Pre-med Vs. Pre-dent

[Cooolguy]

Hey guys, I have a quick question for everyone out there. I have been doing a lot of research about what i want to pursue as my profession. I feel like I have a strong passion for both medicine and dentistry. Ive been thru the advantages and disadvantages of both. I was wondering if you guys could help share some thoughts with me between being a dentist or a physician. Please share your thoughts, do not restrict. Anything works... This should be an interesting thread...

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[Will Ferrell]

you should also start a similar thread in the pre-dent forum since the people here may be biased for medicine

 

[Zymogen]

There was a time in my life that I chose dentisty because I earned some bad grades. I convinced myself that dentistry was a great way to go because of the salary, owning my own office, good hours...etc. However, when it came down to it, I realized that those are not the right motiviations (for me personally) when pursuing a career. I realized that my interest in biology, disease, and medicine would never go away. Therefore I work hard, raised my gpa, and continued to pursue medicine (as I am currently studying for the mcat).

I decided that my interest in medicine is more important than money, hours, owning a business, and the life-style of a dentist. You need to make that choice.

 

[gary5]

Don't focus on advantages / disadvantages. Instead, focus on the daily tasks of each occupation. Shadow both a physician and a dentist for an entire day (or half-day) and see which tasks you find more interesting. Occupation is all about what you do hour after hour, day after day.

 

[FictionalGirl]

I don't mean this in a bad way, I really am just curious, cause i've known some people who say in passing how badly they want to go to dental school... my question is, how do you have a passion for dentistry? I believe you can, I don't have the gene for it, but I'm just curious what about it floats your boat so much, aside from money, hours, your own boss, etc.

Hey guys, I have a quick question for everyone out there. I have been doing a lot of research about what i want to pursue as my profession. I feel like I have a strong passion for both medicine and dentistry. Ive been thru the advantages and disadvantages of both. I was wondering if you guys could help share some thoughts with me between being a dentist or a physician. Please share your thoughts, do not restrict. Anything works... This should be an interesting thread...

 

[gary5]

I have a friend who is pre-dent. She really likes working with her hands, kind of like a surgeon. Dentists work ON the patient more than they interact WITH the patient, so that may appeal to some.

 

[duh?]

There's something really exciting about getting almost instant results. For example, a person walks in with 3 or 4 missing teeth/badly decayed teeth and they could be walking out of your office with the prettiest smile ever!
Some people like me, just love to get 'quick' feedback.

 

[cfdavid]

I can see the appeal to dentistry for all of the reasons that I'm sure you've considered. It's got it's benefits, I think.

But, if you see yourself being a medical doctor (either MD or DO), I wouldn't think that you would be truly happy in dentistry. Although they are both highly skilled professionals, they're simply too different for one to be a good "substitute" for the other, in my opinion.

Then again, both fields are very broad, so......

 

[Non-TradTulsa]

I think a person should chose medicine because you've considered every other career possibility and you can't imagine doing anything other than being a physician (I did another career for years until I finally had to face the fact that if I didn't give everything I had to becoming a physician, I'd regret it the rest of my life). Dentistry is a wonderful profession that helps people and requires both talent and years of tough training - I respect it. If someone were torn between medicine and dentistry, however, I'd probably recommend dentistry. Medicine requires huge sacrifices in your life - and I think the physicians who are happy in medicine are the ones who can't imagine doing anything else. Just my .02...

 

[silas2642]

I think a person should chose medicine because you've considered every other career possibility and you can't imagine doing anything other than being a physician (I did another career for years until I finally had to face the fact that if I didn't give everything I had to becoming a physician, I'd regret it the rest of my life). Dentistry is a wonderful profession that helps people and requires both talent and years of tough training - I respect it. If someone were torn between medicine and dentistry, however, I'd probably recommend dentistry. Medicine requires huge sacrifices in your life - and I think the physicians who are happy in medicine are the ones who can't imagine doing anything else. Just my .02...

