Medical School to Dental School

[waitinggame2020]

Hi everyone! I have been lurking on some of other SDN posts about moving from medical to dental school, and I wanted to give some insight into my situation. I am an M1 who just started about a month ago. However, I’ve been questioning medical school for a couple months. To be fair, I was not admitted to my top choice school from the waitlist which meant I had to move away from my fiancé to another town for about 10 months. I still see him on weekends and he is amazingly supportive, but it’s hard after living together for two years. I am only sharing this because I think it is an important consideration. I lightly toiled with deferring this year but felt like I needed to “get started so I could finish.” Other parts that have me questioning medicine is the overhead with insurance. I’ve heard it a lot from people I shadowed, and I worked my gap year in an orthopedic practice and insurance companies are frustrating and it was frequently disappointing to see them deny care for patients - while dental is less driven by insurance.

There were also a couple people I worked with who were going for PA school but were raised by doctors and their parents kind of guided them away from medical school due to the stress and hours of residency. There have just been multiple voices in the back of my mind that have been saying these things to me and they have gotten much louder in medical school. At orientation, we heard upperclassmen talk about the work they put in and the long hours during clinical rotations and then residency and frankly it’s all very daunting and overwhelming.

As for medical school itself, I am doing fine with the curriculum, so it’s not me wanting “easier curriculum” and I know it’s not “easier.” I also feel “bored” with just studying. To be fair, this is COVID times so we aren’t in clinics, so I am jealous of dental peers who have practical labs where they are working on their skills. I’m a kinesthetic learner so I feel like i need to be “doing” something.

Additionally, I just feel like I value my future time more now than I had previously considered. I shadowed both dentists and physicians in high school/early college, and I ultimately decided medicine because I thought my shadowing experiences were “cooler” I could see them doing things and more of the problem solving process. But I feel like with dentistry, it is harder to “shadow” and see what they are doing. Also, I did not do a good job of asking questions about the lifestyle. I even remember one dentist saying he considered medicine, was pre-med but switched to dentistry for the lifestyle - I shook it off at the time, but now the thought of residency is daunting.

As for ultimate interests, I see myself in primary care type clinic/private practice. I like the idea of “cosmetics” and improving confidence for people in dermatology, which I think translates to dentistry well with less of the insurance issues and possibly no residency.

So my question is, am I more so suffering from “grass is greener” or are these real concerns I need to take time to discover? I am not planning to drop out currently as I know I am still adjusting to medical school and things improve with time but I think I made it clear that it’s not just the “now” I am concerned with but the future with residency in particular. I know I should talk to some dentists and try to shadow if I really want to take next steps in this process, but I just feel the need to gauge the waters of if I should tell myself to stop overthinking everything or really spend time reevaluating my goals. There is a lot going on with long distance relationships, COVID, and new adaptations with medical school so I would love some input. Thanks in advance!

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[slowthai]

1. Drop out of med school
2. Get into dental school
3. Gun for OMFS
4. Match OMFS
5. Profit

You get derm hours while making 100-150K more.

I'm kidding, don't drop out (or do? It's your choice?) I just think it's an incredible field because you get to be a physician, surgeon, and dentist, with a great lifestyle and great money. Only downsides are that it's very competitive (not even close to derm though) and the residency is very grueling (think ortho, GS, nsg intensity). You can do general dentistry if it doesn't work out as well.

 

[waitinggame2020]

1. Drop out of med school
2. Get into dental school
3. Gun for OMFS
4. Match OMFS
5. Profit

You get derm hours while making 100-150K more.

I'm kidding, don't drop out (or do? It's your choice?) I just think it's an incredible field because you get to be a physician, surgeon, and dentist, with a great lifestyle and great money. Only downsides are that it's very competitive (not even close to derm though) and the residency is very grueling (think ortho, GS, nsg intensity). You can do general dentistry if it doesn't work out as well.

How do you think dropping out of medical school will impact getting into dental school?

 

[ACSurgeon]

How do you think dropping out of medical school will impact getting into dental school?

It’ll really hurt your chances. There’s always a way to make it happen but it might take a few years to make it seem like you matured and had meaningful experiences.

Medicine is awesome currently. No one knows the future. Plenty of employed positions with good pay and no insurance hassle. You get some admin hassle but so far I haven’t felt it.

