The reason for AEGD/GPR's?

[TanMan]

I see a lot of AEGD/GPR threads floating around, and curious as to what motivates you to go into an AEGD/GPR?

Logically, it doesn't make sense to me, but I would like to understand your reason and motivation to go into one. I feel like I'm missing something here.

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[vellnueve]

I see a lot of AEGD/GPR threads floating around, and curious as to what motivates you to go into an AEGD/GPR?

Logically, it doesn't make sense to me, but I would like to understand your reason and motivation to go into one. I feel like I'm missing something here.

Probably because dental schools teach you very little in terms of advanced procedures and tend to teach to a single viewpoint or philosophy.

 

[738177]

Don't Some states require it to practice?
I think N.Y. is one of them.

 

[distressstudent]

Don't Some states require it to practice?
I think N.Y. is one of them.

I wonder what was the reasoning behind that.

 

[BellaNella]

There is only so much you can learn in 4 years and usually the more you learn, the more you realize how much you do not know. I personally would not want to practice without some postdoc training.

Like vellnueve said, you learn very little in terms of advanced procedures.

 

[Pulpectomy]

Exactly what BellaNella said- you really learn how much you don't know. You learn so much in an AEGD/GPR. I had the same thoughts as you when I was in dental school. I wasn't really sure what was the point of "an extra year of dental school." But I ended up doing an AEGD and now I can't imagine having not done one. I gained so much clinically and didactically.


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[Aceofspades]

Some places like NY require it or accept it in lieu of a regional exam. Some programs are really good and worth the reduced salary but most are just a 5th year of dental school. AEGD/GPR programs can help land a better job or specialty residency afterwards, so there's that as well.

 

[TanMan]

I guess I didn't get that people felt overwhelmingly unprepared to go into practice right after dental school, although there are some classmates that should probably never touch a handpiece. I do have some colleagues that went to an AEGD, but still came out with a dental school mentality; then again, not all programs are equal. As one poster noted, its not all about the money, but I would think its easier and more profitable to work and take CE courses instead.

Anyway, thanks for the responses, provides more insight on the attitudes of new grads these days.

 

[Axiomatician]

Just to give my thoughts: As a lowly dental school applicant, I pretty much know nothing. BUT some of these responses are killing me...

What the heck is the point of going to dental school if, once you get out, you learned a very small amount and have to go to even more school to be a 'good' general dentist?

Now, for instance, I have heard multiple dentists tell me that once they were out of school, they knew just enough to hurt someone. But they also tell me that the thing to do is to go work for an older dentist getting ready to retire that has a practice that fits how you would want a practice to be, and let him teach you all the extra tips and tricks.

Is it not asinine to think you need to go spend more money to continue to 'learn', when you could go work for a practice and learn from the dentist there? Take some CE courses, sure, but to me, with the rising costs of dental schools, it doesn't make sense to go more in debt, while still not earning any money, only to be slightly more competent than the GP's that you graduated with that just finished making lots of money to start paying off their loans.

Lots of dentists tell me that CE courses are very valuable and that if you want to do them, they can end up making you more money. I have shadowed multiple general dentists who do simple ortho work and implant dentistry that nets them a salary just as much as specialists. Why is this way of thinking so outlandish on this forum?

 

[Axiomatician]

It seems like you both have the mindset that your gonna make bank right away and drive a Range Rover for yourself as a graduation present.

I don't think either of you fully understand the breadth and complexity associated with the profession of dentistry.

Good GPR programs and AEGD's have the benefit of having all the newest tech, every specialist in house (sorry but some old GP teaching you molar endo is not the same as endo teaching you), and the opportunity to learn more about medically complex patients.

Another variable you both seem to be missing is the fact that when you get right out of dental school you aren't immediately going to be Mr. money bags.The GPR's and AEGDs that are worth going to are stipend programs, which means you get paid as an employee. You also get to defer your loan payments while you are in the program.

