switching from dental to medical

[emilia112]

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switching from dental to med.

i’ve been thinking about this a lot recently, and i feel like the reason i applied to dental school was mostly bc of my parents not wanting me to take a gap year. so in a matter of two months i got everything ready to apply dental even tho im not truly passionate about it as much as medicine interests me.


i’ve been thinking that even if i get in this cycle to schools would it be ok if i reject it and apply to medical schools next cycle?


or would i be blacklisted essentially? bc i’ve heard in dental if u get accepted and don’t take it and apply the next cycle, u will be essentially rejected everywhere and blacklisted. is this the same case for med school- esp public schools that have both a med and dental school

i’d really appreciate any advice

 

[Pickle Dental]

If you really want to go to medical school and not dental school then you should totally reject any offers you get and apply to med school.

I don't know how all schools are but I don't think there is much talk between programs medical admissions and dental admissions, they are usually two completely separate departments so I don't think you would be black listed. You could always call or email a couple medical schools and ask them for advice.

 

[JacquesVallee]

switching from dental to med.

i’ve been thinking about this a lot recently, and i feel like the reason i applied to dental school was mostly bc of my parents not wanting me to take a gap year. so in a matter of two months i got everything ready to apply dental even tho im not truly passionate about it as much as medicine interests me.


i’ve been thinking that even if i get in this cycle to schools would it be ok if i reject it and apply to medical schools next cycle?


or would i be blacklisted essentially? bc i’ve heard in dental if u get accepted and don’t take it and apply the next cycle, u will be essentially rejected everywhere and blacklisted. is this the same case for med school- esp public schools that have both a med and dental school

i’d really appreciate any advice

As long as you don't enroll and technically drop out of dental school it will likely have near zero impact on you getting into med school.

 

[fh2027]

some dental schools will allow you to defer your offer of admission for a year so you could consider doing that.

 

[Lemillion]

Similar but different scenario I knew of a girl in dental school. Spent one semester in dental school and realized it was not it for her. Dropped from dental to focus on MCAT and pursue medical. At the time, I was taken aback bc it was the first I time I had seen someone do that. Long story short, it worked out for her. She got into med school through the same state school system just in a diff city and ended up doing derm or plastic surgery residency. I don't think she ever looked back. Anyways, I hope that story is motivating/inspiring and that it's good you're thinking of this now versus enrolling in dental school, pay tuition and then dropping.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Don't ever pick a health professional career to please your parents. If you're not into teeth, don't be a dentist. Withdraw from the application process, get your MCAT prep ready, shadow more physicians, and submit a strong application when you have the desired profile.

 

[New_Vegas]

switching from dental to med.

i’ve been thinking about this a lot recently, and i feel like the reason i applied to dental school was mostly bc of my parents not wanting me to take a gap year. so in a matter of two months i got everything ready to apply dental even tho im not truly passionate about it as much as medicine interests me.


i’ve been thinking that even if i get in this cycle to schools would it be ok if i reject it and apply to medical schools next cycle?


or would i be blacklisted essentially? bc i’ve heard in dental if u get accepted and don’t take it and apply the next cycle, u will be essentially rejected everywhere and blacklisted. is this the same case for med school- esp public schools that have both a med and dental school

i’d really appreciate any advice

RUN from dental, and go do medicine. You will be way better off financially. And you will likely just end up being an employee, which is so much less stress than running a business. Go to med school and never look back, you will be so much better off for doing so.

 

[emilia112]

RUN from dental, and go do medicine. You will be way better off financially. And you will likely just end up being an employee, which is so much less stress than running a business. Go to med school and never look back, you will be so much better off for doing so.

can u expans

 

[yappy]

can u expans

I agree with @New_Vegas . Dentistry doesn’t pay nearly as much as medicine. Unfortunately dentistry is still kind of a developing career field where the best way to optimize your career fulfillment and finances is to own a practice, which is quite entrepreneurial and stressful.

As a physician you can step into a high paying job and be surrounded by professionals. In dentistry, except for hygienists, most of your coworkers will be high school graduates with all the issues that come with that. Your boss will likely have come from retail or food service. Hence, it’s necessary to own, but that comes with additional stress and debts.

Why even entertain dentistry If you know you like medicine more? After mentioning all the above the only reason to do dentistry is if you really like it… but even then I suspect you could find a medical specialty that is very similar to the aspects of dentistry you like.

 

[New_Vegas]

can u expans

I told you all you need to know. Now go do your homework. Look up the cost of medical school vs dental school. Look up earnings of dentists vs doctors (go look at actual job listings, not those websites that don't tell you anything). Then learn what it's like to actually run a business. Watch videos of business owners of any kind on the internet. You will see a level of stress and work that you won't find anywhere else, from people that actually run businesses. You think you are going to go into dentistry and run a business for the lifestyle of it? Successful business owners don't simply go to work and come home and have free time. They never stop working.

 

[Molar Whisperer]

can u expans

Some things to consider if you own and run a dental clinic. 1. Will your staff show up on time if at all. 2. You need to replace staff but pickings are slim to none. 3. On slow months of production, you may not have much left over after you pay your staff and all of your business expenses. 3. Do you want to invest in the latest and greatest equipment and supplies after months of slow production? 4. Do you want to accept Dental Insurance which pays 55-60 cents on the dollar? I know a dentist that returns to his office after dinner with his family to bill insurance and clean toilets when he first opened his clinic.

Some things to consider if you work for a corporation or owner. 1. You don't have control over your schedule. You will be working beyond your comfort level. 2. You will have constant pressure to produce more. 3. You don't have control on getting your supplies and equipment. You may be working with outdated crap. 4. You don't have control over staffing. Some staff may sabotage you by not ordering supplies, may bring your patients in late, may make stupid scheduling errors which can hurt your production. I know some Board Complaints happening in certain organizations and a Board investigator recommending not to work in those places.

Some things to consider if you work for Medicaid or community dentistry. 1. You don't get paid by production. You will get paid the same as a lazy dentist. 2. There will be constant people turnover. That includes your supervisor. 3. Your schedule may be booking out 6 to 9 months and you may be faced with seeing excessive walk-ins because they can't wait that long. 4. The office will be a sh__ show chaos and patients will complain about it. I had a classmate cry every night working in this environment.

 

[Sbosu]

can u expans

Going to dental school means you'll be a dentist. Sure there are residencies with some variety, but you're still going to have to sit in a chair and produce dentistry.
Medical school, on the other hand, opens the door to an enormous range of careers. If you don’t love patient interaction, there’s radiology or pathology. Prefer procedures? Look at the surgical specialties or anesthesia. Psychiatry, emergency medicine, etc...
There are countless directions you can take, which makes it much easier to find a specialty that truly fits your interests and personality.

Work life balance is probably better in dentistry.