what is the TRUTH about the best pathway to ORTHO?

[Jimmy Choo]

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Dear Wise Dental Students,


I am trying to decide which dental school to attend this fall. Basically I am down to an Ivy League school or a great state school. I understand that "you can achieve anything you want if you put your mind into it," I really do. I get that if I am motivated and hard working, I should do well anywhere I go, I really do. And lastly I know the board scores are crucial for specialization, I REALLY DO.

But since I have a choice, I would like to choose the school that will give me an advantage with admissions to ortho, even if it's a miniscule one. I feel like if I go to the Ivy Leage school, it would be harder for me to be near the top of the class but the name will matter and it would be pass/fail so even if I don't do well, I won't be exposed. If I go to the state school, I think I will have a better chance of being near the top of the class, but if I fail to do so, my shot at ortho will rapidly decrease.

So what do I do?

Please no abstract answers, I beg of you.

Kindest Regards,

Jimmy Choo

PS. I acknowledge that there are a lot of dumb kids in Ivy League schools and a lot of smart kids in state schools. I also acknowledge that I am young and don't know anything about the specialties and most likely I will change my mind during the course of my dental school career. But please just answer my question.

 

[NyCzPeter]

This thread would probably do better in the residency section directed towards current ortho residents since they are the only ones who really know. Obviously as a naive pre-dent I would like to know the answer just as much as you do, but I doubt even dental students would be able to give you a good idea as to how the "prestige" of their school affected their residency match, considering most of them haven't even began the process. Its like asking a pre-dent student what is the best undergrad to get into dental school. So I think it would be a better idea to hear opinions coming from people who have already applied and matched.

 

[cobalt31]

honestly i don't think there is a right answer to this question. there is no way to factually support either side, except possibly with anecdotal evidence, which is the weakest form of evidence, or a statistical analysis, which isn't possible. meaning people will just end up arguing theoretical points.

i know you specifically say you don't want to hear this, but you shouldn't waste so much time on this unanswerable question.


good luck with your decision.

 

[Lopyswine]

if you want ortho, go for it. more power to you.

HOWEVER, you have to be very very open to the fact that most likely you'll be a general dentist.

DO NOT go to dental school looking to be a specialist. The only way to specialize is to have stellar grades in dental school. How do you get those grades? Being a great GENERAL dental student.

 

[DCRedskinsRule]

if you want ortho, go for it. more power to you.

HOWEVER, you have to be very very open to the fact that most likely you'll be a general dentist.

DO NOT go to dental school looking to be a specialist. The only way to specialize is to have stellar grades in dental school. How do you get those grades? Being a great GENERAL dental student.

Best explanation/answer to a question like this that I've seen in a long time. Obviously grades are a given, but just remember, even if you're sportin a 4.0 and 24+ on the DAT coming into dental school...it really doesn't matter that much unless the classes you did well in are some of the major science classes you'll take your first year like Histology, biochem, Gross, micro, immuno, neuro, phys, etc etc.

So grades, board scores, research, externships, and like are a "given" (but don't assume all that will be easy, no matter how smart you are). But from what I gather, it's not just the actual grade you get, but how you rank verses your classmates. So if your Ivy is pass/fail and doesn't rank....then that might actually be you best bet. But that put's all the academic load on your Boards...so plan on getting 95-100% on the boards to be seriously considered for an ortho program without a rank. (Rmbr, I'm a first year and really don't have a clue what I'm talking about...this is just what I've gathered from what I've heard around here so far).

On the flip side, there's also something to be said about being a "big fish in a small pond." What I mean by that of course is that if your state school may be really good, but there still may be a chance that the admissions standards were SLIGHTLY lower compared to the Ivy, so you MAY be entering the school with a slight edge on the competition. That will help you stand out and maybe increase your chances of getting individualized recognition which I'm sure will help to boost your resume.

Hope this helps something haha. And again, rmbr my disclaimer. I'm a first year and I actually no vested interest in ortho at all...so take this for what it's worth (which may not be much 😉)

 

[Jimmy Choo]

OK thanks for the responses, I will make a thread in the dental residency section of the forum. I hope the mods won't be mad at me, I love you armorshell😍

 

[ChubbyBaby]

Depends which ivy league school you're talking about. If it's harvard then you'd almost be guaranteed to get into ortho, as long as you DO graduate with your DMD.

