Why dents?

[gpannu]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hi, I'm in the middle of deciding between careers? Ii may be helpful for me to now why all have u commited to dentistry. I want to know why are y'all applying to dentistry instead of another professional career such as law, business, or medicine. Why dentistry?

 

[Frank Cavitation]

hi, I have a possibly impolite answer to this.

There are lots of people who already know why they want to apply to dentistry, and there are always more applicants than spots. So, if you need other people to tell you "why dentistry", maybe you should look for another career, so a person with perhaps lower GPA but more desire to lead a life of dentistry will get accepted.

I just thought it wouldn't be cool if you are "talked into" doing dentistry and then realize it wasn't for you.

 

[badaboom]

i like the warm wet feeling on my fingers when i put them into someone's mouth.


no just kidding.


why have i never thought of becoming a lawyer? geez i dunno really...
but here's a joke i found on the net





A lawyer and her son discussed the son's entry to college.

"I think I've decided to become a doctor," the son said.

"What?" exclaimed the lawyer. "Now why would you ever want to become a doctor when you could be a lawyer?"

"No offense, mom," the son replied, "but have you ever heard anyone in a crowd yell frantically, 'Is there a lawyer in the house?'"

 

[gpannu]

relax, I didn't not mean to offend anyone. In fact, I wasn't planning on becoming a dentisit. I just wanted to know why you pre-dents are intrested in dentistry as opposed to medicine/optometrey etc..why dents?

 

[badaboom]

Originally posted by snsethy
Why are you interested in knowing why we're interested in dentistry?

now why are you interested in knowing why he's interested in knowning why we're interested in dentistry?

 

[snsethy]

Originally posted by badaboom
now why are you interested in knowing why he's interested in knowning why we're interested in dentistry?

Hm.. good question! I suppose I could ask why you are interested in why I'm interested in why he's interested in why we're interested in dentistry... but I won't.

 

[PDPjester]

how many licks does it take to get to the tootsie of the tootsie pop? the world will never know...

Just playin.
I like working with my hands.
I like biological sciences.
I like people.
I studied biomedical engineering.
I think there is great possiblity in the field of dentistry once combined with BME.
I think it will be satisfying when i get to use all of the above toward just about anyone who comes into my office.
I think it's good. I think that's about it. byebye.

 

[aphistis]

Frank, chill out, man. I did a lot of exploring before settling on dentistry too, and I'd <em>sure</em> as hell rather he made an informed decision from primary sources (us) than apply, get admitted, fill up a spot somebody could've had, and then drop out second year because it turns out he hates everything dentistry is about.

Here are the reasons I chose dentistry over medicine, in no particular order (I started college as a pre-med, incidentally):
A career that's subordinate to my life, not the other way around
Comfortable income
Ability to set my own hours
Primary healthcare provider (every bit as much as a family doc--very possibly more, since we typically see patients twice a year)
Autonomy (relative freedom from managed care!)

There are several other reasons I came into the healthcare field in the first place, but most of them are covered by either dentistry or medicine. PM me if you're interested in hearing more; good luck in your search!

 

[gpannu]

Thanks for the last post. Anyhow, since some of y'all want to poke fun the reason why i'm inquiring is because I'm in the middle of deciding what career is the best fit for me. I was also a pre-med major and in my final year I think burnout prevented me from re-applying to medicine. My first attempt was unsuccesful. Anyhow, last year I applied to patent law but lately, I think I made a hasty decision. THus, chance are I will defer my admission to law school and spend the year shadowing docs and perhaps a dentist. My career objectives are the following:

1. To work with people; I love people and I need a job where interaction with people on a daily basis occurs

2. I want job security all professions provide. TO my knowledge medical school and dentistry and optometrey, and the other healthcare professions have better job security than law.

3. I want to make a six figure income

4. At the end of my life, I want to feel that I made a difference and a meanigful contribution to society before I pass. I'd feel better saving lives, or improving lives than making me pockets fat.

