MD's and dentists

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treasure_island

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ok, why is it that most ppl at my school that are premeds, look down on predentals?????

dentists ARE doctors, just as physicians are, they just focus on one particular part of the body. i hate those premeds who think they are the almighty ones, i can imagine how narrowminded they will become. there's nothing to brag about becoming a physican, especially if you're just a premed and you're not even in med school yet. even IF you are in med school, then why would you look down on dentists??? cuz they don't have an MD? does that lead them to also look down on engineers, lawyers, and business ppl??? if that's the case, then i'm sorry, they must be crappy doctors!

sorry, i just had to let that out.
 
Because we work better hours and make more $$$ :laugh:
 
IMHO dentists or dental students who obsess over what MDs think of them probably have a subconscious or conscious inferiority complex. I have many physician friends and none of them degrades me in any manner. Who cares what an MD thinks of you anyhow? I would be more worried about the patient who leaves you to go to another dentist for reasons other than insurance.
 
So, it is more like some pre-med and public opinion to degrade dentists. What's funny is that I just watched ER yesterday. It seems that MDs do degrade nurses. I guess it is a whole different hierarchy structure there.

We are all professionals here, alright? We choose to be who we are. Who cares about how other people think of us?
 
Let me rephrase. Every professions have their expertise. It just doesnt make sense to degrade another prof just bcos our life is less stressful and what not.

Keep in mind that there are many opportunities ahead of us that we can work alongside with physicians, lawyers, and other professionals. So, we just need to use our strength to do great things.
 
I love all my pre-med and med school friends. I also love all my physician friends. Some of them poke and jab me, but it's all in good fun. If anything, many of them are now a bit saddened by the path they chose. One of my friends, an MS IV, mentioned last week that he wished he had pursued dentistry. Of course, to each his own.

My personal comeback when my physician/medical student buddies are harassing me is "But don't you see that when I graduate I will have an "MD" behind my name--it's just that there will also be a "D" in front of it...DMD.
 
Had to post this also, since it comes from a really cool guy I've met just recently.

This doc is assisting us in our Head & Neck module. He is an oral surgeon DDS, but he went to a 6-year OMS program so he also has his MD degree.

He has some of the funniest stories I've ever heard, and always has a good spin to put on dental school. One story he related, however, was how the medical students in med school (he did years 3 and 4) were always harassing him and calling him "the dentist" rather than addressing him by his name, or calling him "doc" as the other students did to each other.

Finally, one day, he made a class announcement to his fellow med students and said "Just to let you all know, when I graduate I'll have two degrees. One that I'm proud of (the DDS that he already had earned) and your degree (referring to the MD he was in the process of earning)." Classic stuff.
 
my brother graduated from med school last year. he has a superiority complex. major.

he says things like dentists are premeds that couldnt get accepted to med school, or that they couldnt hack it.

when i told him about my recent interest in dentistry he said "oh, they are allowed to call themselves doctor too right?", just to be a prick.

also he said the same things about lawyers, engineers, executive business people. these are all professions where they wanted to be MD's but couldnt hack it. its like hes having a mental pissing contest with everyone around him! :laugh:

this is a quote ill remember for a while..."the richest, most powerful people in the world dont rely on anyone. but they will rely on me when i save their life. donald trump will need me." wtf?
:wow:

he is a brilliant guy, but went into medicine for the wrong reasons. i do NOT want to be anything like that.

late
rick
 
M last year and now doing residency..she says she should have
looked into Dental schools when she was applying for med
schools. She thinks medicine is too much controlled by HMO and
doctors are unhappy due to the fact that their decision has
to have an approval of business minded scumbags who do not
care about patients well being. What a shame on medical
profession, but such is life!


Poor helpless MD's :laugh: :laugh:
 
I don't know about them being poor and helpless. Their jobs are respectable and very hard. My take on it is this:

It's EASIER to get into dental school, but it's HARDER to stay in dental school. Meaning, it is a pain in the ass to get into medical school, but once you're in, they typically will do anything and everything they can to hang on to the students. Most schools will even allow students to repeat entire years of classes, or to take year-long leaves to sort things out. Dental schools rarely do this.

But it certainly goes both ways. I know lots of physicians that love their jobs and lots of dentists that hate their jobs. To each his own. Personally, I'm grateful that there are people willing to do all sorts of jobs out there--from a grocery store clerk to a garbage man. We need them all.
 
