Med vs Dental

[RNtoMD87]

I have been considering Med for quite some time, but following a recent dental appointment, I decided not to rule it out. My dentist agreed to let me shadow him, I plan to in order to see how good of a fit dentistry would be for me.

What are some other things to consider to determine whether dental or med is right for me?

Thank you

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[malikhind]

Why were you considering med for awhile?

 

[RNtoMD87]

I am an RN so I have had the greatest exposure to medical. Also I do enjoy the diversity of the human body. I honestly found the mouth and teeth boring, but I've never really done much with mouths, except very basic oral care. I wonder if I'm missing something.

 

[malikhind]

I am an RN so I have had the greatest exposure to medical. Also I do enjoy the diversity of the human body. I honestly found the mouth and teeth boring, but I've never really done much with mouths, except very basic oral care. I wonder if I'm missing something.

I've always loved helping others and human physiology, so medical seemed like my first choice. However, a lot of small things pushed me towards dental.

For me, I am a very family oriented person. I want to get married and have a family before before im ~33, as well as have a little fun before that. This is pretty tough as a MD student, because of having to do 4 years of med school plus 3+ years of residency. I also love the consistent schedule of dentistry, simple hours, no working on weekends, whereas for (generally), for most of your life as a doctor you will be on call. i've had friends who complained that their dads had to leave in the middle of dinner or at 4am to go to the ER or something. Having a simple 9-5, 4 days/week schedule as a dentist appeals to me greatly. Money is also a huge factor I wont lie, but both medical and dental doctors make a generous amount. Both have business aspects to them, but I'm sure opening up an MD office is MUCH more difficult than a dental office.

The job is also a lot chiller as a dentist form what I've seen. You don't have to stress constantly that someone's life is in your hands like MD's do. One of the biggest turn offs from MD for me was the thought that a patient might die in my car, and I don't know how I'd handle that and it scares me a lot. On the flip side, MD's save lives, which dentists generally don't do.

So if you're in it for helping people, you can't go wrong with either. Obviously as an MD you're making more significant changes to someone's life than a dentist will.

I haven't gone to dental school yet, but from what I hear, the new DMD programs share similar courses to MD programs, so you learn similar to MD style courses.

All in all, they are completely different lifestyles. if you enjoy the stressfulness of being an MD, the payoff is great since you can be saving lives. If want to relax and enjoy life with a family etc..., it'll be much easier as a dentist. Don't get me wrong, MD's can do it just as much as a dentist can, but as a dentist it is much easier imo

 

[RNtoMD87]

This is pretty much my thinking exactly. How interested are you in mouths and teeth themselves?

I don't mind the death part, and I love stress and excitement. I am a combat vet and miss the adrenaline. But I have many hobbies and want a family someday.

 

[allantois]

Go to NP school.

 

[NITRAS]

There innumerable ways to practice medicine. Either you want to be a Dentist or a MD. There’s 8-4 in both places, and I wouldn’t make my choice based on that. I suggest you do some soul searching.

 

[RNtoMD87]

Go to NP school.

Never. I would absolutely never be an NP. My options right now are MD/DO/Dental.

I would faire better as an RN than an NP, and I surely don't plan on being stagnant the rest of my career.

 

[2TH MVR]

There's pros and cons to both which have been stated in this thread. Most dental procedures seem to be commodities in the public eye which is a big negative for myself. Example: patient walks into your office for an ortho consult. Decides to go somewhere else because the braces were $600 cheaper. Would you shop a gall bladder, brain, liver or heart operation? I realize that insurance companies are dictating most medical procedure fees, but you don't see "Free Gall bladder surgery" on retail store fronts. You don't see cars running around with "$99/month braces" plastered on their doors. Not going to lie. There are many times I wish patients would validate me for my professional, highly learned skill ....rather than .... "I chose you since you were cheaper than the other guy" and you offered Care credit.

Yes. Many areas in medicine is also a commodity. Plastic surgery. Derm. Allergists. Etc. I am referring to other areas of medicine such as orthopedic surgeons, general surgery, internists, cancer specialists.