Working straight out in most cases (unless your going to work with a relative) often leads you to a corporate practice where all it is about is pumping out as much as you can. Your not going to have any time to focus on learning proper technique and your "mentor" isn't going to have time to step away to teach you how to use cad cam or how restore an implant etc. You are going to work really hard, and a HUGE portion of your paycheck is going straight to loans. It's not easy the first couple years out. Doing an AEGD immediately increases your chance of landing an associate job in a high producing private practice where you won't spend as much time asking for help, which in turns means more money.

Some of your points are accurate, CE is a valuable resource.. but are you actually going to have the time and resources to do it working at a corporate office with loans? Yeah working with an older guy that's about to retire would be great for mentorship right out of school. But someone with more experience or an AEGD/GPR is usually going to get the job over you.


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First of all, I just want to say that while I am a young and dumb 21 year old, I know that coming out of dental school doesn't mean you are immediately "Mr. Moneybags".

Second of all, going back to your second statement - "I don't think either of you fully understand the breadth and complexity associated with the profession of dentistry. " - If you look at TanMan's postings and profile, he has been a member since 2004 and is currently a practicing dentist.

It sounds like you are personally defending your own choice to go into an AEGD/GPR. I am not knocking you on that, and neither is TanMan.

What it sounds like to me is you are in a big city with over saturation of dentists.

"Working straight out in most cases (unless your going to work with a relative) often leads you to a corporate practice where all it is about is pumping out as much as you can." "Doing an AEGD immediately increases your chance of landing an associate job in a high producing private practice where you won't spend as much time asking for help, which in turns means more money."

Again, sounds like you are defending your choice rather than explaining the path. If, in your case, you went to school near a big city with plenty of dentists, as well as new graduates, it would be a problem to try and go find a mentor.

Working straight out in most cases does not mean working for corporate where I am. I know multiple dentists looking to retire in the next 5 years. Do you think this would be a bad path for me to take, compared to doing an AEGD?

"(sorry but some old GP teaching you molar endo is not the same as endo teaching you)" Is molar endo work really the thing that will be a big profit for you? Seriously, cleanings and fillings, extractions and dentures; shouldn't bread and butter dentistry be the main focus? I feel like getting good at those and working up speed is much more profitable than trying to learn how to do as much endo work as you can in house? Also, some old GP is hopefully one that you would want to emulate: one that has a successful practice, good income(doesn't matter whether its 150k or 500k, depends on area), and good rapport with patients/community.

I already know that if I get accepted into dental school and I don't specialize, either because of grades or interest, I will want to be a general dentist who can do lots of basic endo/ortho/implant. But I also feel like you are undercutting the value working for and learning from an elder vs. going to school for more education but less money so you have a better shot at getting into a practice.

Maybe you and I are from different parts of the country, and one path works better in a certain place. AEGD/GPR seem much more feasible if there are little to no job prospects for taking over a private practice.

 

[cooliyak]

Just to give my thoughts: As a lowly dental school applicant, I pretty much know nothing. BUT some of these responses are killing me...

What the heck is the point of going to dental school if, once you get out, you learned a very small amount and have to go to even more school to be a 'good' general dentist?

Now, for instance, I have heard multiple dentists tell me that once they were out of school, they knew just enough to hurt someone. But they also tell me that the thing to do is to go work for an older dentist getting ready to retire that has a practice that fits how you would want a practice to be, and let him teach you all the extra tips and tricks.

Is it not asinine to think you need to go spend more money to continue to 'learn', when you could go work for a practice and learn from the dentist there? Take some CE courses, sure, but to me, with the rising costs of dental schools, it doesn't make sense to go more in debt, while still not earning any money, only to be slightly more competent than the GP's that you graduated with that just finished making lots of money to start paying off their loans.

Lots of dentists tell me that CE courses are very valuable and that if you want to do them, they can end up making you more money. I have shadowed multiple general dentists who do simple ortho work and implant dentistry that nets them a salary just as much as specialists. Why is this way of thinking so outlandish on this forum?