I have a computer networking business and one of my clients is a gasteroenterologist (MD). I recently told him that I was making a career change and I started off telling him that I was originally going to go to med school and he stopped me before I could finish and half jokingly said 'DON"T DO IT!". I went on to tell him that was no longer my plan and that I'm going to be a dentist.

He then told me that he had applied and was accepted to both medical and dental school. He said, "To decide which one to go to I flipped a coin and medical school won. Now I think I made the wrong choice."

He didn't elaborate on why but I am assuming much of it has to do with the fact that his take home is only about a third of what he bills, extremely high overhead, and insurance buracracy.
 
Who cares about what the pre-meds think. Let me tell you, even if you're a physician other physicians will look down on you based on your specialty. I can not recite how many times family physicians are poked fun of in my med/dent class by the specialist professors. Anyway, one thing agreed by most of my medical classmates and even residents is that dental students will be having a good life while they toil in residency and after. The GPA required to get into canadian dental schools is comparable to med schools, so looking down is not as big as a problem here.

As for the comment that dentists are those who can't be physicians. Well I had an undergrad GPA of 3.85 and think I have a fair shot at med school. But I'm just not interested in it. Even now as I hack through the medicine component of dent school I'm glad that I chose dentistry. The only advantage for being a physican for me would be the higher salary for specialists.
 
I just ignore what people say about schools or professions. Dental or medical students who try to defend their profession have problems, I really could care less about what some guy or thinks of my profession. Who cares what your undergrad gpa was or what test scores people got I hope people choose the profession that will make them happy, but I really don't need to here about how superior anyone thinks their profession is.
 
🙄 I haven't been around here for months, but I come back and you all are still talking about the same thing! I know I've been rude in the past so I'll try to be a little less abrasive than in previous posts. First off, there are two reasons guys go into medicine: 1. money 2. they want to be important. I fall mainly in the money category, but I sure as hell don't mind the girls falling over me just cause I'm almost Mike Pretentious, M.D.
But some guys could care less about the money. Ever notice how short the average medical student is? This is not a coincidence. A lot of these guys want nothing more than to get a little respect cause they've been pissed on their whole lives. You can be sure they are going to remind everybody how important they are going to be when they are doctors. Go read the pre-allo forum and you'll see pretty quickly what makes these guys tick.

So now that we've established that, you have to accept the fact that even though started out as pathetic social rejects, they have earned the respect they are going to get as doctors and will always surpass dentists in the social hierarchy. You will never get that kind of respect as a dentist. I know you are all going to start screaming, "but dentists are doctors!" That's a bunch of crap and I think you all know it. Dentists are as much doctors as lawyers and pharmacists. Yes, you will receive a doctoral degree and will be addressed as doctor, but that is not what defines a "doctor" in the eyes of the public. The public has incredible admiration and respect for "doctors", but to 99.9% of people doctor=physician. I don't know why this is so hard for you to grasp. Isn't this a standing joke on Friends - about how Ross is always trying to pass himself as a doctor? Stop trying to convince people that you're something you're not; it just comes across as pathetic. Accept the path you have chosen (or been forced into because of your 3.0 GPA :laugh: ) and life will be much easier for you.
 
Originally posted by Mr. Pretentious
Ever notice how short the average medical student is? This is not a coincidence.


So I take it you are a pretty short guy.......in stature too?
 
Dear Mr. Pretentious
I hope that when or IF you ever become a "real doctor", you get all the validation you seem to be presently lacking from "society". Your immaturity is mind boggling. Just stay the heck away from me if you ever graduate or else you'll be begging for a dentist to restore your dentition. Then you'll know if dentists are doctors or not.

Sincerely,
KennieMD
 
Let me address something...

Mr. Pretentious is the typically pre-med with an ego thinking he's better than everyone...obviously..he doens't understand that when he's in residency...dentists will already be starting their careers and making 100k+ a yr doing associateships. While he's working 80+ hrs a wk and getting bitc#ed at, like a lil' biT$# that he is, by his chief resident and docs, dentists will be out enjoying their late 20s by working 4-5 days a wk, going out at night, and having a good time. While he's out competing to get into a super hard residency inorder to pay back all his debt and try to get a superb salary, dentists will already be practicing for 5-10 yrs, be financially successful, and most likely already have a family going.

Who cares if we don't have an MD. Let me quote an oral surgeon I know.