Pros and cons.

Dentistry. Lifestyle and ability to have a small business and to answer to no one but yourself. Not a bad gig either.

 

[biochem5]

I am an RN so I have had the greatest exposure to medical. Also I do enjoy the diversity of the human body. I honestly found the mouth and teeth boring, but I've never really done much with mouths, except very basic oral care. I wonder if I'm missing something.

If you think the mouth and teeth are boring now, they don’t really get a lot more interesting.

 

[Stanelz]

Dentists pro's over medicine and why I switched from premed to predent real fast:

*I say doctor vs dentist for simplicity sake, they are both technically doctors

1. Hours: Dentists work less than 50 hours typically, doctors works 60-80 on average

2. Wages: Although dentists make less technically out of the gate, the are making more per hour considering they work almost half the hours. Also, if you really want to work 60-80 hours a week like a doctors and grind really hard you will almost definitely make more than any doctor.

3. Paperwork: Doctors are drowning in paperwork, dentists have front offices that do most of the work because they dont have to sign off on every little thing like doctors do

4. Lifestyle: Dentist dont work nights and weekends (For the most part unless you go corporate) and basically never holidays, doctors work all hours and have to work major holidays at least every other year

5. Family: I have spent tons and tons of time in hospitals and I notice certain trends, doctors tend to always be divorced or are fighting for time with their families on the verge of divorce, every dentist I have asked loves their job and wouldnt want to do anything else and have plenty of time for their families and other life passions.

Take that last one with a grain of salt because my sample size is not humongous but I have worked closely with probably 40+ doctors

Doctors and dentist both go home with a fat check in their pocket but which lifestyle do you prefer. I personally love medicine but I do not love it enough to sacrifice my whole life for it. I also love dentistry and can see myself doing it forever so it is a win win.

Disclaimer: Never go into a profession because of money even though I mentioned it heavily, you will hate your life if you are not truly passionate about what you do.

 

[crumps]

As others said, lifestyle is a huge plus for me. I can never be able to handle that type of stress that the MD would face. And while everyone is saying that dentistry doesn't really face life or death situations I think the work we do is very important. I always say that the smile is the very first impression a person can make and its hard to smile if you don't like your own. Im not in dental school yet but am currently an assistant but seeing people get their new smile is pretty amazing. It's like they're an entirely new person. Another thing I like about dentistry is instant gratification. You see a cavity, you drill it out and you fill it. You physically just treated the patient and you see the improvement in oral health instantly. Whereas for MD, sometimes they just come in you prescribe them something and they are out the door and they might never come back for a follow up.

 

[RNtoMD87]

Thanks for the advice everyone! Very good points made here.

And why I'm still considering this even though the mouth and the teeth seem less exciting than the rest of the body-

There are differences in hobbies and jobs, for a reason. Lifestyle and enjoyment of life is a GREAT tradeoff.

Maybe I don't know enough to be interested (probably a big part. The more I learn the more interested I become)

I need a job where I feel like I matter. I work as a stepdown nurse and always wanted to be a pulmonologist but lately I've realized I don't feel like I'm helping many people, most are brain dead, and will never regain consciousness. Many family members are just refusing to let go because of false hope or some even a paycheck. It doesn't matter that I could make 350-400k a year, if I don't feel like what I'm doing is important. My ENT and OMFS patients currently are almost in their entirety, what makes me feel like I'm serving a true purpose.


Unlike most out there im not chasing money. I clear over 100k per year as an RN after I pick up shifts. My largest disappointment is knowledge lack. I'm a huge nerd who can spend all day reading a textbook. That is my one persuit in life, to keep learning, and in every area.

 

[luisfigo]

News flash about dentistry.... no one is REALLY interested in teeth or the mouth.... and when you go to medical school, it's not always a choice of where you get to go. You can choose to try to go to med school with the desire to do ENT/Orthopedics/etc., but you can fail at getting in, and at getting your residency. My brother didn't go into med school thinking he wanted to deal with men's genitals all day long... but that's part of his job. Med school is a rat race to get in and to get to residency, and it's an 7-8 yr obligation if you're up for it, Dental is 4 unless you want to go further.

