Which Is The Most "diverse" Or "non-monotonous" Field For Specialization??

[mam2004]

hi.. was just wondering which in reality is the most diversified specialty field..i mean which wont bore you down after a couple of years..Ive heard that endo gets really boring after a couple of years, so is ortho....i think that prosthodontics and oral surgery are probably the ones which has several shades where each case is very distinctive to treatment plan as well as to manage...what do you guys feel?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[USAF_Dentman]

Well, most specialities are designed so you can focus on one area, so you will be best at it, so you are "forced" to concentrate on that area.

I think general dentistry is still more "diverse" or maybe pedo would be on that level.

 

[GQ1]

hi.. was just wondering which in reality is the most diversified specialty field..i mean which wont bore you down after a couple of years..Ive heard that endo gets really boring after a couple of years, so is ortho....i think that prosthodontics and oral surgery are probably the ones which has several shades where each case is very distinctive to treatment plan as well as to manage...what do you guys feel?

pros is great as you still have the variation - crown, bridges, veneers. you are the reconstructive, esthetic, implant specialist as defined by the ACP. hardly ever will u do operative. u will do a lot of onlays, a good number of inlays, and then stuff gps dont do like hybrid prosthesis, profile prosthesis, spark erosion. implant placement is now part of every accredited course. TX PLANNING IS THE MAIN THING U GAIN FROM THE 3 YEARS JUST LIKE IN ORTHO. u have the variation without the limitations of being a gp. i can imagine omfs being a diffrent challenge each day as they still tx plan. endo while it has a lot of advantages is only really 2 procedure. you either fill from the top or the bottom of the tooth, no tx planning, less knowledge needed than other specialties and no pts to converse with and let pt doctor relations grow. of course for some this may be an advantage.

 

[ItsGavinC]

I think Pedo probably is. In essence you are a specialist of everything, ortho, prosth, oral surgery, endo (of sorts).

 

[KY2007]

There was a article published by the ADA geared toward this topic. According to this article, general dentists and oral and maxillofacial surgeons have the highest rate of burn out.

 

[kato999]

i could see OMS's burning out, but I have to believe with that field you could really expand (reconstructive surgery or plastics) or contract (tooth shucking) your field of practice to what you want.

i have to believe endo is the most monotonous. you get excited when you find that lateral canal.

 

[KY2007]

i could see OMS's burning out, but I have to believe with that field you could really expand (reconstructive surgery or plastics) or contract (tooth shucking) your field of practice to what you want.

i have to believe endo is the most monotonous. you get excited when you find that lateral canal.

I agree with what you said about oms. If you only care about money and pull 3rd's all day it could be pretty boring. However if you take a pay cut but have a wider scope of practice it sounds pretty good.

 

[12YearOldKid]

I think Pedo probably is. In essence you are a specialist of everything, ortho, prosth, oral surgery, endo (of sorts).

I would have to disagree. Pedo doesn't do much besides fillings and SSC. And I would hesitate to put pulpotomy under the heading of endo. Some pedos add ortho to the mix and that certainly gives the field some variety. But for the most part prosth, surgery and endo are extremely limited in a pedo office.

If we are talking about variety of procedures my ranking would look something like this:

General Dentistry
Prosth (especially those who place their own implants)
OMS
Perio
Pedo
Ortho
Endo

Of course this will vary from dentist to dentist. For example oral surgeons can do some pretty amazing stuff but very few actually utilize the full extent of their training. General dentists have everything open to them, but many choose to be Drill and Fillers. Prosth can do some incredibly complicated full mouth rehabs, but some choose to limit themselves to removable only.

 

[ItsGavinC]

General dentists have everything open to them, but many choose to be Drill and Fillers. Prosth can do some incredibly complicated full mouth rehabs, but some choose to limit themselves to removable only.

Likewise, peds has many options available, yet practitioners may choose to limit themselves to fillings and SSCs.

