Professional Life in Dentistry

[TubaFish]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hi All,

I'm a new member here on SDN. For about a year now I have been interested in pursuing dentistry as a career and have done some shadowing/volunteering to see if it's really the career for me. All of the technical, scientific, and business aspects of the field are very appealing from what I have seen and read thus far. The one thing I can't help but wonder, though, is whether being a dentist in private practice ever get's lonely in the professional sense. I mean you spend your days with your office staff and hygenists, but you are largely removed from any colleague dentists in your day to day life. Who do you turn to when you need a quick opinion on a particular issue, or who can you ask to take an extra patient or two if the day turns out to be really busy. Do you guys ever wonder what it's gonna be like once you start a practice and all of the sudden are expected to be The Denitst, the one ultimately responsible for all aspects of the practice/business and whether it succeeds or fails? I mean doctors working in established hospitals with many physician colleagues or even dentists working in academic institutions rarely have to deal with these issues, but the majority of dentists are in fact private practicioners.

This doesn't seem to be a highly discussed topic, so if you have any ideas/opinions please chime in

 

[SuperDuper]

When I shadowed an orthodontist, he mentioned the same things that you mentioned here. He said working alone sometimes does get lonely and frustrating. For him, though, he had a general dentist colleague working right next door, and it sounded like they usually had lunches/breaks together. 🙂

 

[jackbauer!]

it's called a partnership.

those that prefer to work alone do, but you always have the choice of partnering up..

jb!🙂

 

[yorkiepoo]

an interviewer at one of my interviews mentioned to me that most people that go into dentistry tend to be the kind of people that like to be their own boss and work on their own. Also, not every dentist has his or her own practice all to themselves. The place I work has 4 dentists, tons of 4-5 hygienists at a time and handfuls of assistants ... so I don't think anyone is lonely.

 

[armorshell]

Working in a medical park or building could be good for someone like you then. It'll probably add to the amount of foot traffic (One stop shop for people to go to the doctor, PT, dentist, specialist) and it'll give you some other medical professionals around to shoot the **** with.

 

[harjay]

or marry a fellow dental student and open a practice together 🙄
srsly, its what my parents did.

 

[uvaGirL07]

I'm hoping my boyfriend will switch from pre-med to pre-dental... LOL... jk... maybe... hahaha

 

[teebow]

oh Harjay you are already planning ahead there bud, I would if I had your stats , so dental school is not the only thing youve been dreaming of 😉

 

[rkamsterdam]

Hi All,

I'm a new member here on SDN. For about a year now I have been interested in pursuing dentistry as a career and have done some shadowing/volunteering to see if it's really the career for me. All of the technical, scientific, and business aspects of the field are very appealing from what I have seen and read thus far. The one thing I can't help but wonder, though, is whether being a dentist in private practice ever get's lonely in the professional sense. I mean you spend your days with your office staff and hygenists, but you are largely removed from any colleague dentists in your day to day life. Who do you turn to when you need a quick opinion on a particular issue, or who can you ask to take an extra patient or two if the day turns out to be really busy. Do you guys ever wonder what it's gonna be like once you start a practice and all of the sudden are expected to be The Denitst, the one ultimately responsible for all aspects of the practice/business and whether it succeeds or fails? I mean doctors working in established hospitals with many physician colleagues or even dentists working in academic institutions rarely have to deal with these issues, but the majority of dentists are in fact private practicioners.

This doesn't seem to be a highly discussed topic, so if you have any ideas/opinions please chime in

I think most pre-dents out there chose dentistry for this exact reason that you seem to have skewed a bit. This reason is autonomy. Most of us view dentistry as a way to seek self-employment by way of sole proprietor/private practice owner. The power to make these business decisions ie hiring a staff, owning property, marketing new patients, even referring inwanted cases is one of the main attrations to the profession for me. As a GP, you speak with other dentists about cases daily, and the specialist must maintain a positive relationship with YOU because it is you that a specialist relies on for pts.

IMO, after graduation you've learned the basis of your dental technique and the majority of your attention will be focused on maintaining marketability (which includes keeping up your skill, but is largely based on your business decisions as a practicing dentist).

Fortunately, there are avenues for dentists unwilling to take the risk of opening their own business. Many dentists work as associates for their professional entirety and do well financially. Associates usually make a % of their production/collections, and don't have to worry about the nondental aspects of owning a practice such as employee wages and management, bill collections, utilities, leases, etc. Other types of employment that dentists seek which can minimize your worries inc, employment with community health facilities and of course at a dental school. I think a happy medium would be to join group practice/partnership. This way you will share the risks/resposibilities of business ownership, and you'll have other professionals there to socialize with and seek professional opinions.

I do think your worries are warrented, but most see this autonous part of dentistry as an advantage. If the anxiety is too much though, Pharmacy may be more appealing to you.

 

[Fonz]

or marry a fellow dental student and open a practice together 🙄
srsly, its what my parents did.

I WOULD NOT want to work with my future wife. I mean there is such a thing as spending too much time together I think. I personally would need some space.



But to the OP yea you could go in with a partner or you can be the head dentist and have associate dentists. (or be an associate)

 

[dentista2012]

1st: what does IMO mean? I have seen it in several threads.

2nd: what is up with everyone telling me dentists have the highest suicide rates? do you guys think its because some ppl cant handle working alone (or independently) I realize that not all dentists do, but most are self employed.

