Dropping out of dentistry

If you know it's not for you then change. Horses for courses and all that. Start looking into other options now - if you got the grades for dentistry then you will have a lot of doors open to you for pther uni courses.


Just one thing - have you had much patient contact? If not maybe you would enjoy it more once you do?

Patient contact could be the game changer. Having said that, there are other career options in dentistry that does not involve patienty contact. I myself do not enjoy treating patients on the chair. After 3 years in practice I decided to get into teaching & research in forensic odontology and I'm enjoying it a lot more.

It is important for you to know what you actually like, and if you are able to keep doing it for the next 30-35 years. If you happen to not like dentistry in general, my advice is for you to leave and do something else that excites you more.

Hi sorry for such a late response, thank you for your reply could I ask how you found dental school? And what was your experience moving into teaching?

I found dental school to be tough, to be perfectly honest, both theoretical and practical. However, as long as you are on top with your revision and you get everything that needs to be done with your patients within the stipulated time (the requirements etc) you should survive dental school. Teaching has been wonderful (I am back in Malaysia), you are not exactly bound to the 8-5 working hours and that helps a lot especially if you dislike routines, like myself. I don't do much clinical anymore except when I am supervising the third and fourth year students (the best part for me). However you have to be into research and the teaching bit itself. For now I don't think I will be going anywhere other than teaching.

When you say you found it tough, do you mean difficult to grasp/academically tough or tough like testing on your tolerance/patience? Personally, I've found it to be the latter..
Others at my dental school say the work (especially this year when we've been doing fillings etc on phantom heads) is difficult too so I am unsure if to stick it out if we're all in the same situation?
Teaching sounds great , especially supervising students, I may consider it if the patient contact doesn't work out. Did you do a PhD?

A little bit of both, actually. I was not as bright as my colleagues (LOL) and had to deal with a lot of cultural differences as well, even after a few years. A couple of clinical tutors treated me like crap, and I am not sure if it was racism (my colleagues actually agreed on this) or purely me not performing up to their standards. But I decided to brush off the negativity and just focus on graduating. It is important to have a little bit of fun as well, and a great support system so you don't feel too depressed most of the time.

You really should not let that get to your head, when people say it is difficult etc as different people have different capabilities. What they find difficult might not be as difficult as you think it is and vice versa. I personally find phantom heads not difficult but rather communicating with patients that is challenging. But if you do it long enough it will definitely get easier, that is what I feel at least.

I am actually applying for a PhD for 2017 entry. Still waiting for a scholarship offer at the moment, then I am in!

Thanks for your advice and no I haven't had much patient contact yet, I think I'll have to wait until feb/march time for that. I think I would enjoy the patient interaction, but I mean in most jobs you get to work with other people right?
Might send some emails to tutors of other courses, I guess I'm just too scared of making the same mistake twice and then have an even harder time finding a job than I would as a dentist