4 ms·

Don't be a nurse, be a dentist. 4 years of schooling beyond BS, no residency, $146,920 per year median (BLS, 2010). In several states "dental culture" is to onl

by iends 13y ago

Don't be a nurse, be a dentist. 4 years of schooling beyond BS, no residency, $146,920 per year median (BLS, 2010). In several states "dental culture" is to only work 4 days a week. In cities around the size of Raleigh, NC a practice with one experienced dentist can generate 800k-1.2m in revenue and end up with a 250k-300k take home. Of course it takes a few years to build up the patient base. Starting salaries for dentist in Raleigh working for a larger practice is 150k-170k. (Source: My wife is a fourth year dental student).

mathgladiator 13y ago
What is the barrier to entry? i.e. What makes this hard? Is it just "being the bad guy"? edit: not to sound like a jerk, but I'm curious
- tsotha 13y ago
  Four years of extra school is a pretty big barrier.
  - rdtsc 13y ago
    So is getting a PhD. Seems like being a dentist is a better alternative in monetary terms than being an English major student + PhD, sociologist with a PhD or even an engineer with a PhD.
    - tsotha 13y ago
      Oh, there's no question that's true. Most PhDs aren't even close to being worth the money. Getting a tenured position these days is like hitting the jackpot.
- rdouble 13y ago
  There isn't much barrier to entry besides the extra school. It's just that nobody really wants to be a dentist.
- eitally 13y ago
  The biggest barrier is probably not an obvious: if you're not good with people, you'll probably fail (unless you become attached to a hospital). If you can't actually see yourself as a medical practitioner, working in a high touch environment, you shouldn't do it.
- iends 13y ago
  Getting into dental school is exactly like getting into medical school in the USA. It's very competitive, especially at the top schools. Everybody is type A personality, great grades, hobbies, research, leadership, community service, etc. Before being accepted (and before we were married), many people/admissions officers/etc made a huge deal that my wife would have to sacrifice our relationship to get through school. We even had a Dean of a dental school pull me to the side while touring with my wife and tell me that we would not make it if she was accepted. This was largely overhyped and I'd say the stress in our marriage has only increased 5%-10%. Dental school itself is also a lot like medical school. Every dental school I know is roughly 8am-5pm with the first two years spent mainly in classes, and the last two years spent in a mix of classes and student clinic. You take many similar classes as you would in medical school, for example, gross anatomy (i.e. real dead bodies) of the entire body before spending a few extra weeks on the neck up. One thing to be a dentist is that you have to be good with your hands as every dentist has to give injections, fill cavities, etc, Socially, I think dentists have a perception problem. Many people think dentists are trying to cheat people out of their money (similar perception to chiropractors) and being a dentist is certainly less prestigious than being an MD.
mililani 13y ago
But you'll be looking and working in people's mouths all day. I say, don't do anything you're not passionate about. People end up in these fields for the wrong reasons, i.e., money, and end up becoming miserable people.
- thaumasiotes 13y ago
  > But you'll be looking and working in people's mouths all day. I say, don't do anything you're not passionate about. This is really another argument _for_ becoming a dentist instead of some other specialty. The mouth is one of the nicest, least disgusting bits of anatomy you might aspire to work with as a medical professional (after optometrists, I guess). People go into medicine for all kinds of reasons -- money, prestige, religion, a desire to feel helpful -- but not because they're easily grossed out.
eitally 13y ago
The practice we go to (in Cary) has had three owners in the last 10 years. The first owner, who opened it, is a fantastic dentist & has become a personal friend, and she sold it when she had her first baby. The second owner ran it into the ground, went bankrupt and one of the hygienists was arrested for drug abuse (selling scrips using the dentist's prescription pads). The third/current owner runs a regional "chain" of dental/orthodontic practices and is a much better businessman. I'm 100% sure they bring home >$1m income per year.
- iends 13y ago
  Some of the dentist who own multiple practices pay themselves almost a million a year in salary in our area. It's not bad work if you're interested giving up patient time to work on the business side. In our state, only dentist can own dental offices, so it keeps 3rd party corporations from forming.

by iends 13y ago

mathgladiator 13y ago

What is the barrier to entry? i.e. What makes this hard? Is it just "being the bad guy"? edit: not to sound like a jerk, but I'm curious

tsotha 13y ago
Four years of extra school is a pretty big barrier.
- rdtsc 13y ago
  So is getting a PhD. Seems like being a dentist is a better alternative in monetary terms than being an English major student + PhD, sociologist with a PhD or even an engineer with a PhD.
  - tsotha 13y ago
    Oh, there's no question that's true. Most PhDs aren't even close to being worth the money. Getting a tenured position these days is like hitting the jackpot.
rdouble 13y ago
There isn't much barrier to entry besides the extra school. It's just that nobody really wants to be a dentist.
eitally 13y ago
The biggest barrier is probably not an obvious: if you're not good with people, you'll probably fail (unless you become attached to a hospital). If you can't actually see yourself as a medical practitioner, working in a high touch environment, you shouldn't do it.
iends 13y ago
Getting into dental school is exactly like getting into medical school in the USA. It's very competitive, especially at the top schools. Everybody is type A personality, great grades, hobbies, research, leadership, community service, etc. Before being accepted (and before we were married), many people/admissions officers/etc made a huge deal that my wife would have to sacrifice our relationship to get through school. We even had a Dean of a dental school pull me to the side while touring with my wife and tell me that we would not make it if she was accepted. This was largely overhyped and I'd say the stress in our marriage has only increased 5%-10%. Dental school itself is also a lot like medical school. Every dental school I know is roughly 8am-5pm with the first two years spent mainly in classes, and the last two years spent in a mix of classes and student clinic. You take many similar classes as you would in medical school, for example, gross anatomy (i.e. real dead bodies) of the entire body before spending a few extra weeks on the neck up. One thing to be a dentist is that you have to be good with your hands as every dentist has to give injections, fill cavities, etc, Socially, I think dentists have a perception problem. Many people think dentists are trying to cheat people out of their money (similar perception to chiropractors) and being a dentist is certainly less prestigious than being an MD.

mililani 13y ago

But you'll be looking and working in people's mouths all day. I say, don't do anything you're not passionate about. People end up in these fields for the wrong reasons, i.e., money, and end up becoming miserable people.

thaumasiotes 13y ago
> But you'll be looking and working in people's mouths all day. I say, don't do anything you're not passionate about. This is really another argument _for_ becoming a dentist instead of some other specialty. The mouth is one of the nicest, least disgusting bits of anatomy you might aspire to work with as a medical professional (after optometrists, I guess). People go into medicine for all kinds of reasons -- money, prestige, religion, a desire to feel helpful -- but not because they're easily grossed out.

eitally 13y ago

The practice we go to (in Cary) has had three owners in the last 10 years. The first owner, who opened it, is a fantastic dentist & has become a personal friend, and she sold it when she had her first baby. The second owner ran it into the ground, went bankrupt and one of the hygienists was arrested for drug abuse (selling scrips using the dentist's prescription pads). The third/current owner runs a regional "chain" of dental/orthodontic practices and is a much better businessman. I'm 100% sure they bring home >$1m income per year.

iends 13y ago
Some of the dentist who own multiple practices pay themselves almost a million a year in salary in our area. It's not bad work if you're interested giving up patient time to work on the business side. In our state, only dentist can own dental offices, so it keeps 3rd party corporations from forming.