04/04/05

Here are a few testimonials from actual dental students at SUNY Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine!

Many students rush toward Medical school without first considering what the field of dentistry has to offer.  What they may not know is that a career as a dental professional can offer many advantages.  Dentists are professionals trained specifically for diagnosing and treating the many diseases that can occur in the oral cavity.  In addition, they instruct patients on how to care for their teeth and gums.  They restore teeth that are damaged by decay, trauma or other reasons, using a wide variety of techniques and materials.  

As a dentist, you have the opportunity to strengthen your patient’s self-confidence, improve their overall health, and potentially even save lives.  For example, infections such as cancer can show their first symptoms in the oral cavity. As a result, the dentist often serves as the first line of detection for these life-threatening diseases. Dentists most certainly make a difference in the lives of their patients.

     Furthermore, there are recognized specialties for those who want to specialize after dental school.  The recognized dental specialties include Endodontist, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, Orthodontists, Pediatric dentist, Periodontist, Prosthodontist, Oral Pathologists and Dental Radiology.     In addition, dentists make a good living.  The dentist’s average income is considered to be in the top 3 percent of all possible professions(1). At the same time, dentists on average work almost a full day less each week than their physician counterparts. Experts predict that these trends will continue well into the future. Plus, there are more dentists retiring each year than there are new dentists graduating from dental school. The need for dental professionals continues to grow just as our populations continue to increase, and as long as people have mouths, people will need dentists.
(1) http://med.fsu.edu/PreHealthAdvising/Fall02.asp

Written By Marie Lormil

Confucius once stated "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."  It is unfortunate to talk to people who don't love what they do.  Imagine waking up every morning dreading the day ahead of you or better yet going to bed at night not feeling excited to wake up in the morning again.  Dentistry allows you to do so much. There are myriad of different things you can do-- One person walks into your office and you relieve them of pain, the next one you create a beautiful smile, the next you give them teeth they haven't had in years, and so on and so on.  Dentistry is not so much a job, but a wonderful way to live your life.  I can't imagine living life any other way.  

Written By Larissa Figari

Now that I see patients on a regular basis, I realiize each day that entering the field of dentistry was a great decision for me.  Like all health profession you get the opportunity to help people and be involved in their lives, but what is special about dentistry is the higher frequency of contact.  You may see the same patient several times in one year.  I enjoy helping people feel better about themselves by improving their Oral health.  If interacting and serving all different kinds of people on a everyday basis sounds appealing, then dentistry might be for you.  

Written By Jung Lee