Reason for pursuing dentistry

[blankguy]

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Why do you pursue dentistry? I am very curious as to what interested you in pursuing dentistry. The reason why I am contemplating it is that I like to help people and I'm currently volunteering at a place called the computer clubhouse.

 

[ecdoesit]

I was a premed till early this year. I did plan to go into dentistry in high school, but the thought died since my undergraduate school focuses so much on premed. I have thought about cardiology or surgury before, but it just takes too long before I have the qualification to help other people. With my research experience, I develop a pair of steady hands, so dentistry is a quite rational choice. I have been to a dental clinic and liked it there. Just writing my personal statement and hopfully send out my application this friday.

Other reasons:
Like to help people.
Educate patients to prevente dental problems.
The feeling when the patients leave I know they are better than before. (Sometimes it doesnt happen in medicine)
also other reasons that excel from medicine.

 

[critterbug]

blankguy

Welcome to SDN. You are in the right place to learn about what you will have to do to pursue and successfully gain admision to dental school. First of all, there are many threads pertaining to this topic of why others have decided to enter the dental field. Do a search and you will find many. However, *you* have to formulate your own reasons on why you think Dentistry is right for *YOU*

HERE is a thread that might give you a feeling of why some have chosen dentistry over the myriad careers that are available. However, there are many so don't forget to perform a search to get a better "feel"

I will post my favorite quote which was made by ehop24. His reasons for entering dentistry are very similar to mine and he gives a good objective view of why dentistry is a great profession. It might give you a good perspective on why dentistry is the BEST field there is!!

Originally posted by ehop24
after a sketchy start, this thread has turned out to be fairly nice.

i'll chime in on my motivation a little. i've been set on dentistry since about my senior year of high school. the motivators then were the standard med vs. dental, lifestyle, job description, blah blah. fairly generic.

After a year of full time dental assisting, i'm starting dental school. What motivates me now is completely different:

-i like the variety. i can work as many or as few days as i want. i can do high end cosmetic, or mostly medicare. if i enjoy endo or perio, i can expand their roles in my practice. everything is entirely up to me. i can make dentistry whatever i want it to be. specifically, i can mold dentistry into what i enjoy.

-i have grown to love business. i see dental school as a 4 year road to a management position. that is not bad in todays economy. however, even if i'm the worst manager in the world, i still possess a desirable trade skill that will always be in demand. DENTISTRY = FREEDOM

-i have heard of dentists that can't find the perfect job, but i have never heard of one that can't find ANY job. THAT, my friends, is job security. plain and simple.

-i like the technology and change. i know to many this can be a problem. change is expensive. but i will have some nifty gadgets at my disposal if i so desire. and my profession will keep me on my toes.

-finally...i like meeting people. unless you are locked in a research lab, dentistry is about social interaction. i look forward to getting to know my patients, learning about their lives and their careers. their experiences. their dreams. if you ask me, that should be in the job description for dentistry. in a year of dental assisting, i met so many incredible people. i cannot even imagine the conversations i'll have in the next 30 years.

i'm sure we could come up with careers that share some of these characteristics. However, i believe that dentistry would still prevail in situation comparisons.

 

[blankguy]

Thanks for the input. I just wanted a sampling of what are legit reasons to get into dentistry. I wasn't trying to copy reasons.
Anybody think Spanish is a plus for this field since there are a lot of latinos(hispanics) in the states?

 

[UBTom]

Absolutely, especially in the southwestern parts of the U.S. where there are significant populations of Americans of Hispanic descent, and on the East Coast. There is a huge demand for Spanish-speaking dentists in New York City and Miami in particular.

This past summer I was doing a 3-week externship at Bellevue Hospital's oral surgery department (across the street from NYU's dental school). 2 out of 5 patients I saw there I had to ask for a Spanish translator to help me out.

 

[blankguy]

The issue here is that medical terminology is more than just street language. Even native speakers will be clueless on this(I'm not a hispanic BTW).

 

[UBTom]

That's fine. Patients can understand when you ask them if they ever tiene problemas in en la corazon or if they tiene dolor or if they have allergia a penicillin. 😀

Such rudimentary broken Spanish is what I had to resort to in order to take H&Ps and treat some patients at Bellevue when the translator is busy with another patient! If you are fluent in common Spanish language you are already way ahead of the game.