"He is an oral surgeon DDS, but he went to a 6-year OMS program so he also has his MD degree.

He has some of the funniest stories I've ever heard, and always has a good spin to put on dental school. One story he related, however, was how the medical students in med school (he did years 3 and 4) were always harassing him and calling him "the dentist" rather than addressing him by his name, or calling him "doc" as the other students did to each other.

Finally, one day, he made a class announcement to his fellow med students and said "Just to let you all know, when I graduate I'll have two degrees. One that I'm proud of (the DDS that he already had earned) and your degree (referring to the MD he was in the process of earning)."


Live on.

omar06

"An MD may have a better GPA, but a DDS made the better decision!"
 
Mr. pretentious relies on 'friends' for relevant insight into reality. That show is lame and is a reflection of his mentality.
 
Henna, if this thread continues, does that mean Dr. Scherf wil make one of his quarterly appearances, complete with threats of arbitrarily banning everyone involved in a multi-page thread? I still don't understand how he became a super moderator; there are many individual threads with more content than his entire post history. I suppose the world will never know?

End digression.
 
This type of debate will never end, but I'll give my 2 cents.

In general, when one hears of "doctor," people immediately think of medical doctor. When it comes to the healthcare professional hierarchy, medical doctors (M.D.s and D.O.s) will always rate higher than dentists. But seriously, this means absolutely nothing. Both career paths provide vital services to society.

However, I will say this: Dentistry tends to be a second choice for many. You will inevitably find people in dental school who dropped out of the med school track, and people who are changing careers. You rarely see someone who pursues dentistry but then switches over to medicine. I do think, however, that you probably find more career-changers in dentistry than medicine due to the time commitment involved with medicine. The beauty of dental school is that you can practice shortly after graduating from dental school. After graduating med school, you need at least a minimum of 3 extra years before practicing.

While average salaries for physicians tend to be higher than dentists, this doesn't mean too much either. You can always find dentists who make more than physicians, and vice versa. As it stands now, the future earning potential for dentists is much more promising than for physicans. The person who posted that he/she is pursuing medicine for the money, will be sadly disappointed to hear that physicians do not earn as much as they did before. Both my parents are physicians (cardiology and pediatrics), and they have seen their incomes drop due to HMOs and the reduced reimbursements.

There is also a 'hierarchy' for physicians in terms of specialization. My father was saying that the "dumb" students in med school typically became anesthesiologists(this is years ago). But, our family friend who is an anesthesiologist owns a 15,000 square foot house. I guess it can pay to be dumb...he is laughing all the way to the bank. The guy made a killing pre-HMO days, but he too has seen his income plummet. Before, anesthesiologists were paid for every hour the patient is under anesthesia, but now, they are paid per case...

I guess the point of my long-winded response is this: Who cares what other people think of your profession. As long as you're happy with what you are doing, that's all that really matters.

Since this is the dental forum, I will add one more point: the quality of life in dentistry is definitely better than medicine.
 
captaintripps and accidental are co-champions of the thread so far. Well done! :laugh:

I don't see the logic behind the MD vs. DDS/DMD argument. What's the prize for winning? I think we need that "arguing on the internet is like winning the Special Olympics...." picture for flamebait like this.

BTW, I switched from pre-med to dentistry and have never looked back. My dentist (accepted to both MD and DDS, chose the latter), and some disgruntled MDs helped inspire the decision.
👍
 
Originally posted by dcl4u
When it comes to the healthcare professional hierarchy, medical doctors (M.D.s and D.O.s) will always rate higher than dentists. But seriously, this means absolutely nothing. Both career paths provide vital services to society.

You are fully correct. This hierarchy, however, continues within medicine itself, and is amply demonstrated within the threads of the other medical forums.

Gas docs laugh at rads, and rads view themselves as superior to the OBs. The OBs have a plush lifestyle when compared to the family practitioner--who we all know are made up entirely of DOs (hence their being the lowest rung on the physician ladder).

Good riddens to that silly hospital-fraternity-hierarchy. Leave me out of it, I say--and thankfully I will be left out of it.
 
