Unsure future...any advice?

[gatorchc27]

Hey,

I'm new to the network and I'm looking for some advice about dentistry. I am planning on talking to my family dentist about his thoughts on dentistry, but my mom beat me to it. She told me he said that it seems that he's not all that happy in his field. The overhead has increased and he only gets 2 weeks vacation. I've been pretty excited about a future in dentistry, but I haven't shadowed a dentist yet, so I don't have a lot of first hand experience on the field. I was wondering if you current dental students are happy with your decision and if you could offer me any advice between medical and dental.
Thanks!

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[ItsGavinC]

She told me he said that it seems that he's not all that happy in his field. The overhead has increased and he only gets 2 weeks vacation.

In response to this specific comment: if you poll 100 dentists you'll probably get 100 different responses about overhead and vacation, etc.

This is going to vary tremendously depending on location, business skills, size of practice, patient base, number of operatories, number of staff, previous debt, etc.

I'm not discounting what your family dentist has said, but ask 10 other guys and they'll give you different answers ranging from what your family dentist has said to something like "dentistry is the best career and I've become filthy rich by investing the money I've made. My 8 weeks of vacation are the best". You get the idea.

 

[toothcaries]

shadow some dentists.

the info u get here still will be 2nd and 3rd hand.,.

 

[toothcaries]

by the way..
the dentist i shadowed/assisted worked 40 weeks a year...and the practice grossed 1.6M

 

[gatorchc27]

I understand that I'll probably get a lot of different responses. Is there anyway to help decide if dentistry is right for me besides shadowing?
So far, are you still happy with your choice of going to dental school?

 

[toothcaries]

I understand that I'll probably get a lot of different responses. Is there anyway to help decide if dentistry is right for me besides shadowing?
So far, are you still happy with your choice of going to dental school?

why not shadow?
dentist are just people.
some are jerks...others are supercool like me.

..just open a phone book and keep asking 'til u find what u want.



so far, i am pleased with my choice...

your friends come to visit you...you chit chat a little...keep their mouths in good shape...and you eventually earn a decent living.


dental school can be stressful...and sometimes frustrating..but it's not a big deal. and those 4 years fly by..

 

[vietho26]

it all depends on who you are actually. what you make of your life and career is variable on how hard you work and how hard you want to play and your personality esp in the health field.

Medicine is awesome but there are alot of bad things that can ruin your idealistic notions of health care. Dentistry which I will find out soon has some pluses but also has some negatives as well. I rather be versatile or pick a path that you know you can stick with for a long time cause if not you better find something more worthwhile fast since life can be short when you are stuck in a bad career.

 

[UBTom]

Hey,

I'm new to the network and I'm looking for some advice about dentistry. I am planning on talking to my family dentist about his thoughts on dentistry, but my mom beat me to it. She told me he said that it seems that he's not all that happy in his field. The overhead has increased and he only gets 2 weeks vacation.

Try finding a dentist who is happy with his job and find out why. Just following one dentist who wasn't happy with his career choice is not going to give you a good overview of what the profession entails and what the rewards are.

Good luck.

 

[gatorchc27]

Thanks for all the responses. I do plan on shadowing a dentist soon. I have just recently decided that I think dentistry is a better field for me than medicine. So, I'm just starting to look at all my options and find out what other people's opinions are about the field. Again, thanks for all the posts!

 

[GoGatorsDMD]

gatorchc,

I am assuming you are a UF student. Though you should definitely shadow a dentist in the real world setting, you'll also benefit greatly by walking down to Shands and volunteering at the dental school. You can get right up to the action & get used to putting your hands in people's mouths. The dental students will jump at the chance to have someone to do suction for them.