5. I want a career where I become an expert on some field and use that knowlege to counsel or to teach others. I kinda like a consulting

6. I don't like rules and structure so owning my own business is also something I want.


7. Also team work is something I enjoy. I feel in healthcare all healthcare providers work together and use their knowledge to improve the health of an individual. It seems to

8. the reason why i'm consdiering dentistry is b/c i'm a canadian student. Getting into a canadian med school may happen or it may not. ultimatley my final goal is to live in canada. It's very difficult to come back to canada as a physican if you study meds outside of canada. Infact, it's hihgly unlikely. However, with dentistry I could practice in canada regardless of where I study. I'm all for my career but staying close to my family is important. SHould I choose the foriegn med route i'd probably have to give up my dream of living in canada.

Anyhow before I commit I think I should spend some time with some dentists.

Can you guys and girls give me any info or research and any other ideas to see if dents would be a good fit for me. Besides shadowing what else can I do to gauge my interest in this field.

 

[Yah-E]

the Dent

1) I was a victim of Generalize Periodontitis when I was just a little boy

2) $$$

3) I'll be making new friendships with my patients

4) Oh here's another: just this past Sunday at Nikki Beach (club) in SoBe, I met two AMAZING beautiful Italian fraternal twins just loved my colleagues and I when we told them that we're Dental Doctors to be! They were tanned, implants enhanced, smooth complexioned, and OH MY GOD, they were so heavenly type. It was UNREAL! Again, dentistry is a profession that is highly regarded amongst many.

😍

 

[robpark321]

i'd definitely say that dentistry could be a good fit (but realize that i'm biased, since i'm just about to start dental school myself)...

1) you do get to work with your patients. you may even be influential enough to change their habits to improve their oral health care which could be pretty satisfying.
2) i don't know any facts about this but read the ADEA report at http://www.adea.org/DEPR/Assocreptjune01.pdf
it gives pretty good information about the field
3) the average salary statistics I've seen have all been well above 100k, actually around 120-160k or so for general practitioners and around 220k for specialists.
4) you're going to have to arrive at whether being a dentist contributes meaningfully to the lives of others or it doesn't. i imagine most everybody on this forum would say that it is but when all is said and done, it's your opinion that matters the most. except for the most extreme circumstances, i don't think you'd be literally saving people's lives. for the most part, a dentist improves the patient's "quality of life" (for lack of a better term).
5) dental schools are actually really in need of teachers, something that you won't find in regular medicine. so if you'd like to be a professor, the opportunity is there. if you go to the ADEA website, there are actually reports that tell you that the field is in dire need of teachers.

you seem to have figured out where dentistry fits into the rest of your preferences so i won't make arguments for them here.

you definitely need to spend some time with dentists...good luck.

 

[LestatZinnie]

gpannu

hi i'm a fellow canadian as well, albeit in vancouver. i started as pre-med as well (thought of law as well in high school, but did not pursue it...i heard it's not very rewarding financially to practice law nowadays from many people (except if you're Ivy league graduate). however incidentally i discovered dentistry and immediately fell for it, since i'm more passionate about working with my hands than the diagnostic, analytical aspects of medicine. In addition, general dentists (GD) can make pretty good living as well. In fact, one of my family friends who's a physician called a while ago and said that between GP and GD, she'd choose GD. (medical specialists, of course, make a lot more, but to become one depends on your intellect as well as a lot of time in school). I also do not like the burden of being responsible for people's lives. The prospect of a wrongful diagnosis due to momentary stupidity causing death haunts me. Teeth, on the other hand, are not as serious. anyway, i'm going into dentistry next year and it'd be great if you contact me and i can shed some lights on the application procedure for both canada and usa (i applied to both). my email is [email protected]

 

[mcataz]

You are asking a great question and I'm sure many of us pondered all these careers at least some point in our life especially in regards to medicine.

For me it came down to medicine versus dentistry. The reason why I chose dentistry is for several reasons.

-I love the nature of the work particularly the hands on nature. I'm not keen on diagnosing and writing scripts for a living (medicine). I'm very hands-on. The only aspect of medicine that intrigued me was surgery. But I don't like the Navy Seal-like hazing and training that surgeons endure for 5 years prior to practicing. I find it to be a big nusance and a rite of passage more than it has to do with actually preparing one well to be a surgeon.

-I actually like how the patient are awake while you are performing your procedure. You have an intimate relationship with your patient that surgeons don't experience.

-I like the balanced lifestyle that dentistry affords a person. I felt the physicians are more like police officers, firefighters and other public servants in that medicine becomes a part of your life. You are medcine essentially. With dentistry, you can have a life outside of it. You don't have to take your work home and I like that. if I want to coach my kid's sports teams, I can do that. If I want to take a 2 week vacation, I can do that without worrying about my patients etc.