 

[Contach]

Best explanation/answer to a question like this that I've seen in a long time. Obviously grades are a given, but just remember, even if you're sportin a 4.0 and 24+ on the DAT coming into dental school...it really doesn't matter that much unless the classes you did well in are some of the major science classes you'll take your first year like Histology, biochem, Gross, micro, immuno, neuro, phys, etc etc.

This is not true, many studies have agreed that there is a medium correlation between DAT AA and first and second year grades (ie. generally non-clinical) in dental school. So if you are rocking a 24+, you are more likely to do well. Here is the source. AA has been shown to be the most valid predictor of success in the first two years.

Ranney, R.R., Wilson, M.B., & Bennett, R.B. (2005). Evaluation of applicants to predoctoral dental education programs: review of the literature. J Dent Educ, 69(10): 1095-1106. .
http://www.jdentaled.org/cgi/content/full/69/10/1095.

 

[DrReo]

This is not true, many studies have agreed that there is a medium correlation between DAT AA and first and second year grades (ie. generally non-clinical) in dental school. So if you are rocking a 24+, you are more likely to do well. Here is the source. AA has been shown to be the most valid predictor of success in the first two years.

Ranney, R.R., Wilson, M.B., & Bennett, R.B. (2005). Evaluation of applicants to predoctoral dental education programs: review of the literature. J Dent Educ, 69(10): 1095-1106.
.http://www.jdentaled.org/cgi/content/full/69/10/1095.

There are always outliers.

"College GPA seems the best predictor of academic performance in dental school." So does a 4.0 beat at 24AA interms of predicting success?

 

[Waitlisted2009]

DO NOT go to dental school looking to be a specialist.

General Dentistry is not exciting or interesting at all. At least from what I have seen.

 

[Guy Smiley]

General Dentistry is not exciting or interesting at all. At least from what I have seen.

Then why in the world are you applying to dental school? If you don't even find general dentistry interesting as a pre-dent, what's the point of going to dental school?

To the OP: Unless the Ivy is Harvard, go to the state school. I didn't meet any more Ivy Leaguers when I interviewed for ortho than those from state schools. There are an unusually high number of applicants from Harvard that get accepted for specialties every year, but it's no guarentee. A couple of application cycles ago, a great guy I know from Harvard didn't match into OMFS despite having 99 on the boards.

 

[gryffindor]

To the OP: Unless the Ivy is Harvard, go to the state school. I didn't meet any more Ivy Leaguers when I interviewed for ortho than those from state schools. There are an unusually high number of applicants from Harvard that get accepted for specialties every year, but it's no guarentee. A couple of application cycles ago, a great guy I know from Harvard didn't match into OMFS despite having 99 on the boards.

+1

I've met grads from all 3 Ivies over the years who didn't get into to ortho on their first or second tries. If you're set on paying for a private school, Harvard is the only Ivy that might give you a slight advantage for your money. If I had to dental school all over again knowing I wanted ortho, I would've gone to Harvard, UConn or Stonybrook.

 

[makushin]

.

 

[nug]

If I had to dental school all over again knowing I wanted ortho, I would've gone to Harvard, UConn or Stonybrook.

Why Stonybrook? I can see Harvard or UCONN, but how does Stonybrook give you an advantage?

 

[gryffindor]

Why Stonybrook? I can see Harvard or UCONN, but how does Stonybrook give you an advantage?

Because I was a state resident, it has a smaller class size and I think it is either P/F or grades with no rank reported. Having no rank reported only gives the programs your board scores to go by. Why else does half of UCLA apply to ortho each year?

 

[NyCzPeter]

Why Stonybrook? I can see Harvard or UCONN, but how does Stonybrook give you an advantage?

Cuz StonyBrook is the ****! Duh 22AA this cycle ftw. O and the medical school didactics helps us do well on the boards too. Or so I've heard

 

[cwebb4]

I think both uconn and stony has a ranking.
Percentage wise Harvard and UCLA is 'feeder' school in ortho and Columbia is 'feeder' school in OS from what I've heard and seen.

 

[cwebb4]

if you want ortho, go for it. more power to you.

HOWEVER, you have to be very very open to the fact that most likely you'll be a general dentist.

DO NOT go to dental school looking to be a specialist. The only way to specialize is to have stellar grades in dental school. How do you get those grades? Being a great GENERAL dental student.