Be open to dentistry but understand that shadowing is probably going to be a really awfully boring experience staring at the Dentist's head for hours, unless he happens to teach you and be engaging. It's much more of a job for doers(especially hands on projects) than thinkers, though you needn't limit yourself to either. I would offer you to try and think of Dentistry as applying for an oral specialty residency, similar to a medical residency.

Weigh options carefully, your age, lifestyle, the grind, the job fulfillment, etc. *******Biggest thing my brother did, ASK the doctors you shadow what's their lifestyle like, would they do it again******* it's how my brother made his choice to do urology. If you need adrenaline, dentistry probably won't carry you.

 

[Likkriue]

Go to medical school tbh.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

I haven't gone to dental school yet, but from what I hear, the new DMD programs share similar courses to MD programs, so you learn similar to MD style courses.

Are you alluding to DDS vs. DMD? Because, there is absolutely no difference. DMD came about all because Harvard didn't like the way DDS translated into Latin.

Big Hoss

 

[RNtoMD87]

Go to medical school tbh.

Any reasoning?

 

[Likkriue]

Any reasoning?

Cause dental schools will teach you very little medicine and that seems to be what interests you most.

 

[RNtoMD87]

I could learn it on my own aswell I suppose. A good family life is important to me. I have many other hobbies such as powerlifting, hand loading, long range shooting, hunting, and homebrewing that I need time for. And I own 300 acres of farmland.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

I have many other hobbies such as powerlifting, hand loading, long range shooting, hunting, and homebrewing that I need time for. And I own 300 acres of farmland.

So pretty much just being awesome?

Big Hoss

 

[RNtoMD87]

So pretty much just being awesome?

Big Hoss

Just a tinkerer. I go from thing to thing. Whenever I get the discipline to focus my attention on just a couple things I really excel. Brewing and gun stuff has taken a backseat for the past year or so.


I see your navy logo. Fellow vet?

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

Just a tinkerer. I go from thing to thing. Whenever I get the discipline to focus my attention on just a couple things I really excel. Brewing and gun stuff has taken a backseat for the past year or so.


I see your navy logo. Fellow vet?

What’s next? Bare knuckle boxing? Competitive mustaches?

I’m currently a general dentist in the Navy. Just living the dream.

Big Hoss

 

[RNtoMD87]

Military left me disgruntled, but I was enlisted Army, military police. Been out for 6 years now.

Just looking forward to getting back to all of those things I miss doing.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

@RNtoMD87, I was accepted to medical school before I became a dentist, but turned it down. The work/life balance in medicine is by and large not great. I actually know a few MDs who straight up quit practicing medicine over it. Yes, dentistry isn’t as “exciting,” but the lifestyle is much better in my opinion. Best of luck in whatever you end up doing!

Big Hoss

 

[Life of Pablo]

I have relatives in both fields. By far, the ones in dentistry are much, much happier - and it’s not even close. Go talk to some physicians and dentists and see for yourself. You’ll find far more physicians saying they wouldn’t pursue medicine again than dentists saying that. However, if medicine is what you’re truly passionate about, go for it.

 

[Screwtape]

There are several lifestyle specialties in medicine that aren’t super competitive. Shadow and really think about what you can see yourself doing for 40+ hours a week for almost the rest of your life.

 

[Medin2017]

Shadow and work in a dental lab or as an assistant. Some people including upperclassmen I know went in for lifestyle but hate hand work. Guess they should have figured that out before dropping 70k+ per year in dental school.

Also shadow dentist associates too. Young dentists may give you more insight than older ones, surprisingly.

Choose wisely. I was in your shoes and am glad I made my choice

 

[workofshart]

Never. I would absolutely never be an NP. My options right now are MD/DO/Dental.

I would faire better as an RN than an NP, and I surely don't plan on being stagnant the rest of my career.

