<p>Which one would you choose and why?</p>
<p>I am split on the decision.</p>
<p>I personally can't stand teeth. They showed us pics of congential sphyillis and the teeth haunted me for days.</p>
<p>Ortho will get you a lot more money with a lot less work, but in terms of placement in a fellowship is probably on the same level of difficulty as derm for medicine residencies.</p>
<p>I feel much more helped after leaving a dentist's office (for cleaning, not for braces) than I do after leaving a doctor's office.</p>
<p>I like my dentist.</p>
<p>Although the difficulty is the same, which would you prefer?</p>
<p>Even if you assume it's equally difficult - which I find shocking - then ortho is still a lot fewer hours and probably a lot more money.</p>
<p>bluedevilmike: why do you think that orthodontics is easier than general medicine?</p>
<p>"Even if you assume it's equally difficult - which I find shocking - then ortho is still a lot fewer hours and probably a lot more money."</p>
<p>I assumed they were the same because its still a lot of work. Guess I was wrong. </p>
<p>Why is orthodontics easier than general medicine?</p>
<p>I really don't know enough to speak to the subject. I'd just be very surprised if being good enough to be an orthodontist is the same difficulty as being one of the top few med students in the country (what you need to be for a derm residency, which is what BRM was discussing).</p>
<p>From my friends in dental school, and my second cousin (former roommate) who is applying to dental schools, everything I have ever heard is that ortho is extremely difficult to get into. You do have to be one of the best dental students in the country.</p>
<p>For one, most dental students don't go on to pursue a fellowship after graduation. There is no mandatory formal residency program like in medicine. Second, it's popular for the exact same reasons derm is - great lifestyle, great money, little oncall responsibility. Third, even though having braces sucks, the general consensus among my friends is that people/kids like the ortho better than the regular dentist, which is a concern for a lot of people I know, and one of the reasons that dentists have such a high suicide rate. No one really likes going to the dentist.</p>
<p>Now is it exactly as hard as derm to attain...probably not, but there are fewer people applying for dental fellowships (which aren't required to practice) than for medical residencies (which everyone has to find a spot). So there are some interesting things going on with the numbers.</p>
<p>Wouldn't being a doctor be a more secure profession in a sense because in a depression for example, orthodontic treatments aren't a priority for most people? And also, are orthodontists sought after in all areas of the country or just the wealthier ones?</p>
<p>If the trend of bluedevilmike thinking continues, then medicine is doomed. The fact that there are no instant results in medicine equates to doing nothing.</p>
<p>High BP is not glamorous. It require vigilance on part of the PATIENT to take their stinkin pills. That insulting comment of some guy you makes your teeth straight is more important than the guy who might keep a risk factor for multiple medical problems in check is why medicine is not fruitful anymore.</p>
<p>Everyone avoid medicine. More such garbage will be the future. Breast jobs will be worth more than the procedure that saves your life. Wait a minute. Breast augmentation is like 2000 but a cataract surgery is like 200. So much sense.</p>
<p>Americans will pay for what's perceived as a luxury, not as a necessity. Get over the idea that you deserve to live for free. I hope the day will come when all these socialists will eat their own tongue because they had to wait in line and died. Don't think it happens? Go take a look at WHAT really happens across the pond. Or maybe just ask a hospital physician not your local Obama lover.</p>
<p>You have to remember that I'm a healthy 24 year old.</p>
<p>Second, that I was referring to a general dentist, not an orthodontist.</p>
<p>Third, that I like the dentist. They make my teeth feel clean.</p>