Optometry vs. Dental

[aznnytezx]

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My whole plan was to apply to dental school, but I am afraid that my heart is really towards optometry. Not saying I am passionate for dentistry, because I am quite fascinated with it. Anyone can inform me the advantage and disadvantage, I might have a bias answer since this is the dentistry forum. Thanks !

 

[Bis-GMA111]

you should shadow an optometrist. spend a couple of hours at a local optometrist's office and make a decision. go to the pre-opt forums and compare and contrast what you read with stuff that's here.

my personal view however, is that while i can respect optometry as a field, it has taken a hit due to integration of the field with corporate chains. sure, one can argue that dentistry is headed down this path with corporate dental chains, but as of right now private practice still has more of an upper hand.

this is biased, but in my area you'll primarily find optometrists working in corporate chains like lenscrafters or even in walmart. i've been to a few opthamologists in my area and none of them have optometrists in their offices. usually it's 1 or 2 MDs with a slew of opto. techs.

edit: i've also had some bad experiences with optometrists. many times i've been cajoled into getting additional tests for things such as "cataracts'' when they were completely unnecessary. not to mention they've messed up my glasses prescriptions quite a few times. i prefer opthamologists because my experiences....and the fact that my insurance covers more for an opthamologist visit 🙂

 

[Bifenthrin]

Advantage of dentistry: Teeth are awesome.
Disadvantage of optometry: Ew, gross, eyes! *shudder*

But really, in all seriousness, if your heart is pulling you towards optometry, maybe do that instead?

 

[free99]

My whole plan was to apply to dental school, but I am afraid that my heart is really towards optometry. Not saying I am passionate for dentistry, because I am quite fascinated with it. Anyone can inform me the advantage and disadvantage, I might have a bias answer since this is the dentistry forum. Thanks !

I think if you have to ask for pros and cons of a profession on a forum you need to do some further research/shadowing/soul searching. This is not a decision to take lightly, as a "wrong" choice can be incredibly costly. Even if it means taking a year off and shadowing various dentists and optometrists, it's in your best interest to figure out what you really love before you dive in. If you're not truly motivated to succeed in a profession, I think you're setting yourself up for many years of misery.

But, since you asked, here are some pros

pros -
- Business autonomy, opportunity to make your own business decisions, for better or for worse
- Very tangible results of your labor
- Opportunity to build relationships over many years with the same families and be an integral part of their health care
- Opportunity to help instill confidence in patients by giving them the smile they desire
- rapidly growing technological advances and oral health research

There's some obvious overlap with optometry...

EDIT:
searched OPs post hx... less than stellar DATs aren't in and of themselves a reason to totally abandon a dream, OP. If you really do love dentistry than don't let a silly test stand in your way. Buck up and study again differently.

 

[periopocket]

They are very similar fields...I personally love the invasiveness of dentistry. Optometry is far less invasive and thus less physically demanding. On avg optometrists only make about 20k per year less then dentists do don't let salary sway your mind. Let your shadowing experience guide you.

 

[KittySquared]

Eyeballz r disgusting. Ill take the most rancid mouth anyday over eyes. Srsly

 

[NDPitch]

I don't find eyes disgusting. They're fascinating to me. But, from what I understand, optos only really do exams. I like getting in there and doing things, cutting tissue, etc. I could be wrong but I thought optos never get to do this with eyes - and it's mostly exams, RXs, and materials. In that light I'd probably like optho better. I could be wrong about the scope of practice for an opto though. I've never researched it in detail.

 

[Bis-GMA111]

for me at least.. optometry: opthamology:: dental therapy: dentistry

 

[Hawkteeth]

Remember that scene in Kill Bill when Uma plucks Daryl Hannah's eyeball out and squishes it with her toes? Ewwwuhhhh...

 

[aznnytezx]

Thanks everyone for the reply. I am not the one with the terrible DAT score, I just came across several people who got in with 18AA, but always wondered if anyone got in with such a DAT score. I shall continue shadowing, and see what I like.