B15 Posted May 28, 2007 Report Share Posted May 28, 2007 I hate to bring this topic up, but I'm trying to make perhaps one of the most difficult decisions in my life. I was accepted to both dental and medical school, and both are at schools that are arguably the best in Canada. I originally had leanings towards medicine, but had applied to both on the advice of my parents who were very adamant that I hedge my bets. However, as I became more and more aware of the dental profession over the application process, I've realized that dentistry is a career that I may very well choose over medicine. Anyways to make a long story short, I've been thinking this over for several months and I still can't make a decision. Here's a list I've made of the pros of each profession: dentistry: no residency if you're planning on working in a private practice generally make more $/hour; also salary is not capped no on call, days are generally 8 hours; although you could work more if you wanted in summary, a more flexible career that offers more time and money to do things outside of work medicine: a more noble and prestigious career probably a more satisfying career Don't get me wrong, I don't think that medicine and dentistry are vastly different in the points above. Its just that I think that one profession has a slight edge over the other in those respects. I'm not sure if this is one of those things where "the grass is greener on the other side".. but one thing I know for sure is that physicians work their tails off. And if life was about your career, then medicine seems like the obvious choice, but I'd like to think that there's more to life than work. Anyways, I'd like to hear some of your opinions. I'd also like to know whether there are individuals who have turned down medicine to study dentistry all other factors being equivalent (ie. both are excellent schools). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wishywish82 Posted May 28, 2007 Report Share Posted May 28, 2007 I'll give you this tidbit of advice when I got into dentistry my family Dr gave me a high 5 upon hearing the news. He said it is a much better career than being a doctor. He said that the current state of affairs in the health care system is a mess and it is not going to clear up anytime soon. Medicine is a nobel profession but personally I don't want to work with really sick people or to be blamed for killing someone. I'd rather drill a tooth and put in my 8 hrs a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NGupta Posted May 28, 2007 Report Share Posted May 28, 2007 Dude, you're asking a forum full of pre-dents whether they'd prefer dental or medical school.. what do you think we're going to say? Sure people have dropped med for dent. Sure people have dropped dent for med. You need to decide what YOU want to do more.. no one can answer that for you. If you do, however, think that being a physician would be more satisfying , then I think you've already made your decision. I'm pretty sure the majority of people on this forum would think the opposite, which is why we are trying so hard to get into D-school... congrats on the acceptances by the way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EESH Posted May 28, 2007 Report Share Posted May 28, 2007 I applied to both dentistry and medicine, even though medicine was what I wanted my whole life. I got early acceptance to western, and I was struggling to decide what I'd do on May 15 if I got med school too. I actually got to the point where I was leaning towards dentistry, basically for the same reasons you mentioned above (more time and money). But when I got my meds acceptance, it didn't take half a second to realize that medicine is what I want. Money and time will come with medicine too (maybe not as much, but I'm sure enough to make your life enjoyable and fullfilling). Anyway, the last poster was right: it depends on what you want to do, and what would be more fullfilling for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwayner Posted May 28, 2007 Report Share Posted May 28, 2007 Medicine is Noble and more fulfilling profession than Dentistry? That is a pretty bold statement, son. Firstly, looking at warts, rashes and hemorrhoids all day isn't anymore noble or fulfilling than alleviating an abscess in the mouth or telling someone they have oral syphilis. You have to look at what part of Medicine or Dentistry you'd like to get into. Correcting a patient's jaw mangled by cancer surgery or straightening an insecure teenagers teeth so he/she can smile confidently would be fulfilling and noble feats. Depending on what you want to get out of your career, both have lots of options to choose from. Read this over first. http://www.cda-adc.ca/en/dental_profession/becoming/pursuing/index.asp http://www.cda-adc.ca/en/dental_profession/becoming/specialties/index.asp#9 Not that I'm trying to convince you to take your dental school spot...I'm still on the waitlist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tode Posted May 28, 2007 Report Share Posted May 28, 2007 I think I'm going to have to agree with everyone else: medicine is more noble?! Not really, since both medical doctors and dentists are DOCTORS (it's not like talking about chiropractors ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fredster Posted May 28, 2007 Report Share Posted May 28, 2007 I definitely agree with the previous posts... In fact, I would go a step further and shoot down this concept of nobility: realistically, there is nobility to be found in one thing and one thing only - a job well done. This is regardless of whether you are a physician, a dentist, a lawyer, a stock broker, politician or even a garbage man!!! Nobility is something that comes from within and not from your profession and is achieved through hard work and dedication. That being said, from a technical aspect, it was well put that the challenges can be similar both in regards to the work at hand and to the personal reward of helping others. Ultimately, your choice should be based upon what YOU see yourself doing... and judging from the fact that you believe a medical career would be more satisfying for you, the choice appears clear... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllSmiles Posted May 29, 2007 Report Share Posted May 29, 2007 Well...my own family doctor used to be in dental school...He was in second year, decided he wanted to do more than "look in people's mouths" all day (he wanted to treat the whole body) and switched over to med school. So really it depends on the person. If you get excited reading dental journals and talking to dentists (like me!) then maybe dent is for you, but if you're more into learning about med then go for that. It's all about what makes you "tick" and what you're going to be more naturally inclined towards. Choose the one that makes you want to get up every morning and accomplish something great! Choose the one that gets your adrenaline running and inspires you to do your best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Visceral Posted May 29, 2007 Report Share Posted May 29, 2007 You sound like a med student - go there. As soon as people start talking about "prestige" and "nobility" I dismiss them. It's a damn job like anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeDoc Posted May 29, 2007 Report Share Posted May 29, 2007 If you've job shadowed both, pick the one that feels like it's not work. You should wake up, not dreading that oh it's another day at the office....oh it's another day on call at the hospital... It should be something that you find fulfilling, and be damned with nobility. No one really cares anymore, except gold digging tooth hungry errr...women? Just DO it! ahahah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkmkhan Posted May 29, 2007 Report