Specializing after working?

[Prettygirl]

Do some general dentists who have been practicing for a few years decide to go into speciality and apply the same way dental students during their 4th year?
How are there chances that way?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[the tooth fairy]

My dad practiced for nine years as a general dentist and decided he wanted to do perio. I am pretty sure the application process is the same whether you have been out practicing for several years or are right out of school. I also think that specialty programs would look favorably on the years of experience you have in the dental profession. Just my thoughts.

tooth fairy

 

[ItsGavinC]

Prettygirl, for those who decide to utilize this option, there chances are excellent. As in near 100% acceptance rate.

Analyze it for a moment. When applying to dental school, the schools much prefer candidates who shadowed dentists or even worked in dentistal offices or were assistants, etc. This is because such applicants have a very realistic idea of what the dental profession involves, and their experiences will bolster them throughout their education.

Post-grad education isn't any different. Specialty programs will gladly accept decent candidates if they have practiced for a couple of years. These applicants have first-hand experience. Say they are applying to an endo program. Chances are they have chosen endo because they've seen some endo in their office and they've done what they could handle and loved it! They have real-world expertise and experience, which is something that most applicants to specialty programs lack. Dental school is NOT the practice of dentistry in the real world (obviously).

Those who practice then apply to specialty programs are rarely denied.

 

[Prettygirl]

ToothFairy....
So your dad took a big paycutt to do endo?
Is this a common route (what your dad did) or is it rare because most dentists become GP and then are basically established, secure, and do not want to go back to school?

Gavin
how sure are you of your post? Is this your opinion or is there some fact to this? I really do appreciate you taking the time to respond
Thanks for the posts!

Any other input is appreciated

 

[Temple2007]

I have heard that it is easier to get into speciality after having been a GP for a couple years. I dont know about the frequency of this happening. It would be harder to leave after you where established. Your kids would have to all move to a new school, youd take a huge pay cut, but for some dentists its worth it. Once they graduate they will be making speciality rates. Im sure that Gps who go into speciality know that that particular speciality is what they would like to do. Im not sure about the post by Gavin at 100% but I think its higher than your odds out of school. I believe that your second boards are important because this what the schools look at.

 

[ItsGavinC]

It's pretty close to 100%, although the numbers doing this are very small when compared to the overall number of students applying to specialty programs.

We aren't talking about zillions of dentists applying after practicing for a couple of years.

 

[igbd]

I know this thread is old but I have a follow up question. If a dentist decides to specialize after practicing for several years, how much weight does their GPA/class rank carry vs. their work experience? I would think GPA would hold less weight than for a student applying right out of school but how much less weight? If an experienced dentist (several years of experience, not decades) was average/towards the bottom of their class could they still stack up favorably against a dental student with a high GPA?