who wants to go into community health?

[denty]

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Hi all: so im going to be taking the DAT on tuesday and im totally worn out! i need to study but i dont want to anymore 😕 Well hopefully i will get my stamina again....like now.
I know many people that want to be an orthodontist, the occasional pedo, and just gen dentist, but i wanted to ask if anyone was interested in doing public health dentistry or community health. And if you do what programs are you applying to. Im trying to find some schools that do outreach programs or offer mph at their school.
thanks 🙂

 

[Sprgrover]

I am considering it. Arizona is perhaps the most community oriented out of all of the dental schools. They offer a certificate in public health to their graduates, and if you are willing to devote an additional semester, they'll grant you an MPH.

 

[denty]

I saw that arizona had that. i was thinking of applying to meharry and nevada they both seem to have a heavy community health curriculum.

 

[trypmo]

Does public health basically mean going and setting up clinics in underserved areas? I admire ppl who are willing to do that! 👍

 

[toothcaries]

i'm thinking about going that route for a year..
(community/metro health)

 

[ItsGavinC]

I am considering it. Arizona is perhaps the most community oriented out of all of the dental schools. They offer a certificate in public health to their graduates, and if you are willing to devote an additional semester, they'll grant you an MPH.

Not an additional semester. The courses can be taken during the dental school curriculum.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Does public health basically mean going and setting up clinics in underserved areas? I admire ppl who are willing to do that! 👍

Sometimes. It can also mean analyzing populations and inventing/implementing methods for increasing health or preventing disease, as well as lobbying and handling legislative issues that impact community health.

 

[Dr.BadVibes]

Im going into public health myself....i dont know in what degree, but probably international dental public health, since Ive got a lot of international public health experience under my belt and still growing, but I still want to explore other parts of the public health field.

Im gonna try and do a private/public mix, because although Im not in dentistry to buy a porsche or a lexus, I still want to live comfortably and be able to provide for my family but at the same time be an active member of the community.

Im doing the DMD/MPH combined program which just started at Temple this year. THe MPH itself has been long established at Temple, but they finally combined it with the DMD. Best part of it is that Temple dental pays for your degree, so the MPH is at no extra cost. This was not the case at other dental schools I interviewed at (e.g. Tufts, Columbia), which wanted me to fork over an extra $30,000 for the MPH. YAH RIGHT....so Im gonna earn less then everyone else, but gotta pay more for my education? Go figure.

So when u look into combined degrees, make sure you dont have to pay extra for it! They seem to forget that on their websites and you get a big shock when u pay to go all the way there for your interview...

 

[ItsGavinC]

THe MPH itself has been long established at Temple, but they finally combined it with the DMD. Best part of it is that Temple dental pays for your degree, so the MPH is at no extra cost. This was not the case at other dental schools I interviewed at (e.g. Tufts, Columbia), which wanted me to fork over an extra $30,000 for the MPH.

Excellent point. The MPH at Arizona costs an additional $4,000, but it's done online through the School of Health Management (hence the cheap price). The certificate of PH is free to all students.

 

[denty]

Im going into public health myself....i dont know in what degree, but probably international dental public health, since Ive got a lot of international public health experience under my belt and still growing, but I still want to explore other parts of the public health field.

Hi Bad vibes: i was thinking the same thing, because the more i searched i found that its really hard to work in the community 100% without getting out of debt and being able to feed yourself. so i was going to do the mix and then hopefully go 100% communtiy when i save up. as for the international dentisry i was always interested in that, i actually wanted to go into international affairs and work with NGO's but decided to go with dentistry and do the ngo stuff at the same time. do you know anything about going abroad and how do you have intl public health?
thanks for the help in advance 👍

 

[Gutta Percha]

Why do you need an MPH to do public health dentistry? I have a bunch of friends who work in community health centers and don't have an MPH. What is an MPH going to teach you about dentistry? All the dental procedures are the same if you're working on a poor person or a rich person. Not all public health centers are in BFE and those who work at them usually get paid well. The directors of the programs that I know don't have MPH's and were appointed directors b/c they have been in the field for a few years.

 

[adamlc18]

If you are interested in Community Health, you can always use the programs around the country where if you work in an underserved area, the gov't will pay off your debt.

 

[Sprgrover]

Not an additional semester. The courses can be taken during the dental school curriculum.

That's good to know! I was told both by a recruiter from Kirksville as well as the dean that you'd have to hang on for an additional semester - which wouldn't bother me a bit. Thanks for the tid-bit.

 

[Sprgrover]

If you are interested in Community Health, you can always use the programs around the country where if you work in an underserved area, the gov't will pay off your debt.

And from what I have heard the salaries are competitive for the area in which you practice, so this isn't a bad deal.

 

[Dr.BadVibes]

Hi Bad vibes: i was thinking the same thing, because the more i searched i found that its really hard to work in the community 100% without getting out of debt and being able to feed yourself. so i was going to do the mix and then hopefully go 100% communtiy when i save up. as for the international dentisry i was always interested in that, i actually wanted to go into international affairs and work with NGO's but decided to go with dentistry and do the ngo stuff at the same time. do you know anything about going abroad and how do you have intl public health?
thanks for the help in advance 👍

hey denty...there are a lot of opportunities to go abroad, but I dont understand in what capacity you are in interested in. Are u talking about doing something like mission work....solely clinical? About my international experience, my friend's parents are public health dentists in Mexico City, so I went down to viist them last summer to observe and assist them...Also, this past summer, I did a health policy internship with former heads of the World Bank in Costa Rica and did some fieldwork in Panama. It had nothing to do with dentistry, but I really wanted to see how the international health academic field was like. How I got the job? Research. I researched a bunch of internships on the net...talked with profs at my undergrad, and they hooked me up. But the point is, if you are really interested in it and devote the time to find more info on it, you'll be able to get what you want...

Also, I hope you dont mind if I answer your other question you sent me via PM on this thread, but the DMD/MPH at Temple is starting in January. Im gonna try my best to recruit other students to do it with me, cause I dont wanna be the only one. Since it just started, no one knows about it.

 

[Dr.BadVibes]

Why do you need an MPH to do public health dentistry? I have a bunch of friends who work in community health centers and don't have an MPH. What is an MPH going to teach you about dentistry? All the dental procedures are the same if you're working on a poor person or a rich person. Not all public health centers are in BFE and those who work at them usually get paid well. The directors of the programs that I know don't have MPH's and were appointed directors b/c they have been in the field for a few years.

Gutty, you're right...but im not talking about solely clinical work...I think doing the MPH gears you towards more of a leader/admin level in the public health world....also, its useful if you wanna get into the academic world as well. Its not necessary, but its an extra credential that makes you more qualified and knowledgeable....

 

[busupshot83]

Hi all: so im going to be taking the DAT on tuesday and im totally worn out! i need to study but i dont want to anymore 😕 Well hopefully i will get my stamina again....like now.
I know many people that want to be an orthodontist, the occasional pedo, and just gen dentist, but i wanted to ask if anyone was interested in doing public health dentistry or community health. And if you do what programs are you applying to. Im trying to find some schools that do outreach programs or offer mph at their school.
thanks 🙂

I may.