This is so true. I 've seen several students who dropped out b/c reality hit them really hard during first and second year. You should first become general dentist.

To OP, I would listen to gryffindor and guy smiley's word. They are in ortho. Their view is real. good luck!

 

[y0ssarian]

Cuz StonyBrook is the ****! Duh 22AA this cycle ftw. O and the medical school didactics helps us do well on the boards too. Or so I've heard

Where did you get the 22AA data?

 

[NyCzPeter]

Where did you get the 22AA data?

Thanks again to our SDN statician doc toothache who compiled this information from 2009 ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=602109

 

[Jimmy Choo]

I think both uconn and stony has a ranking.
Percentage wise Harvard and UCLA is 'feeder' school in ortho and Columbia is 'feeder' school in OS from what I've heard and seen.

Is this true? Can anyone else confirm? I wish I hadn't declined the UCLA interview now 🙁

 

[Jimmy Choo]

gryffindor and Guy Smiley,

How do you guys feel about this statement:

I think it can never be stated enough that graduating at the top of your class at a state school is hardly a foregone conclusion. It is still very, very difficult. Now I don't know how hard it is to do average at a place like Columbia, so I can't compare. But I think a lot of people started off at my state school with the attitude that they were going to be at the top and specialize, and it's not working out for them. So consider the possibility that you may graduate only top 30% at your state school, and how that would affect your ambitions.

I don't think my future board scores and other extracurriculars will change depending on where I go. So would Harvard be a better route given that I can still get a good shot at ortho even if I am in the middle of the class? Where as going to a state school, it's safe to say that I will need at least top 10%?

 

[emmy44]

If she got into Harvard, might it not be safe to assume that she'd have a good shot at being top of her class at the state school?

 

[Jimmy Choo]

If she got into Harvard, might it not be safe to assume that she'd have a good shot at being top of her class at the state school?

Yeah, but it's kind of like insurance. Ideally, I'd like to be top of my class whereever I go. But if that doesn't pan out, it sounds like I still have a good shot at Harvard where as I would be stuck with general dentistry at a state school. Or am I wrong in this conclusion?

 

[emmy44]

Well, I'm actually dealing with the EXACT same dilemma as you. Except that finances are an issue for me. I'm not sure if investing the extra $$ at Harvard will eventually pay off.

 

[Black Teeth]

Is this true? Can anyone else confirm? I wish I hadn't declined the UCLA interview now 🙁

If you go by appearances, then it looks to be true. When I was at UCLA, we all use to joke that there was a secret agreement between the ortho departments at Harvard, UConn, and UCLA. We accept their specialty applicants and they accept ours. I use to think people were just joking but when I look around and see a bunch of former Harvard dental students throughout all of the specialty programs at UCLA, especially ortho, and vice versa, I can't help but wonder if there is a little bit of truth in that joke. And then when I went to Boston a while back to interview for pedo, I would see former UCLA and Uconn students seemingly crawling everywhere in the specialty programs at Harvard. I see even more evidence of that when I see all the current UCLA dental school faculty who either went to dental school and/ or specialty programs at Harvard and vice versa. It makes me wonder...but they deny it of course. But some things are just too blatantly obvious to be random.

 

[HupHolland]

I don't really understand your reasoning when it comes to betters odds of a higher ranking at state v. ivy school?

Hup

 

[OG1]

I agree with what people said about Harvard, maybe because they're the people that seemed to pop up at a lot of interviews (half the group I interviewed with at UIC were Harvard students). I'm not so sure about UCLA, though, because you have a truckload of people applying compared to how many are applying from Harvard; this year I think it was around 3x as many people just from anecdotal tales I heard. I'd argue that it's harder to stand out if you're applying from UCLA because of the number of applicants. Just speculating though.

If you really want to do ortho, do all you can to stack the deck in your favor, regardless of where you end up for dental school. Study hard for your classes, study hard for the boards, do extracurriculars to balance your CV, but don't think that extracurriculars will make up for rank and board scores. I wouldn't be cocky about applying either, if you're all in - I had good stats but still applied to a ton of schools and went on as many interviews I could just to make absolutely sure that I matched. I think having the goal to specialize in the first place makes you more likely to get there in the end, but you definitely have to enjoy and be willing to work in general dentistry if you can't get in. Lots of people drop out of the specialty race in the first year or two of dental school simply because it can be tougher and more competitive than expected.