I totally agree. I spent years trying to talk myself out of going into medicine; I tried being an english major, a nursing major, a philosophy major, but at the end of the day I found that I am totally in love with medicine and I honestly can't imagine doing anything else with my life. I am so glad I took that journey, though, to make sure that this was the right path for me and that this is what would truly make me happy.

 

[USAF_Dentman]

Im torn between the two as well..

i have good grades (3.7) and have took the MCAT (31), but i dont know..

I feel that maybe i dont like either career. I mean, i can stand doing both and would do well, but maybe its not what i really want..There is another thing i want to do, but the pay is crap and its very unstable..

I feel like i should go to med school because i might looked at as 'dumb' if i dont, but dent has good hours, good pay so that i can do what really interests me..

too hard..

 

[spaceman_spiff]

My dad, who's a family practice physician, told me to go into dentistry (instead of medicine) because of the perks: you work 4 days a week, no call, you get to work with hot hygenists (sp?) and you make the same as some docs. While tempting, I chose medicine because limiting myself to the mouth and teeth was not for me.

Not to be down on dentistry, but here's some of the things I've heard: Some of my predent friends say that the DAT is finger-painting compared to the MCAT. Just compare the length of time for each one. And I hear that at a certain med school, while the med school students are studying friday afternoon, the dents are down at the bars. So the idea i've gotten is that if you like dentistry, go for it man, it seems easier to break into than medicine and the lifestyle is kickin.

 

[Cooolguy]

thanks a lot for your responses guys...keep em coming. I was told the same thing, no on call, work only 4-5 days a week, all while maintaining similar salaries to some physicians. I have excellent grades and am currently preparing for the MCAT, but...

 

[Fermata]

Dentistry is a pretty cool field but they work just as hard as med students when they are in dental school.

 

[kimmcauliffe]

There was a time in my life that I chose dentisty because I earned some bad grades. I convinced myself that dentistry was a great way to go because of the salary, owning my own office, good hours...etc. However, when it came down to it, I realized that those are not the right motiviations (for me personally) when pursuing a career. I realized that my interest in biology, disease, and medicine would never go away. Therefore I work hard, raised my gpa, and continued to pursue medicine (as I am currently studying for the mcat).

I decided that my interest in medicine is more important than money, hours, owning a business, and the life-style of a dentist. You need to make that choice.

Well said.

I used to work for an oral maxillofacial surgeon (jaw fractures, palatal expansions, ect). If you're not sure which field to pick, do some research on oral surgery. They keep dentist's hours, as well.

 

[Audio]

My dad, who's a family practice physician, told me to go into dentistry (instead of medicine) because of the perks: you work 4 days a week, no call, you get to work with hot hygenists (sp?) and you make the same as some docs. While tempting, I chose medicine because limiting myself to the mouth and teeth was not for me.

Not to be down on dentistry, but here's some of the things I've heard: Some of my predent friends say that the DAT is finger-painting compared to the MCAT. Just compare the length of time for each one. And I hear that at a certain med school, while the med school students are studying friday afternoon, the dents are down at the bars. So the idea i've gotten is that if you like dentistry, go for it man, it seems easier to break into than medicine and the lifestyle is kickin.

Actually, it's pretty well known that when schools have dental and med students take classes together, the dental students generally have longer class hours because not only do they need to learn the basic sciences like the med students but, they also have to specialize in the oral cavity. People who have gone to both dental school and medical school say that the 4 years of dental school are more demanding than the 4 years of med.

Think of it like this, the 4 years of dental school have a 1-2 year residency period jam packed in there. You med students have to take a few years after at the very least but, dental students can practice after 4 years if they want to, although many chose to do residencies. So the 4 years of dental school needs to prepare a student for general practice.

I will, however, fully agree that that you guys have to learn a whole crapload of stuff. The real learning doesn't even start for you guys until your residencies so for sure I think med is more demanding over the long term including residency. But, from what I've heard, the 4 years of dental school are just as, if not more, jam packed with info.

