DDS or keep applying to MD?

[MCatt]

I still want to keep both feet in these careers- has anyone known anyone who has gone into dentistry (or any other health professional school) and then successfully got into med midway through?

 

I have dentistry offers at UofT and UBC, no med interview invites, but I applied to dentistry as a back up to my lifelong goal of medicine. I had interview shots at UOttawa med and UBC last year, both unsuccessful, and then had no interview invites this year.

If I decline dental offers, my DAT scores expire and I completely lose the opportunity to be a dentist, something that I would still genuinely be happy doing. Med is my absolute dream, but I don’t want to close a great door when I had tried 4 cycles now with medicine.

Basically I’m thinking about applying to med this next cycle, with the intent to leave DDS after first year if I get accepted. Is this a bad decision?? All thoughts are welcome

[#YOLO]

dont decline..dont be fkin dumb. take the dds. trust me. 

[Butterfly_]

I’d take the DDS. Keep applying if you still want to. It’s a good backup incase med doesn’t work out.

[1D7]

I don't know a single dentist that pursued medical school after their dentistry careers. Your debt will be too high to accumulate another 100k, you'll want to use the skills you developed in dental school, you might want to start a family, you might just feel FOMO at all your friends having careers, etc.

I'd still advise accepting the dental school offers. An old classmate of mine was in your situation and doesn't regret his decision at all. In retrospect, as premeds (without doctor parents) we barely knew what medicine was really like despite all our volunteering. Don't think of it as giving up on a dream, see it as opening a new door.

[Meridian]

Take the dental offer !!   4th med application cycle and unlucky no interviews this year.   Unless you have some other plan to significantly boost your application potential, it is time to move on to the new door that is being held wide open for you - walk through it !   

[Bluecolorisnice]

Take DDS especially since you have offers from Canadian schools. But if med is really your goal, you can try again since you got interviews before.

[Vendar]

One thing to remember is that when you are re-applying for MD, you will be most likely asked of why you are switching, so be prepared!

But it is very doable (transferred from DMD to MD) 

[VigoVirgo]

Take the DDS. Vendar makes a good point, you can always make the switch in the future one day. But studying dentistry at a Canadian school especially UBC or UoT which are both excellent is an opportunity you should not pass up especially if you have applied to med 4 times. 

[member_225]

Take the DDS and run with it

[BuildAdditionalPylons]

Take the DDS!!! If you don't end up liking it, you could always reapply the next cycle - my friend did that and is at McGill for MD now!

[xiphoid]

Like everyone above said, take the DDS!!! You can always switch later - I know a few people who switched into medicine after or during pharmacy.

I do know of someone who went through medical school after working as a dentist for a few years (he wasn't allowed to graduate from medical school at the end so he's been working as a dentist ever since, but that's a whole different story).

[Edict]

On 3/27/2019 at 10:54 AM, MCatt said:

I still want to keep both feet in these careers- has anyone known anyone who has gone into dentistry (or any other health professional school) and then successfully got into med midway through?

 

I have dentistry offers at UofT and UBC, no med interview invites, but I applied to dentistry as a back up to my lifelong goal of medicine. I had interview shots at UOttawa med and UBC last year, both unsuccessful, and then had no interview invites this year.

If I decline dental offers, my DAT scores expire and I completely lose the opportunity to be a dentist, something that I would still genuinely be happy doing. Med is my absolute dream, but I don’t want to close a great door when I had tried 4 cycles now with medicine.

Basically I’m thinking about applying to med this next cycle, with the intent to leave DDS after first year if I get accepted. Is this a bad decision?? All thoughts are welcome

Take the DDS. The killer here is that your DAT scores expire. I'm not an expert in applying to med from dent, but if that is doable, its definitely the right way to go. Med is no guarantee and honestly a dental career is better than no career. 

[dna]

On 3/27/2019 at 9:12 PM, xiphoid said:

Like everyone above said, take the DDS!!! You can always switch later - I know a few people who switched into medicine after or during pharmacy.

How much does the GPA in pharmacy (or any professional schools) influence when applying again to medicine, say if an applicant has 3.95 gpa in science undergrad but low gpa in pharmacy? 

[guy30]

On 3/26/2019 at 9:28 PM, 1D7 said:

I don't know a single dentist that pursued medical school after their dentistry careers. Your debt will be too high to accumulate another 100k, you'll want to use the skills you developed in dental school, you might want to start a family, you might just feel FOMO at all your friends having careers, etc.

I'd still advise accepting the dental school offers. An old classmate of mine was in your situation and doesn't regret his decision at all. In retrospect, as premeds (without doctor parents) we barely knew what medicine was really like despite all our volunteering. Don't think of it as giving up on a dream, see it as opening a new door.

I don't know much about dentistry but don't people who go into Maxillofacial surgery do this all the time?  As in complete Dent, then Med, and then a Maxillofacial surgery residency?

