Some questions about life as a dentist

[TheSwede]

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Dear all,

When I had to choose a career path it was down to two professions; either law or odontology.

I picked the former and today I am a Swedish lawyer that graduated with honours (cum laude) from the University of Stockholm, school of law, here in Sweden. I have had the privilige of working at a top tier law firm in Stockholm and am currently undergoing my clerkship at one of the most sought for courts in the country. In other words, everything seems to be going great.

It couldn't be more far from the truth. I am so bored and frustrated with the life as a lawyer that I don't know where to begin. Everything is diffuse. In a world where black or white answers are needed all you can give people is a greyish uncertainty. Every rule comes with exceptions, and the exception comes with its own exceptions. It it is just so boring to process ****loads of information, becoming even more frustrated of all the potential risks that you have found and then try to solve a legal problem. Every bit of the law feels treacherous in a weird way.

Needless to say and much wiser today, I'm very regretful of not pursuing a career as a dentist instead. It feels a lot more hands on, and not as uncertain as the work of a lawyer. Being that I love working with my hands and housing a candid interest of the human body I dont know why I even took law school over dentistry.

I am not sure how it is to work as a dentist and I therefore wonder how the profession is.

Is the work as a dentist filled with so much details that you feel like you have no idea of whats right from wrong?

How hard is it to become a skilled dentist? I mean, I totally understand that it takes dedication and time but is it as treacherous as being a lawyer where one seldom is sure of things?

How is working life after say five years as a dentist? Do you have to sit down and spend several hours in order to know what treatment to give or what kind of disease you're treating?

I want a job where things make sense and where you learn one thing and can make use of it without the fear of it only being a mere exception in a certain case right now.

Please give me your two cents. Its a big step to undergo five years of dental school here in Sweden but if its what makes me happy then its totally worth it.

 

[desert rat]

First a job is a job. Work is not play time so you will always have negatives in any job.

Working for others even as a dentist can suck big time. If you have your own practice then the money is good, but all responsibilities are yours. That includes managing people, finances, paying staff, bills, collections, sometimes going to court over money. I means worrying about your practice and patients when you go on vacation which is not very often.

There is stress in dentistry. You worry about doing wrong TX like taking out the wrong tooth or doing RCT and then finding out it did not stop the problem. There is also allergies to meds and stuff you deal with. You also worry about not finding cancer or some other pathology. It is so easy to make a mistake and we all do. We just very seldom will hear of a death in dentistry.

We are also always worried about being sued. People sue for strange things, and often their expectations don't match dentistries realities.

In dentistry you must be in a constant study mode to learn new techniques and skills. Things in the industry change fast.

The biggest worry I have in dentistry is what happens if I can't use my hands? If you break an arm or hand or lose fingers or develop arthritis, your career is over. As you get older it is harder and harder to do some of the detailed work. As a lawyer there is so much you can do if you have an injury.

My suggestion is to make the most of being an attorny. Chose a specialty in law, like malpractice and do it. If you don't like that switch to another area of law. Changing careers may not give you what you are looking for.

 

[Thaxil]

kl

Dear all,

When I had to choose a career path it was down to two professions; either law or odontology.

I picked the former and today I am a Swedish lawyer that graduated with honours (cum laude) from the University of Stockholm, school of law, here in Sweden. I have had the privilige of working at a top tier law firm in Stockholm and am currently undergoing my clerkship at one of the most sought for courts in the country. In other words, everything seems to be going great.

It couldn't be more far from the truth. I am so bored and frustrated with the life as a lawyer that I don't know where to begin. Everything is diffuse. In a world where black or white answers are needed all you can give people is a greyish uncertainty. Every rule comes with exceptions, and the exception comes with its own exceptions. It it is just so boring to process ****loads of information, becoming even more frustrated of all the potential risks that you have found and then try to solve a legal problem. Every bit of the law feels treacherous in a weird way.

Based off your description, dentistry is very different. Dentistry is very enjoyable if you enjoy interacting with others. You are going to have to interact with staff as a leader and boss, your patients as a mentor/educator/caretaker/friend. There is a lot of stress evolved in dentistry as there is with law. One major stress is money. Not enough when you graduate, huge amounts of debts to pay off and huge debt to buy a practice. However, if you are good with people and a descent manager of money and people, there are also huge rewards. Dentistry is not ready how good you are with your hands. It is about people and judgment/treatment planning. So if you are good with people change jobs, but if you just want to work with your hands, pick up a wood working course.


Needless to say and much wiser today, I'm very regretful of not pursuing a career as a dentist instead. It feels a lot more hands on, and not as uncertain as the work of a lawyer. Being that I love working with my hands and housing a candid interest of the human body I dont know why I even took law school over dentistry.

I am not sure how it is to work as a dentist and I therefore wonder how the profession is.

Is the work as a dentist filled with so much details that you feel like you have no idea of whats right from wrong?

How hard is it to become a skilled dentist? I mean, I totally understand that it takes dedication and time but is it as treacherous as being a lawyer where one seldom is sure of things?

It usually take 6 months to build up your speed, but years to be highly skilled and knowledgable clinincian.

How is working life after say five years as a dentist? Do you have to sit down and spend several hours in order to know what treatment to give or what kind of disease you're treating?

Alot of times you know at first glance what is best, but you do sometimes have to be very through with treatment planing.

I want a job where things make sense and where you learn one thing and can make use of it without the fear of it only being a mere exception in a certain case right now.