 

[gryffindor]

Yeah, but it's kind of like insurance. Ideally, I'd like to be top of my class whereever I go. But if that doesn't pan out, it sounds like I still have a good shot at Harvard where as I would be stuck with general dentistry at a state school. Or am I wrong in this conclusion?

zomg the horror of being stuck with general dentistry? 🙄 I love my specialty and the possibilities in it, but at the end of the day the specialist still has to please his/her referring general dentists. That's right, kiss up to those at the top while in dental school to get into ortho, and then kiss up to those who were the bottom feeders that became GPs once you get out of ortho because they are the "pathway" to paying your rent.

Maybe you don't realize this, but as a general dentist you are free to mold your dental career in any which way you like. You don't want to do fillings? Don't. You want to do braces? Go ahead. You can't advertise yourself as a specialist, but you can treat whatever falls in your comfort zone.

I completely agree with the quote you posted by makushin, but I don't think that not graduating in the top 30% means your life is over. Your specialty dreams may not happen right away, but the great thing about a career in dentistry is that it is so flexible. You can do every procedure or you can pick and choose and practice like I described above. You can even choose to never practice again and go teach pre-clinic at the dental school. I didn't realize while I was in dental school how much flexibility a DDS combined with the potential of being a business owner really gives you in your career and lifestyle choices. Add to it that there are still plenty of underserved areas in the US so you'll never be out of a job which is a lot better than other professions can say these days.

 

[Guy Smiley]

I agree with what people said about Harvard, maybe because they're the people that seemed to pop up at a lot of interviews (half the group I interviewed with at UIC were Harvard students). I'm not so sure about UCLA, though, because you have a truckload of people applying compared to how many are applying from Harvard; this year I think it was around 3x as many people just from anecdotal tales I heard. I'd argue that it's harder to stand out if you're applying from UCLA because of the number of applicants. Just speculating though.

I wanted to ditto the UCLA thing. I heard from other applicants there were like 30 some applying for ortho this year. That is close to the size of harvard's class.

Bottom line for the OP: Go where you will be happiest and fit in - you are more likely to to better where you fit in well and are happy. And once you get interviews from wherever you went to dental school, you still have to do the interview and the interview is where you really set yourself apart from other applicants, not in the application process.

 

[Jimmy Choo]

Thank you for all the insightful replies. I think I am pretty close to having my mind made up, which really means I'll change my mind again tomorrow🙁

I understand what you're saying about general dentistry and it's not that I don't think it wold be bad. It's just that I feel like based on my limited experience and knowledge so far, I would rather put in the few extra years to be a specialist. In regards to accommodating to the general dentists, I heard all about it from an orthodontist who I shadowed. So I understand that you'll have to rely on them for referrals and those asses that you kicked in dental school will the same asses that you'll have to kiss when you're out of dental school.👍

emmy44, feel free to PM me to exchange info regarding this matter.

I don't really understand your reasoning when it comes to betters odds of a higher ranking at state v. ivy school?

Hup

Harvard will have smarter, more motivated, more qualified students than Maryland. So how is it so unfathomable that I'll have better odds of a higher ranking at the latter, where I will be against less competitive students?

 

[Contach]

There are always outliers.

So say you need to prescribe a drug that has been shown to help patients who suffer from condition X. Are you not going to prescribe it because you know there are some outliers who may experience side-effects from said drug?

I don't understand how you are dental school bound and don't understand something as simple as statistics and evidence-based medicine...

 

[Jimmy Choo]

So say you need to prescribe a drug that has been shown to help patients who suffer from condition X. Are you not going to prescribe it because you know there are some outliers who may experience side-effects from said drug?

I don't understand how you are dental school bound and don't understand something as simple as statistics and evidence-based medicine...

Don't feed the troll. He is clueless and just has a vendetta against me.

 

[Contach]

Harvard will have smarter, more motivated, more qualified students than Maryland. So how is it so unfathomable that I'll have better odds of a higher ranking at the latter, where I will be against less competitive students?

