new to dentistry

[Advendentist]

i am new to the forum after 4 years of dental school, do you still have to do a residency? if so, for how long? or is this an optional thing?

thanks

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[GatorDMD]

i am new to the forum after 4 years of dental school, do you still have to do a residency? if so, for how long? or is this an optional thing?

thanks

optional.

 

[Bifid Uvula]

Dentistry has specialties just like medicine does.

You can chose to be a General Dentist and go straight to work right after dental school, or you can do a residency in Advanced General Dentistry (1-2 years) or General Practice Residency (hospital dentistry 1-2 years).

Other residencies include:
Pediatric Dentistry 2-3 years
Periodontics 3 years
Endodontics 2-3 years
Orthodontics 2-3 years
Public Health 2 years???
Prosthodontics 2-3 years.
Dental Anesthesiology 2-3 years
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 4-6 years
etc etc....

As a general dentist, you can practice to your level of training and comfort what amounts to probably 80-90% of what specialists do. That might not make sense, but as you learn more about dentistry you'll see for yourself. Some general dentists are great at doing root canals and do most or all of their own. Others are great at extractions, so they do most of their own.... Some love treating children and treat all of them except the worst brats. So there is a lot of flexibility with dentistry.

 

[Alpha13]

So then, what is the point of specializing in pediatrics, endodontics, etc? 2-3 years is a long time to specialize when you could be doing 90% of the work as a GP.

 

[Rube]

So then, what is the point of specializing in pediatrics, endodontics, etc? 2-3 years is a long time to specialize when you could be doing 90% of the work as a GP.

Lets clarify something. As a GP you can do 80% of what specialists can do, but only if you get the training. You specialize because you want to do something specific and do it really well. You get the best training in your speciality residency, far better than just learning it in pieces as a GP. Specialists also have more of the equipment that allows them to do what they do better than a GP. GPs generally don't invest in this stuff, unless they really like a particular procedure.

You do speciality work to do things really well and to get paid really well.

 

[burton117]

Speciality = Fewer Procedures Performed at higher volume

Lower Overhead, too..

 

[burton117]

Speciality = Fewer Procedures Performed at higher volume

Lower Overhead, too = more money

 

[Maxillicious]

Not to mention the fact that you can charge more too.....MUHAHAHAHAHAHA!