal but I have 5 good friends, all pedo, all pappoose in medicaid mills and are financially struggling,

 

[free99]

Anecdotal but I have 5 good friends, all pedo, all pappoose in medicaid mills and are financially struggling,

Where are they working? I'll do a new specialty residency before relegating myself to routinely papoosing kids for treatment.

 

[Yachi]

There are quite a lot of pedo residency programs opening lately. I don’t know how much it will saturate the speciality, but I do know that my California pedo friends are relocating to other states.

 

[2TH MVR]

Can't say any profession is dying. Its how those services are being delivered. Corp pedo is on the rise. I sat at a Corp annual meeting where one of their mandates was to start or acquire as many pedo practices as possible. This was California.

 

[dentistspec123]

Anecdotal but I have 5 good friends, all pedo, all pappoose in medicaid mills and are financially struggling,

As a pedo only a couple of years out, I can attest to this also. While I and my other pedo colleagues aren't struggling per se, the jobs are not plentiful and the ones that are ARE mills (think ops every 30mins and 4-6 hygiene checks an hour + walkins, owners using cheap materials, mismanaged practices). Because alot of children are covered by medicaid or state insurance, reimbursements are low so high volume is key to medicaid mills and many practices in general. Also, while an experienced general dentist years out can produce a lot through implants or invisalign and high cost procedures adults are willing to pay for, pedo will always be the same bread and butter cheap and quick procedures. In pedo parents are just not willing to spend out of pocket for quality care or for sedation for "teeth that are just going to fall out" and most just say "pull it" aka that is where papoose comes in.

This is coming from the NYC and LA metro areas which I am most familiar with. While there are probably great jobs in other places outside major metros, for most city jobs it is a bit of a grind and definitely a downer to what you would think pedo to be (happy, making kids feel comfortable, fun etc....sometimes the mills just suck the fun out of it all, but you need a job to pay the bills so you have to do what you have to do). Saturation and corporations are a big threat to pedo, and I believe will be in the near future.

 

[Steve Rogers]

I'm an 8th year pediatric dentist in California. I'm looking to open up my own office. I was ok with an area that was competitive because most California dentists accept that to be a fact of life here. I hired a dental consultant to search for ANY possible locations in Northern California and Southern California. Being a very experienced dental consult with lots of connections in the dental practice acquisitions and startup industry, he said he would avoid all the saturated areas. I responded, "Great!" Nearly two years after we began our search, we are still looking. Hoping that answers the question in regards to California.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

This is coming from the NYC and LA metro areas which I am most familiar with.

I'm an 8th year pediatric dentist in California.

I’m seeing a common thread here.

Big Hoss

 

[periopocket]

Pedo is far from dying, however all specialties are changing and everyone must adapt to a certain extent - still plenty of kiddos to go around - biggest issue is decreasing
insurance reimbursements as referrals is not an issue - the solution is a FFS practice

 

[yappy]

Observation: welfare and corporate dentistry tend to be symbiotic.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

Observation: welfare and corporate dentistry tend to be symbiotic.

Don’t discount the effects of crushing student loan debt on the rise of corporate dentistry.

Big Hoss

 

[gryffindor]

Pediatrics is one of the safest specialties in that there will always be children. There is a reason that so many resident positions are being added- because there is a need.

Resident positions are added because unlike medicine, there is no cap on the number of dental residency programs or residents.

Read all about it here. https://www.adea.org/uploadedFiles/...FACA_Mid_Year_Meeting/Documents/GMEUpdate.pdf

 

[2TH MVR]

I had an interesting conversation with my primary care physician (PCP) yesterday whom I've known for years.. He knows that I am an orthodontist. I was telling him how my profession has changed over the years. He brought up his 14 yr old daughter in BRACES and tells me that a Dr. ****** is treating her with the braces. I didn't recognize the name as an Orthodontist. My PCP brings the business card. Dr. ******* Board certified Pediatric dentist. I then asked him why his daughter was not seeing a specialist. An ORTHODONTIST. The MD replies that his general dentist referred him to the Pediatric dentist FOR BRACES. I asked if his 14 yr old had any patient management issues requiring a pediatric dentist. The PCP said no. I then thought that maybe the GP sent the pt to the Pedo for restorative work and then the Pedo talked my PCP into placing braces on his kid. NOPE. The PCP told me that the Gen Dentist treats for the dental work and the Pedo does the braces.