Whenever I think about gaining admissions to Speciality programs, I think about the same problem all of us had when we were thinking of which University/Undergraduate program/Major to attend to get into whatever pre-health program we wanted... There were the ****tier schools, and there were the better schools... I don't know what you picked, but I picked the most selective program I could get into and I found it helped me a lot. I also went to a private highsschool that prepped students for university (and was ranked among the best in Canada), so I have a very biased perspective coming form priviledged programs where I was always around over-achievers. But I wouldn't trade any of it for the world.

From my experience, the atmosphere of the program means a lot. If you are around like-minded individuals who are also wanting to excel, you will be more likely to excel. Furthermore, a lot of the selective programs help students get where they want to go whether through curving, inflation, faculty support, alumni support, or whatever. I don't know what your undergrad experience was like, but this is one of the things I learned.

At Harvard, I got the sense that the atmosphere was very conducive to excelling and they seemed to have a very good program that sets you up for specialty. I know that if I got into Harvard I wouldn't have a second thought about accepting - I'd attend in a heartbeat.

 

[Jimmy Choo]

Whenever I think about gaining admissions to Speciality programs, I think about the same problem all of us had when we were thinking of which University/Undergraduate program/Major to attend to get into whatever pre-health program we wanted... There were the ****tier schools, and there were the better schools... I don't know what you picked, but I picked the most selective program I could get into and I found it helped me a lot. I also went to a private highsschool that prepped students for university (and was ranked among the best in Canada), so I have a very biased perspective coming form priviledged programs where I was always around over-achievers. But I wouldn't trade any of it for the world.

From my experience, the atmosphere of the program means a lot. If you are around like-minded individuals who are also wanting to excel, you will be more likely to excel. Furthermore, a lot of the selective programs help students get where they want to go whether through curving, inflation, faculty support, alumni support, or whatever. I don't know what your undergrad experience was like, but this is one of the things I learned.

At Harvard, I got the sense that the atmosphere was very conducive to excelling and they seemed to have a very good program that sets you up for specialty. I know that if I got into Harvard I wouldn't have a second thought about accepting - I'd attend in a heartbeat.

I love the analogy. I went to a top undergrad and I definitely benefited from being put in a competitive environment where everyone pushed each other.

But it's funny and ironic because when high school kids ask me for advice on being pre-med or pre-dental, I always tell them it doesn't matter where you go to school. And it's true, in theory. If you have can get a 4.0 from San Diego State University (no offense intended), 37+ MCAT, volunteering, and research, you're a shoe in for any medical school in the country. I would even go a step further in stating that you might even have a leg up on a student with identical stats that went to top undergrads, because educational diversity is important and it's not every year that someone with those stats come out of SDSU.

So why am I leaning towards going against my own advice? 😕😡🙁

 

[aphistis]

I love the analogy. I went to a top undergrad and I definitely benefited from being put in a competitive environment where everyone pushed each other.

But it's funny and ironic because when high school kids ask me for advice on being pre-med or pre-dental, I always tell them it doesn't matter where you go to school. And it's true, in theory. If you have can get a 4.0 from San Diego State University (no offense intended), 37+ MCAT, volunteering, and research, you're a shoe in for any medical school in the country. I would even go a step further in stating that you might even have a leg up on a student with identical stats that went to top undergrads, because educational diversity is important and it's not every year that someone with those stats come out of SDSU.

So why am I leaning towards going against my own advice? 😕😡🙁

Because you don't really believe it, and you're just giving them what you believe to be the diplomatic answer. The ironic thing is that you're right, even though you don't believe it yourself.

 

[DrReo]

So say you need to prescribe a drug that has been shown to help patients who suffer from condition X. Are you not going to prescribe it because you know there are some outliers who may experience side-effects from said drug?

I don't understand how you are dental school bound and don't understand something as simple as statistics and evidence-based medicine...

Comparing DAT scores and drugs are nothing of the same measure. Wait, unless you are one of the few who have an unexpected reaction due to anesthesia . Are they outliers? Understanding both sides is always critical and anyone practicing medicine should, and will; understand what could happen. It is only ignorance if you don't.

Just because someone has an 19AA and a 3.3 GPA doesn't mean someone with a 22AA and 3.9 will perform better than them, for example. You're starting a new slate. Maybe you worked your tail off in ugrad and are burnt out and the 3.3 was out partying constantly and didn't put full effort in for the DAT. You will be taught everything in dental school. It's a fresh slate. I can see either of the two students performing well in dental school.

 

[DrReo]

Don't feed the troll. He is clueless and just has a vendetta against me.