Doctors who guide their kids away from medicine might be burnt out. They might have a grass is greener attitude. They also may have saved/invested enough to give their children financial freedom without needing to earn a lot.

For me med school was worthwhile financially because I had nothing to fall back on. Even as I pay back a ton of loans I’m able to save and have a high paying job for the foreseeable future.

PA or pharmacy isn’t a bad choice, especially if you finish with ZERO loans and maybe some rental properties that you inherit and some cash for a down payment on a house etc. in that case your income is mostly to pay for housing and food bills etc. 100-150k will go a long way. However, if you need money to build net worth and provide for your kids good opportunities and you’re starting from scratch, that 100-150k won’t go far at all.

Of course, then there’s the career satisfaction and not feeing like you “could have done more” with your life, but that’s different for different people.

 

[djiboutiman]

I totally understand how you feel. I also had second thoughts about becoming a physician because of the intense training and increasingly bureaucratic nature of the medical field. With COVID, online medical school is pretty boring too which doesn’t help. After my first week I thought about dropping out and going a different route, Engineering specifically.

You have to remember why you wanted to go to medical school in the first place. Re-read your personal statement, talk to mentors, family, friends. There was a reason you went down this road in the first place. Medical school and residency are temporary, so don’t change your career because of that. Once you’re an attending you can always tailor your hours to the lifestyle you want (for certain specialties at least). I’m sure there are plenty of dentists that wish they became physicians instead too.

All this being said, life is too short to be miserable. If you think you’d hate being a doctor, you can’t totally leave and do something else.

 

[ciestar]

It’ll really hurt your chances. There’s always a way to make it happen but it might take a few years to make it seem like you matured and had meaningful experiences.

Medicine is awesome currently. No one knows the future. Plenty of employed positions with good pay and no insurance hassle. You get some admin hassle but so far I haven’t felt it.

Doctors who guide their kids away from medicine might be burnt out. They might have a grass is greener attitude. They also may have saved/invested enough to give their children financial freedom without needing to earn a lot.

For me med school was worthwhile financially because I had nothing to fall back on. Even as I pay back a ton of loans I’m able to save and have a high paying job for the foreseeable future.

PA or pharmacy isn’t a bad choice, especially if you finish with ZERO loans and maybe some rental properties that you inherit and some cash for a down payment on a house etc. in that case your income is mostly to pay for housing and food bills etc. 100-150k will go a long way. However, if you need money to build net worth and provide for your kids good opportunities and you’re starting from scratch, that 100-150k won’t go far at all.

Of course, then there’s the career satisfaction and not feeing like you “could have done more” with your life, but that’s different for different people.

The pharmacy job market is terrible

 

[Osteosaur]

Learning about DNA in M1 biochem sucks, but you won't be in didactic years forever.

Just carefully consider that getting into med school doesn't mean you'd be a shoo-in at dental. See if any specialties offer what you want from being a dentist at a bare minimum. In the time it takes to reapply and start a new program you would be a doctor by then

 

[Doggeronie]

Hi everyone! I have been lurking on some of other SDN posts about moving from medical to dental school, and I wanted to give some insight into my situation. I am an M1 who just started about a month ago. However, I’ve been questioning medical school for a couple months. To be fair, I was not admitted to my top choice school from the waitlist which meant I had to move away from my fiancé to another town for about 10 months. I still see him on weekends and he is amazingly supportive, but it’s hard after living together for two years. I am only sharing this because I think it is an important consideration. I lightly toiled with deferring this year but felt like I needed to “get started so I could finish.” Other parts that have me questioning medicine is the overhead with insurance. I’ve heard it a lot from people I shadowed, and I worked my gap year in an orthopedic practice and insurance companies are frustrating and it was frequently disappointing to see them deny care for patients - while dental is less driven by insurance.

There were also a couple people I worked with who were going for PA school but were raised by doctors and their parents kind of guided them away from medical school due to the stress and hours of residency. There have just been multiple voices in the back of my mind that have been saying these things to me and they have gotten much louder in medical school. At orientation, we heard upperclassmen talk about the work they put in and the long hours during clinical rotations and then residency and frankly it’s all very daunting and overwhelming.