Depending on the dental school you go to, they treat dentistry as a sub-specialty of medicine. Also, in most other countries, dentistry is actually a specialty that can be done after med school.

Honeslty, I think these are the two best professions in the world. It's wonderful that we've all chosen these paths and I'm sure that we'll all be satisfied.

 

[spaceman_spiff]

Well I am only speaking from one certain place that has both medical and dental schools, so understand that other places are probably different (it sounds like they are), but this school that I'm speaking of is probably not alone either.

A guy at my university took the MCAT with me in August, but changed to pre-dent a couple months later. He said it just appealed to him more. We got to talking about MCAT scores, and while we didn't compare our numbers, he said to me, "I definitely have med school as a backup", which really actually offended me. Med school is not a 'backup' plan for anything!, I thought. Backup plan implies it's the easy way if the hard way doesn't work. And I'm sure alot of SDNers feel the same way --- the blood and toil and sweat we've put into getting to med school is only because it's our passion and where we belong; it's the same idea as "no safety med schools". So anyways, that's where I'm coming from.

For what it's worth, I personally have heard some dental students (at this particular school) say basically they're doing dentistry because they will end up making a lot of money and they won't kill themselves to get there, like the med students. I thought that it was usual for a med student's opinion of dentistry to be at odds, but maybe there should be more respect. At least from this, know what you're going into before you do it --- maybe it's not an easy alternative to medicine.

 

[duh?]

This may not directly tie in with the OP's post but what the heck. In my opinion, Medicine and Dentistry are both very good career choices. Different people will choose either for a number of reasons, good or bad. Some people will see med school as a back up while others will see dental school as a back up. Some will say, "oh, my program is more difficult than yours." People could argue about which is better for ages. We all have needs we cater to in society. I believe those that get into the 'this is better than that' argument are insecure with their choices. I know what I want and I respect other people's choices. I do not 'down play' the importance of other people's programs just because I'm not interested in them.

To the OP, either way, you're going to be a winner. Shadow physicians and dentists, speak with current dental and med students and follow your heart. Like someone said, you could consider OMFS, it combines both worlds beautifully. Good luck.

 

[Will Ferrell]

you get to work with hot hygenists (sp?)

that is very true I remember being a kid and looking forward to getting my braces worked upon!

 

[Slash]

he said to me, "I definitely have med school as a backup", which really actually offended me. Med school is not a 'backup' plan for anything!, I thought. Backup plan implies it's the easy way if the hard way doesn't work.

Med school was also my "backup plan" to dental school. A lot of pre-meds at my school don't even know what they want to do, but for whatever reason they've been drilled that they will go to med school. And they'll become doctors of whatever field of medicine they get piegon-holed into. On the other hand, pre-dents will also become doctors and have already committed themselves to a specialty area of medicine--the oral cavity. While med students go on rotations during 3rd and 4th year actually learning about medical specialties in hopes of finding their best fit, pre-dents are focused on their specialty from day one of dental school.

I thought that it was usual for a med student's opinion of dentistry to be at odds, but maybe there should be more respect. At least from this, know what you're going into before you do it --- maybe it's not an easy alternative to medicine.

Do you always follow what other people tell you? Sounds like a typical pre-med.

And dentistry is definitely not an alternative to anything, nor is it easy. Times are changing my friend. The medical profession allowed itself to be overrun by managed care...something the dental profesion has been successfully staying clear of. Go to any university and you'll see more pre-dents than ever. For the longest time dentistry has been a well-kept secret, and many students blindly followed the path to medical school. This is increasingly not the case anymore.

 

[Hoya11]

Med school was also my "backup plan" to dental school. A lot of pre-meds at my school don't even know what they want to do, but for whatever reason they've been drilled that they will go to med school. And they'll become doctors of whatever field of medicine they get piegon-holed into. On the other hand, pre-dents will also become doctors and have already committed themselves to a specialty area of medicine--the oral cavity. While med students go on rotations during 3rd and 4th year actually learning about medical specialties in hopes of finding their best fit, pre-dents are focused on their specialty from day one of dental school.

