Isn't Orthodontics a better bet than going to med school?

[brianwilson]

Okay, bear with me, this is very hypothetical. But say a person who has competitive scores for medical school, and is accepted to his local med school. However, he knows that might not be sure to get into a top 10 in his class and get into surg, wouldn't it make sense for him (who's both interested in helping people and economics) to go into dentistry? Since a dentistry class is usually full of people who didn't want to or didn't get into med school, wouldn't it be wise to go to dentistry school and get into the top of his class to become an ortho (therefore pulling in a better salary than almost everyone in medicine minus surg)?

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[dentwannabe]

Okay, bear with me, this is very hypothetical. But say a person who has competitive scores for medical school, and is accepted to his local med school. However, he knows that might not be sure to get into a top 10 in his class and get into surg, wouldn't it make sense for him (who's both interested in helping people and economics) to go into dentistry? Since a dentistry class is usually full of people who didn't want to or didn't get into med school, wouldn't it be wise to go to dentistry school and get into the top of his class to become an ortho (therefore pulling in a better salary than almost everyone in medicine minus surg)?

if you're in it for the money, you will never be happy, just thought i'd let you know. or else we'd all be like screw dentistry and lets all become investment bankers!

 

[howui3]

...Since a dentistry class is usually full of people who didn't want to or didn't get into med school...

pure ignorance or pure stupidity?

 

[klfb80]

Okay, bear with me, this is very hypothetical. But say a person who has competitive scores for medical school, and is accepted to his local med school. However, he knows that might not be sure to get into a top 10 in his class and get into surg, wouldn't it make sense for him (who's both interested in helping people and economics) to go into dentistry? Since a dentistry class is usually full of people who didn't want to or didn't get into med school, wouldn't it be wise to go to dentistry school and get into the top of his class to become an ortho (therefore pulling in a better salary than almost everyone in medicine minus surg)?

NO! stick with Med school. If your smart enough you should definitley become an MD. Most of us here couldn't get into med school so I say if your that gifted go for med school. Besides getting into orhto isn't that challenging and it doesn't pay that great either.

 

[howui3]

Okay, bear with me, this is very hypothetical. But say a person who has competitive scores for medical school, and is accepted to his local med school. However, he knows that might not be sure to get into a top 10 in his class and get into surg, wouldn't it make sense for him (who's both interested in helping people and economics) to go into dentistry? Since a dentistry class is usually full of people who didn't want to or didn't get into med school, wouldn't it be wise to go to dentistry school and get into the top of his class to become an ortho (therefore pulling in a better salary than almost everyone in medicine minus surg)?

i heard if you are super smart, and from your post above it seems like you fit in that category, you dont even need to go to med school. you can just take the USMLE part 1, 2, and 3 and then pass the state exam and you can be anything you want.

check into this option, it might be the best plan for you.

 

[organichemistry]

Okay, bear with me, this is very hypothetical. But say a person who has competitive scores for medical school, and is accepted to his local med school. However, he knows that might not be sure to get into a top 10 in his class and get into surg, wouldn't it make sense for him (who's both interested in helping people and economics) to go into dentistry? Since a dentistry class is usually full of people who didn't want to or didn't get into med school, wouldn't it be wise to go to dentistry school and get into the top of his class to become an ortho (therefore pulling in a better salary than almost everyone in medicine minus surg)?

and what makes you think you can be in the top of your class at dental school? hypothetically, of course

there are overachievers everywhere. oh, and even though people won't admit it... there are gunners who are only applying to dental school for the "prestigious" specialties like ortho and omfs.

 

[tom3]

lol

 

[DIRTIE]

Okay, bear with me, this is very hypothetical. But say a person who has competitive scores for medical school, and is accepted to his local med school. However, he knows that might not be sure to get into a top 10 in his class and get into surg, wouldn't it make sense for him (who's both interested in helping people and economics) to go into dentistry? Since a dentistry class is usually full of people who didn't want to or didn't get into med school, wouldn't it be wise to go to dentistry school and get into the top of his class to become an ortho (therefore pulling in a better salary than almost everyone in medicine minus surg)?

Good post. You are not the first to think of this, there are many more, most people on this forum are hypocrites and jerks anyways so I wouldn't pay much attention to them.

 

[Rezdawg]

Since a dentistry class is usually full of people who didn't want to or didn't get into med school, wouldn't it be wise to go to dentistry school and get into the top of his class to become an ortho

That was painful just reading that.

And for your info, you dont need to be top 10 in your med class to get into surgery.

 

[EmanUT]

I wouldn't say that most people in dental school can't get into medical school. I would say most people in dental school do not want to practice medicine. We want to have our own businesses, make our own hours and have a great lifestyle. If we wanted to deal with HMOs, pay ridiculous malpractice insurance and be on call, then we would go to medical school. Also, at certain schools dental students take their classes with the medical students. Just because you are pre-med doesnt mean that you are smarter than any pre-dents. Believe it or not, we take the exact same prereqs as you. I would even venture to guess that with over 12,000 applicants for ~4500 seats, dental school is as competitive to get into. If you don't think you can make it in medical school, then you won't make it in dental school. Sorry, I am studying for a physics final and just bitter at the world!

