Podietry, Optometry, and Dentistry Equivalent On The Prestige Scale?

[delicious]

I saw someone on the medical forum say that podietry, optometry, and dentistry were on the same level on the "prestige scale." Of course, most there said that medicine was on its own level. I never really thought of dentistry as being equivalent to optometry in any way - pay, prestige. But I just looked up that they are 4 yrs as well. What do you guys think?

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[delicious]

I know some will detest this thread. This is light-hearted; just curious.

 

[edkNARF]

Can you provide the link to the thread in the medical forum?

 

[delicious]

Can you provide the link to the thread in the medical forum?

I can't make the link, but the thread is something like "Girls Dig Doctors" in the pre-allopathic [md] forum. The comment is on the bottom of the first page.

 

[justletmein]

i feel any career in the medical field has prestige. Even nursing. As to what level, I got no clue, it's all the same to me. As far as I am concerned, we're all working together as a team, and ego plays no role in my decisions.
When it comes to choosing one, I feel that everyone should reach their highest potential, but also enjoy what they will do as well.

 

[edkNARF]

Prestige is just a fancy way of saying 'wealth'.

 

[delicious]

Prestige is just a fancy way of saying 'wealth'.

Yeah, I think you might be right. But a lot of dentists make more than doctors - so do some dentists have more prestige than doctors?!

 

[edkNARF]

Yeah, I think you might be right. But a lot of dentists make more than doctors - so do some dentists have more prestige than doctors?!

If you are worrying if you are going to have as much prestige as a doctor, then you really need to reevaluate your motivations to enter the dental profession.

 

[edkNARF]

That wasn't meant to be directed at you as much as it was directed at those who may worry about prestige.

 

[delicious]

That wasn't meant to be directed at you as much as it was directed at those who may worry about prestige.

I'm pretty happy with my choice of going to dental school next year (hopefully). I don't care much about doctors - I personally don't feel threatened by them. But this thread wasn't about doctors.

I just think that what a dentist does is more important (prestigious?) than what an optometrist does!! dammit

 

[crazy_sherm]

Not really an answer to the prestige question, but I'm sure more people see dentists on a regular basis than a podiatrist or an optometrist. I don't think I've ever even met a podiatrist. Not everyone has bad eyes or messed up feet, but everyone seems to need their teeth cleaned.

 

[msf41]

I would say that many people do consider dentistry to be in the same catagory--All are quite under rated by the public. Here's a clue to public perception:

Name one tv show starring a dentist, podiotrist or optomotrist that is cool?

Name one dental/podiatric/optometry breakthrough that has made headline news in the last year?

Dentists/podiatrists/optomotrist just aren't as well publicized as other professions.

I work in a hospital, and in the past few weeks as I have talked with people about applying to dental school, they don't have a clue about what it takes to be a dentist. Many people think it is like a trade school. They see the advertisements for getting your dental assistant training at the local tech school, and they assume those same tech schools are training dentists too. I've talked with half a dozen people that think dentists go to maybe 2 years of training after undergrad.

I think dentists, podiatrists, optomotrists would all be more respected if people knew about the tough undergrad pre-reqs (o-chem, anatomy, etc), the high competition to get into school (at least for dentistry), the killer course work in school, the massive debt, and the difficulty of being a good practitioner.

Until dentists get cool TV shows like ER, America will never really appreciate the dentists.

 

[trypmo]

[....]
Until dentists get cool TV shows like ER, America will never really appreciate the dentists.

Yeah, a dental TV show! It could be called:


Emergency Root Canal!

Fracture: When Good Composites Go Bad

The Tofflemire Follies

I Dream of Gingiva

Mighty Molar!

Bridge over Cuspid Waters

Johnny Denturously

The Xylocaine Files

Leave it to Bite-Wings

Planet of the Apex

 

[aphistis]

the thread is something like "Girls Dig Doctors" in the pre-allopathic [md] forum.

That should tell you everything you need to know about its credibility.

 

[hockeydentist]

One of the main characters is a dentist.

What about the movie with Matt perry and bruce willis. They made a sequal too. I can't remeber the name of the movie.

HD

 

[v&andy_yankee]

^^the whole nine yards. but perry was the dentist and he is a total dork.

and dentists are getting more coverage, just look at the "swan" and every other make-over show. they're veneering every single person (ick! why ruin teeth that are good?) unfortunately, the publicized dentistry is more of a cosmetic issue (same line as plastic surgery) rather than a necessity/emergency.

 

[crazy_sherm]

My favorite dentist from a movie is still the one Steve Martin plays in Little Shop of Horrors. I watched that movie when I was like 7 and it scared the crap out me of going to the dentist or the florist.

 

[hockeydentist]

Speaking of Swan, Dr Sherry Worth is hott, hott, hooot

 

[favabean]

Don't forget the cartoon show "Bob and Margaret" and did anyone see the movie "The Secret Lives of Dentists"?

 

[cool fillings]

And "Finding Nemo"...but it was a dentist that had Nemo as a pet, so he wasn't exactly likeable.

 

[Sprgrover]

I saw someone on the medical forum...

...Trying to quantify and measure something as abstract and subjective as 'prestige' seems to be a common hobby of most of the pre-med students that I know, so that post doesn't surprise me one bit.