And dentistry is definitely not an alternative to anything, nor is it easy. Times are changing my friend. The medical profession allowed itself to be overrun by managed care...something the dental profesion has been successfully staying clear of. Go to any university and you'll see more pre-dents than ever. For the longest time dentistry has been a well-kept secret, and many students blindly followed the path to medical school. This is increasingly not the case anymore.

Dentistry is only temporarily unaffected by managed care. If you are not worried about managed care moving in on dentistry, or think they have the power to prevent it because of this cavalier attitude that all dentists intrinsically have, then you are being naive. And besides, good teeth are not exactly essential for all humans as basic medical care is. Plenty of poor people just dont go to the dentist, whereas they cant just not go to the doctor. Maybe not enough dentists give a crap about these poor folk. Maybe they just want to be in a cushy office making 200, leaving at 4pm, filtering patients by compensation?? Let their teeth rot if they cant pay, as long as we dont have to take a pay cut or deal with scummy insurance agencies right? They avoid the managed care by.......not providing care.....

Second, It is a fact that dental school is much easier to get into than medical school, so having it as your backup plan may be true, but it is certainly unorthodox. And you make it sound like med schools are begging for applicants, trust me they are not. Classes are always full to the max year after year. They could double the class sizes, triple them even, and still fill all the seats, dental schools not so much.

Ill agree that many students blindly fall into medicine, no doubt. But once in med school you have MANY more options than in dental school, and whats wrong with being undecided about specialty field? What if i dont like oral cavity?

And "oral cavity specialty" is a little misleading, consider 90%+ of dent grads become one thing, GPs. In the end, the VAST majority are not doing surgery or rebuliding faces, they are putting on crowns and cleaning teeth all day. Its not like anyone can just enter one of the specialty fields, you have to be tops in your class or go to a really really good school, otherwise, like you said, you know exactly what you are getting, GP. Whereas, in ANY US med school, graduating bottom in your class, you still have options.

Dont get me wrong I like dentistry mainly because it is not filled with elitist jerks that think they are gods gift to science because they can bubble in the correct answers, but get real man.

 

[Slash]

And "oral cavity specialty" is a little misleading, consider 90%+ of dent grads become one thing, GPs. In the end, the VAST majority are not doing surgery or rebuliding faces, they are putting on crowns and cleaning teeth all day.

Your ignorance of the dental profession shows throughout your entire post, but the above statement is quite laughable. There are 3rd and 4th year dental students that are performing root canals, complicated extractions, perio surgery, etc. right now in dental school. As a graduating dental student you are trained to do a variety of surgeries on a micro scale that require precision.

There are so many things wrong with your post that I won't even bother to refute them all. Ignorance is bliss.

 

[duh?]

Dentistry is only temporarily unaffected by managed care. If you are not worried about managed care moving in on dentistry, or think they have the power to prevent it because of this cavalier attitude that all dentists intrinsically have, then you are being naive. And besides, good teeth are not exactly essential for all humans as basic medical care is. Plenty of poor people just dont go to the dentist, whereas they cant just not go to the doctor. Maybe not enough dentists give a crap about these poor folk. Maybe they just want to be in a cushy office making 200, leaving at 4pm, filtering patients by compensation?? Let their teeth rot if they cant pay, as long as we dont have to take a pay cut or deal with scummy insurance agencies right? They avoid the managed care by.......not providing care.....

Second, It is a fact that dental school is much easier to get into than medical school, so having it as your backup plan may be true, but it is certainly unorthodox. And you make it sound like med schools are begging for applicants, trust me they are not. Classes are always full to the max year after year. They could double the class sizes, triple them even, and still fill all the seats, dental schools not so much.

