Losing interest in dentistry...help!

[Cofo]

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I am a sophomore in college. At the end of this semester, I will have 54 hours. I am concerned, because I know that I want to become a doctor. However...I don't know if I want to become a Medical Doctor or a Doctor of Dental Surgery.

This semester I have felt so apathetic toward the idea of "getting good grades so I can get into dental school."

Why am I losing interest? Is it because maybe I want to be an MD after all? Just before my freshma year of college started, I shadowed a pediatrician. All he did was go from room to room...and go sit in his chair and write persrciptions. ZZzzZzZz He even told me thats I am making a smart decision by going into the dentistry field, and not the medical field (his field.)
I am so worried that I will make the wrong choice. I love kids, but maybe I just got a bad first "shadowing experience."
On SDN, I always see people saying that the perks are better for dentists. I am worried that if I go to dental school, and then I specialize...that I will never find any work. Don't dentists who specialize have to do a lot of networking? Or do patients just start showing up? I have no clue what to do. If you can answer my questions, and then give me some advice on what to do...you will be MUCH appreciated. I know I want to be a doctor. Maybe I should explore other fields of medicine. (I really need to know if networking as a specialty dentist is tough, and what it entails.) Thank you!

 

[streptmutan]

You should def. go to med school !! You will be respected so much more if you go to med school and become a "real doctor"

I am a sophomore in college. At the end of this semester, I will have 54 hours. I am concerned, because I know that I want to become a doctor. However...I don't know if I want to become a Medical Doctor or a Doctor of Dental Surgery.

This semester I have felt so apathetic toward the idea of "getting good grades so I can get into dental school."

Why am I losing interest? Is it because maybe I want to be an MD after all? Just before my freshma year of college started, I shadowed a pediatrician. All he did was go from room to room...and go sit in his chair and write persrciptions. ZZzzZzZz He even told me thats I am making a smart decision by going into the dentistry field, and not the medical field (his field.)
I am so worried that I will make the wrong choice. I love kids, but maybe I just got a bad first "shadowing experience."
On SDN, I always see people saying that the perks are better for dentists. I am worried that if I go to dental school, and then I specialize...that I will never find any work. Don't dentists who specialize have to do a lot of networking? Or do patients just start showing up? I have no clue what to do. If you can answer my questions, and then give me some advice on what to do...you will be MUCH appreciated. I know I want to be a doctor. Maybe I should explore other fields of medicine. (I really need to know if networking as a specialty dentist is tough, and what it entails.) Thank you![/quot
You should def. go to med school !! You will be respected so much more if you go to med school and become a "real doctor"

 

[supraman]

You're telling me you don't like staring at this??

 

[PDizzle]

Well, why don't you be pediatric dentist?

Then you can go from room to room doing sealants and PRR's on 50 kids/day! Problem solved.

 

[dentstd]

You could go into OB/GYN and stare at...nasty, nasty cooches. Nvm, come into dental.

 

[needa20]

i would suggust more shadowing of both fields. if you like kids, make sure you shadow pediatric doc's and dentists. as a sophmore, you have time to decide.

just keep shadowing and finding out more about both fields such as income, lifestyle, hrs worked, ect... after that, you should be able to make an eduacted decision based on what you want to do.

Personally, i started out as premed. in the end (2 yrs after i took the MCAT) and only applied to 1 med school 1 time, I took a year to get my MBA I thought and prayed about it and with the support of my wife and after many hours of shadowing in dentistry, I decided that the dental field better suited my life and goals.

Its a personal choice, so make it count. Good luck. let me know if you have any questions as I did pre med before pre dent

 

[somethinpositiv]

You could go into OB/GYN and stare at...nasty, nasty cooches.

wait... where can I sign up?

 

[drpsuedonym]

I am a sophomore in college. At the end of this semester, I will have 54 hours. I am concerned, because I know that I want to become a doctor. However...I don't know if I want to become a Medical Doctor or a Doctor of Dental Surgery.

This semester I have felt so apathetic toward the idea of "getting good grades so I can get into dental school."

Why am I losing interest? Is it because maybe I want to be an MD after all? Just before my freshma year of college started, I shadowed a pediatrician . All he did was go from room to room...and go sit in his chair and write persrciptions. ZZzzZzZz He even told me thats I am making a smart decision by going into the dentistry field, and not the medical field (his field.)
I am so worried that I will make the wrong choice. I love kids, but maybe I just got a bad first "shadowing experience."
On SDN, I always see people saying that the perks are better for dentists. I am worried that if I go to dental school, and then I specialize...that I will never find any work. Don't dentists who specialize have to do a lot of networking? Or do patients just start showing up? I have no clue what to do. If you can answer my questions, and then give me some advice on what to do...you will be MUCH appreciated. I know I want to be a doctor. Maybe I should explore other fields of medicine. (I really need to know if networking as a specialty dentist is tough, and what it entails.) Thank you!

