Dental school as a mom is hard, and the reality is that being a dentist and a mom is even harder. I hope that you talked to other moms that have done it as well. You can do anything you set your mind to just know what you're getting into. If you can finish school with less than 100K or don't have to take out loans then I say go for it. I worked with a couple of mom dentists and I know for a fact that they'd never in a million years go into dentistry again. Not trying to scare you but when you work with women who come in crying because they hate what they've done to themselves by locking themselves into huge school debt in a male driven profession it makes you think about things.... also, you'll be managing women all day, everyday. I've seen female dentists really get abused by staff because they play on their feelings. Are you able to leave the feelings at home and get the job done? Just a heads up as to what to expect. There are those that do it and are successful just make sure you are becoming a dentist for the right reasons.
Hmmm...sounds to me like you are a man or a woman that has never had children.
Fact is, as a mom you (meaning DMD-2-B) have already learned to multi task. That is all dental school is. Multi tasking and learning really great time management. Being a mom may be difficult but it can be done and you can specialize. I am a mom, a dentist, an HPSP recipient (I am just finishing up my 4 year commitment with the Army, and let me tell you dental school as a parent does not compare at all to being a parent in the military), and now I am starting a residency. It can be done. I would not take what pietrodds says to heart, that may be HIS opinion but in my reality, I have not seen how so many moms would never do dental school again and I have LOTS of friends that are female dentists that are moms. One just graduated ortho (well a couple years ago...she loves it). And BTW, all of the mom dentists that I know are able to work as much (or as little) because of the income that they can bring in (and the school that many of us went to is private so we have PLENTY of loans). Also, I manage women, all day, every day, in a very male dominated world (I am the staff general dentist at a very large hospital and I am the ONLY female doctor in the practice, besides one other 1st year OS resident who is hardly in the clinic). I do not have any more problems than any of the men, but I am used to being a woman LOL and if they do not like working with me, o well....Actually I am leaving and they just threw me a little going away party and my assistant that I have had for 2 years is VERY VERY sad that I am leaving and made a beautiful speech, had many in the crowd crying. I think since we work with other women we can bond with them.
My husband is not a "professional" and was in school while I was in dental school. We took out loans, and are paying on them now, and I will be taking out more loans when I am in residency. I could not think of anything I would rather be doing. I am so confident in my choice and dh has seen that and now dh is considering d school and is finishing up his pre-reqs so there will be 2 of us in school for the next 2 years.
This can be done, you can do it, if you want to. We are moms, we know what it is like to be pulled in a million different directions.
Spoken like a true preDental. No where in my post did I say it's impossible! In fact, I think it'd be great that you do it just know that it's a hell of a challenge especially when you're looking at 2-300K of loans in the face. You can't work 2-3 days aweek and pay your loans off when you're in that kind of ballpark. Financially, I'd say the same thing to a male who only wants to work 3 days a week.
To be honest, I don't know many beginning dentists that only work 2-3 days a week.
It's hard to to keep up with technology and CE when you do dentistry part-time for extended periods of time like 5-10 years.
HUH??? What the heck does that even mean? We (moms) go to CE, we go to conferences, etc, just like any other dentist (or dentist parent- male or female) out there.
Whether you have a penis or not, you'd be better served going to hyg school at your local community college and making 60-70K a year than taking out 250K in loans and making 120K.
This is absurd.
As a woman, you should do what makes you happy and fact is being a dentist you will have a heck of a lot more control over your life than as a hygenist. You are faced with the same decisions that many of us were at one time, whether or not take out lots of loans and go to dental school and not take out loans and not be a dentist. Same decision whether you are a mom or not!!!!
You speak of moms in dental school who have kids. Ask them what their spouse does. I got $100 that says they're a professional, probably a dentist or a physician able to support the family financially.
Again, just absurdity. I was in school with lots of women, and I think only 2 of them dated people that were professional. My dh is not, and like I said he was in school when I was in school. He definately made a financial contribution while I was in school, but I still took out loans, and I will again for the next 2 years (my residency is tuition based, so I will not be making any money for the next 2 years).
As a mom, a dentist, and soon to be resident, I would recommend you do what you think will make you happy. I would not have been happy being a hygenist, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it, but it is just NOT ME. I am happy with my decision, and I know that my kids are no different than if I had chosen another field. My family is the most importatnt thing to me, and I have made many decisions in choosing my family over dental and yet, I am still a great dentist. You can do both and do them well.
The people who have families are NOT the ones who are struggling or failing, because they already have incredible drive and focus.
