Pros And Cons Of Dent Vs Med

[PM333]

So this summer I am writing both my MCAT and DAT. I can't decide between them. My current debate is choosing a profession I find more interesting (going into medicine) or going into dentistry, which I find is alot more repetitive, but I think I will have more flexible hours than if I were to be a doctor. I've heard many people say that a doctor's life is centered around his job, and I do not want this to happen to me. I want time with my family, and free time. I also heard that being a dentist is more financially awarding. Does anyone have any insight into the two professions??

[LeBronto2019]

Go shadow the two professions so you know what you're getting into! Then decide what aspects of each you're more concerned with to tip your decision if you're not sure. Do some research yourself too about the careers. 

 

But I still don't understand why people are picking between the two careers because they're completely different...besides stable lifestyle, prestige and money. 

[Mighty Molar]

Generally speaking, mostly for GP, medicine has more prestige, and dentistry has better life style.

 

Half of dentistry is business, without the business half, DMD gp earn a bit less than MD gp.

 

Based on my business plan & financial estimation for my future clinic, once I get 3 associates & 3 hygienists, i could get a very comfortable life style without actually doing any dentistry work

 

btw, does everything feel repetitive once u do it long enough? 

[mikenewman333]

To compare medicine and dentistry is like comparing apples to oranges. On one hand, dentistry is a very specialized field, but when you say medicine, this can include anything from family medicine to plastic surgery. So in essence, before applying to medicine you should have some idea of what kind of specialty you would want to match into. You also have to keep in mind that competing for specialities once in medical school is an ongoing process, and you may not end up with your first choice. However, by finishing dental school you are guaranteed to become a general dentist, with the exception of some more added education if you choose to specialize or pursue a residency. 

 

In the end, choose what you feel will make you most happy. I have also heard that dentistry can become repetitive, but I think the same can be said for other medical specialties. 

[songofdovely]

If your biggest determining factor is lifestyle (which theres nothing wrong about) then you should ask yourself how hard you're willing to work to achieve your goal.

 

Medicine has a much higher potential but comes at a much higher opportunity cost (hours in medical school are much longer, possibly relocating for residency, fellowship, etc.) In other words if you have relatively little commitments at this stage (no kids, no significant other with an inflexible job) then medicine can be much more high yield. Ophthalmologists can easily bill over 7 figures with 40 hour weeks (there are a handful billing over 2-3mil/year in Vancouver). However, there are only a handful of residency spots for ophthalmology every year...so in order to obtain that lifestyle you'd need to work your butt off during medical school. There are many other examples of medical subspecialties with excellent lifestyles (high annual salary to hours worked), but I just chose an extreme example to highlight this point.

 

Dentistry, on the other hand, is a much more straightforward road. My dental colleagues that have just graduated are now working full time with starting salaries between 100-200k working 40-50 hours a week. Will they ever reach the salary:hour potential of an ophthalmologist? cosmetic surgeon? cardio/GI? No....but they dont have to do call, they don't need to do a 5 year residency, and they don't work the hours that we do in medical school. 

 

tldr; if ur willing to work like a dog x ~9 years (4 years medicine + ~5 years residency) and your only goal is lifestyle - do medicine.

[Mighty Molar]

 

 

Dentistry, on the other hand, is a much more straightforward road. My dental colleagues that have just graduated are now working full time with starting salaries between 100-200k working 40-50 hours a week. Will they ever reach the salary:hour potential of an ophthalmologist? cosmetic surgeon? cardio/GI? No....but they dont have to do call, they don't need to do a 5 year residency, and they don't work the hours that we do in medical school. 

 

Many dentists i personally know only work 30 to 35 hours per week and make 120K-160K, so I think 40-50 hours is at the higher end of the spectrum (since they just graduate and need time to speed up? Idk) My regular dentist only work 3 days a week (~25 hours), but he has 10 years of experience, own his practice, and has 3 associates.

 

Secondly, you are comparing GP dentist with specialist MDs, which is apple to orange. How about comparing exception vs. exception? considering dental franchise owner: 

 

"Great Expressions Dental Centers, founded in Michigan and headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, is an impressive growth story, with about $275 million in annual revenue and a spot on Inc. magazine's list of America's fastest-growing private companies. About 600 of the firm's 2,300 employees, including dentists and hygienists, are in Michigan."

 

Reference: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/04/07/dental-franchises-show-steady-growth/2059091/

[songofdovely]

 

 

 

 

Many dentists i personally know only work 30 to 35 hours per week and make 120K-160K, so I think 40-50 hours is at the higher end of the spectrum (since they just graduate and need time to speed up? Idk) My regular dentist only work 3 days a week (~25 hours), but he has 10 years of experience, own his practice, and has 3 associates.