As far as law and business, I have never been fond of a lot of paperwork nor not seeing how I'm actually benefitting society.

 

[toofache32]

I probably have a unique perspective on this subject because I already have my DDS and now I am 1 year away from finishing my MD in an oral surgery program. The further along I get in med school, the more convinced I am that dentistry was the right profession for me. But it depends on what you're looking for.

I went into dental school so I could be done in 4 years and start working without having to do a residency, to work normal hours and not have to get up in the middle of the night, and to not have to work in hospitals. I guess I threw all that out the window when I decided I was gonna do oral surgery, but you should do what you enjoy. My dad was a dentist, so I felt like I knew what I was getting in to.

Also, most people don't realize that med school is MUCH easier than dental school. The only people who can have a valid opinion on this are people who have done both med and dental school, and we all agree on this. It's amazing how in med school you just show up and they pass you. They also expect less out of med students than dental students, because you are so far down the totem pole...you always have an intern, 1-2 residents, maybe a fellow, and a faculty member above you who want to do the real work. Whereas in dental school YOUR patient is YOUR patient...if they need a procedure, YOU do it. And you MIGHT have a faculty member somewhere nearby, but they expect you to do all the work. I guess this is the reason dental was much more stressfull than med school, at least for me. And in the first 2 years, we had about 25-30 hours of lecture per week, and med students only have 12-16.

Someone in a previous post said MD's have higher income, but as of 1999, the average general dentist salary has jumped above the average general internal medicine salary. And dental specialists are still on par with medical specialists. But I'm pretty down on people who shop for careers based on income. If you want to make a ton of cash with only 3 years of school, go to law school. The bottom line is that they all do well financially...but I'll never see it because I want to go into academics.

 

[Yah-E]

Toofache:

Good for you for wanting to do academics. As one of our few OMS/MD SDN participant, do you mind sharing some info with us?

1) your dental school you graduated from
2) your class rank
3) your NBDE Part 1 scores (all sections)
4) your GPA at OMS/MD application time
5) where you're doing your OMS/MD residency at right now
6) How many residencies did you apply to
7) What made you go to an OMS/MD (6 years) and not just an OMS residency (4 years)

Please share, much appreciated!

If it's a little personal, then accept my apologies. We need more post-doctoral influences around here.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Toofache,

Excellent post! I'm also interested in all the data Yah-E requested. Thanks for your insights!

And yes, dental school IS killing me!

 

[ItsGavinC]

Originally posted by Yah-E
We need more post-doctoral influences around here.

Andy, you mean you aren't post-doc!?!? 😉

 

[Yah-E]

G-man: I wish I was a "Post-Doc", gotta wait for another 4 weeks just to see if I got one step closer!

 

[DrRob]

gpannu -

I don't think its that hard to come back to Canada if you study in the US. In fact I got my DDS in milwaukee, Wi and it was easier for me to become licensed in Ontario than it was in Wisconsin.

I also have friends from UWO (physiology 1998) who did med school in the Carribean and Ireland. I really don't know what kind of difficulty they will face coming back but I can't see it being to difficult if you get an MD in the US - many Canadians do this.

 

[gpannu]

For dentisitry their is no difficulty coming back to Canada; however, for medical school it's not that easy. Even if you study in the U.S. you are still considered a FMG. But, I'm sure it's a bit easier than being a carribean grad.

What do u think about my credentials:

3.54 Cad GPA...U.S GPA is 3.58. Last two years of undergrad 3.8 GPA. I never took a full course load in school because I was at home taking care of my mother who is paranoid Schizophrenic. I took 4 courses per term. Also, I was a co-op student and worked for Bayer, and Pharmacia as a clinical data analyst. Analyzng clinical trial data. I also worked for Johnson and Johnson and A pension fund company doing IT type work. In school, I was vice-president of the biology undergraduate society, and I created a web-stie similar to SDN for Uwaterloo students. It['s basically a pre-health professional career site. Also, I T.A.'d histology. Finally, this upcoming year I am job shadowing a Neuropsych, and a Opthomalogist. If I decide on dentistry I will shadow an oral surgeon and a G.D. What other experinces should I undertake in. I really want to find out if any of these professions are for me.

