Poll: Was dent school plan B?

[USUaggie]

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This has come up in a few threads and I'm just wondering if there's much truth to it - so, here are the options, be honest so the results are accurate - there's nothing to be ashamed of. Man, it's late, I'm going to bed.

 

[msf41]

I've always been a little jealous of those people that seem to have known exactly what they wanted to be their entire lives, because I have been interested in so many different careers, other than dentistry. I grew up in a VERY rural community where the only jobs around were farming or working for the National Forest Service, so I had no idea what I really wanted to do for a living.

When I went away to college I majored in finance my freshman year, because I thought I wanted to be a hospital admistrator. I spent time in hospitals for that, which piqued (sp?) my interest in nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, and of course MD. I was gung-ho MD route for about 2 years, but after working in a hospital, and shadowing just about every specialty of MD, I just didn't find something that seemed to fit me.

A buddy of mine in dent school in Nebraska, pushed me in the direction of dentistry, so I spent some time with some dentists in my area. I love the quick turnaround time of dental practices and the autonomy. Now there is no other career I would rather do. Dentistry is definately my first choice, even though it took me a while to decide.

 

[IWuvTeef]

My desire to be a dentist took flight when I was in 8th grade. I haven't looked back since...

 

[paolorossifan]

From early in High school I wanted to go into dentistry due to the prfound effect my uncle had had on me. Because of that I also wanted only to go to Loma Linda's Prince Hall and became very familiar with it. Bu I had one 3.90 gpa freshman semester and somehow everyone around me was convinced I'd be a better physician. That gpa nor my feelings for the MD made it past my second year and here I am at the school of my choice in the career of my (original) choice. Thats my story.

 

[Sprgrover]

I started off pre-dental, went in a different direction and then decided that it wasn't what I wanted, did some careful research/career planning and went back to dentistry. I don't know if I would call it plan B for me because I didn't fallback onto dentistry - I simply returned to my original goal. In regards to the whole 'dental school is filled with med-school dropouts' argument I have met a lot more students that came from backgrounds in engineering, the military, business and finance than from a pre-med one.

 

[JoeMomsays]

If the medical field was a woman and the dental field, a man, I think I would be bisexual. I have experimented with both and have found pleasure in each prospective field. Damn, I'm such a *****!! but in the end, I love the dental field more and have committed myself to the profession. So no more sleeping around with meds. DAMN.

 

[USUaggie]

Great analogy but can we make the dental field a woman instead?

 

[786mine]

I've wanted to "help" people ever since I was young. I wanted to become a Vet and help animals in my home coutry, but then there was a big family drama and I opted for computer science. Coming to the U.S. I had a new chance, I found a job in health care and then in a dental school and after observing the students, my interest grew and I opted to become a dentist. I still have a year to go to finish my BS in computer science, but all of that will have to wait till I finish my DAT.

I too do not like the anology, "dental schools are filled with drop outs", in my home-country too dentists were thought to be med-school drop outs (vets were considered loosers in both flieds *task task*).

 

[The Godfather]

When I thought about a health career, I chose dentistry for five main reasons. Number one, I wanted to do something to give back to my community. Second, having owned two businesses before, I really couldn't see myself going back to working for someone. So the easier chance for autonomy appealed to me. Third, I enjoyed microbiology and had done a lot of bacterial research, so the oral cavity and all its inhabitants were interesting to me. Fourth, I really like working with my hands. And finally, after researching the only other health career I felt interested in (medicine), I discovered many negatives. To illustrate, my own physician (who's only been practicing about fours years) said if he had to do it again he would have gone into dentistry because of all the bs from the government and insurance companies. I agreed, that for the length of schooling and weekly time the job requires, you are not compensated. Also, he felt that because of the restraints, he wasn't able to practice medicine the best he could. It made me gain new appreciation for people who still decide to go into traditional medicine, but also convinced me that it that it wasn't for me. The system's gotten so messed up that I expect to see medical school application numbers slow down in the following years, and apps for other health careers grow (as we've seen over the last couple years). The moral of this story is: when you get out there in the real world, do whatever you can to keep this profession as unencumbered as you can. 👍

 

[HuyetKiem]

My ex girlfriend was an ortho resident. We had dated for one and half year. I decided to try for dentistry just to impress her. Sux.. now I'm sucked in this hole and have to finish it. 🙁 🙁 🙁

 

[Sprgrover]

...I decided to try for dentistry just to impress her...