Ill agree that many students blindly fall into medicine, no doubt. But once in med school you have MANY more options than in dental school, and whats wrong with being undecided about specialty field? What if i dont like oral cavity?

And "oral cavity specialty" is a little misleading, consider 90%+ of dent grads become one thing, GPs. In the end, the VAST majority are not doing surgery or rebuliding faces, they are putting on crowns and cleaning teeth all day. Its not like anyone can just enter one of the specialty fields, you have to be tops in your class or go to a really really good school, otherwise, like you said, you know exactly what you are getting, GP. Whereas, in ANY US med school, graduating bottom in your class, you still have options.

Dont get me wrong I like dentistry mainly because it is not filled with elitist jerks that think they are gods gift to science because they can bubble in the correct answers, but get real man.

My dear, you just redefined ignorance! Congratulations.

 

[Unemployed]

Second, It is a fact that dental school is much easier to get into than medical school, so having it as your backup plan may be true, but it is certainly unorthodox. And you make it sound like med schools are begging for applicants, trust me they are not. Classes are always full to the max year after year. They could double the class sizes, triple them even, and still fill all the seats, dental schools not so much.

I have to agree with the previous two post....your comments exude ignorance. Dental school is not "much easier to get into than medical school." Medical is competitive and requires good grades, scores, and a bit of luck, but its not two worlds apart. When I last checked, the average entering GPA for dental school is ~3.5, while it is ~3.6 for medical school. There are many ways to become a physician...you guys have osteopathic and carribean medical schools. I hear with the foreign schools people get in with 3.0s and MCAT scores of sub-22. What's up with that? I respect DOs, but you have to admit their GPAs are around 3.4 and much scores around 24.

And "oral cavity specialty" is a little misleading, consider 90%+ of dent grads become one thing, GPs. In the end, the VAST majority are not doing surgery or rebuliding faces, they are putting on crowns and cleaning teeth all day.

Dental hygentist clean teeth, buddy.

 

[Sanctuary]

Hey guys, I have a quick question for everyone out there. I have been doing a lot of research about what i want to pursue as my profession. I feel like I have a strong passion for both medicine and dentistry. Ive been thru the advantages and disadvantages of both. I was wondering if you guys could help share some thoughts with me between being a dentist or a physician. Please share your thoughts, do not restrict. Anything works... This should be an interesting thread...

Which of the following sounds less repugnant:

A) Giving a pap smear to a 60 year old woman who hasn't bathed in two weeks.

B) Performing a root canal on someone who hasn't brushed his/her teeth since Clinton was our Commander-in-Chief.

Please choose an orifice and proceed with caution.

Have you considered LAW? It takes less time to start producing money (and pay off your student loans, if you have them) and you are still "helping" people.

 

[Dave_D]

I have a friend who is pre-dent. She really likes working with her hands, kind of like a surgeon. Dentists work ON the patient more than they interact WITH the patient, so that may appeal to some.

Gee, that's very similiar to what a girl I used to know said about being a dentist. She was definitely the "Arts" type and liked working with her hands and sculpting things. So she had told me dentistry made sense for her because it was kind of like sculpting.(Admittedly sculpting teeth but how things looked was just as important as to knowing health care.)

 

[Audio]

I heart med students

 

[Beau Geste]

Which of the following sounds less repugnant:

A) Giving a pap smear to a 60 year old woman who hasn't bathed in two weeks.

B) Performing a root canal on someone who hasn't brushed his/her teeth since Clinton was our Commander-in-Chief.

Please choose an orifice and proceed with caution.

Have you considered LAW? It takes less time to start producing money (and pay off your student loans, if you have them) and you are still "helping" people.

Well, which one would provide a better punch line at a party?

