Why Dentistry

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EvolvedThought

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  1. Pre-Dental
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It seems that everyone on here is pretty passionate about wanting to be a dentist, which is great. MY question is why dentistry for you?

I ask only because I thought I wanted to do medicine for the longest time, and now I'm not so sure anymore. I've been doing a lot of research about dentistry and it sorts of seems to be a better option for me. I was hoping that other people's reasons may provide a little insight to my decision.

Thanks.
 
Dentistry vs Medicine

Dentistry: Own your own business.
Medicine: Slave to the system & bureaucracy.

Dentistry: Get to know your patients.
Medicine: Assembly line of patients.

Dentistry: Make your own hours.
Medicine: You have no control of hours. Always on call.

Dentistry: Have time to spend with family.
Medicine: Struggle for time to spend with family.

Dentistry: Work with your hands.
Medicine: Work with your hands (if Osteopathic).

Dentistry: Perform surgery.
Medicine: Prescribe pills (maybe do surgery).

Dentistry: Optional 1-year Residency.
Medicine: Required 3-year Residency (which sucks).

Dentistry: Make as much as a Physician.
Medicine: Make as much as a Dentist.

Dentistry: Top of the class to Specialize.
Medicine: Top of the class to Specialize.

Dentistry: ~$300K Tuition and Expenses.
Medicine: ~$200K Tuition and Expenses.

Dentistry: Prestige.
Medicine: Prestige (more than a Dentist?).
 
There's really no list. It's just in your gut feeling. Both will take a lot of hard work, and both will be equally satisfying. I know people who went the medical route but later regretted it (and is now in dental school even with an MD!!!!!), and I know people in dental school who wished they went the medical route. Now would be a good time to trust yourself and choose!
 
One of the reasons is I wan't be successful but I don't want to have to give up my life. I feel that with Dentistry you can do this. Whereas in medicine you may be on call and you will have to work long hours.
 
Yeah...that's the idea of the MBS anyways...

But I was hoping to get some specifics from people about why they personally chose dentistry. What brought you to consider it? Certain shadowing experience or was it something more considerable? I know it's something that I have to choose for myself and for my own reasons, but just curious to hear others reasons.

What are all of yours?
 
i was in the same boat as you when i first started undergrad in that i was pre med all the way. it took me until my junior year to realize that medicine was not for me. i worked in a hospital so i saw first hand what it would be like everyday to work in a hospital, and realized that it was not for me. with dentistry you're most likely running your own practice, so you run the business the way you want to. i felt like doctors were kind of just in and out with their patients, and it was really the nurses that were getting the true patient contact. if i was to go into medicine, i would have wanted to be a surgeon because i love working with my hands, and dentistry allows me to do just that without having to do residency, and interning, and specialty school!! as far as lifestyle, my dentist works four days a week, and it's not like he is really on call, unless there is an emergency, but there is nothing like night work and weekend shifts like in medicine. i know i want a job where i can spend lots of time with my family, and never run the risk of bringing work home with me like in the medicine if you come home stressed because of problems at work. i guess that's another thing with medicine, depending on what specialty you're in, it's going to be stressful. you're going to have people die on you, and you're going to have to make tough decision. not that i'm trying to avoid responsibilities like that, but i don't feel like i could handle that type of lifestyle.
my best advice for you is to shadow your family dentist. for me, it took all of ten minutes when i started shadowing to realize this was the profession i wanted to be in. for the most part it's laid back, if you're lucky you have an amazing staff of hygenists and assistants that joke around and make for a fun environment, and you're helping people all the time. what more could you ask for in a profession. i hope this helps!! good luck.
 
somethinpositiv said:
Dentistry vs Medicine

Dentistry: Own your own business.
Medicine: Slave to the system & bureaucracy.

Dentistry: Get to know your patients.
Medicine: Assembly line of patients.

Dentistry: Make your own hours.
Medicine: You have no control of hours. Always on call.

Dentistry: Have time to spend with family.
Medicine: Struggle for time to spend with family.

Dentistry: Work with your hands.
Medicine: Work with your hands (if Osteopathic).