 

[Rezdawg]

Good post. You are not the first to think of this, there are many more, most people on this forum are hypocrites and jerks anyways so I wouldn't pay much attention to them.

How is it a good post when the thinking behind it is far from the truth? Yes, you are correct that many people think this, but that doesnt mean its right.

 

[mcshow2]

How is it a good post when the thinking behind it is far from the truth? Yes, you are correct that many people think this, but that doesnt mean its right.

Can brian wilson please be banned from SDN for this post?

Come on man... The other thing, it is not easy to land an orthodontic residency at all.

 

[Mackchops]

Can brian wilson please be banned from SDN for this post?

Come on man... The other thing, it is not easy to land an orthodontic residency at all.

Looks like someone hit a nerve!

Why is it that whenever someone comes on here and makes a comparison between dental and medical school, warrented or not, everyone immediately jumps on the defensive and down that person's throat? If you're so insecure with your societal stature next to physicians then perhaps you need to re-evaluate your own motives for choosing dentistry.

But that's just my opinion. Perhaps I should be banned...

Mack

 

[toofache32]

That was painful just reading that.

And for your info, you dont need to be top 10 in your med class to get into surgery.

True. What makes you think "surgery" is so comptetitive?!?!

General surgery is the dumping ground of all other surgical specialties. They take the crap cases that nobody else wants to deal with. They work more hours than anyone else for the same pay as a good general dentist salary. General surgery is for people that couldn't get into specialty surgery.

 

[toofache32]

I normally don't like to feed the trolls, but I sort of think this guy really is that clueless.

You have a much better chance of getting into surgery from med school than getting into orthodontics from dental school.

Specializing in dentistry is a much more daunting task than specializing in med school. Med students are required to do a residency, so there are way more residency spots than graduating med students so there are several hundred positions open after the match every year. Of course, these are skewed towards primary care (internal medicine, family medicine, etc). Med students care about where thay match, while dental students worry about if they'll match. To specialize in ortho from dental school, you generally need to be in the 95th percentile in your board scores and the top 10% of your class rank just to get interviews.

 

[oldboy]

Since a dentistry class is usually full of people who didn't want to or didn't get into med school, wouldn't it be wise to go to dentistry school and get into the top of his class to become an ortho (therefore pulling in a better salary than almost everyone in medicine minus surg)?

FUGEDABOUTIT

 

[HMSNeuro]

True. What makes you think "surgery" is so comptetitive?!?!

General surgery is the dumping ground of all other surgical specialties. They take the crap cases that nobody else wants to deal with. They work more hours than anyone else for the same pay as a good general dentist salary. General surgery is for people that couldn't get into specialty surgery.

you're an idiot. general surgery has become a specialty. yes, you must to a gs residency, and then if you want, do thoracic, plastics, etc... but general in itself sees cases that are "specialized" to their training ( GI stuff, etc).

unless you have an ounce of a clue, don't post.

 

[Rezdawg]

you're an idiot. general surgery has become a specialty. yes, you must to a gs residency, and then if you want, do thoracic, plastics, etc... but general in itself sees cases that are "specialized" to their training ( GI stuff, etc).

unless you have an ounce of a clue, don't post.

General surgery is easy to get into...thats the bottomline.

And for your info, if anyone here has an ounce of a clue, its toofache.

 

[greenday]

NO! stick with Med school. If your smart enough you should definitley become an MD. Most of us here couldn't get into med school so I say if your that gifted go for med school. Besides getting into orhto isn't that challenging and it doesn't pay that great either.

Dude I hope you are joking. Most of us had the ability to get into Meds schools but never wanted to be a doctor in the first place.

 

[S Files]

Dude I hope you are joking. Most of us had the ability to get into Meds schools but never wanted to be a doctor in the first place.

ya klf is joking. he's a good buddy of mine 🙂 waht up klf!!!
gotta love how the op just assumes he/she'll be top 10% in class. easier said than done - a whole different world than college my friend. i think ppl are being a little hard on you b/c you appear naive and ignorant re: dental students, but i must say the op does bring up a mindset that many pre-meds/dents have. meaning the ranking of careers is not stricly med or dent but rather the "plush specialties" of either dermatology, opthalmology, or orthodontics (and couple others depending on the individual). lots of ppl in dent school (and in med as well) have gotten into several other types of professional schools (med, dent, law, etc). most of my med buddies absolutely dread going into family practice, "eternal" medicine, peds or ob/gyn. to the other poster out there, in my experience general surgeons in large cities don't do much - but ya in rural areas their scope is expanded due to access to care issues.
i would say to the op -research careers of dent and med much more. getting into ortho and oral maxillofacial surgery is much more difficult than you think. even w/ the 95% scores. understand that in either med or dent, you may not get the specialty you want. and HEY I DON'T BLAME YA for not wanting the bottom of the barrel med specialties - i'll tell you one thing - in my bro's hospital (he's an MD), the nurse anaesthetist is making more $$ than the psychiatrists and family practice physicians, w/ less stress, responsibility, etc. many other more challenging and satisfying careers than some of the med specialties. not trying to knock med but let's face it, depends on what type of med.