You gotta take the good with the bad and expect it from both disciplines

 

[Beau Geste]

Dentistry is only temporarily unaffected by managed care. If you are not worried about managed care moving in on dentistry, or think they have the power to prevent it because of this cavalier attitude that all dentists intrinsically have, then you are being naive. And besides, good teeth are not exactly essential for all humans as basic medical care is. Plenty of poor people just dont go to the dentist, whereas they cant just not go to the doctor. Maybe not enough dentists give a crap about these poor folk. Maybe they just want to be in a cushy office making 200, leaving at 4pm, filtering patients by compensation?? Let their teeth rot if they cant pay, as long as we dont have to take a pay cut or deal with scummy insurance agencies right? They avoid the managed care by.......not providing care.....

Second, It is a fact that dental school is much easier to get into than medical school, so having it as your backup plan may be true, but it is certainly unorthodox. And you make it sound like med schools are begging for applicants, trust me they are not. Classes are always full to the max year after year. They could double the class sizes, triple them even, and still fill all the seats, dental schools not so much.

Ill agree that many students blindly fall into medicine, no doubt. But once in med school you have MANY more options than in dental school, and whats wrong with being undecided about specialty field? What if i dont like oral cavity?

And "oral cavity specialty" is a little misleading, consider 90%+ of dent grads become one thing, GPs. In the end, the VAST majority are not doing surgery or rebuliding faces, they are putting on crowns and cleaning teeth all day. Its not like anyone can just enter one of the specialty fields, you have to be tops in your class or go to a really really good school, otherwise, like you said, you know exactly what you are getting, GP. Whereas, in ANY US med school, graduating bottom in your class, you still have options.

Dont get me wrong I like dentistry mainly because it is not filled with elitist jerks that think they are gods gift to science because they can bubble in the correct answers, but get real man.

No, I'm not laughing with you....

You do know that lots of disease have symptoms related to oral hygeine, such as prostate issues, cardiovascular issues, etc.? If it weren't for dentists, some would be less fortunate.

I'm sure we would all love to hear more about your escapades in med school or dental school, whichever you are applying to, but that would mean taking an interest in a troll.

 

[aphistis]

Which of the following sounds less repugnant:

A) Giving a pap smear to a 60 year old woman who hasn't bathed in two weeks.

B) Performing a root canal on someone who hasn't brushed his/her teeth since Clinton was our Commander-in-Chief.

Please choose an orifice and proceed with caution.

Have you considered LAW? It takes less time to start producing money (and pay off your student loans, if you have them) and you are still "helping" people.

Nice. One of my buddies from undergrad is an MS3 looking at GI; whenever I get the line about "how gross it must be to look down people's mouths all day," I'll mention Andy in passing. Within a couple minutes they'll usually agree that I got the better end of the digestive tract.

 

[aphistis]

...In the end, the VAST majority are not doing surgery...

I'm on board with most of the other responses to this post. I don't really want to take the time it'd require to correct all the mistakes. Instead, I'll just point out that if you don't even know what DDS stands for, you're off your nut if you expect anyone to pay attention to the rest of your opinions about dentistry, whether vis-a-vis medicine or standing alone.

 

[CTSballer11]

I'm on board with most of the other responses to this post. I don't really want to take the time it'd require to correct all the mistakes. Instead, I'll just point out that if you don't even know what DDS stands for, you're off your nut if you expect anyone to pay attention to the rest of your opinions about dentistry, whether vis-a-vis medicine or standing alone.

that was a good one. The guy is ignorant but oh well. My mom is a hygenist and the dentsit she works for is a GP who also does cosmetics. He takes home well over 800k a year and works less than 40 hrs a week. I know not everyone does that but it goes to show you what someone can do with great business skills.

 

[BuckyBoy_DDS]

]

 

[chaldobruin]

I have to agree with the previous two post....your comments exude ignorance. Dental school is not "much easier to get into than medical school." Medical is competitive and requires good grades, scores, and a bit of luck, but its not two worlds apart. When I last checked, the average entering GPA for dental school is ~3.5, while it is ~3.6 for medical school. There are many ways to become a physician...you guys have osteopathic and carribean medical schools. I hear with the foreign schools people get in with 3.0s and MCAT scores of sub-22. What's up with that? I respect DOs, but you have to admit their GPAs are around 3.4 and much scores around 24.

