Specializing?

[cluelessdr]

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how hard is it to specialize nowadays after dental school? do all residencies cost money?

 

[sobertiger]

Depends on the specialty. Some residencies are stipend-based but they are very competitive.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

how hard is it to specialize nowadays after dental school? do all residencies cost money?

Just focus on doing well your first year of dental school. You have a long ways to go.

Specializing difficulty depends on 1) the specialty and 2) the program. Is ortho competitive? Sure. Is the Georgia School of Orthodontics competitive? Absolutely not, because it will tack on $300,000+ to your student loans. Is prosthodontics competitive? Not really. Is prosthodontics at Harvard competitive? Prolly. Get the picture?

Yes, many specialty programs charge tuition, some to the tune of $200,000+. And even if they don’t, many of your student loans are continuing to rack up interest during that time.

Big Hoss

 

[P7898]

GP. Added skill set. Speed and quality. Personal and business minded. - you will be fine

 

[plusalpha]

Is doing a GPR/AEGD worth it? Other specialties (ortho, endo, pedo, etc.) will provide a much higher income than a GP upon completion, but completing GPR or AEGD won't guarantee you a higher income because you aren't a "specialist", so is completing a GPR/AEGD worth it besides gaining more real-world experience in a school setting?

 

[schmoob]

Is doing a GPR/AEGD worth it? Other specialties (ortho, endo, pedo, etc.) will provide a much higher income than a GP upon completion, but completing GPR or AEGD won't guarantee you a higher income because you aren't a "specialist", so is completing a GPR/AEGD worth it besides gaining more real-world experience in a school setting?

A high quality GPR/AEGD will increase your speed, skill set, and proficiency. Don’t go to a program that will have you on medical rotations half the year because those are a waste of time.
Unless it’s a paid specialty residency, consider opportunity cost. A GP who completed a GPR will be far ahead in net worth than a newly graduated periodontist who went to a tuition based program.

 

[plusalpha]

A high quality GPR/AEGD will increase your speed, skill set, and proficiency. Don’t go to a program that will have you on medical rotations half the year because those are a waste of time.
Unless it’s a paid specialty residency, consider opportunity cost. A GP who completed a GPR will be far ahead in net worth than a newly graduated periodontist who went to a tuition based program.

Thank you so much for the reply! I'm sorry if I misunderstood you, but are you saying that GPR/AEGD programs that don't provide stipend aren't worth it much? Could you clarify what you mean by opportunity cost?

 

[schmoob]

Thank you so much for the reply! I'm sorry if I misunderstood you, but are you saying that GPR/AEGD programs that don't provide stipend aren't worth it much? Could you clarify what you mean by opportunity cost?

No worries bud.
All GPRs pay, not all AEGDs do I believe. By opportunity cost I mean you will have 1 year of stipend, followed by 2 years of income versus 3 years of tuition based specialty training.

For example:
Year 1: GPR stipend ~$50,000
Year 2: GP income ~$150,000
Year 3: GP income ~$150,000

or

PGY1 Perio: -$50,000
PGY2 Perio: -$50,000
PGY3 Perio: -$50,000

So the general dentist will be about $500K ahead of the newly graduated periodontist in this scenario. These aren’t hard numbers, I’m just providing a rough illustration of the opportunity cost (potential lost income) of specializing these days.

 

[Combine33]

No worries bud.
All GPRs pay, not all AEGDs do I believe. By opportunity cost I mean you will have 1 year of stipend, followed by 2 years of income versus 3 years of tuition based specialty training.

For example:
Year 1: GPR stipend ~$50,000
Year 2: GP income ~$150,000
Year 3: GP income ~$150,000

or

PGY1 Perio: -$50,000
PGY2 Perio: -$50,000
PGY3 Perio: -$50,000

So the general dentist will be about $500K ahead of the newly graduated periodontist in this scenario. These aren’t hard numbers, I’m just providing a rough illustration of the opportunity cost (potential lost income) of specializing these days.

In the immediate 3 years following dental school, a GP with an AEGD/GPR completed is more valuable but in the long run the overall increase in income will make up the deficiency in income over time.

 

[charlestweed]

Is doing a GPR/AEGD worth it? Other specialties (ortho, endo, pedo, etc.) will provide a much higher income than a GP upon completion, but completing GPR or AEGD won't guarantee you a higher income because you aren't a "specialist", so is completing a GPR/AEGD worth it besides gaining more real-world experience in a school setting?

There's no guarantee that you will make more as an endo, ortho, or pedo either. Your specialist income depends on how good you are at communicating with the referring GPs. It depends on how far you are willing to drive to work, if don't plan to open your own office. To make money, specialists have to travel to multiple offices.

 

[schmoob]

In the immediate 3 years following dental school, a GP with an AEGD/GPR completed is more valuable but in the long run the overall increase in income will make up the deficiency in income over time.

It depends. There are lots of factors and variables. An associate specialist will make more than an associate GP no doubt, but not all specialists outearn all GP’s

I think people focus too much on the “special” in specialist.

 

[charlestweed]

A high quality GPR/AEGD will increase your speed, skill set, and proficiency. Don’t go to a program that will have you on medical rotations half the year because those are a waste of time.
Unless it’s a paid specialty residency, consider opportunity cost. A GP who completed a GPR will be far ahead in net worth than a newly graduated periodontist who went to a tuition based program.

4 of the 12 months of my GPR residency were spent in medical rotations (anesthesia, ER, children hospital, and I forgot what the 4th one was because I rarely showed up for it). It was a nice 4-month break from dentistry....no calls, no extra work after the office hours.

I did a year of GPR not because I wanted to become a good general dentist. I did a year of GPR because I wanted to be in an academic environment so I could stay more focused on reapplying for ortho. The second reason was in case I didn't pass the state board exam, I still made some $$$ working as GPR resident. And the third reason was endo was my backup plan in case I didn't match to ortho.