Too late to specialize?

[PersianCzar]

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Hey everyone,

I was trying to make a decision on a school but I am not sure which to choose. It made me ask myself if I want to specialize or not. I am frankly not sure as of right now. At first I was like, hell yea I do.....

But then I was thinking realistically after I got accepted. I will be 36 when I graduate dental school. I would hate to start making a profit 7 years later if I do decide to go the specialty route. So I would be 38-39 years old before I START to pay down debt!

If anyone is in my situation or was, please drop a line here and let me know your experience. I would appreciate your insight. I figure a GP with many CE courses could excel to handle and manage complex procedures instead of referring them to the specialists. So that's when I figured GP would be nice fit for me. But I know specialty would pay more but is it worth it in my case of age and can I financially justify being hit for another 2-3 years before I even begin to pay my debt, let alone make a profit, in my late 30's?

Thanks again. Take care!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!!

 

[Greyangel6]

I personally think that it's better to be late than never. But if you are constantly worried about making a profit late in your life, go with GP and maybe decide to specialize later (handle some of that debt in the mean time that you are GP). My GP specialized after working a few years into endo, so it's not like you cannot go back. So my point is, in choosing a school that only offers GP vs school with other specialties, I'd pick the one with the specialties because I know I have the option available if I so choose to specialize whether after 4 years of dental or later.

 

[WolfPackSigeEp]

You can specialize after attending any school. Don't let that be your determining factor.
Not trying to be mean or negative, but you don't know if you have the hand skills to specialize. Just because you've been accepted into dental school, doesn't necessarily mean that you will be able to specialize following your dental education.

 

[irishmom]

I am in a similiar sitution. I am not going to specialize, however I do know you can go back and get speciliztion done over so many weekends after you graduate. A DDS I worked for did this. It was an 18 month course that was every other Friday and Saturdy for ortho.

And I know I have hand skills...I have been a hygienist for 10 years.

 

[DentalDoge]

Normally it doesnt matter which school you go to to specialize. But know that there are some schools out there with programs specifically design to produce GP dentists. So there would be little to no resources there for specializing and would take alot more effort if you decided you wanted to specialize.

But whether to specialize or not. Only you can make this decision.