That's hilarious!

 

[ChippedToothOSU]

My ex girlfriend was an ortho resident. We had dated for one and half year. I decided to try for dentistry just to impress her. Sux.. now I'm sucked in this hole and have to finish it. 🙁 🙁 🙁

WOW! what a guy will do for a girl....i mean ive done some dumb stuff but that is crazy

 

[AUG2UAG]

When I thought about a health career, I chose dentistry for five main reasons. Number one, I wanted to do something to give back to my community. Second, having owned two businesses before, I really couldn't see myself going back to working for someone. So the easier chance for autonomy appealed to me. Third, I enjoyed microbiology and had done a lot of bacterial research, so the oral cavity and all its inhabitants were interesting to me. Fourth, I really like working with my hands. And finally, after researching the only other health career I felt interested in (medicine), I discovered many negatives. To illustrate, my own physician (who's only been practicing about fours years) said if he had to do it again he would have gone into dentistry because of all the bs from the government and insurance companies. I agreed, that for the length of schooling and weekly time the job requires, you are not compensated. Also, he felt that because of the restraints, he wasn't able to practice medicine the best he could. It made me gain new appreciation for people who still decide to go into traditional medicine, but also convinced me that it that it wasn't for me. The system's gotten so messed up that I expect to see medical school application numbers slow down in the following years, and apps for other health careers grow (as we've seen over the last couple years). The moral of this story is: when you get out there in the real world, do whatever you can to keep this profession as unencumbered as you can. 👍

i experienced what Sprgorver and The Godfather said, except i never owned a business
i worked retail... i despise working retail

 

[Kiluminati]

Law is actually my first choice, but I am doing the science pre-reqs just in case I change my mind. I know attorneys work more, but at least they don't have their face in someones dirty mouth all day. Dentistry does provide a better life style, but Law is definitely more appealing as far as the day to day work goes.

 

[anima dannata]

I don't think it matters if dentistry wasn't your first career choice...what matters is that you succeed in what you end up doing and enjoy it. And if having pre-meds switch over to dental makes admissions more competitive then am all for it, however I think the dental school application process needs to be more like medical school apps...none of this rolling admissions....schools should want the best students and not students who are below average but apply really early..such as uop, accepting students with 2.9 GPA's?? I know having good grades doesn't mean you will be a good dentist, but come on 2.9 is really low and personally I think getting a high score on the DAT is so much easier than obtaining a science GPA above 3.4...the DAT tests how will you memorize info and pat section is a joke, either you get it right away otherwise you def can train yourself to get it...I got a 15 my first pat and a 21 on the real thing, only reason practice...I don't have a special gift at counting cubes 😀 or visualizing objects going through a hole, and its not gonna make me a better dentist either.

 

[JakeMUSC]

I feel like a real loser. Dentistry was #4 on my list,or PLAN D. Plan A was to be a professional basketball player after high school. Didnt work out. Plan B was to take my rock band on a world tour and to sign a huge record deal. Didnt quite work out. Plan C was to move to New York City, try out for some soap operas, and be walking on the red carpet in no time. That one was close...but no. So, finally I fell back on Plan D, to attend dental school, earn a dental education and later specialize in endo.

 

[USUaggie]

Man, I hear you. I was set on pro basketball at age 12 but 4 knee surgeries later I'm still anticipating a major knee surgery and won't be playing again for a few more years so I might as well pass the time by becoming a dentist.

Regarding anima dannata's comments on the PAT - I agree it can come with some practice but it serves more as a weeder. Some people are awesome at science and people skills but just can't do the PAT and would make horrible dentists.

 

[dentist_to_be?]

depends on what you define as plan B

I mean, initially, i wanted to medical school... but i had too many doubts, and eventually i saw that dentistry was a better option.

I never applied to medical, only dental, so i wouldnt define it as a plan B, i think most people who consider dentistry, have at some point considered medicine first. Now if you apply to medical, get rejected, then apply to dental, then it is a plan B.

i think a more interesting poll would be to ask if anyone had considered medical before dental... then you would see results as yes...

 

[USUaggie]

I agree with you 100%. I started this poll because on a couple other threads we were being labeled as "med-school rejects", which, as the results show, is clearly not the case. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't the crazy one! You never know

 

[NCdds]

Always knew I wanted to do something medical/dental...there's a lot of doctors in my/my husband's extended family so I briefly invested the medical field to know that was what I did NOT want to do...