I would think that lawyers or even CEO's would lose it more than dentists, what more stressful than corporate america?

 

[LJGDDSII]

IMO = In my opinion.

And yes dentists have one of the highest sucide rates by profession. They are not sure why, but if you think about it how many 'non-dental' people actually like to go to the dentist. Most of your patients will not be happy so see you and will associate you with pain. I know a dentist that did commit suicide, I later learned he had early signs of Parkinson's being a dentist your hands are your life and he was starting to lose his hands.

 

[NewMexDent]

IMO = In my opinion.

And yes dentists have one of the highest sucide rates by profession. They are not sure why, but if you think about it how many 'non-dental' people actually like to go to the dentist. Most of your patients will not be happy so see you and will associate you with pain. I know a dentist that did commit suicide, I later learned he had early signs of Parkinson's being a dentist your hands are your life and he was starting to lose his hands.

What the cheese-curd! Where do you get your information concerning the suicide rate of dentists? You are just propagating a false urban myth. Dental proffesionals have the same suicide rate as any other medical proffession. Stop spreading lies!

 

[Ron Jeremy]

I did a Google search to find out the truth about the "dental suicide rate". All of the sites I found basically states that this is an urban legend. Interestingly, I did find a site that lists the highest suicide rates by profession, and it listed Psychiatrist as the highest. If my memory is correct, the dental suicide rate is no worse than any other profession.

I am curious if any one else was able to find any published data showing that the high dental suicide rate is true.

 

[LJGDDSII]

What the cheese-curd! Where do you get your information concerning the suicide rate of dentists? You are just propagating a false urban myth. Dental proffesionals have the same suicide rate as any other medical proffession. Stop spreading lies!

The information was given to our family by the University of Pittsburgh when they called to ask questions about my grandfather's death, who is the dentist I was refering to. I never knew anything about the suicide rate of the dental field until then. My grandfather had graduated from Pitt and they wanted the information about his death/sucide for their records/statistics of their graduates.

 

[NewMexDent]

From a quick search on yahoo here are a few links:

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010420.html

http://jada.ada.org/cgi/content/full/132/6/786 - this would be a professional journal

http://www.dentalcomfortzone.com/Template.asp?TemplateID=263

http://mentalhealth.about.com/library/sci/0601/bldentist601.htm?terms=baylor+health+care

It took me 2 seconds to come up with these, but it will take years to destroy the myth.

 

[NewMexDent]

The information was given to our family by the University of Pittsburgh when they called to ask questions about my grandfather's death, who is the dentist I was refering to. I never knew anything about the suicide rate of the dental field until then. My grandfather had graduated from Pitt and they wanted the information about his death/sucide for their records/statistics of their graduates.

I'm sorry about what happened to your grandfather, but Pitt also propagated the myth.

 

[LJGDDSII]

Just so you know. personally I think every suicide that is commited is personal to that person and that person's life. Not what they do but who they are. If my grandfather had been a chef at a 5 star resturant and needed his hands I think he would still have committed suicide. It was not him being a dentist, but that he got Parkinson's and did not want someone to take care of him after he lost his motor skills.
People are always trying to find a reason/link for suicides because it is something that one does and no one can ask why after it happens, so people try to rationalize the unknown.
But, I actually thought there was some truth to it, my Dad was on the phone with Pitt for 2 hours talking about my grandfather. People will continue to research this and always try to find a reason, when the only one who can answer that is dead.

FYI- When you disagree with someone on the board try not to jump on people so hard. I do appreciate the apology concerning my grandfather, but was disturbed by the way you challenged my information.

 

[SuperC]

Hi All,

I'm a new member here on SDN. For about a year now I have been interested in pursuing dentistry as a career and have done some shadowing/volunteering to see if it's really the career for me. All of the technical, scientific, and business aspects of the field are very appealing from what I have seen and read thus far. The one thing I can't help but wonder, though, is whether being a dentist in private practice ever get's lonely in the professional sense. I mean you spend your days with your office staff and hygenists, but you are largely removed from any colleague dentists in your day to day life. Who do you turn to when you need a quick opinion on a particular issue, or who can you ask to take an extra patient or two if the day turns out to be really busy. Do you guys ever wonder what it's gonna be like once you start a practice and all of the sudden are expected to be The Denitst, the one ultimately responsible for all aspects of the practice/business and whether it succeeds or fails? I mean doctors working in established hospitals with many physician colleagues or even dentists working in academic institutions rarely have to deal with these issues, but the majority of dentists are in fact private practicioners.

This doesn't seem to be a highly discussed topic, so if you have any ideas/opinions please chime in

Back to the point, this is a great post and this is something that we do discuss in class. In the past a sole dentist was the norm, and they way to beat this was by joining local clubs, or groups. However, I am seeing more and more partnerships popping up. The only draw back here is dentist, usually are picky, stubborn, and critical (in terms of their work). If you are not now, you will find yourself become more so because of the nature of the job. If you want to be successful, you have to be a stickler for the little things. Nevertheless, with the movement towards RBD (research based dentistry) and the constant influx of new techniques and materials a partnership seems to make a lot of sense and I hope to do so when I start practicing.

Great post.
-C

 

[harjay]

While I don't have any immediate references, what I have heard over the years is that dentists USED to have the highest suicide rate. That no longer is the case now, but it is a common myth