I have yet to meet one medical student colleague or physician who disagrees that dentists usually have a better style than physicians. Then why don't they choose dentistry- well some people really enjoy the challenge and the kind of intense working environment that comes with medicine (I do think that medicine requires a lot more thinking, whereas dentistry requires more technical and artistic skills which suits me perfectly)

I have two friends who's parents are dentists but chose to go in medicine, because they say they get sick of looking at teeth. When I ask about their opinion of dentists though, this is what they say:

"You guys have it made"
 
Some people do go into dentistry because they are unable to gain acceptance to dental school. While this is an unfortunate thing, it is not always the case.

I chose dentistry. While I have not officially started dental school, I have been accepted to a selective pre-dentistry program (there are five people in my program). It can not be said whether I would have been able to gain acceptance to a direct med program since I didn't apply, but considering that I was ranked #4 in my high school class and very well on standardized tests as well as having numerous other accomplishments I probably would have had a decent shot.

The point I am trying to make is that medicine is not always the highest tier when individual preference comes into play. Many people that could have gained admissions to dental school could have also gained acceptance to med schools.

As another poster on this forum one said that dentists are 'the top of the food chain' when it comes to the oral cavity. Unlike other health professionals that call themselves "doctor" like chiropractors, psychologists, optometrists, etc. We do not have the orthopedic surgeons, psychiatrists, and opthamologists to bail us out when a case becomes too hot to handle. While dentists may not always be given the most respect in the public eye, who the hell cares? The bottom line is that many people go into dentistry because they have a genuine interest in teeth rather than just not being able to get into med school.
 
Originally posted by aphistis
Henna, if this thread continues, does that mean Dr. Scherf wil make one of his quarterly appearances, complete with threats of arbitrarily banning everyone involved in a multi-page thread?

🙂 That's not totally true.
 
I agree with all of you. Med students that look down on other professions, not only this one, have an inferiority complex.

I do not think this is the majority though. When I was 16 and shadowing in a hospital (close to 300 hrs), I was told many times to stay away from medicine and choose another field. They did not say automatically " go be a dentist" but rather hooked me up with their afflunet friends that were stock brokers, real estate tycoons, hotel owners, accountants, etc.

After I shadowed all of those people and noticed the jobs sucked, I knew I wanted medicine but not the headache. One day over dinner with my mentor (he's an MD) and his wife, she said go shadow a dentist.

Love at first sight 😍

Medicine has problems I did not want to deal with. My mentor is one of three general surgeons left in a county of 120,000 people. He is extremly over worked and is about to get even more over worked bec another surgeon is leaving due to the cost of insurance. He said if that person goes, he is going too bec he is absolutly beat and would not be able to handle the extra work and would just retire. He's 59

Ok, alittle off topic, but the point is not all of the MD's are a$$holes. I have 5 good MD friends and get respect from them all and not once has one made fun of me.

Those that make fun of dentist are probably in medicine for the wrong reason: money and prestige
 
Originally posted by Brocnizer2007

Ok, alittle off topic, but the point is not all of the MD's are a$$holes. I have 5 good MD friends and get respect from them all and not once has one made fun of me.

True :clap: :clap: My organization has around 10 MDs from various specialties. They are all nice, friendly and every helpful with everybody around, even with high school volunteers. In the past couple years, many of then took time to give lectures to us (many are not in the health field) about all kind of health-related topics ie. blood pressure, cholesterol, heart disease, hepatitis .....

I haven't seen any a$$hole MD yet in real life at my hospital jobs and volunteer health organizations in the past 8 yrs. Kidda weird, I saw many on SDN's pre-allo forum (some ain't even in medical school)😕 😕
 
This guy Mr. Pretentious is like a message board arsonist. He makes one comment that starts a verbal fire and then he comes back to the scene, reads the responses, and laughs. What gives him his satisfaction is people responding to him as if he's serious, which he's probably not. Just don't respond and IGNORE HIM. I know this because I am a recovering message board arsonist.

I know, I know....... I responded but it was a personal insult and I couldn't resist.
 
Originally posted by accidental
This guy Mr. Pretentious is like a message board arsonist. He makes one comment that starts a verbal fire and then he comes back to the scene, reads the responses, and laughs. What gives him his satisfaction is people responding to him as if he's serious, which he's probably not. Just don't respond and IGNORE HIM. I know this because I am a recovering message board arsonist.

I know, I know....... I responded but it was a personal insult and I couldn't resist.


you absolutely crrect. the problem is, some of us never learn.

why is it so hard to ignore people like this?
 