I agree with you, but it also highly depends on what kind of dentist you want to be (and I don't mean good vs bad).
First off, not all dental schools are created equal. I graduated from a dental school that gave us the amazing opportunity of spending 1/3-1/2 of our 4th year on rotations at community health clinics across the state-- essentially working as dentists at these sites (and when I say essentially working as dentists, I mean working a real dentist's schedule and seeing 8-12 or more patients a day all while being supervised by the dentist as a preceptor, of course). Because of this experience, and only because of it, I feel completely comfortable going into practice straight out of school. If your school doesn't give you that kind of opportunity, I can definitely understand having reservations about practicing immediately after graduation and looking into a residency. And just for the record, I hate the "know just enough to hurt someone" quote. I don't agree with it and I think it is completely wrong. You actually know just enough to be safe... which means it is your responsibility, especially as a doctor, to be very careful and responsible with your treatments so you don't fall back into the "dangerous without supervision" category that you were in during dental school. If you don't even feel safe after graduating, then maybe CODA should take a second look at your school.
Second, not everybody wants to be the same kind of dentist. Some want to go into public health, some want to go into private practice, others for DSOs, and others want the complex/advanced cases. If you just want to start practicing, I believe you can do any and all of those without a residency. And in fact, I believe that you will gain more experience, raw numbers wise, doing that than you would in a residency. You may be slow and you may have to ramp up from simple cases to the more complex, but you will be able to do everything that you want to eventually. Taking CEs is a great way to expand on your skills... but that, too, may be slow.
Now here is where a residency comes in. If you want more education and more immediate specific/complex/advanced experiences (placing implants, full mouth rehab, etc.), then a residency is the way to go. From what I can tell, most people who do residencies fall into those 2 categories: they don't feel confident in their ability to practice and want more supervised education/experience or they want to be able to immediately expand on their skills to do the more complex cases (usually money makers) right out of the gate. A 3rd category might be the perceived increased chances of landing your dream job.
Again, I don't at all feel that a residency is necessary for everyone to be a good dentist and I think that too many people feel pressured into. If you feel confident in practicing after graduation, then do it. If you want to expand on your skills and scope of practice through CE, then do it. Or if you want to do a residency for any reason at all, do it. But let yourself be your guide and make your decisions based on your own goals, not the advice of someone who had a completely different dental school experience than you.

 

[Axiomatician]

Great post @cooliyak, thanks.

 

[TanMan]

It seems like you both have the mindset that your gonna make bank right away and buy a Range Rover for yourself as a graduation present.

I don't think either of you fully understand the breadth and complexity associated with the profession of dentistry. With any healthcare profession the didactic and clinical training you receive in school can really only get you so far. It was never my intention to say that I feel extremely unprepared to start practicing, I don't. I went to a great school, and did a lot of work. But there is so much that they just don't have time to teach you, and it's different in every program.

Good GPR programs and AEGD's have the benefit of having all the newest tech, every specialist in house (sorry but some old GP teaching you molar endo is not the same as endo teaching you), and the opportunity to learn more about medically complex patients (these patients usually get taken from you in dental school cause they are too complex).

Another variable you both seem to be missing is the fact that when you get right out of dental school you aren't immediately going to be Mr. money bags.The GPR's and AEGDs that are worth going to are stipend programs, which means you get paid as an employee. You also get to defer your loan payments while you are in the program.

Working straight out in most cases (unless your going to work with a relative) often leads you to a corporate practice where all it is about is pumping out as much as you can. Your not going to have any time to focus on learning proper technique and your "mentor" isn't going to have time to step away to teach you how to use cad cam or how restore an implant etc. You are going to work really hard, and a HUGE portion of your paycheck is going straight to loans. It's not easy the first couple years out. Doing an AEGD immediately increases your chance of landing an associate job in a high producing private practice where you won't spend as much time asking for help, which in turns means more money.

