restorative dentistry in a general practice? Silly pre-dent questions.

[timwatley]

Once I get into school, I'm planning on working closely with the restorative dentistry/prosthodontist department. The reason being...I can see myself (right now anyway) enjoying this work the most. I don't want to specialize but I can see myself wanting to get more involved than fillings, crowns, composites, etc. Implants and dentures seem pretty interesting. My life has personally been improved by a dental implant. I've also watched a maxillofacial prosthodontist donate dentures to veterans and the final results were often tears. That kind of stuff is awesome..using your hands to make a real, substantial, positive impact on someones life. It can also be a unique niche, something I'm looking for.

My general questions are:

How stable is this kind of work?

How feasible is it as a general dentist?

How feasible will seeking this out (on my own/extra time) in dental school be?

Any other ideas would be great. Thanks.

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[tinman831]

Once I get into school, I'm planning on working closely with the restorative dentistry/prosthodontist department. The reason being...I can see myself (right now anyway) enjoying this work the most. I don't want to specialize but I can see myself wanting to get more involved than fillings, crowns, composites, etc. Implants and dentures seem pretty interesting. My life has personally been improved by a dental implant. I've also watched a maxillofacial prosthodontist donate dentures to veterans and the final results were often tears. That kind of stuff is awesome..using your hands to make a real, substantial, positive impact on someones life. It can also be a unique niche, something I'm looking for.

My general questions are:

How stable is this kind of work?

How feasible is it as a general dentist?

How feasible will seeking this out (on my own/extra time) in dental school be?

Any other ideas would be great. Thanks.

This is all stuff that general dentists can do. You can take CE courses to place implants and dentures are provided to patients every day by general dentists.

 

[timwatley]

This is all stuff that general dentists can do. You can take CE courses to place implants and dentures are provided to patients every day by general dentists.

As in actually making the dentures yourself?

 

[DrJeff]

If you really want to you can make them from start to finish yourself. Much easier though to do certain steps yourself and then let a dental laboratory do the actual setting of the teeth and fabrication work

 

[timwatley]

If you really want to you can make them from start to finish yourself. Much easier though to do certain steps yourself and then let a dental laboratory do the actual setting of the teeth and fabrication work

Awesome, I'm definitely going to look into that.

 

[timwatley]

What about the actual implant surgeries though? I did mine through a perio and it turned out great. My general dentist did the rest...as far as fitting my fake tooth. Is it possible for a general dentist to do everything as far as implants are concerned? How difficult would this be to pursue in dental school or would it be primarily through continuing ed?

 

[tinman831]

I know of several classmates who worked at a dental lab before dental school. Upon finishing they bought some equipment and setup their own in house dental lab. Although, you would be wasting too much time setting teeth or fabricating crowns when you could be doing more profitable work and leaving the dental labwork to the technicians.

 

[mike3kgt]

Once I get into school, I'm planning on working closely with the restorative dentistry/prosthodontist department. The reason being...I can see myself (right now anyway) enjoying this work the most. I don't want to specialize but I can see myself wanting to get more involved than fillings, crowns, composites, etc. Implants and dentures seem pretty interesting. My life has personally been improved by a dental implant. I've also watched a maxillofacial prosthodontist donate dentures to veterans and the final results were often tears. That kind of stuff is awesome..using your hands to make a real, substantial, positive impact on someones life. It can also be a unique niche, something I'm looking for.

You give many reasons why you should do a graduate program when you finish dental school. General dentistry can partially fulfill what you describe but if restorative dentistry is your true passion, you probably will feel unfulfilled with general practice. Prosthodontics is more implants, dentures, and crown & bridge than composites, fillings, endo, extractions etc. I would say right now most pros people I know are starting to do more restorative dentistry on implants than on natural teeth.

Yes, as a GP you can get good enough to do comprehensive, full arch restorative dentistry through various CE courses and years (like 20) of experience, but if this is your true passion, a grad program can get you started in 3 years. You won't really be ready after only 3 years to handle all situations, but you'll have the skills and scientific basis to figure out just about anything.

 

[timwatley]

You give many reasons why you should do a graduate program when you finish dental school. General dentistry can partially fulfill what you describe but if restorative dentistry is your true passion, you probably will feel unfulfilled with general practice. Prosthodontics is more implants, dentures, and crown & bridge than composites, fillings, endo, extractions etc. I would say right now most pros people I know are starting to do more restorative dentistry on implants than on natural teeth.

