the future of dentistry

[The Anhedonia]

Greetings,

I am a predental student and i'd really like anyone's perspective on the future of dentistry. I will just put my observations plainly:

1. it seems there are too many dentists - the market is over saturated ( i live in las vegas where there is at least 2 in every strip mall). i shadowed a specialist who said all of the general dentists he knows are struggling to see enough patients just to cover overhead. this phenomenon is not limited to vegas.

2. ADHP programs will impact the market of patients more than dentist realize

3. Dental Tourism is becoming increasingly popular. see the following ADA link: http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/pubs/adanews/adanewsarticle.asp?articleid=2064

any thoughts?

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[rook56]

There is not an oversupply of dentists, just a grossly uneven distrubution. Drs want to pack into cities like vegas, and then claim that there are too many dentists. In my zip code, there are 10,000 people and only 1 dentist. You can barely even get an appointment. Several towns around here have a similar distribution. However, there is a city 45 minutes from here which seems to be oversaturated. Talk with a rural doc if you have an opportunity and you'll see what I'm talking about.

 

[aphistis]

Greetings,

I am a predental student and i'd really like anyone's perspective on the future of dentistry. I will just put my observations plainly:

1. it seems there are too many dentists - the market is over saturated ( i live in las vegas where there is at least 2 in every strip mall). i shadowed a specialist who said all of the general dentists he knows are struggling to see enough patients just to cover overhead. this phenomenon is not limited to vegas.

2. ADHP programs will impact the market of patients more than dentist realize

3. Dental Tourism is becoming increasingly popular. see the following ADA link: http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/pubs/adanews/adanewsarticle.asp?articleid=2064

any thoughts?

1) See sampling bias.

2) ADHP programs don't even exist yet, and are not the panacea the ADHA would love you to believe they are. There may or may not be a market for pretend dentists, but there will always be a market for real ones.

3) Not popular enough to threaten the profession. Not by a long shot.

 

[The Anhedonia]

thanks, i really appreciate all of the insight.

what about specialists? are the same population distributions observable (too many in urban areas)?

i hope these don't come off as odd questions, but you can imagine that delving into massive student debt requires gaining insight into the future of the profession which the financing requires.

 

[Lemons]

I'm having second thoughts about dentistry because the future seems so scary. We're agreeing to take on a lot of debt by going to dental school and it's such a specialized field that new advancements in science or changes in policy can have major implications on job security.


Anyways, I thought everyone should look at this. Dentistry is the only medical profession that doesn't have an "excellent" job outlook. Hygienists, are rated as having an "excellent" job outlook. I'm sure that "good" job outlook for Dentists may or may not be lowered because of new developments. Hard to say.

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos072.htm
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos097.htm

I'm thinking I should just apply to medical school or B-school, I don't want to be worrying about finding work with $250,000 student loan debt. Time to reassess my career choice. I guess it's not too late to change.Too bad, Dentistry was the perfect career for me.

 

[aphistis]

I'm having second thoughts about dentistry because the future seems so scary. We're agreeing to take on a lot of debt by going to dental school and it's such a specialized field that new advancements in science or changes in policy can have major implications on job security.


Anyways, I thought everyone should look at this. Dentistry is the only medical profession that doesn't have an "excellent" job outlook. Hygienists, are rated as having an "excellent" job outlook. I'm sure that "good" job outlook for Dentists may or may not be lowered because of new developments. Hard to say.

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos072.htm
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos097.htm

I'm thinking I should just apply to medical school or B-school, I don't want to be worrying about finding work with $250,000 student loan debt. Time to reassess my career choice. I guess it's not too late to change.Too bad, Dentistry was the perfect career for me.

I respectfully disagree; if that's all it takes to scare you away from the profession, then dentistry was never the perfect career for you. Good luck along whatever path you choose.