As for medical school itself, I am doing fine with the curriculum, so it’s not me wanting “easier curriculum” and I know it’s not “easier.” I also feel “bored” with just studying. To be fair, this is COVID times so we aren’t in clinics, so I am jealous of dental peers who have practical labs where they are working on their skills. I’m a kinesthetic learner so I feel like i need to be “doing” something.

Additionally, I just feel like I value my future time more now than I had previously considered. I shadowed both dentists and physicians in high school/early college, and I ultimately decided medicine because I thought my shadowing experiences were “cooler” I could see them doing things and more of the problem solving process. But I feel like with dentistry, it is harder to “shadow” and see what they are doing. Also, I did not do a good job of asking questions about the lifestyle. I even remember one dentist saying he considered medicine, was pre-med but switched to dentistry for the lifestyle - I shook it off at the time, but now the thought of residency is daunting.

As for ultimate interests, I see myself in primary care type clinic/private practice. I like the idea of “cosmetics” and improving confidence for people in dermatology, which I think translates to dentistry well with less of the insurance issues and possibly no residency.

So my question is, am I more so suffering from “grass is greener” or are these real concerns I need to take time to discover? I am not planning to drop out currently as I know I am still adjusting to medical school and things improve with time but I think I made it clear that it’s not just the “now” I am concerned with but the future with residency in particular. I know I should talk to some dentists and try to shadow if I really want to take next steps in this process, but I just feel the need to gauge the waters of if I should tell myself to stop overthinking everything or really spend time reevaluating my goals. There is a lot going on with long distance relationships, COVID, and new adaptations with medical school so I would love some input. Thanks in advance!

Stay in med school, become a doctor. The grass is not greener anywhere else. You will be throwing away the opportunity of a lifetime for shortsighted reasons.
Please do not do this, you will regret it immensely. Medicine is an extremely fulfilling, rewarding, lucrative, and flexible profession and nothing else even compares. When you're done with residency you will have every door open to you. Just finish, please.

 

[Candidate2017]

As someone in a relatively cush residency and cush specialty, I say do it and don't look back. Dentistry fulfills everything you mentioned: lifestyle, shorter training (4 years, no residency required), hands-on work, cash cosmetics/less insurance. You are ahead of the game for considering those things.

Be aware tuition is a lot more and pay is generally less than physician pay, unless you become a bro oral surgeon/teeth puller.

 

[Osteosaur]

As someone in a relatively cush residency and cush specialty, I say do it and don't look back. Dentistry fulfills everything you mentioned: lifestyle, shorter training (4 years, no residency required), hands-on work, cash cosmetics/less insurance. You are ahead of the game for considering those things.

Be aware tuition is a lot more and pay is generally less than physician pay, unless you become a bro oral surgeon/teeth puller.

How much work would an M1 need to do to get into dental school? There's a pretty big investment involved just in becoming an M1. Not sure about D1 but I wonder how interchangeable it all is. The good life is 7 years away, versus quitting and maybe the good life "maybe" being 5-6 years away?

What specialty/residency out of curiosity?

 

[Cranjis McBasketball]

TO ME, people are crazy for considering DROPPING out and pursuing dental school. The DAT is totally different than the MCAT. The DAT Is all recall and you have to study the PAT section. You cant just show up and take it. Dental school is competitive to get into. The other thing is the debt is crazy. So youre gonna come out with 300-500k in debt, and making 150k as an associate. Theres also the chance you PAY for a year long residency after dental school. Thats actually semi common and helps you get more practice before just jumping right into an associate position. Again you pay for that (there are a SMALL number of paid positions). If you wanna make the big money then you have to buy a practice so now youre looking at 800-1m+ in debt. How long will that take to pay off? And then after that it depends on what you think the good life is. Practice owners are literal business owners and have to worry about everything. Thatd be a headache to me. But if you wanna make good money in dental then thats what you have to do.

Not to mention, unless you're living in the boonies there is a dental practice on every corner

 

[Fried Plantaris]

Look into ophthalmology. They are basically eye dentists.

 

[hmockingbird]

TO ME, people are crazy for considering DROPPING out and pursuing dental school. The DAT is totally different than the MCAT. The DAT Is all recall and you have to study the PAT section. You cant just show up and take it. Dental school is competitive to get into. The other thing is the debt is crazy. So youre gonna come out with 300-500k in debt, and making 150k as an associate. Theres also the chance you PAY for a year long residency after dental school. Thats actually semi common and helps you get more practice before just jumping right into an associate position. Again you pay for that (there are a SMALL number of paid positions). If you wanna make the big money then you have to buy a practice so now youre looking at 800-1m+ in debt. How long will that take to pay off? And then after that it depends on what you think the good life is. Practice owners are literal business owners and have to worry about everything. Thatd be a headache to me. But if you wanna make good money in dental then thats what you have to do.

