Some General Info - for someone interested in dentistry...

[Guest KJ]

Hi,

 

I was thinking about dentistry as a profession and I have a few questions regarding school, price/tuition, etc. If anyone can answer the questions, I would really appreciate it!

 

1. I've read that as a dental student, you have around 8 hours of class a day. Is this true? Are these classes all lectures or are there practicals as well?

 

2. When do students actually get to "practise" on people and real patients? Where does this occur, in a hospital or clinics near the school?

 

3. How much would you say is the entire 4 years of education including tools, books, tuition, and any other expenses?

 

4. What happens after a dentistry student graduates - can a graduate immediately start practising and open his/her own clinic?

 

5. How much does a graduate earn? Is it easy to find full-time work after graduation?

 

6. Are there other options besides working in a clinic?

 

7. Do graduates have to do a residency? What is a residency and how long does it last? If residency is an option, why do some people choose to do it, while others do not?

 

That's alot of questions, but whatever you can answer would be great.

 

Thanks alot!

[Guest epzi]

I'll try my best to answer what i can:

1. I start in sept, so i'm not sure first hand, but i hear that dent students are in class somedays and in lab others, from 8-5 or something like that.

2.I hear at alberta we start in 3rd year

3. my tuition is about 69000 for 4 years, another 20000 for instruments over 4 years, and like 3000 for books. So with living and everything i'll probably run about 130000 or so for 4 years give or take a little.

4. I believe a graduate can start his/her own clinic but you need about 400,000, and also you won't have very much experience. I think most people work a year or two, pay off loans, and then start up somewhere.

5. A couple of my friends who just finished picked up full time jobs at clinics for about 95,000/yr. They had to go to small towns though. No idea how hard it is to find work.

6. Maybe research or teaching

7. You could do a residency if you want. The dentist i shadowed works in a hospital setting with the calgary health region and he deals with lots of strange cases that private clinics won't touch. for him it was worth doing a residency so he could see alot of different cases. Gives you alot of experience.

Hope that the answers are accurate, but anyone feel free to correct me or add on.

epzi

[Guest Francesco1001]

Well, I'll be starting 2nd year Dents at Western next year, so I'll tackle this list from my school's perspective:

 

1. Our class schedule is not near 40 hours at all at UWO. First semester maybe 30ish, second closers to 20. Here's a link for our schedule last year (www.fmd.uwo.ca/dentistry/...INAL.pdf). Second year, on the other hand, is close to 40 hours a day. Should be interesting...

 

Of all the classes listed, some are only every second week or on special days. Anatomy, Operative Dentistry and Occlusion all have a practical component, almost always following an oral component. Oral Histo has a 1-1.5 hour slide show after every class.

 

2. Actual independant work on people doesn't begin until 3rd year, however there is mandatory assisting hours which must be completed. These involved being a dental assistant for a 3rd or 4th year student in our dental clinic for a total of 18 hours.

 

3. Expenses wise, I'd say a total of around 140-150K. Thats a rough estimate which changes depending on how good you want to live while in school and how much fun you want to have when not in class

 

4. A graduate can immediately begin working, however I believe the trend is to work as an associate for the first few years after school to eliminate a good portion of debt and get grounded in real practice.

 

5. One of our classes stated that from 0-5 years after graduating, a new dental student earns an average of 100K per year. However, I never quite saw how many hours per week was required for this value.

 

6. Clinic and research (+ teaching) are the two main options for a graduate. With our knowledge, Im sure there are consulting jobs available as well for dentists who don't want to follow the traditional path.

 

7. No residency required. However, it can be used to improve ones skills if confidence is lacking (but this is at a severe pay cut from what you would earn out in the real world). Also, I guess you could get in good with some profs if you wanted to do a specialty program.

 

Hope this helps. If anyone else has any questions, feel free to post them.

 

Francesco

[Guest KJ]

Thanks Francesco and epzi for you answers to my questions. Just another question, do you get summers off in dentistry (ie. for getting a summer job?)

[Guest epzi]

At alberta we only get 6wks of summer the first two years. Its 12wks at western i believe.

 

epzi

[Guest nanoarray]

First year summer: You practice on your classmates; eg, putting rubber dam, applying sealant/fluoride, getting putty impression, probing.

 

Second year winter: see your first real patient (just some basic clinical exam and probing)

 

Third year summer: you still have to go to school.....to see your patients.