 

[12YearOldKid]

If we are talking about variety of procedures my ranking would look something like this:

General Dentistry
Prosth (especially those who place their own implants)
OMS
Perio
Pedo
Ortho
Endo

I think it's interesting that this list correlates pretty nicely with income. The one exception is oral surgery, but when you take into account that the surgeons making the most money are shucking teeth all day that moves them down closer to the bottom of the list.

I guess when you just do a few procedures all day every day you get quick and your overhead stays low.

 

[lnn2]

hi.. was just wondering which in reality is the most diversified specialty field..i mean which wont bore you down after a couple of years..Ive heard that endo gets really boring after a couple of years, so is ortho....i think that prosthodontics and oral surgery are probably the ones which has several shades where each case is very distinctive to treatment plan as well as to manage...what do you guys feel?

Every field will eventually bore you down after a couple of years! Your wife would eventually get bored and leave your boring @ss

It's all up to you to keep it interesting or from becoming boring! take CE courses, learning new things....I think that every field has its own routine, mundane procedures and interesting cases.

 

[InMyCrossHairs]

Endo? What is boring about $7,000 days...Nothing

 

[rocknightmare]

well 7000 are boring for people who dont' care about money.

i feel like i am heading to the wrong field just for the fact that everybody freaking cares about money in this field.

 

[kenniemd]

well 7000 are boring for people who dont' care about money.

i feel like i am heading to the wrong field just for the fact that everybody freaking cares about money in this field.

Wow, since you don't care about money, there's a lot of room for you in Dentistry. You could take 100% medicaid patients and the world would be a better place.

 

[north2southOMFS]

well 7000 are boring for people who dont' care about money.

i feel like i am heading to the wrong field just for the fact that everybody freaking cares about money in this field.

Yah, and while your at it get good at taking out teeth so you can take call at your local hospital and have to go in, in the middle of the night and drain an abcess and shuck a tooth on another free care pt.

You'll feel much better about yourself by about the 3rd pt. Then you'll hate doing it and hate those patients like everyone else whose already graduated from dental school.


Back to the topic though. If your looking for a bunch of diversity in your day, become a medical doctor a do a general surgery residency, those guys do all sorts of stuff.

Just be careful.....much diversity makes you adequate at all and master of none!

 

[mam2004]

well guys, i think this thread started off with a different objective and lost its original track completely! i had asked for "Which Is The Most "diverse" Or "non-monotonous" Field For Specialization?? in dentistry!
it is unfortunate to read some really crazy answers like general dentistry, general surgery (!!) etc etc! this thread is about discussing the diversity of the work involved in each specialty of dentistry, so that it can help several amatuers decide to choose upon the specialty! while I appreciate the answers of GQ1 and KY2007 etc etc, i request you guys to come up with more opinions...

 

[ItsGavinC]

Wow, since you don't care about money, there's a lot of room for you in Dentistry. You could take 100% medicaid patients and the world would be a better place.

Sorry, but I find that view to be pretty naive and limited. *Typically* (there are always exceptions), Medicaid patients don't take care of the work that is done, they aren't compliant with oral health regiments, and they take the work for granted because it's "free".

The idea that providing work to low-income patients will make the world a better place is a true one, but typically only in theory. In actuality it often means you've spent valuable time doing work that won't be appreciated, won't be taken care of, and won't make much of a change in the patient's overall view of their own health.

 

[kenniemd]

Sorry, but I find that view to be pretty naive and limited. *Typically* (there are always exceptions), Medicaid patients don't take care of the work that is done, they aren't compliant with oral health regiments, and they take the work for granted because it's "free".

The idea that providing work to low-income patients will make the world a better place is a true one, but typically only in theory. In actuality it often means you've spent valuable time doing work that won't be appreciated, won't be taken care of, and won't make much of a change in the patient's overall view of their own health.

I find that your being unable to discern sarcasm from naivete is pretty limiting. The post to which I was replying stated that we as future Dentists were only $$$ minded. Of course that isn't true. Please understand the context of one's post / reply before jumping into any conclusions. Also, the fact that you are a year or so ahead of me in dental school does not mean you are any more knowledgeable.