 

[jfitzpat]

I totally agree with aphistis. If dentistry were truly a perfect fit for you, then these minor blips would not be changing your decision. Basing your decision on the fact the bls only ranks dentistry as having a "good outlook" instead of an "excellent outlook" doesn't seem very well thought out to me.

Don't think that people in the business world aren't suffering tremendously or that docs don't lose sleep at night thinking about nationalized healthcare. There is no such thing as a perfect profession......although dentistry is pretty close in my mind.

 

[Lemons]

I totally agree with aphistis. If dentistry were truly a perfect fit for you, then these minor blips would not be changing your decision. Basing your decision on the fact the bls only ranks dentistry as having a "good outlook" instead of an "excellent outlook" doesn't seem very well thought out to me.

Don't think that people in the business world aren't suffering tremendously or that docs don't lose sleep at night thinking about nationalized healthcare. There is no such thing as a perfect profession......although dentistry is pretty close in my mind.

I don't mind having competition for jobs, it's the debt that scares me. I was raised to be afraid of debt. To this day, I have never had a loan of any kind even credit cards, car loans, or student loans. I've always paid in full and if I'm going to start with $200,000+ I need reassurance that I'm going to able to pay it off. A no debt lifestyle has been very good to me and at least with B-school, I can get my company to pay for it. FREE So if I'm unemployed I can always switch careers without carrying a massive load of debt on my back. I probably won't be as happy doing it as I would have been in the dental profession but at least I can sleep at night without worrying about losing my job. Right now I couldn't care less about losing my job, I have 2 years worth of emergency savings that I can live on and am completely debt free. Dentistry may not be able to ever give me that kind of peace of mind.

 

[aphistis]

I don't mind having competition for jobs, it's the debt that scares me. I was raised to be afraid of debt. To this day, I have never had a loan of any kind even credit cards, car loans, or student loans. I've always paid in full and if I'm going to start with $200,000+ I need reassurance that I'm going to able to pay it off. A no debt lifestyle has been very good to me and at least with B-school, I can get my company to pay for it. FREE So if I'm unemployed I can always switch careers without carrying a massive load of debt on my back. I probably won't be as happy doing it as I would have been in the dental profession but at least I can sleep at night without worrying about losing my job. Right now I could care less about losing my job, I have 2 years worth of emergency savings that I can live on and am completely debt free. Dentistry may not be able to ever give me that kind of peace of mind.

You may not find the kind of "peace of mind" you're describing anyplace this side of a bottomless, no-string-attached trust fund.

You speak proudly about not having any debt, but also fearfully about ever having debt. As far as I can guess, you either still live with your parents, or in an apartment where 1) you don't realize a lease agreement is still debt, or 2) you're paying an unnecessary premium on your housing in order to indulge your fear of financial obligation. I'll freely concede that I may be wrong, but everything you've said so far is painting a single consistent picture.

If you don't mind my prying, would you be willing to share a bit more about how you came to be debt-free? If everything is truly as you've described it, then you've accomplished something remarkable. I suspect, however, that there is more to the story than you've revealed so far.

 

[gryffindor]

If you're so afraid of debt, join the Armed Forces. Or move to a rural location - states with no dental schools or counties without a dentist are a good place to start. Live like a student for a few years, and you'll make enough money to pay off your loans fast if that's your main concern (fast = 5 years). There are many locations that need a dentist, just don't expect to be moving to LA, NYC, or Salt Lake City.

 

[Rube]

Greetings,

I am a predental student and i'd really like anyone's perspective on the future of dentistry. I will just put my observations plainly:


2. ADHP programs will impact the market of patients more than dentist realize

This is the only one where I think no one knows for sure. You could have 6 ADHPs working in one dental office. You could have insurance plans start to push their insureds towards ADHPs. It will take 10-15 years for the ADHPs to be out there in big numbers but they are coming. Still you could have your loans paid off and have a comfortable living from a practice by them. Besides, PAs and NPs exist and docs still make a comfortable living. If you are worried about mid levels, after you finish dental school you must join up with organized dentistry like the ADA and your state dental association, they can literally protect your livelyhood from some do-gooder socialist political agenda.