Dental hygentist clean teeth, buddy.

I'm curious where you get your facts from.

"Averages for all dental school applicants were: science GPA, 3.07; total GPA, 3.19; DAT Academic Average, 18.0; DAT Perceptual Ability, 17.7; and DAT Total Science, 17.8. These are all the same or slightly higher than they were in 2001 (Table 13).

The grade point averages and DAT scores for the year 2002 enrollees were also all the same or most similar to what they were in 2001. The averages and scores for the 2002 enrollees were: science GPA, 3.32; total GPA, 3.42; DAT Academic Average, 18.8; DAT Perceptual Ability, 18.1; and DAT Total Science, 18.5."

source: http://www.jdentaled.org/cgi/content/full/68/8/880

Granted this data is a few years old, but it cannot be much different now. Medical school admissions is much, MUCH more competitive than dental school admissions. If you look at AAMC data, you'll see that the average med school applicant GPA is 3.46 in 2002, and the average matriculant GPA is 3.61. Thats a huge gap in my opinion. The average dental applicant had a 3.19 cumulative GPA in 2002. Although there are a multitude of dental applicants applying with high GPAs and what not, a large % of the applicants are those who didn't have strong enough records to get into medical school. The numbers speak for themselves.

You can also imagine how much easier it is to score higher on the DAT because of the easier competition. I was interested in optometry before medicine, and the numbers are pretty similar to dentistry. The OAT (optometry admissions test) was a different world than the MCAT, not even comparable. I got a 360 (95th percentile) with probably 30% of the studying I put in for the MCAT, and only got a 30 (~80th percentile). The difficulty of the MCAT relative to that of the OAT/DAT cannot even be compared.

No I'm not belitting dentistry, I'm not making any negative conclusions about your profession; in fact I have a great deal of respect for dentistry. I know plenty of happy, well-off dentists who rant about how much they love the job and the lifestyle. I only posted this to refute the claim that dental school admissions is not easier than medical school admissions.

 

[aphistis]

I'm curious where you get your facts from.

"Averages for all dental school applicants were: science GPA, 3.07; total GPA, 3.19; DAT Academic Average, 18.0; DAT Perceptual Ability, 17.7; and DAT Total Science, 17.8. These are all the same or slightly higher than they were in 2001 (Table 13).

The grade point averages and DAT scores for the year 2002 enrollees were also all the same or most similar to what they were in 2001. The averages and scores for the 2002 enrollees were: science GPA, 3.32; total GPA, 3.42; DAT Academic Average, 18.8; DAT Perceptual Ability, 18.1; and DAT Total Science, 18.5."

source: http://www.jdentaled.org/cgi/content/full/68/8/880

Granted this data is a few years old, but it cannot be much different now. Medical school admissions is much, MUCH more competitive than dental school admissions. If you look at AAMC data, you'll see that the average med school applicant GPA is 3.46 in 2002, and the average matriculant GPA is 3.61. Thats a huge gap in my opinion. The average dental applicant had a 3.19 cumulative GPA in 2002. Although there are a multitude of dental applicants applying with high GPAs and what not, a large % of the applicants are those who didn't have strong enough records to get into medical school. The numbers speak for themselves.

You can also imagine how much easier it is to score higher on the DAT because of the easier competition. I was interested in optometry before medicine, and the numbers are pretty similar to dentistry. The OAT (optometry admissions test) was a different world than the MCAT, not even comparable. I got a 360 (95th percentile) with probably 30% of the studying I put in for the MCAT, and only got a 30 (~80th percentile). The difficulty of the MCAT relative to that of the OAT/DAT cannot even be compared.

No I'm not belitting dentistry, I'm not making any negative conclusions about your profession; in fact I have a great deal of respect for dentistry. I know plenty of happy, well-off dentists who rant about how much they love the job and the lifestyle. I only posted this to refute the claim that dental school admissions is not easier than medical school admissions.

