Why do people want to do Dentistry?

[schmalex]

So, I'm guessing 90% of dent students don't really have a passion for teeth?

That's a generalisation you can't make.

I didn't make it, I asked a question.

[slothpomba]

Well, i always wondered this and i asked my dentist one day when i got around to it.

He seemed pretty relaxed, i mean i don't know how many dentists have lost patients in the dentistry chair before... or had to deal directly with someone who has a terminal illness or druggies (ER doctor anyone) or child abuse or sick children or anything like that. You cant underestimate the toll and impact these things can have on you, i was reading a blog of a doctor and she could tell this little girl was being abused and all and in another one she had to tell parents that their child passed away.

You have to deal with 0 of that as a dentist, i know it comes with the job and i'm also considering postgrad med but id give up a decent chunk of money just to avoid those things. Thats one reason people choose something like Dent/Pharm/Optom over medicine.

Also with medicine, depending what you do and where you work you might also be on call and it could really ruin a lot for your (future) family. I haven't heard of dentists getting called in too often.

The money is still very good and like i said the workload is pretty lightish and doesn't seem hugely hectic. Nice and relaxed. For me personally however i dont think i could do dentistry day in day out for the rest of my life, i kind of hold the view that a job should be a big part of your life and kind of meld with it, i mean you will spend a lot of waking hours of your life working at your job. It seems it could be kind of boring and undynamic to me which i would hate, it wouldn't give me very high job satisfaction.

Others may say that who cares what your job is, if you make enough you can do what you actually love in your spare time but i dont really agree with that. It is possible to love your job or at least like it.

Anyway, my dentist (he was asian) said his parents wanted him to become a doctor but he didn't quiet have the marks, so he chose dentistry. Not to insult anyone or anything but i think a lot of people who do dentistry or even pharmacy do it because of parental pressures and other things like that, still think its a good medical career or whatever. There is a proportion of people i would wager who learnt to love it though but i think a lot of people don't dream of dent straight out rather they get into it for other reasons. He said it was pretty comfortable and the hours were good.

If you have a chance dont be afraid to ask your dentist and see what they say.

Also on another note, compared to the way pharmacy (graduate explosion, hardly any jobs and pay is getting lower, less prestigious basically a dispensing machine - theres a thread on this somewhere) and optometry (being reduced to working at spec savers and things like that) dentistry is actually fairing the weather rather well and it really isn't looking down that much pay wise or job oppertunity wise.

[iffets12345]

I have to battle this stupid Dentist stereotype a lot with my Med friends, who claim that dentists are greedy for money and can't help anyone.
Excuse me, I can help an african child rebuild their mouth just as badly as you can cure their anemia or whatever. Dental hygiene is just as important as general hygiene.
I have a friend who when asked the question, "If all jobs paid the same, what would you do?" answered with "Still a dentist"
Granted, I said librarian, but some people, especially with those from dental family backgrounds, have grown up being passionate about dentistry.
People do dentsitry for a few reasons.

1. Status and money. (as bad as it sounds, it's true)
2. Passion for health sciences.
3. Wanting 9-5 hours, unlike med.
4. Passion for health sciences without the 10 years of med and specialisation.
5. Less competitive than Med (?) Not sure about this. Most likely though.
6. Ability for general dentists to be multi-specialists. They can dabble in ortho, pedo (yes, pedodontics), endo, prostho, and perio. If anything gets worse, you become as my lecturer says a "refero-dontist" and send it away to a specialist, or worse comes to worse, a max fax. They are the ones who have to solve your problem. You can basically do what you like. Bear in mind, with any new venture comes the responsibility to be able to perform the procedure safely and in the patient's best interests.
7. What my dentist said-If I pull out the wrong tooth, that is not like screwing up your heart on the surgery table.
8. You can help out a lot with volunteering and stuff, dentists are needed everywhere and I think they get less exposure than the medical doctor crisis.

So yea.
Although I know that a lot of us wanted to do med and didn't get it. I will say, I still have some trepidation and worries and stress about being a dental student. However, it's still a good profession and it can bring satisfaction to you.