 

[mike3kgt]

This is the only one where I think no one knows for sure. You could have 6 ADHPs working in one dental office. You could have insurance plans start to push their insureds towards ADHPs. It will take 10-15 years for the ADHPs to be out there in big numbers but they are coming. Still you could have your loans paid off and have a comfortable living from a practice by them. Besides, PAs and NPs exist and docs still make a comfortable living. If you are worried about mid levels, after you finish dental school you must join up with organized dentistry like the ADA and your state dental association, they can literally protect your livelyhood from some do-gooder socialist political agenda.

Don't be so assured that the ADA will be so outspoken to not embrace mid-level practitioners. While it is the public policy of the ADA to advocate for doctor centered dental practices, check out this article from Glick back in 3/08... it will really open your eyes that there are some very outspoken people in organized dentistry that are not representative of the membership they are supposed to represent.

 

[Lemons]

You may not find the kind of "peace of mind" you're describing anyplace this side of a bottomless, no-string-attached trust fund.

If you don't mind my prying, would you be willing to share a bit more about how you came to be debt-free? If everything is truly as you've described it, then you've accomplished something remarkable. I suspect, however, that there is more to the story than you've revealed so far.

I'm saving up for a down payment right now ( why I have so much in emergency savings right now) but my rent is less than $300 and is month to month ( yeah, I realize how sweet of a deal that is) and will probably buy a place my first year in dental school. I had scholarships and worked a relatively high paying job through college so no debt from that and currently make a decent salary that allowed me to buy a decent car without taking out a loan. I don't have kids so I can easily pay my credit card bills in full at the end of each month while still putting aside money for retirement and other goals.

It is very possible, I have friends who in very similar positions but you're in dental school and the odds are most people you know are hundreds of thousands in debt.

I've had time to think it through and weigh the risks and I'm still going to apply but only to "cheaper" dental schools. I live a very financially comfortable lifestyle right now but I hate what I do and the hours I work. Since graduating high school I've worked and studied 7 days a week and I can't do it for the rest of my life. I guess I can trade some financial security for better hours and more job satisfaction. I'm still terrified though.

 

[Lemons]

If you're so afraid of debt, join the Armed Forces. Or move to a rural location - states with no dental schools or counties without a dentist are a good place to start. Live like a student for a few years, and you'll make enough money to pay off your loans fast if that's your main concern (fast = 5 years). There are many locations that need a dentist, just don't expect to be moving to LA, NYC, or Salt Lake City.

Probably won't join the armed forces but moving to an undeserved area is something I will definitely do.

 

[QCkid]

Greetings,

I am a predental student and i'd really like anyone's perspective on the future of dentistry. I will just put my observations plainly:

1. it seems there are too many dentists - the market is over saturated ( i live in las vegas where there is at least 2 in every strip mall). i shadowed a specialist who said all of the general dentists he knows are struggling to see enough patients just to cover overhead. this phenomenon is not limited to vegas.

2. ADHP programs will impact the market of patients more than dentist realize

3. Dental Tourism is becoming increasingly popular. see the following ADA link: http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/pubs/adanews/adanewsarticle.asp?articleid=2064

any thoughts?

1. Their are too many dentists in almost all major cities in the U.S.. You would therefore need to consider more rural practice locations.
2. Nobody can say what impact midlevel practitioners will have. Aphistis doesn't know, nobody knows. It could be minimal, or it could have a very large impact.
3. Dental tourism is a two edged sword. The quality of education, technological advances and protection under the law just do not exist in most of the countries that are popular for dental tourism. This would lead one to believe that dental tourism would be limited, but at the same time, the population is almost wholly ignorant with regards to what quality dentistry is. To most people a good dentist is friendly, and makes you as comfortable and pain free as possible. These are truly important but only a couple of many things that go into practicing quality dentistry.