 

[Chuck1441]

if you're in it for the money, you will never be happy, just thought i'd let you know. or else we'd all be like screw dentistry and lets all become investment bankers!

Investment banking sucks. Couldn't pay me enough to stay at that job.

 

[1FutureDDS]

you're an idiot. general surgery has become a specialty. yes, you must to a gs residency, and then if you want, do thoracic, plastics, etc... but general in itself sees cases that are "specialized" to their training ( GI stuff, etc).

unless you have an ounce of a clue, don't post.

General surgery is not only easy to get in to, but it's also weak at that. You're weak!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You lose!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks HMSNeuro, you lose!!!!!!!!

 

[fightingspirit]

Okay, bear with me, this is very hypothetical. But say a person who has competitive scores for medical school, and is accepted to his local med school. However, he knows that might not be sure to get into a top 10 in his class and get into surg, wouldn't it make sense for him (who's both interested in helping people and economics) to go into dentistry? Since a dentistry class is usually full of people who didn't want to or didn't get into med school, wouldn't it be wise to go to dentistry school and get into the top of his class to become an ortho (therefore pulling in a better salary than almost everyone in medicine minus surg)?

not one of the assumptions you're basing your arguments on is sensible. not even one.....jeez where should i start? one, for the meds, gen. surgery is not hard to get into at all because hardly anyone is interested. in fact, the IMGs eem to be taking over that aspect of surgery. perhaps they need to be in the top 10 for derm, rad, orthoped, plast, neurosur.....two, "Since a dentistry class is usually full of people who didn't want to or didn't get into med school, wouldn't it be wise to go to dentistry school and get into the top of his class to become an ortho (therefore pulling in a better salary than almost everyone in medicine minus surg)?"...i am not going to say that you are ******ed but what you claimed in this quote is. the predominant majority of dental students would not trade their seat for a freakin columbia med school acceptance letter because they want to be dentists/oral surgeons, not physicians. what makes you think that one can just get into d-school and just get in the top 10 of the class just like that? half of almost any d-school class is secretly interested in specializing, which means that half of the class is comprised of bad-a$$ gunners, which is not the case with med-school because specializing in allopathic fields is not as hard as specializng in dental/oral fields for most of the allopathic specialties, not ot mention the fact that there are so many allopathic fields that competition for a particular one tends to be relatively less than that for a dental specialty like ortho, even perio.

why do you think that ortho makes more money than medical specialties, except surgery? i can safely assume that almost all orthos make considerably more money than most surgeons, except top-notch plastic surgeons (in my comparison, i am considering pay/per number of hours worked/period of time...shoot, according to this, even GPs make more than internal medicine specialists...lol). finally, keep in mind that the more a medical surgeon--as opposed to oral surg--specializes (the narrower and more intense the scope of practice gets), the more likely that that surgeon is pushing him/herself into top-notch hospital facility/academia, which means goodnight charlie to private practice, lifestyle and money......


now, i dont know why i have a little feeling that you were considering med-school before. but if you were, then keep in mind that most med-rejects do not end up in d-school at all:

they usually end up:
1-osteopathic medical school
2-carribean/european med-school
3-public health
4-PA school
5-grad school in the sciences
6-non-health-related job
7-very very very rarely, d-school (some of whom get refurbished into 6yr/dual degree OMFS 😉 years later...aah that M.D obsession )

 

[Dutchboy]

Looks like someone hit a nerve!

Why is it that whenever someone comes on here and makes a comparison between dental and medical school, warrented or not, everyone immediately jumps on the defensive and down that person's throat? If you're so insecure with your societal stature next to physicians then perhaps you need to re-evaluate your own motives for choosing dentistry.

But that's just my opinion. Perhaps I should be banned...

Mack

Shove it Mackchops. I'm totally smarter than any med student, and if my penis was like one or two feet longer it would totally hang out the bottom of my shorts.

 

[L8DYV]

Shove it Mackchops. I'm totally smarter than any med student, and if my penis was like one or two feet longer it would totally hang out the bottom of my shorts.

oh what an interesting sight.......

 

[fightingspirit]

oh what an interesting sight.......

whatever makes you happy 😉

 

[toofache32]

you're an idiot. general surgery has become a specialty. yes, you must to a gs residency, and then if you want, do thoracic, plastics, etc... but general in itself sees cases that are "specialized" to their training ( GI stuff, etc).

unless you have an ounce of a clue, don't post.

After spending a year as a general surgery resident, I definately have a clue. Thoracics is even less competitive after general surgery...there are 3 positions available for every 1 applicant. Plastics is much more competitive of course but can be entered after a variety of surgical backgrounds.

But General surgeons are still the bottom-feeders of the surgical world. They have a job because they deal with the crap patients/problems that specialists don't want to bother with.

 

[fightingspirit]

After spending a year as a general surgery resident, I definately have a clue. Thoracics is even less competitive after general surgery...there are 3 positions available for every 1 applicant. Plastics is much more competitive of course but can be entered after a variety of surgical backgrounds.

But General surgeons are still the bottom-feeders of the surgical world.

yow....where do you find these great avatars.....