Advice requested. 34 year old scientist thinking about Dental school

[polsum]

Hi – I am a 34 ½ year old PhD (Veterinary Biomedical Sciences) graduate working as a postdoc researcher for the past 5 years. I had done my PhD here in the US but my undergraduation/professional education in Veterinary sciences was done in a foreign country. I am married and have a kid at home. I am currently seriously thinking of pursuing a career in Dentistry. Obviously I have so many questions. But before going to questions, let me state the reasons for changing the field at this point.

1. Until last month, I was working on H1B work visa, but I recently got my greencard and hence permanent residency status. So my thoughts of changing the field are not new, they have been there for a long time, but as a foreigner, the expenditure and low chances of acceptance stopped me to move further.

2. After almost 10 years of bench work and publishing 12 papers, I feel like I am very exhausted. The most important aspect that I miss is the human interaction part and I kind of feel guilty that I am unable to impact fellow humans directly.

3. Moreover, survivability in research has become very tough and there is no hope in near future. The funding scenario for biosciences is becoming tougher by the day and I know of several other scientists moving to alternative careers. The competition is very very high to get funding. And without funding any scientist’s career is doomed in academia.

4. Why dental? As I said above, human interaction part is crucial for me to motivate myself to perform any job. Medical is too long and I cant be a vet for the above mentioned reason.

Now my questions, few of them are very obvious.

1. Is age going to be big problem during my time in dental school?

2. How do the ‘youngsters’ treat ‘oldies’, especially here in Houston?

3. I know the courses I took in undergraduation are not valid here as they are not from an accredited school. But my question is, are the courses (90 credit hours, 60 regular plus 30 dissertation) taken during the phD (which I studied here in the USA, from an accredited university) valid? Some courses are very advanced such as advanced immunology or biochemistry, statistics etc. Do I still need to take the basic courses like organic chemistry etc? I specifically want to know if UTD at Houston can waive the course requirements.

Any response will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[crew09]

I'd meet with your local undergraduate school's health professions advisor. They can provide accurate information tailored to your specific situation.

 

[BoxerRumble]

Might be a better idea to contact the schools directly since your situation is kind of unique and some advisers might not know the answers to your questions.

 

[doc toothache]

A Ph.D. is in a totally different factor in the equation for ds admission. It is best left to specific schools in question rather than a health professions adviser. With just 10 years in any field, you cannot afford to be "very exhausted". Why not do some serious shadowing? Who knows, you might decide that you would rather have felines as "patients" than the homo sapiens variety.

 

[polsum]

I'd meet with your local undergraduate school's health professions advisor. They can provide accurate information tailored to your specific situation.

Thanks for the reply. Currently I am in the process.

Might be a better idea to contact the schools directly since your situation is kind of unique and some advisers might not know the answers to your questions.

I agree with you. I shall do it soon.

A Ph.D. is in a totally different factor in the equation for ds admission. It is best left to specific schools in question rather than a health professions adviser. With just 10 years in any field, you cannot afford to be "very exhausted". Why not do some serious shadowing? Who knows, you might decide that you would rather have felines as "patients" than the homo sapiens variety.

By exhausted I meant 'I don't like it anymore'. Important thing is that you dont have total control over your future if you are in research. There are so many things that are beyond your control. Shadowing is a great Idea; It should really give me an idea regarding the daily life of a dentist.

Thanks again for your replies. I would love to see some replies from the non-traditional students who were/are in the same boat.

 

[Strongholder]

polsum, your situation is very unique. It would be a great idea to contact admissions representatives from a couple schools that you are interested in. Most of them are extremely helpful and willing to work with you. While I can't provide any more insight into that issue, I did want to tell you to not let your age be a deterrent. I have a family member who is currently a 4th year dental student and is 44 years old. It is possible.

 

[UltimateHombre]

A Ph.D. is in a totally different factor in the equation for ds admission. It is best left to specific schools in question rather than a health professions adviser. With just 10 years in any field, you cannot afford to be "very exhausted". Why not do some serious shadowing? Who knows, you might decide that you would rather have felines as "patients" than the homo sapiens variety.

I agree with the doc... the fact that you have a PhD puts you on a whole other playing field than the rest of us. Many schools will value your knowledge and professional experience. It really is best to talk to admissions at specific schools about your position as well as waiving classes from your doctorate program.

There are a couple of pre-pharmacy students that post pretty frequently on the pharmacy forums that have PhDs in chemistry. They have been in postdocs for a while and are transitioning to Pharmacy school. Their names are "chemnerd99" and "chemguy79". They are not going the dental route, but they may be able to offer advice as far as going from PhD to professional school and how things transfer and best way to contact schools. Try PMing them.

They both post on this thread.... http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=848650

 

[wkupredental]

Hi – I am a 34 ½ year old PhD (Veterinary Biomedical Sciences) graduate working as a postdoc researcher for the past 5 years. I had done my PhD here in the US but my undergraduation/professional education in Veterinary sciences was done in a foreign country. I am married and have a kid at home. I am currently seriously thinking of pursuing a career in Dentistry. Obviously I have so many questions. But before going to questions, let me state the reasons for changing the field at this point.