I'm sorry but your post makes no sense. Whether you want to go to dental school or medical school, you're still going to need to have good grades. So why does the idea of not knowing which one you want to go to make you feel so apathetic?

 

[visbimmer79]

You're telling me you don't like staring at this??

AMAZING!!

 

[doc3232]

You should def. go to med school !! You will be respected so much more if you go to med school and become a "real doctor"
You should def. go to med school !! You will be respected so much more if you go to med school and become a "real doctor"

???
Did anyone else read this? Where did you find it strep?

 

[Frederico Albin]

???
Did anyone else read this? Where did you find it strep?

Thats the same thing that came in my head when i read that.

 

[SugarNaCl]

One thing you have to realize is that just as in the medical field, a patient generally must be referred to a specialist by a GPD. If time at work, time getting your degree and lifestyle is a big deal for you, then dental school is the way to go if you like the work and the precision involved in it. If you want the money... GP dentists make on average equal or slightly more than a medical GP. Dental specialists make about the same on average as medical specialists unless you go into medicine and make it into neurosurgery or a very high risk field like that... then medicine pays better.

It depends what you want out of life. Personally, I was thinking medicine for a while but then I married a man 10 yrs older than me and my priorities shifted. Currently, I never can imagine having wanted to go the med route. I am so happy where I am, and while the general public perception is that dentists don't have the prestige of MDs, it has been my experience that patients we have seen in clinic so far listen to our advice, ask many questions and some seem to think the dentists actually have an MD degree. Even as a student I have received nothing but utmost respect from the patients I have seen.

Decide what you want and go with it. They are both great fields... and there are many great fields outside of med/dent as well. Good luck.

Fact is fact. Now with google and wiki, patients question both an MD and a DDS. The information is out there and there is often a LOT of questioning fromt he patient in both fields. The God like image of MDs (that DDSs never really seemed to have) is nearly gone due to the internet. Maybe that's good.

 

[Retimo]

I definitely know how you feel.. I've waivered back and forth so many times now myself, but I'm pretty sure I've finally found where I need to be..

FIRST and most importantly if you take me as an example: Do not take your prereqs anymore unless you're sure that you want to continue. Don't half-ass them!! I first became apathetic to the premed idea in the middle of cell bio and ended up failing! Because of all my generally crappy sci grades, I ended up doing undergrad-level post bac work for 3 years. I had a GREAT time doing this and aced all my classes, but that time could've been spent getting an MA or learning other stuff. So yea, don't mess around with your sci classes unless you're completely focused!

Second, maybe you should take a step back and declare yourself an aspiring healthcare professional. It might make you feel better. I felt so lost for years while analyzing the MD, DO, RN (and NP and CRNA), PA, DDS/DMD, PhD, PsyD (psychology) etc etc fields! I kept looking at them all wondering which was best for me, which can become really frustrating and self-defeating. So be patient while you search, and avoid getting frustrated.

There are TONS and TONS of more professions within healthcare beyond MD and DDS/DMD. If being called "doctor" is a high priority (which some here will criticize, but hey, they're your goals) then there are still tons of options. And this holds true within the pediatric patient population too. What you experienced shadowing that doctor is the SMALLEST slice of pediatric healthcare out there!

My third big piece of advice is to get a job within healthcare if you aren't sure. I would've never ever followed this advice, but I've spent so much time running forward and then taking steps backwards! Take it from a happy 26 year old "non-traditional" applicant: life won't end if you aren't in grad school by age 22. Get a job in pediatric research maybe, or as a pediatric patient care tech (can also be called "nurse assistant".. one or both may require certification depending on what state you're in, which looks great later on), or a dental assistant in a prodominately pediatric practice. I've been doing clinical research on ICU's and in the OR for almost 2 years. I never thought it would've lasted this long, that I would've learned this much, or that it would change my path so drastically (for the better).

Don't mess up your science gpa; take pottery classes until the apathy wears off. Don't shove a square peg into a round hole, calling yourself an aspiring doctor or dentist until you're sure; just stay on the ambiguous "healthcare professional" path until you find your focus. And be patient; go out into the field to gain experience, and it'll make your application that much better.

Hope this helps at all!! 😀

 

[alanan84]

It's not our job to talk you into dentistry. If you don't want it, don't do it.

 

[velocicaur]

Great Post Retimo.