Reasoning? Two years and you get a doctorate sounds pretty good for most people.

 

[RNtoMD87]

Reasoning? Two years and you get a doctorate sounds pretty good for most people.

For a doctorate it would be 4 years and nursing education is full of a lot of bs. I'm highly disappointed so far. Not very medically deep at all. I've had several friends go the NP route. "How much did you learn about medicine?" "Not much, but I'll learn on the job. I'll work with a doctor and I'll learn a lot of what they know"

That really doesn't work for me. I enjoy my job as a stepdown/ ICU rn but I hate the education. It's torture- whole semesters of "fight the physician patriarchy" tone or whole units on simply why nursing is a great profession. I just want to learn medical things on a deeper level.

 

[Medin2017]

For a doctorate it would be 4 years and nursing education is full of a lot of bs. I'm highly disappointed so far. Not very medically deep at all. I've had several friends go the NP route. "How much did you learn about medicine?" "Not much, but I'll learn on the job. I'll work with a doctor and I'll learn a lot of what they know"

That really doesn't work for me. I enjoy my job as a stepdown/ ICU rn but I hate the education. It's torture- whole semesters of "fight the physician patriarchy" tone or whole units on simply why nursing is a great profession. I just want to learn medical things on a deeper level.

Most dental curricula are not "medically deep" as well. Realistically they can't be if you have hours of lab and classes about dental techniques. You will learn all things oral cavity at a deeper level, that I can guarantee.

 

[RNtoMD87]

We have some dental residents that work on the step down with us (OMFS) and they prescribe metoprolol and other medications. How much of that sort of education do you get?

 

[Medin2017]

We have some dental residents that work on the step down with us (OMFS) and they prescribe metoprolol and other medications. How much of that sort of education do you get?

We definitely learn pharmacology just not as much and not as deep as our medical student counterparts in all likelihood.

 

[GypsyHummus]

I was in a similar situation and decided that dentistry fit better with the lifestyle that I wanted. Yes its really cool to save someone's life, yes very little medicine is "boring", but I would like to have time to spend on my hobbies and a side hustle.

Cant be wealthy unless you find something that makes you money while you sleep!

 

[RNtoMD87]

I guess I have to figure how much I like "working with my hands".

 

[Medin2017]

I guess I have to figure how much I like "working with my hands".

Become an assistant or try to work in a lab in your spare time. By far the best way

 

[RNtoMD87]

What would you suggest for someone who is a full time Nurse, and currently fulling premed/dental requirements?

The only thing I've really done with my hands is sewing up corpses post autopsy. I am fair at it, definitely not pretty work. I can play beginner guitar as well. I've just never been skilled at like carving etc. I just don't know if its a skill I can develop. I'm pretty r-tarded when it comes to art.

 

[Medin2017]

What would you suggest for someone who is a full time Nurse, and currently fulling premed/dental requirements?

The only thing I've really done with my hands is sewing up corpses post autopsy. I am fair at it, definitely not pretty work. I can play beginner guitar as well. I've just never been skilled at like carving etc. I just don't know if its a skill I can develop. I'm pretty r-tarded when it comes to art.

Carving matters as a student, but ask some dentists if it matters post-dental school. TBH you don't have to be great at lab work if you have no intentions of specializing- passing isn't very difficult. I think it's a skill you can develop and so do most faculty.

If you're a full time nurse, just stick to that as the income will provide stress relief and improve quality of life down the road. My parents "only" paid for my 1st year of dental school to help reduce the burden. Now that I am budgeting and looking at interest and costs down the road, I can't say I feel as free as I did a few months ago.

Note: My perspective is not from someone dead set on doing general dentistry. It will err towards neurotic-ism and being overprepared. Nearly all of my classmates were very far from failing, and the ones that did not care about rank at all had an extremely extremely easy time in dental school (these are people ranging from 1st-4th years). The ones that failed had other obligations or little care for their future career.

