Definition of a good experience is going to vary from person to person based on many factors. To say that dental schools flat out sucks, that is your opinion. Yes, dental school is hard. Yes, most people spend a lot of time studying, but if you prioritize and make ceraiin sacrificies you can enjoy your dental school experience while still have time with the family. I have many classmates who have children. Believe it or not, they are the ones who are the most grounded and the ones who seem to smile the most (even when you can see the obvious bags under their eyes after a long night when the baby wouldn't go to sleep). Your family values also play a big factor in this.
Also, your life experiences also play a part in how you look a things. I am in the Navy. When my wife and I met, she was going to pharmacy school 350 miles away from where I was stationed. After her summer break the first few months we were together, we saw each other only on the weekends. The next year, I got stationed on the other side of the country on a ship. To make a long story short, we saw each other a total of 11 months of the first 4 years together - dating 9 months and 3+ years marriage. Now that stunk, but we made the most of it and our relationship grew strong. How does this apply to thsi topis? Well, when you make the sacrifices we did, you learn to make the best of the situation you have. We appreciate the little tihings. We get to kiss each other every day. I get to lay my head on a pillow next to her each night. I get to hold her hand whereever we go. I get to open doors for her. I get to say I love you to her face to face. I get to gaze in her eyes and read her every thought. Now, we don't have a lot of time to go do things. I study very slow, so I dedicate more time than most to studying. But, we make time to do things together even if it is very simple like walking the dog, cooking dinner together, goofing off at the grocery store, going to dinner, or going out and playing. No matter how simple the thing, you can make the most out of the time and enjoy it with the family. If you do that, you will cherish the time you had with the family. this alone will make dental school not seem as bad.
Yes, dental school can stink at times. I'd lie to you if I said it was all peaches and cream. But I will not generalize my expereince by saying it sucks. There are always goign to be thigns in all aspects of life that stink, but it doesn't make them suck in general. One thign I do feel is that with a family, dental school is not bad at all. If anything family life makes life in dental school better.
To Theo, based on your location, I am assuming you are LDS. If yes, as long as you keep the familiy values you most likely were raised around, you will be fine. You'll know what is important and what is not. You'll soon prioritize things and go with the flow. Everything will turn out well in the end.
Good luck finding someone to say yes to that question.
I'm sorry if that came across as a little harsh. I was just trying to be brutally honest with you; so that you would know what to expect.
I had a lot of good experiences in dental school, but "good" is not the term I would use to describe the experience as a whole.
I had a wife through all of dental school and her support was great. It would have been much more difficult without her. I couldn't spend a lot of time with her, especially in the first 3 years, but I always set aside Friday nights, Saturday nights, and Sunday morning for her. I think it is a good idea to schedule family time and study time and then stick to the schedule.
Unfortunately we did not have any kids during school (not for lack of trying), but we just found out that twins are on the way. 😀
