[oz40]

So when we factor in salary, working hours, and overall lifestyle, who has the favourable position? A doctor or a dentist?

[clad in armour]

Isn't it pretty self evident

[oz40]

I'm not sure - the thread regarding how a particular dentist hates his career choice has left me puzzled.

[oz40]

So.....?

[That Bearded Man]

You would suspect the dentist

[SportsFan]

doctors are better as you save people's life also because I am bias.

[mdr1993]

^ Ever had toothache SportsFan?

[zapppa]

(Original post by SportsFan)
doctors are better as you save people's life also because I am bias.

The questions wasn't which role is better, the OP is talking about which one offers a better lifestyle etc.

I'd probably say dentists have a better work and social balance, compared to doctors.

[BackDoorEntry]

Salary per working hour is most likely going to favour the dentist.

But really it depends what kind of lifestyle and job you're after anyway. Doctors undoubtedly have a more exciting/engaging job IMO

[Sophie1805]

(Original post by mdr1993)
^ Ever had toothache SportsFan?

+rep. I had an abscess once and I can tell you... it felt much worse than death.

[lil-mazie]

Well due to the fact i want to be a dentist i might sound bias but the first starting up years i believe the dentist is more favourable but after a couple years down the line the doctor earns more and gets to do more things so it becomes more favourable but to be honest i can't really choose from the two; some say a doctor is more rewarding but i could never have such reasonability so I’d choose the dentist

[Carpediemxx]

Dentists have a far better lifestyle and earn more money than doctors.

[mdr1993]

(Original post by Sophie1805)
+rep. I had an abscess once and I can tell you... it felt much worse than death.

Ouch, never had anything as bad as an abcess, but a couple of bouts of toothache will still do it.

That was in fact one of the reasons I chose dentistry, you can have an far more immediate positive impact on somebody's wellbeing in dentistry. A point I have used before is: in medicine a course of treatment may lasts many weeks or months to have a tangible effect and should it fail, it is entirely possible that you patient will die; in dentistry you are able to almost immediately remove your patient's pain and you can have a massive impact on their self confidence as well.

I think the other aspects have already been covered, there is a greater choice of specialty in medicine (around 50 I believe compared to 13 in dentistry), you can have a far greater effect on a patient's overall health however you'll work less hours as a dentist. On the NHS you'll be payed roughly the same as a doctor or a dentist dependent on area of practice and experience, I believe, although I could be wrong.

[Magnanimity]

Dentist - better lifestyle, better working hours, better (but not guaranteed in general practice) salary. Consultancy/hospital posts pays the same in medicine/dentistry in general. Slightly more for dentists initially. Time pressure is a pain in dentistry and being self employed.

Medicine - more interesting job.

What I love about dentistry is I can always fix a patients problem, they come to me in pain and they will leave with a solution. There is always something you can do. In medicine that quite often isn't true.

[Stockholm101]

I can't know which one you will like more. That's entirely personal.

But, the trend in medical specialty is to go to a specialty with high pay (eg. Orthopedic surgery) or with life style balance (eg: dermatology). But these specialties are highly competitive so you can't know if you can get in. And even if you get is you still get trained more than dentists. So thats loss of time.

If you are looking for comfortable life with good pay, I suggest you dentistry. For the same amount of training, dentists get paid more a lot more than doctors.