This argument is ridiculous. I bet I nailed twice as many chicks in college than all of my buddies who are headed off to med school next year. If that doesn't settle this heated debate, I don't know what will. I'm joking of course. 🙄
 
Originally posted by Zurich5
I bet I nailed twice as many chicks in college than all of my buddies who are headed off to med school next year.

Haha, gold.
 
To care what someone says about your profession when they don't pay your bills or support you in any way is to have an inferiority complex and to be too damn defensive. The name doctor refers to sombody trained in the healing arts. To care too much about who gets to use it in front of their name or not is stupid. It like people having a hard-on for Chiropractors that are refered to as doctors (who really cares and how does them using the title degrade yours? There is a hierarchical structure in all professions and industries in terms of degree of reverment(not a Webster approved word, but you get the point), and yes, dentists are below that of MD's. Should you care? Obviously some do, but remember, you are perfoming a service that benifits people and yourself (and very well at that), that alone should give you enough confidence to not care. Sorry for the rambling, but it's painful to seee people get so uptight and bent over semantics and what others think of them.
 
Hafido your last post should be framed or at the least be displayed on a sticky thread for everyone to see. A dentist is not a failed medical doctor! Do not get defensive or even aknowledge comments that degrade dentistry or any other profession. Be happy with your chosen profession and ignore medical students that downplay the important role that dentists have in society. One thing I've learned is that some people who claim to be intelligent and compassionate are in fact ignorant with jellybean souls. Just ignore the jellybean souls and true enlightenment and fulfillment shall follow. :clap:
 
Originally posted by hafido
It like people having a hard-on for Chiropractors that are refered to as doctors (who really cares and how does them using the title degrade yours?

Do you want me to count the ways that they degrade the title, or would that surpass the single-post word allotment?
 
I'm a medical student and I was informed of this thread since this is your classic MD vs. DDS. Most of the criticism of dentistry is due to a lack of knowledge. Most med students and doctors think dentists make so much less than us. We think dental school is easy to get into. I remember seeing stats for dental schools in the late 80's. The average GPA for many dental schools back then was around a 3.0. The average salary for general dentists back then was less than a 100K too. I think there was some truth back then to the notion that people who couldn't get into medical school fled to dental school.

I'm sure the dental field has changed pretty dramatically. I have heard it has because I know a lot of dentists who are earning a lot of money. And I know that isn't a cakewalk to get into dental school like it was. But you got to remember that was only 15 years ago. It's going to be hard to get rid of that reputation. Anyway, I think a lot of medical students can be petty about this issue. I'm sorry that so many doctors can be real shallow and nasty. It's not one of the brighter sides to being in medicine.

Also, I want to add that I'm a DO so I get crap from the few pompous MD's too. You're not alone.
 
Wow, I always thought DO school was easier than Dental school these days. Dont flame with your overinflated grades from Podiatry school or noname state at alaska university either that you used to 'fix' your gpa. This post is not directed at azcom so dont take it personally but mostly at those DO board verbal diaheahea types who profess how unique DO school is and how they "choose" it over an MD program.

DO's are the ones the MD's have more fun with since its trying to be on par with MD school and it is in reality so dont misread my comments here. The comments about dental schools are very very true but since its different ( dentists answer to dentists ) the prejudice is less than DO school. Everyone knows a dentist but depending on where you live there are sure arent many DO's.

Its quite a bit harder to articulate a motivation for going to DO school in my mind if you have the choice with MD program. The SOLE reason is rejection from an AMA school imho. This is fine in my mind. Lots of bright DO students out there dont get me wrong but I bet over 90 percent of them knew they didnt have a chance of getting into MD programs ( maybe they had some cardinal sin like making bad grades their first year in college ). And DO schools are more GPA/MCAT forgiving and produce more primary care physicians is great. But if I had been considering medicine I never would have CHOSEN DO. This is a crock. DO isnt but to say that you choose DO over MD program is ridiculous. Why would anyone want to spend all that time explaining what a DO is to their patients? geez. Just accept that its easier to get into and if this bothers you then dont pursue DO. Its like Dentists who dont admit that, overall, its easier to get into Dental school than MD program. This is a fact. It helped me get in and I'm glad for it.

Dentistry is a completely different profession. We do have a few that I already know in my class who screwed up the MCAT but I am pretty sure these people could have gotten into DO school but saw it as stigmitized.

