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[UMich_2018]

you should do whatever makes you happy and not worry about anything else. You will be practicing as a pediatric dentist or anesthesiologist for many years to come, so choose the one you love. I will add, I am not sure how anesthesia programs will view dropping out of a peds residency...I would inquire about that first. If anything, you can pursue anesthesia but you would need to put in more efforts to show you are committed (and this may require more time and more app cycles)

 

[SuxDrugs&Rocuronium]

Hi everyone.

I am looking for some advice. I am currently a 1st year pediatric dental resident in my mid 30s, have several kids, graduated from dental school many years ago, and was practicing as a general dentist in a kids office before residency. I decided to pursue pediatric dental residency because I enjoy the field and wanted to be able to do more for the patients I serve.

I just completed a 1 month long anesthesiology rotation as part of my pediatric dentistry program. I have discovered I absolutely love anesthesia and have enjoyed working in this field more than any other field I have ever been in.

I know dental anesthesiology is now a recognized specialty and to me it sounds really awesome. I am wondering if it is too late in my lifetime that it would be smart to apply for this field. The earliest I would be able to apply is probably next year (I know it is too late to apply this year). Pros would be working in a field I absolutely love, potentially easier on my back and hands (already having a little trouble), and great job market upon graduation. Cons are that I would be in my early 40s by the time I became a dental anesthesiologist (assuming I got accepted within a reasonable time period), the extra cost (esp. opportunity cost), and significantly less time with my family (my kids are all young and growing up so quick).

I know this is not ideal and I wish I had applied for dental anesthesiology years ago. Should I give up on this field and live life as a pediatric dentist? I certainly do like the field, even though not quite as much as anesthesia. Or should I pursue dental anesthesiology even though I am already later in my life than I would have liked?

Any advice is appreciated.

Anesthesiology is a great field. You’ll need to show that you’ve put the time and effort into it and have an understanding of what residency looks like. There are only about 32 (can’t remember the exact number) spots in the country and applicants are getting stronger each year. Shadowing, externships and the CBSE are a must. Why not finish your peds residency while building your application and then apply?

That being said, the career is awesome. You get to be fully involved in the pharmacology and physiology of anesthesiology, with the “dentist’s” schedule. All of your patients in practice are healthy ASA 1 or 2 and it pays extremely well. I just signed an offer that will pay me 75% of production with a very nice monthly guarantee. A lot of DAs are cash only and in some states even Medicaid reimbursed well for anesthesia.

 

[D1Bound]

Anesthesiology is a great field. You’ll need to show that you’ve put the time and effort into it and have an understanding of what residency looks like. There are only about 32 (can’t remember the exact number) spots in the country and applicants are getting stronger each year. Shadowing, externships and the CBSE are a must. Why not finish your peds residency while building your application and then apply?

That being said, the career is awesome. You get to be fully involved in the pharmacology and physiology of anesthesiology, with the “dentist’s” schedule. All of your patients in practice are healthy ASA 1 or 2 and it pays extremely well. I just signed an offer that will pay me 75% of production with a very nice monthly guarantee. A lot of DAs are cash only and in some states even Medicaid reimbursed well for anesthesia.

That’s the highest % production I’ve ever seen lol

 

[SuxDrugs&Rocuronium]

That’s the highest % production I’ve ever seen lol

It’s because our overhead is so low and production high. It’s easy to produce $1 million or more so a group can keep 25-40% a still be netting $250-400k from an associate. Most associate jobs I’ve seen offer 60-80% production

 

[FloridaDental_2024]

It’s because our overhead is so low and production high. It’s easy to produce $1 million or more so a group can keep 25-40% a still be netting $250-400k from an associate. Most associate jobs I’ve seen offer 60-80% production

May I ask where are you located? City and State.

 

[SuxDrugs&Rocuronium]

I’m still a resident and it’s such a small community that I don’t feel comfortable disclosing the location for where I’m headed, but I can tell you i know many providers all over the country and its not uncommon to see these numbers

 

[treesandsteeps]

I’m still a resident and it’s such a small community that I don’t feel comfortable disclosing the location for where I’m headed, but I can tell you i know many providers all over the country and its not uncommon to see these numbers

This is very true and accurate for DA.

To the original poster, do some externships and visit programs!

 

[Life of Pablo]

No, not worth it. Wake up - you’re older and have a family. Most people commenting on here are not in their early 40s with kids. You’re in an ENTIRELY different circumstance. Do you realize by the time you finish you’ll be due for your colonoscopy? I’m just trying to put things into perspective. No offense, you seem to have a problem with indecisiveness and who’s to say you won’t want to do even another specialty once you do dental anesthesiology. I would also argue you’re in the lala love phase with anesthesiology. Even I was feeling like anesthesia is super nice after a month; however, after doing multiple months of it, personally it gets boring and I find myself missing doing more procedures. Also, what anesthesiology experience are you getting to come to this realization? Are you being treated like a CA-1 and running your own OR, starting your own infusion pumps/IV lines/pulling patients down from the ICU on the ventilator trying to bag them while simultaneously trying not to crash their bed into the walls/managing everything yourself including extubating patients? Or are you essentially shadowing someone for a month?

You will be a pediatric dentist and make PLENTY of money. I know because my wife is a pediatric dentist. Do not delay for another 3 years to do dental anesthesiology.

 

[noname!]

No, not worth it. Wake up - you’re older and have a family. Most people commenting on here are not in their early 40s with kids. You’re in an ENTIRELY different circumstance. Do you realize by the time you finish you’ll be due for your colonoscopy? I’m just trying to put things into perspective. No offense, you seem to have a problem with indecisiveness and who’s to say you won’t want to do even another specialty once you do dental anesthesiology. I would also argue you’re in the lala love phase with anesthesiology. Even I was feeling like anesthesia is super nice after a month; however, after doing multiple months of it, personally it gets boring and I find myself missing doing more procedures. Also, what anesthesiology experience are you getting to come to this realization? Are you being treated like a CA-1 and running your own OR, starting your own infusion pumps/IV lines/pulling patients down from the ICU on the ventilator trying to bag them while simultaneously trying not to crash their bed into the walls/managing everything yourself including extubating patients? Or are you essentially shadowing someone for a month?

You will be a pediatric dentist and make PLENTY of money. I know because my wife is a pediatric dentist. Do not delay for another 3 years to do dental anesthesiology.

Wow. What a harsh, condescending, rude, and offensive post. For your information, I actually have done many things on your list including starting IV lines and extubating patients. I may not have had the opportunity to try everything in the career, but way more than just shadowing someone for a month.

This was not about the money to me as you can tell from my original post. I was considering a pay cut if necessary. Also, just because I had thoughts about a career-changing move does not mean I have a problem with indecisiveness. People change career paths all the time.

Next time keep your derogatory snap-judgements to yourself.