[wishcalculator]

50 minutes ago, dna said:

How much does the GPA in pharmacy (or any professional schools) influence when applying again to medicine, say if an applicant has 3.95 gpa in science undergrad but low gpa in pharmacy? 

it doesn't lol, unless you apply to school in quebec

[mrew]

55 minutes ago, guy30 said:

I don't know much about dentistry but don't people who go into Maxillofacial surgery do this all the time?  As in complete Dent, then Med, and then a Maxillofacial surgery residency?

Kinda, but not exactly. In Canada the only way to become an oral maxillofacial surgeon (OMFS) is to go through dental school first, then likely complete a 1 year general practice residency, then get accepted into an OMFS residency (extremely competitive). The OMFS residency is 6 years long and they will award you an MD at the end of it. They do not separately go through medical school - the MD is awarded after finishing their 6 year residency. They must however finish dental school first to completion. 

[Thistimenextyear]

I know a few people who switched from dent to med so it's definitely doable. Take the DDS and see if you'll like it - you can always apply to MD during/after. 

[dna]

On 3/29/2019 at 5:15 PM, dna said:

How much does the GPA in pharmacy (or any professional schools) influence when applying again to medicine, say if an applicant has 3.95 gpa in science undergrad but low gpa in pharmacy? 

For UofT, I found this on http://applymd.utoronto.ca/faq/frequently-asked-questions-admissions?page=1. I do not know about the other schools yet. 
 

Are professional programs such as Dentistry, Law or Chiropractic College considered graduate programs?

No. Marks from completed years of university undergraduate professional programs such as Dentistry or Law are calculated as part of the undergraduate GPA. College marks (including Chiropractic, Naturopathic or Homeopathic programs) are not included in the GPA calculation.

[xiphoid]

@dna McMaster says that Law is included in the undergrad GPA calculation on their website so I think it would be safe to say that dentistry and pharmacy are as well. Queen's says that chiropractic and naturopathic medicine programs are not included in the undergrad GPA, so I think it would be safe to say that all other professional school programs not listed are included in the undergrad GPA. Unlike the US, professional degrees are considered undergraduate degrees in Canada.

[Stethescope]

On 3/26/2019 at 7:54 PM, MCatt said:

 

Have several people in my class that are applying to medicine while attending dental school. 

[PremedToronto]

On 3/26/2019 at 10:54 PM, MCatt said:

I still want to keep both feet in these careers- has anyone known anyone who has gone into dentistry (or any other health professional school) and then successfully got into med midway through?

 

I have dentistry offers at UofT and UBC, no med interview invites, but I applied to dentistry as a back up to my lifelong goal of medicine. I had interview shots at UOttawa med and UBC last year, both unsuccessful, and then had no interview invites this year.

If I decline dental offers, my DAT scores expire and I completely lose the opportunity to be a dentist, something that I would still genuinely be happy doing. Med is my absolute dream, but I don’t want to close a great door when I had tried 4 cycles now with medicine.

Basically I’m thinking about applying to med this next cycle, with the intent to leave DDS after first year if I get accepted. Is this a bad decision?? All thoughts are welcome

As others have nicely said above, I would also say take dentistry...my main point is that you've said that you would be happy doing it. So do it! If you still have an inkling for med, you can apply while in dental. I also know someone who switched from dental school to medicine just 1 year into it.

Congrats on the UBC and UFT DDS acceptances! 

[struggling2getin]

I know people applying from DDS to MD right now, and someone who did the same last year and switched when they got offered an MD spot. Im in another professional program myself since I had no interviews for MD last year and I have absolutely no regrets in choosing this route. You wont spend another year with uncertainty but it will come at a financial cost. The major risk is that you will he asked about the reason for the switch but this generally wont come up in MMI since they have specific questions. Alternatively, you might develop some good clinical experience during your schooling and be able to incorporate that into your answers. If you get a closed file panel, there might be a chance that you wont be pressed on this either if you never mention being in dentistry.

[JohnGrisham]

On 3/26/2019 at 8:28 PM, 1D7 said:

I don't know a single dentist that pursued medical school after their dentistry careers. Your debt will be too high to accumulate another 100k, you'll want to use the skills you developed in dental school, you might want to start a family, you might just feel FOMO at all your friends having careers, etc.

I'd still advise accepting the dental school offers. An old classmate of mine was in your situation and doesn't regret his decision at all. In retrospect, as premeds (without doctor parents) we barely knew what medicine was really like despite all our volunteering. Don't think of it as giving up on a dream, see it as opening a new door.

I actually know 3. 2 went into medical school after working as dentists for 5-10 years. The other left dental school after 2 years and went into medical school. 

Definitely take dentistry and keep reapplying. You may just end up liking dentistry anyways.