But save the "I choose DO" nonsense. You choose DO because MD isnt available to ya. And if I had applied to medical school, which I didnt, I probably would be looking real hard at DO and I'm confident I could have gained admission if physician was my goal. I'm very much NOT confident I could have gotten into MD school where I live. And if I did marticulate as DO I would love my profession and support it to the hilt but I wouldnt run around and preach to anyone who listened that "I choose DO". You choose DO because MD program is not accesible so no need to get egomaniacal about it like some on the DO board do.

Back to cocky MD's: these guys think anyone who isnt an MD student is dumb. You are to stupid to be an MD and they are the chosen ones. Its not just dentistry but all other professions. Hell if your a nasa scientist these guys honestly think you dont have what it takes to become an MD like them. Every rocket scientist has a closet wet dream of becoming an MD like them dont you see? Its ridiculous. These idiots are headed for burnout quick but I sure did know lots of them in undergrad. I alson knew some first class people who are going to make super special physicians as well so its not all of them.

And one last thing about income. DO's make considerably less than their MD counterparts because they are mostly primary care physicians who in most instances make LESS than your average dentist. Food for thought. As far as I know its always been this. On average MD's make quite a bit more money because they are so highly specialized. If your sole goal is money then you want MD and not DO because to my understanding youlle be making less than your average Dentist.
 
There are pre-meds who have a lower gpa than me, but look down because am pre dental. Maybe I should declare myself pre-astronaut and make everyone sht a brick.

1/2 of those applying to med wont be accepted. The aforementioned pre-meds will most likely be part of that half.
 
Originally posted by johndental
Wow, I always thought DO school was easier than Dental school these days. Dont flame with your overinflated grades from Podiatry school or noname state at alaska university either that you used to 'fix' your gpa. This post is not directed at azcom so dont take it personally but mostly at those DO board verbal diaheahea types who profess how unique DO school is and how they "choose" it over an MD program.

DO's are the ones the MD's have more fun with since its trying to be on par with MD school and it is in reality so dont misread my comments here. The comments about dental schools are very very true but since its different ( dentists answer to dentists ) the prejudice is less than DO school. Everyone knows a dentist but depending on where you live there are sure arent many DO's.

Its quite a bit harder to articulate a motivation for going to DO school in my mind if you have the choice with MD program. The SOLE reason is rejection from an AMA school imho. This is fine in my mind. Lots of bright DO students out there dont get me wrong but I bet over 90 percent of them knew they didnt have a chance of getting into MD programs ( maybe they had some cardinal sin like making bad grades their first year in college ). And DO schools are more GPA/MCAT forgiving and produce more primary care physicians is great. But if I had been considering medicine I never would have CHOSEN DO. This is a crock. DO isnt but to say that you choose DO over MD program is ridiculous. Why would anyone want to spend all that time explaining what a DO is to their patients? geez. Just accept that its easier to get into and if this bothers you then dont pursue DO. Its like Dentists who dont admit that, overall, its easier to get into Dental school than MD program. This is a fact. It helped me get in and I'm glad for it.

Dentistry is a completely different profession. We do have a few that I already know in my class who screwed up the MCAT but I am pretty sure these people could have gotten into DO school but saw it as stigmitized.

But save the "I choose DO" nonsense. You choose DO because MD isnt available to ya. And if I had applied to medical school, which I didnt, I probably would be looking real hard at DO and I'm confident I could have gained admission if physician was my goal. I'm very much NOT confident I could have gotten into MD school where I live. And if I did marticulate as DO I would love my profession and support it to the hilt but I wouldnt run around and preach to anyone who listened that "I choose DO". You choose DO because MD program is not accesible so no need to get egomaniacal about it like some on the DO board do.

Back to cocky MD's: these guys think anyone who isnt an MD student is dumb. You are to stupid to be an MD and they are the chosen ones. Its not just dentistry but all other professions. Hell if your a nasa scientist these guys honestly think you dont have what it takes to become an MD like them. Every rocket scientist has a closet wet dream of becoming an MD like them dont you see? Its ridiculous. These idiots are headed for burnout quick but I sure did know lots of them in undergrad. I alson knew some first class people who are going to make super special physicians as well so its not all of them.

And one last thing about income. DO's make considerably less than their MD counterparts because they are mostly primary care physicians who in most instances make LESS than your average dentist. Food for thought. As far as I know its always been this. On average MD's make quite a bit more money because they are so highly specialized. If your sole goal is money then you want MD and not DO because to my understanding youlle be making less than your average Dentist.