Some of your points are accurate, CE is a valuable resource.. but are you actually going to have the time and resources to do it working at a corporate office with loans? I mean let's not be ridiculous and pretend that CE = AEGD.....Yeah working with an older guy that's about to retire would be great for mentorship right out of school. But someone with more experience or an AEGD/GPR is usually going to get the job over you.

There's just so much that goes into it when you are wrapping up your fourth year. There are definitely a lot of programs out there that are a waste, but the good ones will set you up for practice better than you are right out of school.

A lot of people go right out and practice, and if you go to a great program I think it's ok. A lot of people do it and succeed, but a lot more do it and struggle. It's going to be difficult financially unless you know someone that will let you walk right in.

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This post made me chuckle a little. Good to see that dental schools are training the future generation to feel inferior to specialists and think GP's should be stuck doing drills and fills only. I'm not going to bash AEGDs/GPRs, but I'm also not going to bash those that didn't do an AEGD/GPR.

However, I will dispel some myths in this post:
1. You can make a lot of money as a new grad (moneybags as poster mentioned) if you are willing to go into the middle of nowhere with high demand. Examples are boonies, border towns, middle of nowhere, etc...
2. Dentistry is complex, but not as complex as you make it out to be unless you choose to really complex cases. Hello prosthodontist, hospital dentist, etc...
3. Speed is important. The proper technique is the technique that works fast, efficiently, and doesn't fail.
4. Your paycheck goes to your loans, but its not that big if you're making a lot of money (refer to point 1)

I ask this question because it didn't make sense to me. However, I can see where you're coming from. If you feel unprepared, want to do complex cases in the future, and/or aren't willing to go through the trial by fire, then AEGD/GPR may be right for you.

First of all, I just want to say that while I am a young and dumb 21 year old, I know that coming out of dental school doesn't mean you are immediately "Mr. Moneybags".

Second of all, going back to your second statement - "I don't think either of you fully understand the breadth and complexity associated with the profession of dentistry. " - If you look at TanMan's postings and profile, he has been a member since 2004 and is currently a practicing dentist.

It sounds like you are personally defending your own choice to go into an AEGD/GPR. I am not knocking you on that, and neither is TanMan.

What it sounds like to me is you are in a big city with over saturation of dentists.

"Working straight out in most cases (unless your going to work with a relative) often leads you to a corporate practice where all it is about is pumping out as much as you can." "Doing an AEGD immediately increases your chance of landing an associate job in a high producing private practice where you won't spend as much time asking for help, which in turns means more money."

Again, sounds like you are defending your choice rather than explaining the path. If, in your case, you went to school near a big city with plenty of dentists, as well as new graduates, it would be a problem to try and go find a mentor.

Working straight out in most cases does not mean working for corporate where I am. I know multiple dentists looking to retire in the next 5 years. Do you think this would be a bad path for me to take, compared to doing an AEGD?

"(sorry but some old GP teaching you molar endo is not the same as endo teaching you)" Is molar endo work really the thing that will be a big profit for you? Seriously, cleanings and fillings, extractions and dentures; shouldn't bread and butter dentistry be the main focus? I feel like getting good at those and working up speed is much more profitable than trying to learn how to do as much endo work as you can in house? Also, some old GP is hopefully one that you would want to emulate: one that has a successful practice, good income(doesn't matter whether its 150k or 500k, depends on area), and good rapport with patients/community.

I already know that if I get accepted into dental school and I don't specialize, either because of grades or interest, I will want to be a general dentist who can do lots of basic endo/ortho/implant. But I also feel like you are undercutting the value working for and learning from an elder vs. going to school for more education but less money so you have a better shot at getting into a practice.

Maybe you and I are from different parts of the country, and one path works better in a certain place. AEGD/GPR seem much more feasible if there are little to no job prospects for taking over a private practice.

Molar endo is the highest producing procedure(per hour) that I have when combined with buildup, crown, and maybe crown lengthening. I started referring all my denture patients out.