This is the kicker. I asked the PCP why a professional like himself would not have wanted his daughter to see a specialist (ORTHODONTIST) for treatment with braces. The PCP then responded that he thought that the Pediatric dentist was a specialist in treating with braces. My PCP has been practicing for awhile and is a well informed doctor .... and yet .... he could not distinguish the differences between a Pediatric dentist and an Orthodontist.

 

[teehee69]

I had an interesting conversation with my primary care physician (PCP) yesterday whom I've known for years.. He knows that I am an orthodontist. I was telling him how my profession has changed over the years. He brought up his 14 yr old daughter in BRACES and tells me that a Dr. ****** is treating her with the braces. I didn't recognize the name as an Orthodontist. My PCP brings the business card. Dr. ******* Board certified Pediatric dentist. I then asked him why his daughter was not seeing a specialist. An ORTHODONTIST. The MD replies that his general dentist referred him to the Pediatric dentist FOR BRACES. I asked if his 14 yr old had any patient management issues requiring a pediatric dentist. The PCP said no. I then thought that maybe the GP sent the pt to the Pedo for restorative work and then the Pedo talked my PCP into placing braces on his kid. NOPE. The PCP told me that the Gen Dentist treats for the dental work and the Pedo does the braces.

This is the kicker. I asked the PCP why a professional like himself would not have wanted his daughter to see a specialist (ORTHODONTIST) for treatment with braces. The PCP then responded that he thought that the Pediatric dentist was a specialist in treating with braces. My PCP has been practicing for awhile and is a well informed doctor .... and yet .... he could not distinguish the differences between a Pediatric dentist and an Orthodontist.

Wannabes 🤣

 

[Munks]

Those jobs are usually taken by early out GP’s because of the income potential. I promise they aren’t papoosing kids... the second they have behavior issues they refer them to pediatric dentists. The specialty isn’t going anywhere, and pediatric dentists are doing well financially (overall).

Oh there are certainly chains that routinely papoose kids still; I know of at least one in CA. Corporate offices, nothing gets referred out...

 

[deleted547631]

1. Primary care physicians (eg family practice doc) are not the smartest bunch of physicians compared to surgeons and dermatologists.

You suppose the specialties that require the most breadth of knowledge in medicine in terms of diagnosis and management (IM, FM) aren’t comparable intelligence-wise to doctors who chose to pursue other specialties? That’s reaching. Also, your second point is bogus as well as prejudiced. I think it comes down to this particular family medicine doctor trusting their GP dentist and going along with their treatment plan for his/her child. You’re definitely punching above your weight class with your inferences.

 

[2TH MVR]

1. Primary care physicians (eg family practice doc) are not the smartest bunch of physicians compared to surgeons and dermatologists.
2. He/she may be a DO or a foreign med school graduate (including the Caribbean schools).
3. Maybe ortho is so easy/trivial that even a pediatric dentist can produce good enough results to attract and retain professional clients with less than ideal dental IQ.

You've managed to insult PCPs, DOs, foreign trained doctors, Pediatric Dentists and Orthodontists all in one post. Quite a talent you have. 😉

 

[Wingie]

You suppose the specialties that require the most breadth of knowledge in medicine in terms of diagnosis and management (IM, FM) aren’t comparable intelligence-wise to doctors who chose to pursue other specialties? That’s reaching. Also, your second point is bogus as well as prejudiced. I think it comes down to this particular family medicine doctor trusting their GP dentist and going along with their treatment plan for his/her child. You’re definitely punching above your weight class with your inferences.

Y so Salty lol