med vs dent

[nateriver]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I've honestly been stuck between these two for 4 years now, have shadowed both, love both, love the possibilities of life you can have with dental and the independence , and the med school not matching into my desired specialty scares me, but theres just something about med idk ahh its just, i think i might find it a bit more interesting, but not by much, i like how in dental someone comes to you with a problem, and generally there is a course of treatment you can perform or recommend from a specialist that will alleviate the issue, where as in med sometimes all you can do is tell the person the issue they have and there is no treatment option, its just such a huge decision , possibly the biggest ill ever make in my life, so if i could get some input, I'm at my wits end to be honest, any advice is appreciated, i just don't wanna look back and wonder what if should i decide to go dental, i don't wanna think to myself hmm should have done med, i don't know, just yeah, any advice, thanks

 

[tortelliniboy]

The choice is hard, but no one on this forum is going to be able to tell you and what we say shouldn't be able to sway you one way or another. You're just going to have the take the plunge and go for one or the other. Bear in mind that people change a lot over the years so why you want now may not even correlate with what you want in 4 years.

 

[nateriver]

what did u choose?

 

[tortelliniboy]

anesthesiology

 

[Daneosaurus]

How are we supposed to know what you want to do? Asking us, we'll all say dental because we have made that choice. Ask premeds and they'll all say med because that's the choice they made. Ask prePT and well, you get the picture.

 

[Hannah Banana]

How are we supposed to know what you want to do? Asking us, we'll all say dental because we have made that choice. Ask premeds and they'll all say med because that's the choice they made. Ask prePT and well, you get the picture.

I thought it would be the other way around, pre-dental students will say go with med (so that it's less saturated) haha.

 

[Daneosaurus]

I thought it would be the other way around, pre-dental students will say go with med (so that it's less saturated) haha.

You're confusing us for pharmD. Talk about a saturated field...

 

[Hannah Banana]

You're confusing us for pharmD. Talk about a saturated field...

It is definitely on the way there. A dental clinic on every or every other mile block in most cities. Of course not as bad as P.

 

[AlbinoPolarBear]

I was premed all throughout high school and undergrad. My undergrad was extremely stressful, and felt burned out by my third year. I did pretty well (3.9 GPA), and I had a good CV with awesome reference letters from my professors. But I had an identity crisis like you are having right now during my senior year, and I couldn't handle the thought of going through an additional 4 years of med school, plus 3+ years of residency to finally make some real money. Then came dentistry with the guarantee of a 6-figure salary after 4 years, and I jumped on the dental train. I'm a third year dental student now, and even though I like the dental aspects, and would still love to be a general dentist, the medical aspects just resonate more strongly with me. After doing an externship in oral surgery, the trauma call, the lack of sleep, the fast pace of the hospital, I felt it was important to get an MD to gain all the medical knowledge that they didn't teach during dental school. I've always felt that there are so many things to be in this life, and I hated to choose just 1 thing to be. So why not, I'll be both. I'm hoping to obtain my MD in an 6-year oral surgery programs after I graduate from dental school. My parents already know they aren't getting a dollar from me for at least another decade, and I think they are starting to understand. Who knows, maybe I'll get my MBA and JD after that too. Might as well be like this dude... http://www.ecu.edu/cs-dhs/dental/employee.cfm?id=685

 

[nateriver]

I was premed all throughout high school and undergrad. My undergrad was extremely stressful, and felt burned out by my third year. I did pretty well (3.9 GPA), and I had a good CV with awesome reference letters from my professors. But I had an identity crisis like you are having right now during my senior year, and I couldn't handle the thought of going through an additional 4 years of med school, plus 3+ years of residency to finally make some real money. Then came dentistry with the guarantee of a 6-figure salary after 4 years, and I jumped on the dental train. I'm a third year dental student now, and even though I like the dental aspects, and would still love to be a general dentist, the medical aspects just resonate more strongly with me. After doing an externship in oral surgery, the trauma call, the lack of sleep, the fast pace of the hospital, I felt it was important to get an MD to gain all the medical knowledge that they didn't teach during dental school. I've always felt that there are so many things to be in this life, and I hated to choose just 1 thing to be. So why not, I'll be both. I'm hoping to obtain my MD in an 6-year oral surgery programs after I graduate from dental school. My parents already know they aren't getting a dollar from me for at least another decade, and I think they are starting to understand. Who knows, maybe I'll get my MBA and JD after that too. Might as well be like this dude... http://www.ecu.edu/cs-dhs/dental/employee.cfm?id=685

Honestly this post sounds a lot like me and I really appreciate you taking the time to post this , it really helps , and what you're saying is exactly what I'm afraid of , but at the same time it's like if I go to med school I don't wanna be like **** shoulda done dental idk we shouldn't have to choose the rest of our lives at 21, and something about that knowledge base and the rush might be drawing me in , but I think after I'm like 28-29 and starting to have a family ill wanna have some more free time and dental is just more conducive to that lifestyle and you can start living a lot earlier

 

[spazway]

Might as well be like this dude... http://www.ecu.edu/cs-dhs/dental/employee.cfm?id=685

That picture was probably taken at new employee orientation his first day on the job