It's all so easy to talk about until you're in the last semester in dental school. I'm not trying to be condescending or pessimistic, but predentals tend to think in ideal hypotheticals. I thought the same way you did until I started looking at listings in my hometown (very rural) and every reputable private practice said it required experience or AEGD/GPR. If you have the option to enter a private practice with a retiring doctor that is willing to teach you what you need to, take it. But it would be wise to think of a plan B if that unicorn doesn't exist. Start developing close relationships with them now, and let them know you'd love to come and practice with them at the end of school.

I understand your circumstances may be different, but the vast majority of new dentists do end up overworked and underpaid right out of school. Majority of students, rural or urban, that graduated from my school worked at a chain their first year, most that didn't were relatives of dentists.

My apologies to TanMan, had no idea he was a Doc. Figured that he must be someone considering one if he wanted information. Must admit, it's a bit of an odd question coming from an established dentist, seems like most understand the potential benefit of another year. But obviously I'm defending doing an AEGD, this is a thread asking why we chose to do so...right?

Yes endo is not the bread and butter of GP, it was merely an example. You're going to get more specialized training in every aspect of dentistry through a post grad year. Crowns, dentures, implants, IV sedation, overdentures, etc.

You can learn in a GPR or an established practice. I'm just a skeptic that such an ideal practice for learning and personal growth exists for a new grad. End of the story, do what you want.
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Yep, there's more than one way to get to the end goal, whatever that might be.

I agree with you, but it also highly depends on what kind of dentist you want to be (and I don't mean good vs bad).
First off, not all dental schools are created equal. I graduated from a dental school that gave us the amazing opportunity of spending 1/3-1/2 of our 4th year on rotations at community health clinics across the state-- essentially working as dentists at these sites (and when I say essentially working as dentists, I mean working a real dentist's schedule and seeing 8-12 or more patients a day all while being supervised by the dentist as a preceptor, of course). Because of this experience, and only because of it, I feel completely comfortable going into practice straight out of school. If your school doesn't give you that kind of opportunity, I can definitely understand having reservations about practicing immediately after graduation and looking into a residency. And just for the record, I hate the "know just enough to hurt someone" quote. I don't agree with it and I think it is completely wrong. You actually know just enough to be safe... which means it is your responsibility, especially as a doctor, to be very careful and responsible with your treatments so you don't fall back into the "dangerous without supervision" category that you were in during dental school. If you don't even feel safe after graduating, then maybe CODA should take a second look at your school.
Second, not everybody wants to be the same kind of dentist. Some want to go into public health, some want to go into private practice, others for DSOs, and others want the complex/advanced cases. If you just want to start practicing, I believe you can do any and all of those without a residency. And in fact, I believe that you will gain more experience, raw numbers wise, doing that than you would in a residency. You may be slow and you may have to ramp up from simple cases to the more complex, but you will be able to do everything that you want to eventually. Taking CEs is a great way to expand on your skills... but that, too, may be slow.
Now here is where a residency comes in. If you want more education and more immediate specific/complex/advanced experiences (placing implants, full mouth rehab, etc.), then a residency is the way to go. From what I can tell, most people who do residencies fall into those 2 categories: they don't feel confident in their ability to practice and want more supervised education/experience or they want to be able to immediately expand on their skills to do the more complex cases (usually money makers) right out of the gate.
Again, I don't at all feel that a residency is necessary for everyone to be a good dentist and I think that too many people feel pressured into. If you feel confident in practicing after graduation, then do it. If you want to expand on your skills and scope of practice through CE, then do it. Or if you want to do a residency for any reason at all, do it. But let yourself be your guide and make your decisions based on your own goals, not the advice of someone who had a completely different dental school experience than you.

This makes a lot of sense, YMMV at each dental school, and it depends on the dentist you want to be. I refer to myself as a scab since I just go for low hanging fruit. You can have all the dentures and complex cases!

 

[vellnueve]

Just to give my thoughts: As a lowly dental school applicant, I pretty much know nothing. BUT some of these responses are killing me...