 

[NewNameForGoogleBot]

DrRob,

How is it different being a dentist in canada? I was born in Ontario, but have never lived there (but visit relatives all the time). What can a sucessful dentist earn? I have no real plans to move back, but still have citizenship, so who knows!?

 

[DrRob]

I don't really know how its different being a dentist in Canada. Fees seem to be cheaper - I have only been in Ontario for 3 months and started with 0 patients so I am making less money than when I worked in Wisconsin on Salary for a big clinic.

I just love private practice and being my own boss a lot better than someone telling me I have to be here during these hours or I have to see this patient. Also, I think living in Ontario there is a more relaxed atmosphere (I don't know why, maybe its just because I grew up here).

Gpannu, I think you have a good chance at whatever you want to do - providing you do decent on the mcat, dat or whatever. I think its good that you apply to a variety of programs. I was not a die hard pre - dent. I applied to teachers college, physical therapy, optometry and dentistry and was accepted to each program, except optometry (waitlisted). I just decided on dentistry because I wanted a career that was respectable, and that wouldn't become my life. I didn't even shadow a dentist at all and had no idea what I was getting into.

 

[ehop24]

after a sketchy start, this thread has turned out to be fairly nice.

i'll chime in on my motivation a little. i've been set on dentistry since about my senior year of high school. the motivators then were the standard med vs. dental, lifestyle, job description, blah blah. fairly generic.

After a year of full time dental assisting, i'm starting dental school. What motivates me now is completely different:

-i like the variety. i can work as many or as few days as i want. i can do high end cosmetic, or mostly medicare. if i enjoy endo or perio, i can expand their roles in my practice. everything is entirely up to me. i can make dentistry whatever i want it to be. specifically, i can mold dentistry into what i enjoy.

-i have grown to love business. i see dental school as a 4 year road to a management position. that is not bad in todays economy. however, even if i'm the worst manager in the world, i still possess a desirable trade skill that will always be in demand.

-i have heard of dentists that can't find the perfect job, but i have never heard of one that can't find ANY job. THAT, my friends, is job security. plain and simple.

-i like the technology and change. i know to many this can be a problem. change is expensive. but i will have some nifty gadgets at my disposal if i so desire. and my profession will keep me on my toes.

-finally...i like meeting people. unless you are locked in a research lab, dentistry is about social interaction. i look forward to getting to know my patients, learning about their lives and their careers. their experiences. their dreams. if you ask me, that should be in the job description for dentistry. in a year of dental assisting, i met so many incredible people. i cannot even imagine the conversations i'll have in the next 30 years.

i'm sure we could come up with careers that share some of these characteristics. However, i believe that dentistry would still prevail in situation comparisons.

 

[critterbug]

ehop24

Thats about the best and most enjoyable posts I've ever read on this forum. Took the words right out of my mouth. I can't wait to be a dentist!

 

[toofache32]

Sorry it has taken me a while to respond. I'm in a 6-year oral surgery program in Texas. I chose the 6-year over the 4-year mainly because I'm interested in academics, and 2 more letters after your name helps. But you don't need an MD degree for academics or actually any part of our specialty. In fact, there is not a single MD degree among our faculty. I like that because it's a matter of pride in my dental school background. I have had several ******* med school classmates ask why they can't just do oral surgery with a medical degree. They are surprised when I tell them they have to go to dental school first, because it's a dental specialty. Anyway, the farther along I get in med school, the more I realize how unnecessary med school is for our specialty. You don't learn facial osteotomies in med school or dental school...you learn it in residency.

My class rank was 5 out of 76, part I NBDE 92, and I can't remember my GPA. Actually I never cared about GPA, only class rank. Our #1 guy only had a 3.71 (out of 4.0) because there were a ton of classes where no A's were given. All that really matters is class rank and board scores. It's like when you see a bear in the woods.....you only have to run faster than the slowest person in your group. In other words, I had around 3.6 which doesn't seem too hot until you consider that only 4 people in the class could do better. I scored 89 on part 2 NDBE, but hopefully they never see that score. My school was very clinically oriented, and I got the 89 by only flipping through some review books the weekend before the test. My basic sciences were pretty mediocre, so I had to bust my tail just for a 92.

 

[Yah-E]

Thanks Toofache for your responses! Best of luck in your OMS training!