 

Secondly, you are comparing GP dentist with specialist MDs, which is apple to orange. How about comparing exception vs. exception? considering dental franchise owner: 

 

"Great Expressions Dental Centers, founded in Michigan and headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, is an impressive growth story, with about $275 million in annual revenue and a spot on Inc. magazine's list of America's fastest-growing private companies. About 600 of the firm's 2,300 employees, including dentists and hygienists, are in Michigan."

 

Reference: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/04/07/dental-franchises-show-steady-growth/2059091/

 

 

 

1. If you read my post I was quoting my colleagues that have recently graduated. They are starting at 100-200k working 40-50 hours a week. This is pretty average. I am sure things only get better the more senior you become at a practice...the dentists you know may have been in practice for a number of years already.

 

2. Apples to oranges? You're quoting me the total revenue (read: not profit) of an entire company based in America. FYI that revenue needs to split between all 2,300 employees which, according to this source, many are dentists (read: how much does each dentist take home at the end?). That revenue also has to pay for taxes, overhead, etc. $230 million in revenue isn't actually all that impressive. I can easily quote companies started by MD's..there are many mid-large cap stocks that are already publicly traded that squash $275 million in revenue.

 

I'd actually argue my analogy is much closer. I am comparing MD subspecialty in B.C. vs DMD subspecialty in B.C. I'm simply stating that there is more earning potential to less hours worked in MD subspecialties than DMD subspecialties. 

 

PS are you even a dentist/in dental school?

[PM333]

Family doctor vs dentist. If someone didn't specialize, is the income more or less equal? What about hours worked? I've heard that being a dentist is much more of a 9-5 job than being a GP doctor. Does anyone know if there is any truth to this?

[mmd7]

Family doctor vs dentist. If someone didn't specialize, is the income more or less equal? What about hours worked? I've heard that being a dentist is much more of a 9-5 job than being a GP doctor. Does anyone know if there is any truth to this?

Totally depends on the GP and where you are working. If you're working at a walk-in medi clinic you might have to be on call on some of your "days off," but generally they're only open like 8-6 and closed on Sundays. There are also specialties that are more "9-5" that only require an extra 3 years of residency compared to family med and will probably 1.5X or 2X your income. I would say with med there are just more options for specialty and lifestyle. I mean dentist is like a Dr that already chose mouths. Physicians get to choose from all the other body parts. So if you like mouths choose Dentist, if you're like me and you think looking at teeth all day would be disgusting, choose med . For me it's a no brainer!

[Falling]

Dentists have to stare at teeth.

[enamelbro]

If your biggest determining factor is lifestyle (which theres nothing wrong about) then you should ask yourself how hard you're willing to work to achieve your goal.

 

Medicine has a much higher potential but comes at a much higher opportunity cost (hours in medical school are much longer, possibly relocating for residency, fellowship, etc.) In other words if you have relatively little commitments at this stage (no kids, no significant other with an inflexible job) then medicine can be much more high yield. Ophthalmologists can easily bill over 7 figures with 40 hour weeks (there are a handful billing over 2-3mil/year in Vancouver). However, there are only a handful of residency spots for ophthalmology every year...so in order to obtain that lifestyle you'd need to work your butt off during medical school. There are many other examples of medical subspecialties with excellent lifestyles (high annual salary to hours worked), but I just chose an extreme example to highlight this point.

 

Dentistry, on the other hand, is a much more straightforward road. My dental colleagues that have just graduated are now working full time with starting salaries between 100-200k working 40-50 hours a week. Will they ever reach the salary:hour potential of an ophthalmologist? cosmetic surgeon? cardio/GI? No....but they dont have to do call, they don't need to do a 5 year residency, and they don't work the hours that we do in medical school. 

 

tldr; if ur willing to work like a dog x ~9 years (4 years medicine + ~5 years residency) and your only goal is lifestyle - do medicine.

Remember that the specialties in medicine that offer a very good lifestyle and superior pay (ex: opthomology, plastic surgery) are very competitive, and you may not match into these specialities. So make sure that you are okay with the idea of going into family medicine or internal medicine (specialties that are generally lower paying, but still a decent lifestyle). As such, I would imagine that a GP dentist can make as much or sometimes more than a medical GP, but the medical GP has more schooling. Also, most people in dental school won't specialize, but will end up as general dentists, so make sure you are okay with that as well if you choose dentistry!

[enamelbro]

Dentists have to stare at teeth.

Opthomologists stare at eyes, your point?

[MZ1000]

Opthomologists stare at eyes, your point?

