Personal statement question

[charleslin1118]

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I have worked for a specialized implant dentist for a while and I want to write about how expensive implants are that motivate me to go for dentistry because i want to help people out by offering them more reasonable prices..
However I think by writing this it may show disgrace to my previous boss (indicating that he is overpriced), though he didn't write a letter for me. I do have a lot of respects for this doctor and he is probably the best of the field and I was very amazed by the excellence of his skills, just that being a front desk I routinely had to see people struggling to receive implant treatments due to money issue. Honestly I just feel running a dental clinic should not be like doing pure business and your priority is to make sure patients get the most appropriate treatments.. What do you guys think? Should I mention it at all? I'll greatly appreciate any response.

 

[razblo]

That's a tough question because I can see where you're coming from with both of your arguments.

While wanting to offer more reasonable prices is noble, in my opinion I think that mentioning prices might not give the admissions people the best impression. If you do decide to put it in there I would really focus on making sure you have the best phrasing of that idea as possible, so they have no doubt that you're all about helping people, and not just interested in being a dentist for the money.

Hope that helps.

 

[doc toothache]

I have worked for a specialized implant dentist for a while and I want to write about how expensive implants are that motivate me to go for dentistry because i want to help people out by offering them more reasonable prices..
However I think by writing this it may show disgrace to my previous boss (indicating that he is overpriced), though he didn't write a letter for me. I do have a lot of respects for this doctor and he is probably the best of the field and I was very amazed by the excellence of his skills, just that being a front desk I routinely had to see people struggling to receive implant treatments due to money issue. Honestly I just feel running a dental clinic should not be like doing pure business and your priority is to make sure patients get the most appropriate treatments.. What do you guys think? Should I mention it at all? I'll greatly appreciate any response.

However noble your gesture might be it is never a good idea to make negative statements about another professional. Finding an adcom that doesn't know how "expensive" implants are is going to be a little challenging. Like it or not ""running a dental clinic"" is doing business unless, of course, you do not plan to have the practice for any significant length of time. Some of the patients you speak of that were struggling to receive implant treatment due to money issue may have been the ones that parked their BMWs next to the assistant's car that was running on 3 wheels.

 

[preOMFS]

However noble your gesture might be it is never a good idea to make negative statements about another professional. Finding an adcom that doesn't know how "expensive" implants are is going to be a little challenging. Like it or not ""running a dental clinic"" is doing business unless, of course, you do not plan to have the practice for any significant length of time. Some of the patients you speak of that were struggling to receive implant treatment due to money issue may have been the ones that parked their BMWs next to the assistant's car that was running on 3 wheels.

Word.

 

[xiphoidprocess]

You don't want to sound too ideal. You can't realistically lower prices on your implant procedures. Maybe if you worked in an Indian Reservation or a place with low-income status populations can you say you want to provide reasonable prices.. Here, you are basically saying that you feel bad for those who have to pay so much money to get implants. People choose to get implants because of aesthetic reasons; sometimes it might be because of periodontal disease. Though, It's mostly for looks. Unless you have really good insurance, they might cover 50% of the procedure, if you're lucky.

I would try to write about your experiences with assisting a periodontist. What made you more interested in the field after assisting implant surgeries or other osseous/grafting surgeries. Was it the artistic way surgery would be performed? Or was it the aftermath of the procedure? What aspects did you like about the periodontist you worked with? Did you enjoy how he interacted with his patients? How did he influence your decision to become a dentist?

Stuff like that...

 

[charleslin1118]

Thanks for the advice!!

In conclusion, i think i probably won't mention it in my personal statement, but maybe it's something i can bring up during interviews. Just let you guys know that the range of price for implant can be from $1500 to $7000 (average $3000)per tooth... and the material usually cost couple hundred bucks only and the rest is dentist's labor. So.. it's controversial to argue how much a dentist should earn from each implant. That is the reason i wanna talk about the issue in my personal statement. Also, people with missing teeth should better get implants otherwise bone lost is very predictable if they only wear denture. Implants also have other advantages over denture, so generally it is not only for the aesthetic reason.

 

[Albuterol]

avoid controversy in your personal statement. while your intention may be good, you never know how the person on the other end is going to react.

 

[justforkicks]

related question-

i'm writing my ps and im wondering is it OK to talk about medicaid and low-income patients, etc. this is probably going to be at least 1/4 of my essay...i dont want to sound too ideal

 

[Stephie3]

yeah leave out the whole "lowering the price" thing. however, you can simply state something like you really want to help the poor and others in need. it sounds better. remember, its all about how you word things


if you talk about "lowering your fees" the people MAY wonder if you are going to have the financial/business sense to run a practice. "is this kid going to start doing all of his work for free? it costs money to run a practice and pay employees, etc etc" i'd steer clear from that.

 

[USU24]

related question-

i'm writing my ps and im wondering is it OK to talk about medicaid and low-income patients, etc. this is probably going to be at least 1/4 of my essay...i dont want to sound too ideal

Ideal: Conforming to an ultimate form or standard of perfection or excellence
Idealistic: Having the nature of an idealist or idealism

So, you do want to sound ideal, you do not want to sound idealistic.
I think it is fine to talk about low income patients. Pretty much everyone is overly idealistic in their PS. If you want to talk about how you plan on helping the under served that is fine. Try and be realistic but if it really how you feel go for it.

 

[USU24]

However noble your gesture might be it is never a good idea to make negative statements about another professional. Finding an adcom that doesn't know how "expensive" implants are is going to be a little challenging. Like it or not ""running a dental clinic"" is doing business unless, of course, you do not plan to have the practice for any significant length of time. Some of the patients you speak of that were struggling to receive implant treatment due to money issue may have been the ones that parked their BMWs next to the assistant's car that was running on 3 wheels.

I concur. Just don't talk about the money in the interview process. Ever. It makes you sound crass. If you want to talk about poor people, call them under served.

 

[Stephie3]

yeah avoid talking about money unless you're directly asked by an interviewer about it.

if an interviewer does ask you about it, give a firm opinion but NOT a really radical opinion and kind of answer it in both ways "say this way is good but also you have to take this into consideration"

 

[Stephie3]

p.s. i just had a flashback about one of my interviews. i remember saying something along the lines of you can't do just all free work, because you have overhead to pay and a staff to pay. i remember my interviewer seemed impressed that i said that b/c it sounded like i knew what i was talking about 😉

 

[S40]

Charles-
I think you would be wise to avoid discussing this topic in your ps and avoid it in an interview as well. If you have desires to help the poor that's fine, but you don't have enough knowledge in practice management to approach this tactfully. Yes the materials may only cost $400 and the charge is $4000. Appears to be a major profit right? But how much is the overhead? (lights, assistants wages, garbage liners, rent,equipment, interest on equipment, interest on student loans...) As a paying customer I pay more for BMW than I do for KIA. If your Dr. is as good as you claim then he/she rightfully deserves extra for perfecting the skill!