1. Until last month, I was working on H1B work visa, but I recently got my greencard and hence permanent residency status. So my thoughts of changing the field are not new, they have been there for a long time, but as a foreigner, the expenditure and low chances of acceptance stopped me to move further.

2. After almost 10 years of bench work and publishing 12 papers, I feel like I am very exhausted. The most important aspect that I miss is the human interaction part and I kind of feel guilty that I am unable to impact fellow humans directly.

3. Moreover, survivability in research has become very tough and there is no hope in near future. The funding scenario for biosciences is becoming tougher by the day and I know of several other scientists moving to alternative careers. The competition is very very high to get funding. And without funding any scientist’s career is doomed in academia.

4. Why dental? As I said above, human interaction part is crucial for me to motivate myself to perform any job. Medical is too long and I cant be a vet for the above mentioned reason.

Now my questions, few of them are very obvious.

1. Is age going to be big problem during my time in dental school?

2. How do the ‘youngsters’ treat ‘oldies’, especially here in Houston?

3. I know the courses I took in undergraduation are not valid here as they are not from an accredited school. But my question is, are the courses (90 credit hours, 60 regular plus 30 dissertation) taken during the phD (which I studied here in the USA, from an accredited university) valid? Some courses are very advanced such as advanced immunology or biochemistry, statistics etc. Do I still need to take the basic courses like organic chemistry etc? I specifically want to know if UTD at Houston can waive the course requirements.

Any response will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

I definitely agree with the above posts about the age issue. I think that, if nothing else, it will make you a unique candidate. No one - other dental students included - would look negatively on your age.

In fact, during a tour of one of the dental schools I took, some of the students pointed out that there was a 45 year old student in his 3rd year of dental school. He had switched careers from pharmacy to dentistry and was doing quite well.

Hope that helps, and good luck!

 

[NAVY DDS 2010]

Now my questions, few of them are very obvious.

1. Is age going to be big problem during my time in dental school?

2. How do the ‘youngsters’ treat ‘oldies’, especially here in Houston?

3. I know the courses I took in undergraduation are not valid here as they are not from an accredited school. But my question is, are the courses (90 credit hours, 60 regular plus 30 dissertation) taken during the phD (which I studied here in the USA, from an accredited university) valid? Some courses are very advanced such as advanced immunology or biochemistry, statistics etc. Do I still need to take the basic courses like organic chemistry etc? I specifically want to know if UTD at Houston can waive the course requirements.

I can answer the first two questions since I am one of the oldies at Houston. Your age means absolutely nothing at UTSD in Houston. You are treated the same - the young and the old. We have people who start here at 19 and have people start here in their mid 40's. Just this past May, we had a guy who was in his early 40's with a family and had a PhD who graduated from here. He was a well respected member of the class. Another classmate graduated at the age of 49. This coming year, a student will also be 49. There have been close to a dozen people here who have been in their 40s while I have been at Houston. This school is very friendly to the older crew.

Now, as far as the requirements go, you really need to call the school and ask them. They are the only ones who can answer this. Any advice or opinions offered here is pure speculation.

 

[hamburger90]

the two cents that i can put in is to never give up... people tell stories about untraditional applicants making it, one day yours can be told. In addition, i am pretty sure you have to retake general prerequisites, not only for being required but also for the DAT, as a phD you have probably forgotten most of these important sciences... and thereafter dental school will be a piece of cake for you my friend! Never give up man, you dnt know if you can make it unless you try.... Wish you the best

 

[Rejoice419]

As a very similar applicant, I am very curious about how your challenge was done. Even it was posted years ago, If you are able to see this, could you share your experience with me?

 

[setdoc7]

Your age should not be a factor with regard to your ability to earn a dental degree. On the other hand, I am sure you are aware of the staggering cost of a dental education, and even state schools are no longer in an "affordable" category. Working during dental school is really not a viable option. If you decide to specialize, you are looking at beginning your dental career in your 40's, and entry level jobs are not particularly high paying vs.debt load and cost of living.Unlike your 26 yo cohorts, you will not have a decade to make up the cost of school. If your SO has a good high paying stable job, and you are not planning on sending your child to Choate or Exeter, you may get by.

 

[ysrebob]

Original post is from 2011, but Rejoice419 I would be happy to talk with you -- feel free to message me.

I bailed out of biosciences/academia at age 35 to start dental school. The job market for PhDs was abysmal then and it seemed clear that it was going to get worse. Changing into dentistry felt like a major setback at the time, but more than a decade later I have no regrets. Many of my old grad school buddies never did make tenure track and eventually washed out of science (mind you these would all be grads of a top-rated Ivy League program, perhaps the best in the world in my former field). Science is really eating its young right now. Dentistry is not glamorous work and does have its challenges, but offers a FAR more reliable relationship between effort and reward.

 

[setdoc7]

So if you posted this in 2011, and you were already out a decade, that means you are a 2001 grad? School was a lot cheaper then, and you may not have had to do any post bac pre reqs with a science Phd. OP, contemplating a career shift which will land you a dentist at age 40 means 10-30 years servicing a large debt, unless someone else is paying. One of my former residents is married, and spouse makes bank ( your investment money). This resident also comes from a "dental family"(knowledge of running a dental practice) . This former resident is now running about 6 practices(resident is the owner), 3 years out of school. If this sounds like your potential situation, then dentistry is for you.