Dentistry: Perform surgery.
Medicine: Prescribe pills (maybe do surgery).

Dentistry: Optional 1-year Residency.
Medicine: Required 3-year Residency (which sucks).

Dentistry: Make as much as a Physician.
Medicine: Make as much as a Dentist.

Dentistry: Top of the class to Specialize.
Medicine: Top of the class to Specialize.

Dentistry: ~$300K Tuition and Expenses.
Medicine: ~$200K Tuition and Expenses.

Dentistry: Prestige.
Medicine: Prestige (more than a Dentist?).
Click to expand...

summed up pretty well 🙂
 
I am personally attracted to the artistic aspect of dentistry. I knew that I would always be a science major because I never liked any other subject and I love taking art classes. Dentistry is an art and a science so it fit well for me🙂 Oh and my dad is a periodontist so that was a big influence too 😛
 
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For me, 3 letters...

T M J
 
me personally...i'm a teeth grinder with the occasional teeth chatter at night. drives my gf nuts! haha
 
I'm sorry to beat a dead deer but I also wanted to do medicine too, primarily for all the glamour that is normally associated it. However, after doing research with MD's, and hearing them complain about how they are getting literally murdered (FIGURATIVELY) by outrageous malpractice prices and how they are almost always held back by the insurance companies that they work for I knew it was a bad fit. I shadowed several dentists and they have all said that dentistry is a happier job. The job you have usually has instant benefits to a person, they walk in scared and they walk out happy almost 100% of the time. However, the key thing is that if you see a patient who may consider money an issue, you can do the procedure. You don't have to get permission from the hospital administration to use their equipment. You own the equipment if its your own practice, so instead of a $1300 procedure that the person may need but can't get, you can drop it to 400 for expenses and give a person a new leash on life. You can help people easier in dentistry and in my opinion its easier to take care of your patients. PLUS WEEKENDS OFF IF YOU WANT THEM. Now that's the hidden meaning behind why almost all of us want the job.
 
somethinpositiv said:
haha I have that too.. 8 years of chronic headaches before I figured it out..
Click to expand...

Oh sorry, I should have been more specific. I don't have TMJ problems. I want to be a TMJ specialist. Yeah, TMJ is a chronic condition, you don't know if you have it instantly (acute). I'm guessing an ENT or someone who specializes in head trauma told you about it, because most dentists don't know jack about it. Anyway, I hope most of your pain is gone.
 
bigstix808 said:
me personally...i'm a teeth grinder with the occasional teeth chatter at night. drives my gf nuts! haha
Click to expand...

I think you might have sleep apnea affiliated with a TMJ problem.
 
Hawkeye7685 said:
I'm sorry to beat a dead deer but I also wanted to do medicine too, primarily for all the glamour that is normally associated it. However, after doing research with MD's, and hearing them complain about how they are getting literally murdered (FIGURATIVELY) by outrageous malpractice prices and how they are almost always held back by the insurance companies that they work for I knew it was a bad fit. I shadowed several dentists and they have all said that dentistry is a happier job. The job you have usually has instant benefits to a person, they walk in scared and they walk out happy almost 100% of the time. However, the key thing is that if you see a patient who may consider money an issue, you can do the procedure. You don't have to get permission from the hospital administration to use their equipment. You own the equipment if its your own practice, so instead of a $1300 procedure that the person may need but can't get, you can drop it to 400 for expenses and give a person a new leash on life. You can help people easier in dentistry and in my opinion its easier to take care of your patients. PLUS WEEKENDS OFF IF YOU WANT THEM. Now that's the hidden meaning behind why almost all of us want the job.
Click to expand...
Refreshing when we get honest posters...
 
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somethinpositiv said:
haha I have that too.. 8 years of chronic headaches before I figured it out..
Click to expand...

FYI: Everyone has TMJ; bilaterally (temporomandibular joints). What you probably meant was taht you have TMD/TMDD: temporomandibular disorder/temporomandibular dismorphic disorder.

Night guards can help, splints may be needed and last and worst case scenerio is they can always slice and dice.
 
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