Not to mention, unless you're living in the boonies there is a dental practice on every corner

Plus to me the dental equivalent of cosmetics is orthodontics which requires a residency.

 

[deleted988773]

Currently a 1st year dental student on the same boat going the opposite direction. Considering dropping dental for medicine and I'd have to tell you that the reasons why you want to go into dentistry are the same exact reasons why I chose this field which now I am regretting.

 

[Redpancreas]

Hi everyone! I have been lurking on some of other SDN posts about moving from medical to dental school, and I wanted to give some insight into my situation. I am an M1 who just started about a month ago. However, I’ve been questioning medical school for a couple months. To be fair, I was not admitted to my top choice school from the waitlist which meant I had to move away from my fiancé to another town for about 10 months. I still see him on weekends and he is amazingly supportive, but it’s hard after living together for two years. I am only sharing this because I think it is an important consideration. I lightly toiled with deferring this year but felt like I needed to “get started so I could finish.” Other parts that have me questioning medicine is the overhead with insurance. I’ve heard it a lot from people I shadowed, and I worked my gap year in an orthopedic practice and insurance companies are frustrating and it was frequently disappointing to see them deny care for patients - while dental is less driven by insurance.

There were also a couple people I worked with who were going for PA school but were raised by doctors and their parents kind of guided them away from medical school due to the stress and hours of residency. There have just been multiple voices in the back of my mind that have been saying these things to me and they have gotten much louder in medical school. At orientation, we heard upperclassmen talk about the work they put in and the long hours during clinical rotations and then residency and frankly it’s all very daunting and overwhelming.

As for medical school itself, I am doing fine with the curriculum, so it’s not me wanting “easier curriculum” and I know it’s not “easier.” I also feel “bored” with just studying. To be fair, this is COVID times so we aren’t in clinics, so I am jealous of dental peers who have practical labs where they are working on their skills. I’m a kinesthetic learner so I feel like i need to be “doing” something.

Additionally, I just feel like I value my future time more now than I had previously considered. I shadowed both dentists and physicians in high school/early college, and I ultimately decided medicine because I thought my shadowing experiences were “cooler” I could see them doing things and more of the problem solving process. But I feel like with dentistry, it is harder to “shadow” and see what they are doing. Also, I did not do a good job of asking questions about the lifestyle. I even remember one dentist saying he considered medicine, was pre-med but switched to dentistry for the lifestyle - I shook it off at the time, but now the thought of residency is daunting.

As for ultimate interests, I see myself in primary care type clinic/private practice. I like the idea of “cosmetics” and improving confidence for people in dermatology, which I think translates to dentistry well with less of the insurance issues and possibly no residency.

So my question is, am I more so suffering from “grass is greener” or are these real concerns I need to take time to discover? I am not planning to drop out currently as I know I am still adjusting to medical school and things improve with time but I think I made it clear that it’s not just the “now” I am concerned with but the future with residency in particular. I know I should talk to some dentists and try to shadow if I really want to take next steps in this process, but I just feel the need to gauge the waters of if I should tell myself to stop overthinking everything or really spend time reevaluating my goals. There is a lot going on with long distance relationships, COVID, and new adaptations with medical school so I would love some input. Thanks in advance!

I frankly don't see any good reasons for the transition out of the things you mentioned aside from maybe the significant other and you don't have a dental acceptance in hand to know that issue will be resolved from transitioning. I think it would be a mistake to drop out. You shouldn't be making your decisions based off doom/gloom and SDN prognostications and as you pointed out, the grass is greener on the other side. Policies/Reimbursements are always in flux. If you try to jump around from one to another, you may end up with nothing. Finish what you started. You should do what makes you happy and apply yourself where you feel you would do the most good. Medicine is versatile enough to where you could find a field you may like. While you may like cosmetics and see yourself doing plastics/dermatology, you may also find you have an interest in primary care.

EDIT, looks like someone necrobumped.