I remember the first day of my externship there. 50 patients in that one day. Just two Oral Surgery residents and me to stem the tide. Under such pressure, you have to improvise!

 

[blankguy]

Originally posted by UBTom
That's fine. Patients can understand when you ask them if they ever tiene problemas in en la corazon or if they tiene dolor or if they have allergia a penicillin. 😀

Such rudimentary broken Spanish is what I had to resort to in order to take H&Ps and treat some patients at Bellevue when the translator is busy with another patient! If you are fluent in common Spanish language you are already way ahead of the game.

I remember the first day of my externship there. 50 patients in that one day. Just two Oral Surgery residents and me to stem the tide. Under such pressure, you have to improvise!

I did find a dictionary once on medical terminology at Barnes and Nobles. Such dictionaries are hard to find.

 

[mcataz]

I like dentistry for several reasons.

#1. It's a form of surgery.
#2 I enjoy working with my hands. I'm not the analyzing type.
#3. Great opportunity to serve the underpriviledged. Dental work is expensive and so many more people need proper dental work than medical care. Dental work is often overlooked as opposed to medical care.

#4 money- great opportunity to make a lot of money.
#5 lifestyle- dentistry won't kill you. You can have a life outside work

 

[blankguy]

Looking at reasons number 1 and 2. Why not surgery? You do the same thing. You get to work with your hand. Wouldn't the federal government give you some financial assistance or privelege(whatever it is) if you chose to work at underserved or underpriveleged areas?

 

[UBTom]

Federal government HPSP programs are also available for dentistry if you practice in underpriviledged areas or serve in the military.

You can do surgery in dentistry too-- After four years of dental school, if you got good grades and good NDBE scores, you can apply to an Oral Surgery program. 6-year OMFS programs will also give you an MD degree so you can also practice medicine. That's why a lot of oral surgeons have an MD degree in addition to their DDS/DMD.

 

[wimmcs]

I actaully speak fluent Spanish and fortunately there are many similarities in the dental terminology between English and Spanish, although some of it stumps me at times.

In terms of financial assistance I heard of a program where you can work in an underserved native american town and this program helps pay your student loans. I'm not familiar with this program, but I'm sure someone can shed some light and give you further information. Also, there are some past threads where financial assistance has been discussed. You may want to do a search.

 

[UBTom]

The scholarship you are referring to is the Federal Government HPSP under the Indian Health Service, which is an agency of the Department of the Interior. If you sign up for that, you have to practice on an Indian reservation in an IHS clinic for at least 5 years, but the Federal Gubmint (heh) will pay your student loans in its entirety.

There are other HPSPs too, such as the National Health Service HPSP, Armed Forces HPSP, etc. There are also state-based programs as well.

As far as terminology goes, remember that even in English you can stump a patient if you use overly technical language. You Must Use Lay Language to explain things to patients, doesn't matter if it's English, Spanish, French, Swahili, Hebrew, Arabic, Martian, WHATEVER! That's why it is NOT overly crucial if you don't know technical terms in Spanish as long as you are fluent in the common language. (which in the course of normal practice you will probably pick up the technical terms eventually anyway if you read Spanish dental journals.) Take it from someone who has already been there, done that, and got the T-shirt.

 

[blankguy]

Talking about dentistry as a business (private practice). I heard some from friends who have just graduated from dental school that knowing how to get patients is a big advantage. Also the location of your practice is an issue too.

 

[UBTom]

Obvious, isn't it? 😀

 

[TrevorG2221]

Why do you pursue dentistry? I am very curious as to what interested you in pursuing dentistry. The reason why I am contemplating it is that I like to help people and I'm currently volunteering at a place called the computer clubhouse.

I pursued it as it looked very interesting. The lifestyle is great and so is the money. The money was a big factor in to making a decision to pursue dentistry, you can make a lot of money, trust me. My cousin owns 4 of his own dental practices and make about 1.2 mill a year.

 

[nonociceptors]

I pursued it as it looked very interesting. The lifestyle is great and so is the money. The money was a big factor in to making a decision to pursue dentistry, you can make a lot of money, trust me. My cousin owns 4 of his own dental practices and make about 1.2 mill a year.

lol gem of a post only topped by the fact that you bumped a 13 year old thread

 

[TrevorG2221]

lol gem of a post only topped by the fact that you bumped a 13 year old thread

Haha