Word to the Wise.....

[ElMudo]

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Let me put in my two cents. It would be loonacy to think that buisiness skills were not a needed component of dentistry. It is loonacy to think that buisiness skills are not a needed component of any profession. It is utopianistic to also think that dentists should only want to "Help people." Dentistry is an extremely satisfying profession, where people are helped and money is earned to provide for family and financial responsibilities. The better business skills one has, the more people they will be able to help, is another way of looking at this situation.

 

[iambatman]

Let me put in my two cents. It would be loonacy to think that buisiness skills were not a needed component of dentistry. It is loonacy to think that buisiness skills are not a needed component of any profession. It is utopianistic to also think that dentists should only want to "Help people." Dentistry is an extremely satisfying profession, where people are helped and money is earned to provide for family and financial responsibilities. The better business skills one has, the more people they will be able to help, is another way of looking at this situation.

i agree, but do two wrongs make a right?

(i'm here to confuse people, ignore me)

 

[1992Corolla]

This is one of the best things about dentistry. EVERYONE who is applying this year and last and next likes the aspect that they too can make 6 figures right out of school! Even if it isn't THE motivating factor it still is, whether they say it or not. The dentist you shadowed drove a sweet 7 series bimmer, or owned a sweet malibu boat (and had time to use it 2x a week), or he had both and an 8,000 sq. ft. house with a 4 car garage. Don't tell me you didn't get interested. HOWEVER, money is not everything! So if the site of a canine being ripped out of a bloody orifice makes you sweat and get woozy...you changed your mind quickly and became an engineer.
Helping people is great. Working at a satisfying career is great. A patient comes in with a problem and an hour or two later the patient is happy because you helped them out. This is called job satisfaction. Now if the patient paid you 2k for the crown you just placed, this is also called job satisfaction. If you ended the day with 3 fillings, 6 crown preps, and 3 placements...then hop in your ___________ (insert car of your dreams...enzo? 😎 ), and drive home to your wife and kids knowing that you get to sleep in tomorrow (it will be wednesday and you don't have to work), go to the zoo with your kids, work on your project car or finish your deck, and then watch the game on your 60 inch flat screen. Well who wouldn't want to be a dentist?

 

[Audio]

This is one of the best things about dentistry. EVERYONE who is applying this year and last and next likes the aspect that they too can make 6 figures right out of school! Even if it isn't THE motivating factor it still is, whether they say it or not. The dentist you shadowed drove a sweet 7 series bimmer, or owned a sweet malibu boat (and had time to use it 2x a week), or he had both and an 8,000 sq. ft. house with a 4 car garage. Don't tell me you didn't get interested. HOWEVER, money is not everything! So if the site of a canine being ripped out of a bloody orifice makes you sweat and get woozy...you changed your mind quickly and became an engineer.
Helping people is great. Working at a satisfying career is great. A patient comes in with a problem and an hour or two later the patient is happy because you helped them out. This is called job satisfaction. Now if the patient paid you 2k for the crown you just placed, this is also called job satisfaction. If you ended the day with 3 fillings, 6 crown preps, and 3 placements...then hop in your ___________ (insert car of your dreams...enzo? 😎 ), and drive home to your wife and kids knowing that you get to sleep in tomorrow (it will be wednesday and you don't have to work), go to the zoo with your kids, work on your project car or finish your deck, and then watch the game on your 60 inch flat screen. Well who wouldn't want to be a dentist?

I feel so dirty and wrong for saying this but, that sounds so amazing 🙁 😀

On another note, I have a BU interview here in Toronto on Feb 16 or 17. If I've already been accepted to my first or second choice, I might go to the interview and have a little fun. Maybe I'll borrow some of what you wrote when asked "Why dentistry?" 😀

 

[duh?]

That should be interesting. Let us know how it goes.

 

[groundhog]

You’re all delusional. None of you have actually practiced in the real world. Neither have I but go visit www.dentaltown.com and read some of the post of ACTUAL practicing dentist and then come back and try to feed me this BS of what you THINK dentistry really is. Sorry to break it to you but you going to have to learn how to be a good businessperson, real quick if you want to be successful.

Also, since when does “quality of life” not play a role in the profession you pursue????
That’s right I said profession. JOB. You work for money in case you forgot. Regardless if you have this “dying passion” for the field or not. Any intelligent person looks at all the factors involved in pursing a career. Some choose to work 70+ hours a week while others choose to have a balanced life.


With all this talk you better be accepting only Medicaid when you practice! Really, say this after you worked 12 hours for $70,000 with student loans to pay off, house and car payments, kids to feed, etc. REALITY IS A BITACH!!!! 😱

Actually, the medicaid route is financially viable if one has "a business sense" as others have stated. The basic formula is a highly competent and efficient staff of assistants/hygienists who do all the pre and post op work while you, as the dentist, concentrate on the treatment plans and surgical procedures. Add a low overhead no fluff office in a low rent area plus a just in time inventory system and it can be done without taking a beating on the take home for both the dentist and staff.

 

[1992Corolla]

I feel so dirty and wrong for saying this but, that sounds so amazing 🙁 😀
😀

well, be careful how you say it...half of what I said can be taken the wrong way.

 

[jpollei]

Shhhhhh!!!! 😉

I’ve been lurking on the boards for awhile and I’ve noticed a lot of people posting in the other forums about the “Beauty of Dentistry” and have see how a lot of pre-meds, pre-pharm, pre-optometry, etc are starting to really consider dentistry and switching over. You’re only creating more competition for your self. And why would you want to do that?
QUOTE]

Same reason we're a profession who ideally would put ourselves out of a job. Think about it--if everyone did what we try to teach them and brushed their teeth etc, we'd soon be nothing but glorified hygeininsts with the occasional orthodontist or surgeon. The rest of dentistry would be rendered more or less obsolete.
Truth is, that will never happen, and because there will (at least for the forseeable future) always be more people with or without teeth than dentists to care for them (due to a fixed number of dental school seats) let there be competition among applicants. Healthy competetion to get in (i.e. having a drive to be more dedicated and focused) makes the profession stronger...which is the ideal. The ideal will never happen, but if you can get as close as possible you should make every effort to do so.

 

[donkeywhisperer]

Two cents...

I really look forward to being in dental school. I think it'll be great to be in classes with people who have tried to hold themselves to a high standard of academic excellence, and who are passionate about the same thing I am. The end result of convincing more people to apply to dental school who are intelligent strong applicants is that there will be more intelligent and strong dental students who will eventually become very competent dentists. This will ultimately improve the prestige of the field of dentistry. My mom works for a really crappy old dentist. He does shotty work and charges a fortune for it. I feel that he makes all dentists look bad. If we can get more competent people coming out of dental school to replace worthless old losers like this guy the dental profession will gain more respect and maybe even rid some patients of their dental anxiety.