 

1. Everyone knows mouths are grosser than eyes. Case and point: you don't have to scrub your eyes twice a day to keep them from being offensively dirty. 

 

2. People can use their mouths to talk while you stare at their eyes. 

 

 

Really, to net it all out: dentists commit suicide more than any other group of professionals or tradespeople. 

[uwopremed]

Not sure why people think the two are radically different careers.  There are greater difference WITHIN medicine itself (i.e. pathology vs neurosurgery vs psychiatry) than there is between general dentistry and many mainstream family docs and some medical/surgical specialties.

 

Both are health care based jobs.  Both have prestige.  Both are hard to get into.  Both make a lot of money.  The business sense in dentistry in canada is more important - BUT it is also important for most doctors too - as they are FFS, need referrals, have secretaries and rent.

 

In fact, among health professions, the two are the most closely related macro-professions.

 

For income potential - i have family in both fields.  Lets be clear -both make A LOT of money.  There are general dentists, that with only 2 offices,are clearing 1 million pre-tax but post expense.  They have associates, lean expenses, and many money making hygienists on board - but that kind of income potential is not that rare.  Orthodontists make SO much - it puts to shame most medical specialties except the big guns (i.e. - ophthalmology - where the income made is practically criminal as most of it is risk free government insured income from cataracts and mac degeneration injections). And maxilla-facial surgeons might very well be at the top - though becoming one is not easy (and involves getting an MD too - so maybe not a great example as a pure dental specialty).

 

I applied to both.  I have an acceptance at Toronto Dents - and three OOP (in Canada) acceptances in medicine.  I will take Toronto Dents over the other options (but would take an Ontario med school over Dents).  Toronto dents is an incredible opportunity (especially compared to western) for networking and connecting with dental operations in a catchment area of over 5 million (7 million if you include kitchenr/niagra/hamilton areas which are close by).  London catchment area is maybe half a million at tops - not great for scoping out great associating positions (where you will need to be for 2-5 years to build capital and develop hand skill).

 

In the end, both professions offer great income and great prestige - and allow you to impact the health of the general public.  Either/or - I personally would be happy with.

[uwopremed]

1. Everyone knows mouths are grosser than eyes. Case and point: you don't have to scrub your eyes twice a day to keep them from being offensively dirty. 

 

2. People can use their mouths to talk while you stare at their eyes. 

 

 

Really, to net it all out: dentists commit suicide more than any other group of professionals or tradespeople. 

 

 

 

No - mouths are not necessarily grosser than eyes (you have not seen some ocular pathologies - they are not pretty).  Optometrists generally deal with normal looking eyes.  Ophthalmologists deal with much more serious issues.

 

Mouths are probably less gross than doing regular gynaecology exams, prostate exams, doing general surgery for bowel pathologies, drainage of pilonidal cysts - etc.  

 

Lastly - dentists do not commit more suicide than doctors or most other professionals.  It's a old wive's tale.  There is ZERO evidence of this in 2015.  Take your fairytales elsewhere.

[amichel]

I'm going say what is more gross depends on the person. Personally, eyes freak me out, but some people don't like mouths, etc...

 

Not really an argument anyone is going to win...

[MZ1000]

 

No - mouths are not necessarily grosser than eyes (you have not seen some ocular pathologies - they are not pretty).  Optometrists generally deal with normal looking eyes.  Ophthalmologists deal with much more serious issues.

 

Still. Mouths are grosser. Common knowledge. 

 

 

Mouths are probably less gross than doing regular gynaecology exams, prostate exams, doing general surgery for bowel pathologies, drainage of pilonidal cysts - etc.  

 

Okay - so something is grosser than dentistry. That doesn't make dentistry less gross. 

 

 

Lastly - dentists do not commit more suicide than doctors or most other professionals.  It's a old wive's tale.  There is ZERO evidence of this in 2015. 

 

Say that it is. The fact that it's a believable myth gives you some idea of what people think of dentistry as a profession. The OP wants to know what people think of dentistry as a profession. He has his answer. 

[xkittens]

In dentistry you have a professional duty to ask open ended questions while being elbow deep in someone's mouth. Idk if you can handle that level of awkwardness. 

[uwopremed]

 

 

Still. Mouths are grosser. Common knowledge. 

 

Okay - so something is grosser than dentistry. That doesn't make dentistry less gross. 

 

Say that it is. The fact that it's a believable myth gives you some idea of what people think of dentistry as a profession. The OP wants to know what people think of dentistry as a profession. He has his answer. 