Share Posted May 29, 2007 yea seriously eh ...noble, prestigious, altruistic ....people talk like you're in the middle of a genocide crisis healing people ... most of these guys are going to find a appointed position somewhere in north america and buy their homes ... bring in another argument dents. vs. med. is played out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllSmiles Posted May 29, 2007 Report Share Posted May 29, 2007 Pfff...men can be gold diggers too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacStudent Posted May 29, 2007 Report Share Posted May 29, 2007 Pfff...men can be gold diggers too Hehe, so true....in that we are usually digging for gold to keep women happy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bayervillager Posted May 29, 2007 Report Share Posted May 29, 2007 I personally want to go into medicine, but I wouldn't say that medicine is more "noble" or "prestigious" than dentistry at all! Dentists do a lot of good work and you would be doing something quite noble helping an elderly man being able to eat good food again or making a child feel better about herself by curing her overbite. I remember when I was younger and my parents didn't have money or insurance so they took me to this charity dentist in Ottawa who fixed my toothache problem AND gave me a cool bouncy ball. I thought that the dentist was the most awesome person in the world! And as for prestige, dentists are respected members in any community in my opinion at least. So if you love teeth, I say... go for it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Wong Posted May 29, 2007 Report Share Posted May 29, 2007 From both a financial, and a time committment point of view, I think dentistry wins hands-down. You start making money much earlier, and have a much more controllable lifestyle (ability to set own hours, no nights or weekends, few to no emergency patients). Med students compete to get into residencies like Dermatology in order to obtain the lifestyle that dentists get intrinsically. From a flexibility standpoint, medicine wins hands-down. The MD degree can take you in any direction you want. If you want a job operating on beating hearts, a cardiac surgery program will take you there. If you want to work via telerads from a different country, radiology will soon enable you to do that. If you want to kill cancer cells, there are medical oncology, surgical oncology, and radiation oncology positions that will enable you to do that. There's literally a specialty involving any organ in the human body, either from the medical or surgical standpoint. In order to get there though, the training is longer, and far more intense. "Easy" residencies have you working 40-60 hours a week. "Tough" residencies may push you over 100 hours a week, and for multiple years. Once you are done, depending on the specialty, you may have lots of on call demands. Put it this way, don't do medicine unless it's the only thing you can envision yourself being happy doing. However, if you do it, there's almost certainly a field out there within it to suit any personality or career goal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NGupta Posted May 29, 2007 Report Share Posted May 29, 2007 i second that.. this discussion is played out. choose the one that suits you, dedicate yourself to it... that's all there is to it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr.drill Posted May 30, 2007 Report Share Posted May 30, 2007 Anyone who asks themselves the med/dent question should do med. Dentistry is a medical specialty that you have to have a passion for right out of the gate. Either teeth get you off or they don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllSmiles Posted May 30, 2007 Report Share Posted May 30, 2007 Anyone who asks themselves the med/dent question should do med. Dentistry is a medical specialty that you have to have a passion for right out of the gate. Either teeth get you off or they don't. Well put Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jixe Posted June 3, 2007 Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 Whether you choose to become a mouth janitor or a glorified organ custodian, remember to do what you love! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flintabatty Posted June 3, 2007 Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 I think I'm going to have to agree with everyone else: medicine is more noble?! Not really, since both medical doctors and dentists are DOCTORS (it's not like talking about chiropractors ) woah woah, easy, maybe youre too young to appreciate chiropractic services... one day you will... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr.drill Posted June 3, 2007 Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 woah woah, easy, maybe youre too young to appreciate chiropractic services... one day you will... The more you are educated in medicine, the more you will question the effectiveness of chiropractic services. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaka84 Posted June 3, 2007 Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 As someone who has been a chiropractor for 6 years and is starting med in the fall I can tell you that chiro is a worthy profession but requires more patience than any other profession in the world. Like all professions, chiropractic has more than its fair share of whacko's but unlike other professions it is the whacko's who tend to hold positions of power and influence. In about 20 years chiro will be a great choice as the treatment is very effective and safe when used correctly. BTW, I have treated many dentists and MD's and they have sent many patients my way. I would suggest you keep an open mind during whatever schooling you choose. shaka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr.drill Posted June 3, 2007 Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 As someone who has been a chiropractor for 6 years and is starting med in the fall I can tell you that chiro is a worthy profession but requires more patience than any other profession in the world. Like all professions, chiropractic has more than its fair share of whacko's but unlike other professions it is the whacko's who tend to hold positions of power and influence. In about 20 years chiro will be a great choice as the treatment is very effective and safe when used correctly. BTW, I have treated many dentists and MD's and they have sent many patients my way. I would suggest you keep an open mind during whatever schooling you choose. shaka Why are you leaving to pursue med? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaka84 Posted June 3, 2007 Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 I think you missed my point. I am leaving because of the frustration of the leadership and craziness of the profession not due to effectiveness of treatment. (Read: neck pain, headache and low back pain are the only true indications for "chiropractic" treatment) I also think the more you learn in medicine the more you will question your treatment, whatever that treatment is, and this is a good thing. shaka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllSmiles Posted June 3, 2007 Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 Yeah...i've heard that a lot of dentists end up having to get chiropractic procedures since they are hunched over their patients all day...but then a lot of them say that they feel great for a few days but then it goes back to being painful again. I'm guessing that's because they aren't changing their posture or building up their core muscles, so naturally they will feel the pain again if they don't change their habits in addition to going to the chiropractor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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