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iamcool

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Average dentist salary is more than average primary care physician salary eventhough it is easier to get into a dental school and less training is required. Most of us entering medical schools are mostly likely to be primary care physician. How do you feel about this.
 
I feel that dentist don't get as much respect in the medical world. Dentistry is not as easy as people make it out to be. My dad is a dentist and he graduated from dental school in 82' i believe. He said that alot of his first year courses were mixed in with medical students as far as anatomy and infectious diseases, etc. Most dentist that make more then primary care physicians are in private practice, it also depends on how many patients you have. I considered dentistry for awhile but decided it wasn't for me, as far as salaries go, my dad worked for another practice and didn't make nearly as much compared to when he started his own practice. Plus most dentist work 4 days a week which is awesome
 
iamcool said:
Average dentist salary is more than average primary care physician salary eventhough it is easier to get into a dental school and less training is required. Most of us entering medical schools are mostly likely to be primary care physician. How do you feel about this.
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i don't really mind, dentists work hard in dental school and in practice. They deserve the money.
 
i didn't realize the guy that constantly tries to have pointless conversations with me while his hands are inside my mouth got paid more than most primary care docs...go figure.

"do you feel anything?"
"mmmphpmhmm"
"alright good"
 
dental schools are also really expensive

and yes they probably make more money because of private practice.

and their job kinda sux.... imo
 
Your salary isn't determined by the amount of work you have put into developing your skill or the relative competitiveness of your training. I'm sure there are PA's and NP's out there who end up making more than some primary care docs too.
 
Wait, what? Since when is dental school easier to get into? There aren't nearly as many schools, there are a ton of applicants, and the average GPAs are higher.
 
Myuu said:
Wait, what? Since when is dental school easier to get into? There aren't nearly as many schools, there are a ton of applicants, and the average GPAs are higher.
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Myuu said:
Wait, what? Since when is dental school easier to get into? There aren't nearly as many schools, there are a ton of applicants, and the average GPAs are higher.
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The average GPA can be fairly lower than the average medical school when you account for different schools. VCU, NYU, Boston, UOP all clock in at about 3.3.
 
Oh, how cute. The belief that more years of training and difficulty of entrance is or ought to be related to salary. Come talk to me after getting a PhD in math.
 
Most people become dentists because that's what they want to do, not because they failed as pre-meds.

The work week can be short (if that's what you want to do) and income is not diminished by insurance limits as in medicine. That's why most dentists make more than most doctors.
 
Myuu said:
Wait, what? Since when is dental school easier to get into? There aren't nearly as many schools, there are a ton of applicants, and the average GPAs are higher.
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you might be thinking of vet school
 
bleargh said:
you might be thinking of vet school
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Approx US #s:

Vet schools <30
Dental Schools ~ 60
Allopathic Med schools >130

Dental school classes tend to be smaller than med school classes. Most are <100 per year.
 
U2Me2 said:
Approx US #s:

Vet schools <30
Dental Schools ~ 60
Allopathic Med schools >130

Dental school classes tend to be smaller than med school classes. Most are <100 per year.
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um.. thanks for that, i guess?

and there are not more than 130 allo schools.. unless you count puerto rico i guess
 
U2Me2 said:
Approx US #s:

Vet schools <30
Dental Schools ~ 60
Allopathic Med schools >130

Dental school classes tend to be smaller than med school classes. Most are <100 per year.
Click to expand...

So you can't see the holes in trying to compare school number and class size to difficulty getting in? I didn't realize that pre-health admissions systems were lotto-based.
 
mmmcdowe said:
So you can't see the holes in trying to compare school number and class size to difficulty getting in? I didn't realize that pre-health admissions systems were lotto-based.
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:laugh:
 
There's a LOT more to it than just that.


1) More primary care physicians work part time, skewing the salary data.
2) More procedures = more $.
3) Working smarter, more efficiently, and harder = more $.
4) Not getting pregnant and taking 3 months off = more $.

5) Certain areas of the US have higher demand for primary care. If you want to make more money, move away from the Northeast. 75% of all practicing physicians are in New England, while 80% of the US population is NOT in New England.

6) Family doctors in south Louisiana are making roughly $190-220k, depending on benefits and procedures offered. (Source: MedJobsLa recruiter)

7) If it's REALLY all about the money to you... go be a dentist. Or a stock broker. Whatever... reason is, you're going to be miserable in medicine.
 
Myth Number 8: Primary care is not marketable to the American consumer.[2, 7, 8] It is very hard to understand how respected authorities in leadership positions could make such statements. Only a severe lack of awareness explains their comments. Workforce experts, trainers and educators in major medical centers and medical schools, leaders in the Council of Graduate Medical Education and the Association of American Medical Colleges all live in areas with the highest concentrations of people, physicians, and medical schools. These experts have spent their entire lives in locations that employ the fewest primary care physicians and support primary care at the lowest levels. They have tolerated the training of medical students and residents in dysfunctional primary care settings.[9] It is not surprising that primary care does not appear marketable to those clustered in the 3,300 US zip codes which make up 4% of the land area with 75% of physicians and 95% of medical schools. This limited perspective ignores the 38,000 zip codes in which 65% of the American population and 70% of the elderly are cared for by the remaining 23% of total physicians. In these locations, 30 – 100% of the total physicians are primary care physicians.
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Sources
8. Salsberg E. Physician Workforce Policy Guidelines for the U.S. for 2000–2020. Presented to the Council on Graduate Medical Education. Bethesda, MD. September 17–18, 2003.
9. Keirns CC, Bosk CL. Perspective: the unintended consequences of training residents in dysfunctional outpatient settings. Acad Med. May 2008;83(5):498-502.
10. Butler WT. Academic medicine's season of accountability and social responsibility. Acad Med. Feb 1992;67(2):68-73.
 
Hmm well thats a tough one, dentists work less for more, and PCP's work more for less. So either don't be a PCP, or be a dentist if your really that paranoid about it. Just don't ever treat my teeth, I like them normal.
 
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