What the heck is the point of going to dental school if, once you get out, you learned a very small amount and have to go to even more school to be a 'good' general dentist?

Now, for instance, I have heard multiple dentists tell me that once they were out of school, they knew just enough to hurt someone. But they also tell me that the thing to do is to go work for an older dentist getting ready to retire that has a practice that fits how you would want a practice to be, and let him teach you all the extra tips and tricks.

Is it not asinine to think you need to go spend more money to continue to 'learn', when you could go work for a practice and learn from the dentist there? Take some CE courses, sure, but to me, with the rising costs of dental schools, it doesn't make sense to go more in debt, while still not earning any money, only to be slightly more competent than the GP's that you graduated with that just finished making lots of money to start paying off their loans.

Lots of dentists tell me that CE courses are very valuable and that if you want to do them, they can end up making you more money. I have shadowed multiple general dentists who do simple ortho work and implant dentistry that nets them a salary just as much as specialists. Why is this way of thinking so outlandish on this forum?

You know nothing and you have no business talking down to anyone on this forum who is in dental school, residency, or especially in practice.

CE courses can be anywhere from really good to worthless. Do you really thing you'll learn more in a weekend about implants versus doing multiple cases over the course of a year?

I have supervised and had to fix work from more than a few new grad general dentists.

There's a reason that our medical colleagues are required to do postgraduate education before they practice. School only teaches you a framework to build on, nothing more.

If you end up with that older dentist in a small practice who wants to mentor his replacement, great. But if you're one of the many who end up at large group practices or corporate practices where all the pressure is on your production, that guidance may well be lacking.

 

[Apexlocator32]

I work with 3rd and 4th year dental students on a daily basis and it is very scary to see how little they do not know or understand in very basic dental scenarios. Most of these students will graduate and go on to work in private practice, public health or corporate dentistry. They will soon find out once they start working a full schedule that they are not as fast clinically as what they thought they were in dental school. At this point, 1 of 2 things happens either 1) they reduce their patient load until they are comfortable with doing quality dental work at that speed or 2) they continue to work the same overloading schedule which leads to bad quality dentistry and developing bad habits. I think you are kidding yourself if you think a GPR/AEGD is a waste of time for people to complete. When we all graduate dental school we know the bare minimum to practice dentistry. Most should feel comfortable doing extractions, fillings, and crown/bridge on day 1 after graduation and that is probably at the lowest level of quality compared to GP's who have been out for awhile. A GPR/AEGD not only provides a place where you are able to work on getting your speed up while maintaining good quality dentistry but further your armamentarium of procedures that you can provide competently. Compared to most first year dentists in private practice, I would say you see about the same amount of patients in a residency. Also, included in the GPR/AEGD you gain knowledge in 3rd molar extractions, IV sedation, perio surgerys, implants, overdentures, endo, etc which far exceed any amount of CE that you could take in the first few years of practice. While I am not advocating that everyone should be required to do a AEGD/GPR, I would just caution writing it off as a place that only people who are not "confident" enough to go out and practice from day 1. But I understand with the pressures of student loan debt and dental faculty at schools telling students they are ready to go practice and will learn on the job that many people share the view you have of writing off a GPR/AEGD.

 

[setdoc7]

Dentistry, like most healthcare professions, is about lifelong learning. A GPR/AEGD will in most cases provide a new grad with an opportunity to practice procedures already taught in D school, and learn some new ones, under the guidance of an experienced staff of GP's and specialists. Familiarity with the CODA standard for AEGDs and GPRs will show you what is entailed. Although I would be hard pressed to bash anyone who goes straight into practice, I believe the extra year in a worthwhile environment can strengthen an already sound education. The AEGD/GPR is required for NYS licensure. Also, you never know when the completion certificate will come in handy, especially if you wish to apply for hospital privileges one day, become an attending, GPR director, etc. Not having one, like not having a bachelors degree, can shut some doors.

