should I do dentistry, or do an MSc and reapply to meds?

[Guest salvarsan]

Hi folks,

 

I am in a precarious situation and I seek guidance from those of you who can help. I have completed my four year degree in biology and have been accepted into dentistry in canada and the states. I am also waiting to hear from a couple of medical schools in Canada.

 

In the case that I dont get accepted to medicine (which is my first choice), I dont know if I should accept dentistry or pursue a MSc with the hope of getting into medicine in two years.

 

This is a very difficult decision for me and I would like to ask those of you in medical school if all this extra effort is worth it? I guess this is the question that I am looking to answer.

 

 

>:

[Guest Lurkergonepublic]

Well that depends on what you want to do and how badly. If you don't want to be a dentist then don't go into dentistry. If you want to be a doctor, then pursue that. It's good to have a backup plan of something you will like, but if you're not actually willing to do it if the chance remains of getting your first choice in the future, then is it really worth applying? No one can decide that for you, and as to how 'worth it' medicine is that really depends what you value about both your destination and the path you take there.

 

Unfortunately, short of an unusually gifted fortune-teller or $5 text message horoscope, you just have to figure that one out for yourself. If you have some specific questions about another's interpretation of the lifestyle of their profession, you might get some answers usefull in making a decision.

 

Good luck

[Guest riDer]

dentistry

 

chances are that if you like meds tha much you wont b far off with dentisrty. not to mention that you have no guarantee that you will get in to meds after msc given the high number of msc that are rejected these days then you will have nothing. plus the application cycle is getting more and more competitive as the years get by so even worse. i say go for dentistry you can lawasy do a med residencey like in surgery and you can do the same thing docs do.

[Guest Adversary]

If you only consider dentistry as a backup plan, a better than nothing choice, it would not be wise to choose it. As a dental student I can tell you that it is very different than medicine (our program is the same as medicine's for the first two years). Dental diagnoses are more straightfoward, hence, not as diverse as in medicine. In the words of one of the faculty, "you will spend the rest of your life working in an area no bigger than a teacup". If you think you can find passion working on people's teeth, building relationships over time, and having a balanced life, dentistry does have a lot to offer.

 

If you are unsure, the best thing to do is to shadow local dentists and see if you would be happy doing what they do. Remember, while there is greater flexibility, there is also greater risk in the sense that dentistry is a business. If you are not good, you won't have as great a business, keeping in mind there is that 65% overhead cost.

 

However, it's not all bad. The average number of working days for a dentist in BC is 17 days/month. Most tend to work 4 days or less and have associates taking over during their absent days. This frees up a lot of time for you to pursue other interests. As well, you do have control over how much you want to work. I do know one dentist in the rural area golfs every day. It's really about what you want out of your business. That's the good side.

 

Like I said earlier, shadow a dentist if you haven't already and find out for yourself if you can spend the rest of your life in that career.

 

As for surgery, I believe riDer is referring to Oral Surgery. Yes, you can actually get a MD out of tha (6 years on top of 4 years of Dentistry). However, there's less than 10 spots in all of Canada though you have a lot more chances in the US. For that specialty, expect to rank in the top 5 for a chance. Since TheChoosnOneDDS frequents this forum, maybe he can assist you better. He has been accepted into Oral Surgery and has gone through way more years of dental school than I did.

[Guest treehuggingbiologist]

I can't wait to see what thechosenonedds has to say about this...

[Guest Gavanshir]

If medicine is where your passion lies then you should try for at least 1 more year before going to your back up plan. You have to really think about whether you like medicine enough to make the sacrifices that it demands and whether dentistry's money+lifestyle will make up for its intellectual limitations.

 

Also, I thought it was orthodontics that was the very lucrative and competitive dental speciality and that oral surgery was less attractive in comparison..?

[Guest kellyl20]

Go for the dent. One classmate of my sibling was in dent and then reapply to med and then got into med after 2 years in dent. Was it worth it? Hard to say, as he is now graduating and going into FP and who knows what specialty he could have gotten into or not after dent. The first 2 years in med was very easy for him after 2 years in dent, but the rest of the class caught up and things were at an even footing again in 3rd yr med.

[Guest Gem2005]

I can relate as I was in the same exact situation as you when I opted for dentistry three years ago. I also did a bachelor in biology and did not get accepted to med as I got a spot in dentistry. That was a very hard decision, as I wondered if I made the right choice during the two first years of dentistry.

 

As it turns out, I got med school interviews during the two first years of dentistry (as I was still not sure and wanted to pursue my goal of going into medicine). However, I got waitlisted both times and didint make it through. Now, I just finished my third year and can really get a grasp of the dental profession. It really is a great profession, especially once you get through the theoritical and hit the clinics. It has EVERYTHING you want in a profession (money, great hours, your own boss, possibility to go further and specialise, you are a doctor....). However, it is less challenging than med, and also very stressfull.

 

I am not reapplying this year as I do want to get my dental degree. If you asked me now wether it was worth it, I would say" HELL YES". I still applied during the two firts years, and didint get through to med. If I had done a masters which was not what I wanted, while reapplying I would have probably still gotten waitlisted during the two past years. Basically for me it boyles down to the fact that I put all the cards on my side , but sometimes things still dont work out the way you want them to, or it could take more time.

 

I do know people who did dentistry or pharmacy, and still reapplyed to med after and got in.Some of them didint go because they didint see why they would let their dental degree go to waist, and they were making money and loving the profession.

 

So it is your choice after all. But what I learned from my experience is that nothing is guaranteed, even in the best senarios of life. The most important thing I learned is, in life there are always decisions to take, some easy ones and some thougher ones. But as long as I take them without regrets , then I'm good!

 

Hope it helps!

 

GEM