👍 or everyone who contradicts his crappy articles that support his DAT

 

[Aceofspades]

It is impossible to rank low at Harvard because they have no grades and no rank. I don't see where "doing well at a state school vs. poorly at an IVY" argument comes into play here. However, it is certainly possible to rank low at a state school. Oh, and for the record Stony Brook has letter grades. Of the IVY's Harvard and Columbia have no letter grades while Penn has letter grades with limited ranking. Other notables UCSF, UCLA, and UConn have no letter grades as well.

 

[Jimmy Choo]

Because you don't really believe it, and you're just giving them what you believe to be the diplomatic answer. The ironic thing is that you're right, even though you don't believe it yourself.

😱Interesting.

 

[dubbers]

General Dentistry is not exciting or interesting at all. At least from what I have seen.

Wow. You are going to HATE dental school.

 

[amalgamator42]

Having just applied and gotten into ortho from a midwestern state school this year I would say that it may be easier to get in from a school that is pass/fail and no class rank simply because the only thing you have to do is get a high part 1 board score, do some research, and you can apply with a decent chance.

I was told that 22 or so people applied from UCLA last year and they almost all got in. This year 25 applied (I saw tons of them on interviews). The difference in GPA of my state school's top 10% was hundredths of a point (3.98 vs. 3.99) and statistically insignificant, but when you interview and aren't in the top 10% of your class (even with a high part 1 score), you may not get an interview and you probably aren't getting into ortho (unless you know someone).

Maybe there is a small benefit to going to a school that is P/F...but you may pay for it! I like the fact that my loans are MUCH, MUCH lower than my friends at Harvard. (tuition and cost of living)

 

[worriednow]

Having just applied and gotten into ortho from a midwestern state school this year I would say that it may be easier to get in from a school that is pass/fail and no class rank simply because the only thing you have to do is get a high part 1 board score, do some research, and you can apply with a decent chance.

I was told that 22 or so people applied from UCLA last year and they almost all got in. This year 25 applied (I saw tons of them on interviews). The difference in GPA of my state school's top 10% was hundredths of a point (3.98 vs. 3.99) and statistically insignificant, but when you interview and aren't in the top 10% of your class (even with a high part 1 score), you may not get an interview and you probably aren't getting into ortho (unless you know someone).

Maybe there is a small benefit to going to a school that is P/F...but you may pay for it! I like the fact that my loans are MUCH, MUCH lower than my friends at Harvard. (tuition and cost of living)

Wow, where do you go that the 10th percentile is still a 3.99?

 

[Guy Smiley]

While it is important to have good grades, you can get in without being in the top 10%. If you really want it, do your best and apply everywhere.

 

[Waitlisted2009]

Wow. You are going to HATE dental school.

I would agree however, I didnt say I hated general I said I did not find it interesting. To me its the same as 4 years of undergrad. Its something you need to do to get to the next stage. Now I didnt hate or love undergrad, its just something that needs to get done to get on with things.

 

[HupHolland]

I would agree however, I didnt say I hated general I said I did not find it interesting. To me its the same as 4 years of undergrad. Its something you need to do to get to the next stage. Now I didnt hate or love undergrad, its just something that needs to get done to get on with things.

you are an idiot

Hup

 

[Waitlisted2009]

you are an idiot

Hup

No explaining? How does that not work?

Its something you need to do to get to the next stage.

 

[lhtran07]

I would agree however, I didnt say I hated general I said I did not find it interesting. To me its the same as 4 years of undergrad. Its something you need to do to get to the next stage. Now I didnt hate or love undergrad, its just something that needs to get done to get on with things.

Hope you didn't say that during your interviews. That kind of attitude just holds you back.

 

[Waitlisted2009]

Hope you didn't say that during your interviews. That kind of attitude just holds you back.

How is that possibly bad, you guys should explain. Thats just how it is. How about high school? Middle School?

 

[Contach]

I would agree however, I didnt say I hated general I said I did not find it interesting. To me its the same as 4 years of undergrad. Its something you need to do to get to the next stage. Now I didnt hate or love undergrad, its just something that needs to get done to get on with things.

I hate to admit it, but it makes sense... But perhaps the only flaw in this I see is that general dentistry encorporates all the specialties, so if you think general dentistry is boring, then all the specialties must be boring....