Practicing Dentistry with one eye

[thegoodlife23]

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Hi everyone!
I am an incoming D1 and wanted to ask if any of you here are blind in 1 eye and able to successfully practice dentistry. Can you please dm me or share it here. I wanted to see if its possible to be a successful dentist with this limitation.

 

[periopocket]

I know of one gentlemen who has been just fine
- Lost his eye in the military
- went to dental school - aquired 2 GP practices from his father who passed away
- Hired associates to run his practice and went back to specialize in periodontics and was chief resident his 3rd year
- Hes currently transitioning a periodontal practice and will be owner of 3 practices

Work hard in school and train your eyes well, this wont limit you. The other day he lost his glass eye and still continued to practice with his eye out and kind of made it a joke, it was funny! Good luck keep on triumphing

 

[Saddleshoes]

Two good hands trump 1 bad eye.

 

[deleted721052]

No experience but one of my clinician is and she’s super good and said she never had problem because she learned that way so she compensated.

 

[BocasDelToro]

I agree that you'll likely be able to adapt to the technical aspects of dentistry. However, what may prove more difficult is dealing with insurance and getting disability coverage. I had a classmate who is wheelchair-bound and successfully completed dental school, but she found out near graduation that literally no one would insure her, so she ended up going the route of oral radiology. Not saying this will be the same case for you, but something to keep in mind and worth asking around.

 

[AONLINE]

I agree that you'll likely be able to adapt to the technical aspects of dentistry. However, what may prove more difficult is dealing with insurance and getting disability coverage. I had a classmate who is wheelchair-bound and successfully completed dental school, but she found out near graduation that literally no one would insure her, so she ended up going the route of oral radiology. Not saying this will be the same case for you, but something to keep in mind and worth asking around.

A college friend of mine was wheelchair-bound due to osteopetrosis but she succesfully completed medical school and went into internal medicine. I knew from my friend's experience how hard it is to be a disabled medical student, and I can only imagine it's a hundred times harder to be a disabled dental student due to the physical requirements associated with dentistry. I really admire these people who do not let their physical limitations stop their dreams of becoming healthcare professionals.

 

[nsudental]

Hi everyone!
I am an incoming D1 and wanted to ask if any of you here are blind in 1 eye and able to successfully practice dentistry. Can you please dm me or share it here. I wanted to see if its possible to be a successful dentist with this limitation.

What was ur AA DAT with your 3.1 GPA?

 

[katthenomad]

Hi everyone!
I am an incoming D1 and wanted to ask if any of you here are blind in 1 eye and able to successfully practice dentistry. Can you please dm me or share it here. I wanted to see if its possible to be a successful dentist with this limitation.

To answer your question, absolutely! I am left eye blind and it wasn't a hindrance at all. Backstory: I lost my eyesight after a car accident at 19 yrs old. My parents are dentists so I went to dental school anyway without really giving it much thought. I graduated from a foreign dental school in 2013 and then graduated from UPenn Dental in May 2019 -- with Honors in Clinical Dentistry, OKU honor society induction, as well as Perio and Endo awards, among others. I don't know what your situation is, but I actually withheld my disability from faculty and some classmates right up until the months before graduation because I did not want to be treated any differently. My professors were in total shock and got teary-eyed when they found out. Only the admissions people knew about my being blind. After graduating last year, I worked as a general dentist at a great practice in CA and now I'm about to enter Perio residency in June!

Not trying to pat my own back here. Just showing you what is possible if you actually put your heart into what you do. TRUST ME YOU WILL BE AMAZING! Please DM if you have any more questions or need guidance. Would love to help you out. 🙂

 

[lifegoeson!]

To answer your question, absolutely! I am left eye blind and it wasn't a hindrance at all. Backstory: I lost my eyesight after a car accident at 19 yrs old. My parents are dentists so I went to dental school anyway without really giving it much thought. I graduated from a foreign dental school in 2013 and then graduated from UPenn Dental in May 2019 -- with Honors in Clinical Dentistry, OKU honor society induction, as well as Perio and Endo awards, among others. I don't know what your situation is, but I actually withheld my disability from faculty and some classmates right up until the months before graduation because I did not want to be treated any differently. My professors were in total shock and got teary-eyed when they found out. Only the admissions people knew about my being blind. After graduating last year, I worked as a general dentist at a great practice in CA and now I'm about to enter Perio residency in June!

Not trying to pat my own back here. Just showing you what is possible if you actually put your heart into what you do. TRUST ME YOU WILL BE AMAZING! Please DM if you have any more questions or need guidance. Would love to help you out. 🙂

Wow, what an inspiring story 🙂
I was hesitating from becoming a dentist because of my dry eyes and extreme sensitivity to brightness, but your story makes my matter so small, haha.
Another reason I'm a little bit scared is that I'm scared that being a dentist will worsen my eye conditions and overall eye health. I know that dentists have to put strain on their eyes, staring at tiny things all day (though I don't know how much loupes help), so any thoughts/advice on this would be much appreciated.