Yes, as a GP you can get good enough to do comprehensive, full arch restorative dentistry through various CE courses and years (like 20) of experience, but if this is your true passion, a grad program can get you started in 3 years. You won't really be ready after only 3 years to handle all situations, but you'll have the skills and scientific basis to figure out just about anything.

Ok. I have a couple things against that though. 1) I'm not sure I can handle the extra 3 years of school. 2) I doubt I could finish top in my class 3) I've heard of specialists that have a hard time getting referrals bc the gen dentists are tackling more complicated cases of just about everything.

I am open to the idea though. I just want a solid backup plan. Are prosthodontists able to practice general dentistry or is that frowned upon? How much more debt would a residency tack on?

If anyone has any ideas I could look into I'd appreciate it (aside from implants/dentures).

 

[mike3kgt]

Ok. I have a couple things against that though. 1) I'm not sure I can handle the extra 3 years of school. 2) I doubt I could finish top in my class 3) I've heard of specialists that have a hard time getting referrals bc the gen dentists are tackling more complicated cases of just about everything.

I am open to the idea though. I just want a solid backup plan. Are prosthodontists able to practice general dentistry or is that frowned upon? How much more debt would a residency tack on?

If anyone has any ideas I could look into I'd appreciate it (aside from implants/dentures).

Prosthodontics is a calling... but you go into it with a clear mind and a plan and you'll do just fine. Some pros people do general all day, is it frowned upon? Hard to say, it depends on the area and your referral base (if you have one). There are some residencies that are stipend based and no tuition, others are very expensive.

You should go through dental school for 3 years prior to making any of these decisions. Do you really like waxing or having full control of your treatment? Do you see yourself doing a variety of procedures all day or one thing in specific? Do you really dig endo and get a thrill of the fill? Do you want to extract teeth all day long? These are questions that you will figure out more when you start doing some of them.

Good luck!

 

[longhornpride]

If you really want to you can make them from start to finish yourself. Much easier though to do certain steps yourself and then let a dental laboratory do the actual setting of the teeth and fabrication work

You couldn't pay me to set denture teeth after I graduate! haha

 

[Mackchops]

I don't know why people hate lab work or removable so much. Nobody's ever cried, thrown their arms in the air yelling "THANK YOU JESUS", and hugged me sobbing after I've done a root canal on them. After delivering a denture, though? Just last Friday. I freaking love dentures.

Prosthodontics (whether as a specialty or a branch of general practice) is so rewarding. I advise you to keep your mind open in d-school and truly explore everything. Don't rule out specializing, but make sure you don't want to specialize either before committing to general practice! One of the best things about your chosen career? OPTIONS! Explore them all!!

Good luck!

 

[timwatley]

I don't know why people hate lab work or removable so much. Nobody's ever cried, thrown their arms in the air yelling "THANK YOU JESUS", and hugged me sobbing after I've done a root canal on them. After delivering a denture, though? Just last Friday. I freaking love dentures.

Prosthodontics (whether as a specialty or a branch of general practice) is so rewarding. I advise you to keep your mind open in d-school and truly explore everything. Don't rule out specializing, but make sure you don't want to specialize either before committing to general practice! One of the best things about your chosen career? OPTIONS! Explore them all!!

Good luck!

Thanks, I appreciate your reply. It's the area of dentistry I feel would make me really happy. Of course, I'm not in school yet so it's hard to say. The maxillofacial prosthodontist I spent some time with was completely overboard and had a personality like Richard Simmons. The older ladies absolutely loved him! My personality is less extreme, but similar. I don't really care about the money aspect, as long as theres stable work. I'll have to make the call once I get into school (about specializing), but I'll definitely make a strong effort to get involved with the prosthodontist dept.

 

[mike3kgt]

Don't rule out specializing, but make sure you don't want to specialize either before committing to general practice!

I spent two years in clinical practice prior to enrolling in a graduate program. I know people who have spent 7-10+ years in practice prior to beginning prosthodontic training. My director was in practice for 15 years prior to doing graduate training.

Life is full of options, explore them all.

 

[Insipidipisin]

Man. If you love being in the lab, then by all means specialize in pros. Talk about paradise! Fabricating crowns, splints, dentures; articulating models and perfectly pouring and basing; waxing RPD's. Woohoo!!!!

You could pay me enough to do that ish, but it would have to be a substantial amount (Somewhere in the millions).