Well to make the pro/con analysis easier just throw out "respect, prestige, bad rep" on either side. That is more dependent on you than anything else and I really wouldn't expect respect and prestige from any job. More importantly, who really cares what others think of your profession if you are miserable?
Con for med: "longer". Try "never ends" instead. As a physician you are always a physician. In a restaurant, you are a physician. On a plane, you are a physician. You need to keep studying and stay up to date with important changes in the field in order to stay competent and able to give your patients the best possible care. I shadowed an oncologist last summer and I remember the stacks of journals on their desk waiting to be read, piling up from not having time to get to them. They probably won't read them cover to cover but I imagine they will eventually sit down and pick out the highlights that are important to them.
"Governmental issues". What do you mean here? Decreased autonomy, inability to practice privately, increased bureaucracy? This will all probably continue as th ACA will most likely never be repealed. Medicine is up for more reform in the future, ACA implementation is just getting started. Not all of this is bad. I would say most of it is good (braces for being chewed out) compared to the system we had before which was absolutely unsustainable regardless if it was better for docs or not.
I think you should look into both professions more closely. If you are concerned about lifestyle, $$$, and flexible hours, however, dental will win every single time.