 

[RNtoMD87]

Oh I have zero intentions of staying a nurse. Its a fair living but I can do much more with my life. I have strongly wanted to pursue medicine for awhile, and was dead set against dentistry, but after a trip to the dentist (after 6 years of not going) I mentioned that I was premed, and they encouraged me to look into dental. I decided to give it a chance instead of completely ruling it out because "teeth are boring"

I love the adrenaline aspect of being an ICU nurse (combat vet and still seek the high I guess), but I can pursue that outside of an occupation. If I do medicine it will probably be in a primary care provider role. The reason I am looking at dentistry is like you said, the lifestyle. I currently work 72 hours a week when I'm not in school or volunteering for med school check boxes, but when I have a family I will want more off time.

 

[Medin2017]

Oh I have zero intentions of staying a nurse. Its a fair living but I can do much more with my life. I have strongly wanted to pursue medicine for awhile, and was dead set against dentistry, but after a trip to the dentist (after 6 years of not going) I mentioned that I was premed, and they encouraged me to look into dental. I decided to give it a chance instead of completely ruling it out because "teeth are boring"

Would not rule it out based on teeth are boring, but one of your motivations is pursuit of knowledge and not just a cursory knowledge gain but a deep one (i.e. med vs nursing). I would not make the argument of a dentist knowing more than a physician or even a physician assistant based on realistic scheduling (not sure about knowledge vs a nurse). I'll paint a picture of what many dental schools look like. 1-3 years didactic, 1-2 years clinic. During the didactic years, yes you will be learning medicine. But a sizeable chunk of the time will be on dental anatomy, materials sciences, and dental procedures. Another chunk will be practicing said procedures. No chance in 1-3 years of school with a smaller focus on medicine that you will be on the same level of a medical doctor or perhaps even a physician assistant, whose SOLE job is studying all the time (except for 3rd and 4th year but in 3rd year they're still studying shelf and boards that are distinctly medically related).

It seems like you are less about superficial things like money and you don't seem to be someone who wants to do it based solely on working with hands. Lots of users here are throwing out the common "lifestyle, cash, helping others, etc" but this doesn't apply to you.
Based on your statement below, I highly recommend looking deeper into medicine and dentistry.

Unlike most out there im not chasing money. I clear over 100k per year as an RN after I pick up shifts. My largest disappointment is knowledge lack. I'm a huge nerd who can spend all day reading a textbook. That is my one persuit in life, to keep learning, and in every area.

Medicine seems way more up your alley. The stereotypical "happy" dental student chose it because they love working for their hands, the lifestyle beats medicine usually, they can be their own boss, they liked biological sciences over others, and of course helping people. But as a nurse you have already done most of those things, with the exception of being a business owner and working with your hands. You're already helping, making good money, using biological science/knowledge, and I assume your lifestyle isn't terrible. Your main thing you were chasing was knowledge and pursuing it for life, NOT working with your hands. I would do medicine if I were you if that reason was enough to make a change, but talk to more doctors and post the question to the medical forums of SDN. This takes a lot of thought, and having a dentist who is successful telling you to do dentistry over medicine does not solve your main issue of "knowledge lack". You're making a sacrifice that could cost you upwards of 700,000 (if we say average debt is like 300k and you're making 100k per year at the moment) along with a loss of time that you could use to learn things or expand knowledge on your own.

 

[RNtoMD87]

I have a big interest in being a business owner. I am not super excited about working with my hands but I don't see that as a deal breaker.

If I had to sum up who I am, I'm a huge nerd who can read text books for hours, and get lost in learning just for the sake of learning (my friends and I will have several hour long conversations on existentialism for instance) but at the same time love being physical doing things such as powerlifting.


BTW I have 3 years of GI bill left. Med school wont be too expensive for me. I made 115k my first year as a nurse, but currently with everything else going on, probably make a mere 62k or so.


I don't really have many expenses, and don't spend much money. I eat out more common these days than I'd like due to being on the go so much and not feeling like going shopping. I have an extensive gun collection that I bought while I was in the army/soon after, but don't really desire any more. Pretty much the only financial thing I want at this time is a house. I also own 100 acres of land and will inherit another 200 in partnership with some cousins who live FAR out of state and have no interest in the land.