No, the obnoxious MD's still hold us in higher esteem than dentists. We are still physicians and most of us complete our residency in allopathic (MD) programs. But who cares what they think? The majority of MD's are very decent people. Those few a-holes do not make up most MD"s. I have a lot of friends who are MD's and they don't think less of me. However, most of my friends don't think less of dentists either. We don't care. We just want to be happy.

DO's have no right to criticize anyone including podiatrists. There are a few DO's who genuinely want to become DO's but most of us couldn't get into an MD school which includes me. I have no qualms admitting this. I should mention that most DO students don't get into MD schools based on their MCAT scores not their GPA's. Our undergrad GPA's are as competitive as most allopathic programs. Most of us just failed to score high on the MCAT. I had a 3.7 GPA and a 28 on the MCAT. That wasn't good enough to get me into an MD school. I was curious and I saw that Harvard Dental's average GPA is a 3.7. One of my friends got into Columbia and Penn dental without a problem.

I wouldn't say that getting into a DO school is easy. My schools' average GPA is a 3.5. It might be a 3.6 this year. That's higher if not on par with most competitive dental schools.

About the money, DO's and MD's make the same amount of money for the most part. The only areas that DO's suffer are the most competitive residencies like neurosurgery, opthalmology and dermatology. But most MD's don't match into that. There aren't very many of those spots to begin with. And most MD's aren't specialists. The majority of physicians (both MD and DO) comprise of primary care fields.

I think dentists have it made for the most part. What other field is there in which you can work 4 days a week and make well into the six figures. No medical field can compare to the quality of life that most dentists enjoy. I didn't go into medicine for money.

And I do think the majority of dentists are not MD rejects. And most dental schools are as difficult to get into as most DO schools. I don't think physicians are better than dentists. We both offer a valuable service. I love my dentist and I appreciate the work he does.
 
GPA's are completely relative and standard tests tend to tell what you really know but I've belabored this point before. I beleive that a 3.7 can easily equal a 3.2 depending on rigour of major and undergrad institution. Many dont on this board. Schools really do take this into account and upward trends. Standardized tests standardize GPAs amonst schools. Thats why they exist. I agree the DAT isnt a difficult test. This is very true.

MD primary care stateside trained doctors do make more. DO's compete with foreign trained MD's from pakistan/india etc that practice in the ghetto and rural america because ama med school grads refuse to go there. Your statistics are skewed. Most md stateside grads specialize. This is a fact and this is why DO's exist in some states because there is a crisis. Many of those MD primary care physicians are foreign doctors and not those currently graduating from medical school. One of my older friends just got out of Tulane med and started and Opthamology residency. He was in the top 60 percent of his class. Explain that one.

Glad you like your dentist! I would probably like my DO if there was one within a hundred miles of where I live that I knew of.

DO's are great docs and it is virtous that they go where MD's wont in many instances but I also think that some on the DO ( not you az ) have big big heads. Its not like you guys were competing against all those who didnt get into ama schools. Most dont consider DO an option and just went to law school or became rocket scientists ( you know all those MIT types who were to stupid to become MD's )

And as to the money thing it doesnt matter. Everyone will make a good living.

I have edited this post for content.
 
Originally posted by treasure_island
ok, why is it that most ppl at my school that are premeds, look down on predentals?????

dentists ARE doctors, just as physicians are, they just focus on one particular part of the body. i hate those premeds who think they are the almighty ones, i can imagine how narrowminded they will become. there's nothing to brag about becoming a physican, especially if you're just a premed and you're not even in med school yet. even IF you are in med school, then why would you look down on dentists??? cuz they don't have an MD? does that lead them to also look down on engineers, lawyers, and business ppl??? if that's the case, then i'm sorry, they must be crappy doctors!

sorry, i just had to let that out.

Hrmm, sounds like you need to grow some bigger steel ones. U wouldnt happen to be an anteater would you? What do you care what a bunch of knuckleheads think? I used to be premed. Then I worked at a hospital for clinicals and that was that. My bro is a MD, my gf a DO, and I am thinking of DDS. My lil bro is going to be a JD. I hope they all make a lot of money then I can hit them up for a loan in the mean time. The only ones who care and argue over these things are insecure people who arent in tune with what is truly important. If you want to be rich, go into business. Last I checked, none of the billionaires hold a MD, DO, DDS, JD, whatever.

Be yourself.
 
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