Who makes more money, doctors or dentists? Please read poll question carefully.

[plaz]

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Assuming that both the future doctor and dentist enter their respective graduate schools at age 22, who will have accumulated more wealth by the age of 35? (Please note that this is not a question of the greater income.)

I would like to make a very good living, but I also want to enjoy that very good living. Seems to me that being a dentist would best fulfill this desire.

I'm interested in your thoughts.

(I know there are a lot of other factors involved, but I don't care. I'd like a generalization.) 🙂

 

[holiday1]

By the age of 35, the dentist will probably be better off financially. After residency depending on the specialty of course, the average physician is around 30-33 years old.

Seeing how the Obama administration is planning on decreasing the reimbursements for specialists, I foresee something happening to the field of dentistry as well.

When people ask this question, dentists have the edge with regards to the shorter training and set 9-5 jobs (with no on calls). But, dentistry is not a walk in the park either. Many of them complain of back pain for their entire careers, among a host of other issues such as competition. There is a dentist in every shopping center where I live.

 

[Mattabet]

I feel like there are way better ways to get at data like this than by polling pre-allopathic students on the internet. A source who has actually been paid to practice (or better yet, N=1000 such sources) may have more trenchant insights.

But what the hell, go for it.

 

[plaz]

That kind of data is not available.

 

[plaz]

What I don't understand: why people who go into healthcare for the money don't be dentists instead of doctors. It seems to be a no-brainer! I mean, sure doctors specializing in surgery are going to end up with a higher income, but (a) that will come after years of residency and painstaking hours and (b) they won't have near as much time to enjoy said money.

BTW, I am NOT saying one profession is better than the other; I'm only talking about why someone would ever go to medical school if they were it in for monetary reimbursement.

 

[phospho]

What I don't understand: why people who go into healthcare for the money don't be dentists instead of doctors. It seems to be a no-brainer! I mean, sure doctors specializing in surgery are going to end up with a higher income, but (a) that will come after years of residency and painstaking hours and (b) they won't have near as much time to enjoy said money.

BTW, I am NOT saying one profession is better than the other; I'm only talking about why someone would ever go to medical school if they were it in for monetary reimbursement.

If you plan on dying @ 40, yes, dentistry is better than medicine (money wise), but if you're talking long term, medicine will ALWAYS beat dentistry, no matter what specialty of medicine you go into (even family medicine if you're business savvy).

Personally, I don't understand why people go into dentistry. I couldn't do it for the life in me. Hell, I wouldn't go to dental school if someone paid me to. However, I'm not sure where we would be without dentists.

 

[Pinkertinkle]

What I don't understand: why people who go into healthcare for the money don't be dentists instead of doctors. It seems to be a no-brainer! I mean, sure doctors specializing in surgery are going to end up with a higher income, but (a) that will come after years of residency and painstaking hours and (b) they won't have near as much time to enjoy said money.

BTW, I am NOT saying one profession is better than the other; I'm only talking about why someone would ever go to medical school if they were it in for monetary reimbursement.

People who go into medicine for money also tend to be prestige seekers.

 

[plaz]

If you plan on dying @ 40, yes, dentistry is better than medicine (money wise), but if you're talking long term, medicine will ALWAYS beat dentistry, no matter what specialty of medicine you go into (even family medicine if you're business savvy).

Personally, I don't understand why people go into dentistry. I couldn't do it for the life in me. Hell, I wouldn't go to dental school if someone paid me to. However, I'm not sure where we would be without dentists.

I get what you're saying, but one must also take into account the tremendous amount of hours doctors must put in, the bureaucracy of it all, annoying insurance companies, etc., etc.

I mean, sure. A neurosurgeon is going to make a lot more money than a dentist even after just a couple years of attending. BUT, the neurosurgeon will also have been through a hellish 2 decades of training with little time for anything else but work. That is a lifestyle! Dentistry seems to provide a whole lot more time to enjoy yourself and the money you earn.

I'm not trying to pick fights, I am more trying to see if I am thinking this through incorrectly.

 

[plaz]

People who go into medicine for money also tend to be prestige seekers.

That's true. Doctors are definitely far more respected by society than dentists. But dentists still moreso than lawyers! 😛

 

[phospho]

I get what you're saying, but one must also take into account the tremendous amount of hours doctors must put in, the bureaucracy of it all, annoying insurance companies, etc., etc.

I mean, sure. A neurosurgeon is going to make a lot more money than a dentist even after just a couple years of attending. BUT, the neurosurgeon will also have been through a hellish 2 decades of training with little time for anything else but work. That is a lifestyle! Dentistry seems to provide a whole lot more time to enjoy yourself and the money you earn.

I'm not trying to pick fights, I am more trying to see if I am thinking this through incorrectly.

I think you're thinking about this correctly. Residents for example make over 50K sometimes, but if you were to calculate how much they make on an hourly basis, it's absolutely nothing. So I think you're right in trying to see what kind of hours/lifestyle you'll be getting.

That's why medicine isn't for everyone. In fact, almost every doctor I've asked for advice tells me that medicine should be the last resort - i.e. you go into medicine because you just can't see yourself doing anything else. As cliche as the statement sounds, I think it's spot on.

The few neurosurgeons I know would practice it for free if they had to. They love it. It's difficult to do medicine without having some internal motivation other than money.

 

[guestdoc]

from what I've seen, the few endodontists, orthodontists and periodontists that I know are raking in the money. They work super-cush 4 day work weeks (one does 4 days one week, three days the next, then repeat), and had less training than pretty much any doctor (4 yrs dental school, 2-3 year residency). Sure, a lot of the doctors make just as much money or more, but hour-per-hour the dentist-types definitely win. Also, the future looks less bright for doctor's salaries.

For the lifestyle and pay combination, Dentistry, hands down.

So what in the world am I doing with my career?? Following what I think will be more interesting and rewarding personally. I hope I don't hate my life!! (a lot of my friends and extended family are doing dentistry, so the comparison will always be evident to me...)