Actually, a 2002 article about dental school admissions is surprisingly obsolete today. The difficulty of enrolling in dental school has been substantially increasing each year for the past several admission cycles. Last year, about 10,000 candidates competed for a little less than 4000 seats. That ratio isn't quite as high as for allopathic med schools, but it's certainly indicative of a competitive application environment.

Plus, for an accurate comparison you need to include applicants to osteopathic & Caribbean schools; whatever one's political opinion of those groups, they're professionally equivalent to domestic allopathic students, but my understanding is that aggregately, their statistics are somewhat less remarkable and could affect the comparison.

Bottom line, the argument is completely academic (hit me, Earl!). To borrow from one of my favorite authors, if one group *is* superior to the other, a mouse could starve on the difference. Congratulations to everyone who's been accepted for next year, and good luck to those still waiting.

 

[spaceman_spiff]

Do you always follow what other people tell you? Sounds like a typical pre-med.

Hey man, if you're gonna quote me, at least do it in context of what I was saying. I said that I thought a lot of premeds shared my opinion of dentistry, or in other words, that I was not alone in my sympathies. Anyways if you read the rest of my post there you'd see it's not so and that the respect is there man. So while we're tearing down the dental stereotype, let's lay off the "typical pre-med" stereotype too, k?

 

[dentalman09]

I'm curious where you get your facts from.

"Averages for all dental school applicants were: science GPA, 3.07; total GPA, 3.19; DAT Academic Average, 18.0; DAT Perceptual Ability, 17.7; and DAT Total Science, 17.8. These are all the same or slightly higher than they were in 2001 (Table 13).

The grade point averages and DAT scores for the year 2002 enrollees were also all the same or most similar to what they were in 2001. The averages and scores for the 2002 enrollees were: science GPA, 3.32; total GPA, 3.42; DAT Academic Average, 18.8; DAT Perceptual Ability, 18.1; and DAT Total Science, 18.5."

source: http://www.jdentaled.org/cgi/content/full/68/8/880

Granted this data is a few years old, but it cannot be much different now. Medical school admissions is much, MUCH more competitive than dental school admissions. If you look at AAMC data, you'll see that the average med school applicant GPA is 3.46 in 2002, and the average matriculant GPA is 3.61. Thats a huge gap in my opinion. The average dental applicant had a 3.19 cumulative GPA in 2002. Although there are a multitude of dental applicants applying with high GPAs and what not, a large % of the applicants are those who didn't have strong enough records to get into medical school. The numbers speak for themselves.

You can also imagine how much easier it is to score higher on the DAT because of the easier competition. I was interested in optometry before medicine, and the numbers are pretty similar to dentistry. The OAT (optometry admissions test) was a different world than the MCAT, not even comparable. I got a 360 (95th percentile) with probably 30% of the studying I put in for the MCAT, and only got a 30 (~80th percentile). The difficulty of the MCAT relative to that of the OAT/DAT cannot even be compared.

No I'm not belitting dentistry, I'm not making any negative conclusions about your profession; in fact I have a great deal of respect for dentistry. I know plenty of happy, well-off dentists who rant about how much they love the job and the lifestyle. I only posted this to refute the claim that dental school admissions is not easier than medical school admissions.

Source: http://www.fulbright.co.uk/eas/studyus/subjects/dental.html

In addition to successful completion of required undergraduate coursework, a strong cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) is also necessary. The GPA for the average dental school matriculant is about 3.5 on a 4.0 scale (the approximate equivalent of a B+ or 2:1). A high GPA by itself, however, does not guarantee admittance to dental school. As has already been mentioned, admission to US dental schools is extremely competitive, so students applying with bachelors degrees lower than a 2:1 would have a very slim chance of admission.

Lost the bookmark for the ADA website, still lookin...There is concrete stats out there that I have seen, but I would still consider the Fulbright Scholarship to be a good source.