 

[Medin2017]

I have a big interest in being a business owner. I am not super excited about working with my hands but I don't see that as a deal breaker.

If I had to sum up who I am, I'm a huge nerd who can read text books for hours, and get lost in learning just for the sake of learning (my friends and I will have hour long conversations on existentialism for instance) but at the same time love being physical doing things such as powerlifting.


BTW I have 3 years of GI bill left. Med school wont be too expensive for me.

I can't say much about business owning as a student, but I assume there are ways of doing that in certain medical specialties. If you like reading for hours, you would enjoy medical school over dental school. I know some people like you in my class who like learning but hate hand skills and they are miserable. I enjoy both so I'm in a good spot but I would hate to be like those people who just want to leave the lab to go study. On the other hand in many medical schools they have no mandatory attendance and pass fail. They can study at home as long as they want and even forgo lecture material for boards material.

Oh another advice I can give. Crack open a test booklet for the dental boards and compare that to your nursing school or medical school. It's essentially what most schools teach for knowledge on the human body.

 

[GypsyHummus]

Podiatry might be a good compromise between lifestyle, interesting, and business owner. If you go to a school with DO integration, you will learn what the DO do.

There is a little bit of every specialty in Podiatry (with the exception of psych and OBGYN). You would even get your Adrenalin fix, as some pods do trauma.

 

[dPseh]

Looking through this thread and your responses, I would go to medical school if I were you.

There’s really no adrenaline rush involved in dental, and medically, it’s mostly localized to the oral cavity. Yes, we take pharmacology, general path, etc. but it’s not as in depth as medical school classes. And in real world practice, the knowledge from both classes is applied even less so (when in doubt, call the physician or pharmacist for consultation).

General dentists do not prescribe metoprolol or the like. Mostly just pain meds, oral sedatives, and antibiotics. You do have the option of becoming an OMS w/ MD but that requires 4 years of dental, 6(?) years of medical. It’s also very competitive. Some surgeons do some pretty cool things like facial reconstruction and prosthetics, but most have their own practice where they pull out wisdom teeth all day.

Lifestyle is a big deal. But can you imagine doing something you don’t enjoy for the next 20-40 years until you retire JUST for the lifestyle? Or always wondering, “what if I actually went to medical school instead?” You sound very medically oriented and bottom line is that dental is most likely not what you’re looking for.

If you still have doubts, please just spend a week shadowing a general dentist, then an OMS and see how you feel after that.

(And in our defense, dental is more than just about teeth. 😛)

 

[TherealnorthOMFS]

Shadow multiple dental practices, talk to the dentists about what they like about their job/what they hate and have a long convo with yourself with regards to your priorities and how they align with what you now know about dentistry vs medicine. From my preservative I went with dentistry for the autonomy, instant gratification (doing procedures and seeing immediate results) and certainly the life style. Dentistry is multifaceted and you can really customize your path to your liking with CE courses and specialty training in residency. Yes you'll be doing "bread and butter dentistry" with extractions, drilling&filling, molar endos (root canals) etc.... But it's more than just that, there is a broad scope of procedure that you would be doing with emergency trauma patients, helping someone regain chewing power with implants and of course you can specialize in working with kid (pedo), root canals (endo), gum diseases (perio) or do oral surge (OMFS) which will have you also go to med school (besides complex extraction cases and implants, there are 4-5 fellowships you can do after med school/OMFS in plastics, craniofacial (to help people with cleft lips/other birth defects, remove cancerous tumors from the neck and head and more). I'd say try and contact an oral surgeon, someone who went for both med and dent school and they will give you a unique input on both fields. But at the end of the day, do keep an open mind, expose yourself to a good amount of shadowing with more than just one practice (because it can sometimes be hit or miss for both bad and good practices) and hopefully by doing so you'll be in the position to make an informed decision on what best fits your personality.

Cheers,
RI