Some Questions

[JagerMeister]

Hi everyone!
I'm new to this Forum. I found it a few days ago and have been very interested in the different diccusions going on. I live in Canada and I just graduated from highschool. I am seriously considering a career in Dentistery, but I have some questions I would like to ask. I was originaly looking into the medical field, but then a dental surgen I know said that I should also consider dentistery as well. One of the things that disliked about the medical field is there seems to be alot of time spent in residency after you graduate from med school and your not making much money. Also the hours aren't that great and you are very busy. I could be completely wrong on this, but my brother in law is in residency right now and that is how it seems for him. Anyway, I would like to know how this compares to someone who is graduating from dental school.
Also some of the things I am looking for in a career are: I don't want my work to be my life, I'd like to have for a family and be a good father/husband, I would like to make good money; I don't need to be extremely rich, but I do desire to be moderately wealthy (nice cars, nice home, etc...). Is this possible if working in the dental field? From the research I have done I really think that I would enjoy the work end of it, but these other things are important to me too. I hope what I am asking makes sense and is clear! Thank you so much for your input! I look forward to being apart of this Forum!
Joshua.

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[ItsGavinC]

Joshua, I'll save the answers to your questions for practicing dentists and those who have recently graduated. They know much more about your questions than I do.

Welcome to SDN though! Great to have you here.

 

[Dr.SpongeBobDDS]

This is completely my own opinion (meaning it could be wrong) and not necessarily directed at you but rather the board in general so don't take it the wrong way.

I think some of the most faulty reasoning I see on this board is in thinking "dental school is so much shorter; there's no residency." For one thing, I know plenty of medical residents and many of them work almost normal schedules while bringing home decent money. For another, it's true that dentists have no required formal residency, but that doesn't mean you aren't going to get the dental equivalent. The fact of the matter is that most new dentists are not going to get out of school and immediately enjoy the income and lifestyle of an established doctor that we all look forward to. Many, many new grads that I have spoken too work 60 or more hours/week for a few years; they often have to associate in multiple practices for the first few years so that they can meet their loan payments or just to make ends meet while they are getting their own practices going.

Additionally, the new dentist may be making slightly more than an MD in residency but they have loans due immediately upon graduation while medical residents get their loans deferred. (Also remember that, on average, dental school is more expensive than med school.) For most people those loan payments and the higher tax bracket are big enough to just about negate any difference in the lifestyle one can afford as either a new dentist or a medical resident.

There are many, many reasons to choose dentistry over medicine, but I would definitely not include the lack of a required residency in my decision.