should I keep my dental licensure current?

[sbv9295]

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I also happen to hold a DMD degree and have work experience as a dentist. Should I continue to keep my dental licensure current and stay up to date with continuing dental education?

After I graduate, would my DMD be of use for any physician jobs or residencies? Excluding oral surgery, are there any medical fields that would give preference to someone holding both an MD and DMD? Is there a way for me to capitalize on my dental degree somehow?

 

[pingouin]

Tough call. I had to decide whether to renew my professional license when I started in 2008, and then again if I'll do it this fall.

In the long run, I decided that I really worked hard to get that license, and that it would be easier in the long run to get my continuing ed hours (30 every 2 years). Not that I'm planning on an emergency happening, but if there were a health or family issue that required me to leave school, it would be really hard for me to get it back if I had let it lapse.

I'll have to decide what I want to do in fall 2012- I'll be in my intern year by then and am not sure that I see the utility at that point...

 

[da8s0859q]

OP, I don't know what the requirements are for you, and I don't know what would be required for a reinstatement if you didn't do it, but I'd say keep current largely because of the same things pingouin just said.

That, and for me, it'd be a personal thing. I imagine it'd really bug me to lose licensure after busting my ass for those years to get a DMD/DDS.

 

[deleted77919]

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[pingouin]

Adding to that, my family lives in a different state than me. So if I had to go/work there for any reason, it would be much easier to obtain licensure in my home state if I am actively licensed where I am.

Depending on the amount of time it's been lapsed, I believe I could pay a fine and have it reinstated in my current state- but I'd rather not chance that.

 

[sbv9295]

but are there any particular medical fields or residencies where a dental degree will be of any great benefit? after getting medical licensure, are there physician jobs where this extra degree will come in handy?

Or will it eventually go to waste at the end?

 

[pingouin]

well, ENT is the primary one I can think of where having a really good knowledge of anatomy and phys of the oro/nasopharynx would be helpful. then I suppose that if you did plastics and specialized in facial reconstruction you'd use that knowledge.

I could stretch it and say that you might use some of your knowledge in infectious disease or cardiology given the different types of bugs in the mouth and their love of the heart valves if they get into the bloodstream- but that's really kind of pushing it..

would any of these fields show any preference to a dentist? I have no idea, but I don't see any way that it could hurt you.

one point, though- when you're practicing, you have to bill as either a physician OR as a dentist- you wouldn't be able to bill for both in the same visit. so from that standpoint, no, dental licensure would not be helpful to you if you've got a medical practice.

where are you in your medical training right now?

 

[Perrotfish]

Excluding oral surgery, are there any medical fields that would give preference to someone holding both an MD and DMD

Why would you exclude oral surgery? I'd say maintaining the opportunity to go into that (extremely lucrative) field is more than enough reason to keep your license.

 

[st2205]

There are a couple MD/DDS or DO/DMD programs scattered around. I would contact them and find out what their graduates end up doing. At least it'd be a good start.

 

[armorshell]

Pathology comes to mind, since you could probably market to dentists and bill out under your dental license. Same for radiology. OMFS is always an option, but if you're doing 4 years of med school, I can't imagine you'd be going that route. Or just keep it active and knock out some crowns on the weekends during med school.

 

[DeadCactus]

If it was me, I would keep it active until I had another license to replace it. As far as the license having any use: the only situation I can think of is if you go into FP or Peds and offer both dental and medical services at your clinic. Not sure if that's feasible, but I would imagine so...

 

[RoyBasch]

Why would you exclude oral surgery? I'd say maintaining the opportunity to go into that (extremely lucrative) field is more than enough reason to keep your license.

Pure curiosity (I have no personal interest here):

But can you go into OMFS if you have a DMD/DDS and an MD that were acquired completely separately (such as seems to be the case with the OP) or do you need to do a designated combined DDS/MD program in med school?
-Roy

 

[phospho]

Pure curiosity (I have no personal interest here):

But can you go into OMFS if you have a DMD/DDS and an MD that were acquired completely separately (such as seems to be the case with the OP) or do you need to do a designated combined DDS/MD program in med school?
-Roy

I was thinking about the same thing a few days ago when reading the thread. I think you can go into OMFS having obtained both degrees separately. It seems that back in the day, obtaining the two degrees separately was the only way you can do it, until these prgrams started coming up where if you're sure you want OMFS, they offer you a combined degree program so you can shave off two years (like Case I think). It's the same concept used by those BS/MD programs where if you know that's what you want coming straight out of high school, they give you the opportunity to skip a couple of years. I could be wrong, but that's the impression I got after reading some of the posts on their forum.

 

[armorshell]

I was thinking about the same thing a few days ago when reading the thread. I think you can go into OMFS having obtained both degrees separately. It seems that back in the day, obtaining the two degrees separately was the only way you can do it, until these prgrams started coming up where if you're sure you want OMFS, they offer you a combined degree program so you can shave off two years (like Case I think). It's the same concept used by those BS/MD programs where if you know that's what you want coming straight out of high school, they give you the opportunity to skip a couple of years. I could be wrong, but that's the impression I got after reading some of the posts on their forum.

Remember, an MD is not required for OMFS. About 50% of the programs in the country don't require (or offer) a medical degree. OMFS is purely a dental specialty, regulated by the JCNDE and ADA, and medical school/formal medical training is more or less completely extra-curricular. I'm certainly glad it's an option though.

Also, those combined degree programs actually probably hurt you for OMFS, and definitely don't save you any time over the normal track (6 years med school/OMFS).

So I guess to answer the question, as long as you have a DDS, you have everything you need to do OMFS. Already having an MD would likely exclude you from applying to the mandatory MD/OMFS programs though.

 

[phospho]

Remember, an MD is not required for OMFS. About 50% of the programs in the country don't require (or offer) a medical degree. OMFS is purely a dental specialty, regulated by the JCNDE and ADA, and medical school/formal medical training is more or less completely extra-curricular. I'm certainly glad it's an option though.

Also, those combined degree programs actually probably hurt you for OMFS, and definitely don't save you any time over the normal track (6 years med school/OMFS).

So I guess to answer the question, as long as you have a DDS, you have everything you need to do OMFS. Already having an MD would likely exclude you from applying to the mandatory MD/OMFS programs though.

thanks for the response - had no idea... so I guess my question is: what's the point of those combined MD/DDS programs and why are you glad it's an option?

 

[armorshell]

thanks for the response - had no idea... so I guess my question is: what's the point of those combined MD/DDS programs and why are you glad it's an option?

I'm glad the MD/OMFS training is an option, because I think the additional training could be valuable to my future practice of the specialty, and towards advancing the specialty as a whole. It's also what I'm going to be doing for the next 6 years.

As far as the point of the combined MD/DDS programs, your guess is as good as mine. The feasibility of actually practicing primary care medicine and general dentistry competently at the same time seems almost ludicrous, and the time commitment for an MD/DDS going into a 4 year oral surgery program is identical to the time commitment for say, me going from dental school into a 6 year oral surgery program, but doing an MD/DDS program would limit you to about 50% of the residencies in the country, potentially making gaining admission MORE competitive.

My guess on the MD/DDS issue is most people who complete these programs will end up going the physician route or the dentistry route.

 

[NRAI2001]

I bet if you go into FP and utilize PAs and dental hygienists properly you could probably practice both fields and do well?? I ve seen MDs and dentists share the same office and office staff... so not out of the question to see both fields in the same clinic.

 

[JPevzner]

purely out of curiosity:

OP, were you not satisfied with dentistry that you chose to go to med school instead? Did you realize it was your calling, professional/monetary/personal?

-Jon