if you havent heard of a shortage of dentists you are actually the most ignorant person i know. up north i have heard countless times about queues that have lasted hours because a new dental practice opened.
i simply googled shortage of dentists and here you are in jan2008:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7189448.stmowning a pharmacy is easier yes once its established but like i said before, if there is a boots or superdrug down the road you are pretty much done for.
drugs cure the body yes, but pharmacists are following the doctors prescription,
they are not prescribing the drugs themselves which is why i dont find working in a pharmacy satisfying. i was so bored when i was working there for 1yr. The biggest challenge a pharmacist can get is a mother going to them and saying their child has a fever of some sort and they would recommend them calpol, or a diabetic would complain of a cough and you would give them robitussin (sugar free cough medicine), as far as challenges go and the freedom a pharmacist has to give drugs, that is as far as it can go, most prescription medications such as antibiotics can only be given under a prescription given by either a doctor, or, wait for it, a DENTIST!!!
and first of all, its teeth, not tooth, if it was tooth i wouldn't bother counting it because there is only one there! and we do a lot more than count teeth. we have the ability to improve patients self-esteem. i had a patient who had her front teeth extracted and had a gap there. she was so low on self-esteem and confidence and would never smile or speak loudly because if she did it would show that. i made her some dentures and the next time i saw her she was a different person.
that is satisfaction, the ability to change peoples lives. in a pharmacy the patients life has already been changed, the tests have been done, the decision has been made by the doctor to prescribe certain drugs and the pharmacist would literally get it out of the cupboard and send the patient on their way.