Not every thing make since in dentistry. Some people have pain you just can figure out why and after RTCs and Crowns, patient still has pain. Or why some RTC work and other don’t, or why that porcelain pop off that new crown. Very few things are straight forward in dentistry. But that is why they call us doctor.

Please give me your two cents. Its a big step to undergo five years of dental school here in Sweden but if its what makes me happy then its totally worth it.

 

[cobalt31]

i have no authority on your question, OP, as I am not yet in dental school, but i understand a lot of what you are saying. i was between chem phd, md, and dental degree, and i chose the latter because it is the most black and white, hands on, and detail oriented of the three. i have experience working in both chemistry labs (full-time) and medicine (part-time), and i couldn't handle the "grey areas" you allude to in both. ochem research is mostly guessing, and guessing incorrectly, before the occasional breakthrough (which still doesn't make sense why that worked and the other stuff didnt). and nothing irritated me more than taking a history and doing a physical exam in medicine - it's so subjective. i like working with problems that have actual solutions. when i shadowed dentists and dental specialists, the difference was night and day. every patient treated by the dentists i shadowed came in with a problem, it was fixed, and they all left better than they started. the dentists were all unbelievably skilled and personable, and it was deeply rewarding just to watch them perform and help people at such a high level. i'm not saying there aren't grey areas in dentistry, but i think out of many professions, dentistry has the least. and that is why i will be a dentist.

 

[TheSwede]

i have no authority on your question, OP, as I am not yet in dental school, but i understand a lot of what you are saying. i was between chem phd, md, and dental degree, and i chose the latter because it is the most black and white, hands on, and detail oriented of the three. i have experience working in both chemistry labs (full-time) and medicine (part-time), and i couldn't handle the "grey areas" you allude to in both. ochem research is mostly guessing, and guessing incorrectly, before the occasional breakthrough (which still doesn't make sense why that worked and the other stuff didnt). and nothing irritated me more than taking a history and doing a physical exam in medicine - it's so subjective. i like working with problems that have actual solutions. when i shadowed dentists and dental specialists, the difference was night and day. every patient treated by the dentists i shadowed came in with a problem, it was fixed, and they all left better than they started. the dentists were all unbelievably skilled and personable, and it was deeply rewarding just to watch them perform and help people at such a high level. i'm not saying there aren't grey areas in dentistry, but i think out of many professions, dentistry has the least. and that is why i will be a dentist.

That's exactly how I feel. I don't expect life as a dentist to be a sweet journey without any troubles and everything coming for free. I have come to realise that almost nothing comes for free. All I ask for is a profession where things aren't too blurred and I can with a fairly portion of ease fullfil my job.

At a law firm for instance, a lot of partners do not themselves have a clue sometimes. Legal problems can sometimes be so complex that nobody is certain on how to solve the problem; its generally tried by the Supreme Court before any one knows anything for certain.

Im aware that dentists dont have all the answers all the time but would you say that its fairly hands on the majority of the time? I mean, you know how to put on a crown, how to treat the most common diseases and extract teeth? Its not like you have to invent the wheel for every treatment.

When I go to see my dentist he's always so certain of what to do, how to do it and I always come out feeling better. He feels very professional and certain of spotting the problem and then treating it. It takes him a glance and some tests to know what to do. Its that what I feel as an ease when performing ones job; to know what to do and how to do it.

I don't care much about the troubles coming from being ones own boss and all the responsibility relating thereto. That is something that always sorts out itself and has no greater bearing on my skill as a dentist per se.

I just want to assure myself that dentistry wont be something of a lottery where you have a general idea on how to do your job only to find out that it was wrong and that another solution is better because someone else (a judge feels like it but of course within boundaries).

My goal is to become a skilled and efficiant dentist who is good at treating people and of course to make money.

 

[Huggies]

You always have the right to change your mind, and perhaps law is not your calling, although no matter what you choose you will always be able to benefit from what you've learned.

I don't know how long you've been out practicing law, but I remember when I first graduated from dental school 5yrs ago, I was really overwhelmed by all the technology that was out there, different ways of tx the 'same' problem, and the challenging cases. Not to mention, that a lot of the times patients wanted the "compromised" tx due to finances, which just gave me pains in my stomach, since it made my work that much more difficult.
There were days when I didn't want to go to work, or thought how much easier it would be if I was the assistant and had 'no' worries at all. But with time, I became more confident w/ my skills, the techniques and materials I want to use and treatment I would not compromise on. I think when we first get out, we think we know it all, afterall we've done 5-10 complex treatment plans. And then of course the harsh reality hits, every case in the real world is 'complex' and the simple staff we prided ourselves so much on in dental school, is not seen very often.

So eventhough we are in different areas of study, I totally can relate with how you feel. I can however say that now, after a bit more experience under my belt, I feel so much better, and LOVE what I do. But like most have said, dentistry is not for everyone, and it's not always good days. One close friend, chose dentistry over law, and regretted that decision, although she is practicing dentistry.

Having spent so much time studying law, I would definitely give other areas of law a chance. I have many friends in law, and some do what you describe, but others do corporate law, or realestate. It seems more black/white to me. But again you know the area better, just make sure that you fully explore all your options first, before you commit to another long education plan.

But if you're 100% sue that law is not for you, go to dental school, and if you love it, great, if not you'll always have law to fall back on. 🙂