 

No - common knowledge to you is not fact.  ALOT of people are grossed out by eyes.  Some people refuse to get contacts for that reason alone.  Show me a large-scale study or study - and I'll believe you.  Personally neither gross me out.

 

Dentistry may not be less gross to some, but to others it is.  A lot of people hate blood, or dealing with poop (disimpaction in the ER anyone?) or urine or vaginal secretions or puss or what not.

 

Despite what you think, and the jokes, most people do respect dentists and think it's a great career!  Compared to medicine?  Well...less prestige than medicine.  But the world has thousands of jobs - and dentists are generally up there in respect (despite jokes).  People find out you're a dentist at a social event; you automatically get social capital similarly to a doctor.   At least in relations to other jobs (nurses, masonry, teachers, gardeners, farmers, etc). Thinking otherwise is ludicrous.

 

I'll probably get into a medical school in ON, and do meds.  But dentistry IS a great profession.  These immature nitwits making fun of dentistry (or the few making fun of medicine) are immature insecure souls...or people trying to scare people away from dentistry.

[ralk]

No - common knowledge to you is not fact.  ALOT of people are grossed out by eyes.  Some people refuse to get contacts for that reason alone.  Show me a large-scale study or study - and I'll believe you.  Personally neither gross me out.

 

Dentistry may not be less gross to some, but to others it is.  A lot of people hate blood, or dealing with poop (disimpaction in the ER anyone?) or urine or vaginal secretions or puss or what not.

 

Despite what you think, and the jokes, most people do respect dentists and think it's a great career!  Compared to medicine?  Well...less prestige than medicine.  But the world has thousands of jobs - and dentists are generally up there in respect (despite jokes).  People find out you're a dentist at a social event; you automatically get social capital similarly to a doctor.   At least in relations to other jobs (nurses, masonry, teachers, gardeners, farmers, etc). Thinking otherwise is ludicrous.

 

I'll probably get into a medical school in ON, and do meds.  But dentistry IS a great profession.  These immature nitwits making fun of dentistry (or the few making fun of medicine) are immature insecure souls...or people trying to scare people away from dentistry.

 

Not that "social capital" matters, at all, but it someone at a social event told me they were a mason, I'd probably find them a whole lot more interesting than someone who told me they were a dentist.

 

Edit: Or if they said they were a physician for that matter.

[Falling]

I can't believe a comment about looking at teeth was taken so seriously.

[Mighty Molar]

There are good days, and there are not so great one, but in general, I do enjoy dental school a lot (except when I need to study for oral pathology & oral medicine exams  )

[Falling]

There are good days, and there are not so great one, but in general, I do enjoy dental school a lot (except when I need to study for oral pathology & oral medicine exams  )

 

But you still have to stare at teeth in the future, correct?

[Mighty Molar]

But you still have to stare at teeth in the future, correct?

 

Yeah, and they are lovely, especially once you put Invisalign tray on, they become even more pretty (and shiny!)    lolz

 

 

 

[enamelbro]

The prestige is weird.

I really didn't expect so much prestige as a dentist, I didn't think dentists had that, but I get it all the time and it's really awkward. What's even worse is people expecting you to think of yourself as prestigious...ugh

 

As for teeth being gross (not that I feel PP's "gross" comment really needs grave discussion, but why not talk about gross stuff??)...yeah...teeth are really gross sometimes. Epic gross.

Thankfully, yanking gross festering puss covered stumps out of someone's skull can be pretty fun. It's like when hygienists get all excited popping giant chunks of calculus from under someone's gums.

Yep, it's gross.

Some of us like gross, so it's all good.

(Hacking through a dead person's face to split their head in half in anatomy class with a dull hack saw??? Way more gross. ETA: OH! OH! Even worse was the big rubbermaid bins of dead people's disembodied genitals in the med anatomy lab!...seriously, if gross is a negative aspect of the career for you, maybe look at somethinf like law school instead of med/dent)

 

Honestly, it's tough to compare because no one does both.

I have no idea what it's like to be a GP doctor except that they don't use a drill, they don't work with an assistant all day (big deal, never even crossed my mind I would be working with someone so closely all the bloody time), and they have to deal with government insurance vs private industry billing and insurance. Beyond that, I can tell you what my job is like but I can't really compare it to med, and neither can anyone here really.

 

As for the money...people hate hearing this, but it depends.

If you have an amazing patient flow, a bunch of hygienists and associates then sky's the limit. Meanwhile I know plenty of associates in saturated markets struggling to clear 10K/mo...so...it depends.

What do people mean when they say things like, "having prestige". Do people act nicer towards you? Do they explicitly state that you are a person of respect? Just kind of confused what sort of behaviours translate into acknowledging one's "prestige"