 

[Dental Samurai]

I guess the answer to many of your questions is... "You don't know what you don't know".
There are many reasons a dental school cannot fully educate a dental student in all facets of dentistry. A good dentist should spend his/her entire career learning. A good AEGD/GPR will catapult a dentist many years ahead of their peers.

I have just made a long post on a new thread:
AEGD / GPR Information

I wish you all the best with your bright careers!

 

[tigerteeth22]

To the OP, I am a current GPR resident and will share my personal experience of why I chose to do post-grad.

Like many said above, dental school will teach you the basics of dentistry. Some schools teach more than others in different categories, but for the most part you could graduate dental school and be proficient in fillings, crowns, exams, and whichever procedures you were able to do on your dental school patients.

When it gets closer to graduation, you have to decide where you want to practice. (I chose California since I am from there) If you want to take the WREB exam...you have to put down $3000 in August and spend months preparing, finding patients, finding endo teeth, finding assistants, paying your patients and assistants, and then pass the exam. If you don't pass the exam, you pay $1000 to retake a section or $3000 to retake the entire exam, plus travel expenses because it won't be at the same location.

Because I want to practice in California, and for the stress alone, I opted to do a GPR and save myself $3000-5000 of money I didn't have D4 year (and probably my mental sanity) by not taking that exam. My fourth year of dental school was very stressful alone. Many of my close friends who took WREB went months without sleeping, some not even passing it the first time and having to fly to different cities to retake it. I was stress-free my last couple months of school when I was done with requirements. One perk there.

You have to decide what kind of dentist you want to be. If you want to do bread & butter dentistry, or you're itching to start work, you can go get a private practice job. Finding a good paying associate job is hard. Most recent grads have 2-3 part time jobs. It's very difficult to get a full-time associate job. (That's a discussion for another post).

At the AGD 2017 Convention this past weekend, I learned that the going full-time salary for an associate right out of school is $90,000-$100,000 base pay, and for an associate with a GPR/AEGD it bumps up to $100,000-$120,000. When you go into the details of net collections, you aren't going to be making very high "collections" unless you're doing expensive procedures such as implants, sedations, molar endo, etc. These are skills you don't learn in dental school. Can you learn them in private practice? Sure...but you're also liable and without much help. Plus if you're taking 6 hours to do molar endo because it's your first time doing it....you aren't making much money for that dentist you're working for. CEs are great, but also expensive. Not all CEs are equal, and some are a waste of time and money.

The way I see it, GPR is a year-long free CE with some extra perks.

Some people want to graduate and go straight to work for a Federally Qualified Health Clinic, then apply for Loan Repayment. Some people have the NHSC Scholarship. Unfortunately most sites (especially the popular ones) won't hire anyone without experience or a GPR/AEGD, so you'll have to go to more rural areas that are hurting for dentists and hope to transfer later.

Choosing the right GPR/AEGD is a whole discussion in itself for another thread, but there are some that may not be worth your time depending on your goals. You have to do active research and visit the sites to know which ones are up to your standards. You have to be a competitive applicant. You have to interview well. Etc etc etc.

So why am I doing GPR?
I'm making $50,000 + benefits (not bad considering I might be making $90,000-$100,000 without benefits if I was an associate straight out, and I'd probably be at 2-3 different offices)
I'm learning Implants, Complex Fixed and Removable Prosth, Molar Endo, 3rd Molar EXTs, and IV sedation in one year without paying a dime on a CE
I'm building connections and professional relationships with my mentors, attendings, and faculty here (great references for jobs later, great resources for cases later)
I don't have to take any kind of clinical licensure exam because I'm going to work in California

So next year when I'm applying for jobs, I'll be a much more competitive applicant than someone graduating in May/June because I have a larger skill set and more speed. I'm more valuable as an associate and can bring in more production for their business. And I'll have great professional references. I really see no downside to choosing my GPR, but this may not have been the case if I had not matched to my #1 choice.

This is my personal experience and I hope it helps.