 

[hockeydentist]

Who cares, if they think there better than dentist, podatrists, or opto.

I

 

[jjmcentee@hotma]

I applied to both DO schools and Optometry schools. Accepted into both and I am in the middle of deciding.

On prestige: It seems that when people end of working as hard as these premed and professional medical degree's dictate, most could care less about prestige, which is a great sign of maturity. Even within these pages I see that maturity.

On medical power and privledge: medical doctors have the widest range of privledges in diagnosing and prescribing and helping.

On pay: it seems as if the professions of Optometry, Dentistry and even Pharmacy are all going up, and the pay scales of Medical doctors are going down, I think it's a result of a really mature economic system that is trying to reduce costs at the top. So money is very respectable. AVg OD (optometrist) is 95k nationwide and most that I know are making about 120k

So yeah- all are great. One nice thing about Optometry and pharmacy) is that you can work 40-45 hours a week and still make 90k a year. This could be great for some:

On movies: secret lives of dentists, nothing on Optometrists that I know of.

 

[vasco]

I think that the whole prestige thing is so funny. I know so many people who spend their entire lives worried about what other people think about them and how they are perceived by the world. I think that it’s a waste of time. People who spend time worrying about what other people think will never be truly happy because you can't change the way another person thinks.

And per my friends who are all about the prestige, it never ends. There will always be someone more prestigious than you.

 

[delicious]

I would say that many people do consider dentistry to be in the same catagory--All are quite under rated by the public. Here's a clue to public perception:

Name one tv show starring a dentist, podiotrist or optomotrist that is cool?

Name one dental/podiatric/optometry breakthrough that has made headline news in the last year?

Dentists/podiatrists/optomotrist just aren't as well publicized as other professions.

I work in a hospital, and in the past few weeks as I have talked with people about applying to dental school, they don't have a clue about what it takes to be a dentist. Many people think it is like a trade school. They see the advertisements for getting your dental assistant training at the local tech school, and they assume those same tech schools are training dentists too. I've talked with half a dozen people that think dentists go to maybe 2 years of training after undergrad.

I think dentists, podiatrists, optomotrists would all be more respected if people knew about the tough undergrad pre-reqs (o-chem, anatomy, etc), the high competition to get into school (at least for dentistry), the killer course work in school, the massive debt, and the difficulty of being a good practitioner.

Until dentists get cool TV shows like ER, America will never really appreciate the dentists.

Nice posts and good points people. I was really expecting to get a lot of hate and bashing for starting this thread.

I totally know that as long as you're happy with what you do, prestige doesn't matter squat. You shouldn't care what people think.

But when I saw that guy saying that optometry and dentistry were similar, I took a dump. Now, I admit I don't know that much about optometry, but from what I know: optometrists don't do anything invasive, an opthalmologist can do everything that an optometrist can, and I've never heard of anyone suing an optometrist. So, I was a little struck by that comparison.

Leaving this word "prestige" aside. I feel like dentists have a lot more responsibility than optometrists. What do you guys think?!

 

[DDSdude]

Oh yes, the ongoing battle to determine who has the most valued (perceived) profession.

As far as I am concerned if you have enough self-esteem and confidence who cares what others think of you or what you do professionally. Choosing a profession because of it's perceived improtance in the eyes of others is pathetic.

 

[delicious]

Oh yes, the ongoing battle to determine who has the most valued (perceived) profession.

As far as I am concerned if you have enough self-esteem and confidence who cares what others think of you or what you do professionally. Choosing a profession because of it's perceived improtance in the eyes of others is pathetic.

Wow, what an original post there DDSdude!! You're awesome

People's perception of various professions is something that is out there, and I'm interested in it. I was surprised to see that people thought optometrists were equivalent to dentists so I made a thread about it.

If you think this thread sucks, don't post on it, and let it fall down the ranks.

 

[v&andy_yankee]

And "Finding Nemo"...but it was a dentist that had Nemo as a pet, so he wasn't exactly likeable.

i thought the dentist was portrayed pretty well. i also thought it was beyond adorable the way his fishies were watching him "ohhh, he's been using that handpiece a lot recently" it was obvious those fish were happy in their tank, dammit

 

[trypmo]

[....]
But when I saw that guy saying that optometry and dentistry were similar, I took a dump.
[....]

Wow. I didn't know such an idea could produce/provoke a bowel movement. Next time I've eaten too much cheese, I've got to remember to come back and read this thread to start things going again.






Sorry. Okay, now back to the prestige debate (I really don't have much of an opinion about it so I'm not going to say something about the topic that just takes up space, but rather I'm just going to type out this whole sentence, apparently to the same effect).

 

[Supernumerary]

I'd have to say that the pre-med weenies were probably right on this one -- or at least real close. Being a dentist is not going to earn you the instant ooohs and aaahhs that being a physician gets. People are not going to respect you simply because of your job; that is something you're going to have to earn on a more personal level. I think you will be much happier with your decision to become a dentist if you can admit to yourself that being a dentist is not "cool". Of course we all know that it's one of the best gigs out there, but it is not something you do to feed your ego.

This lies at the heart of one of the biggest differences between medical and dental students (in general, that is). I know I'm going to catch some flack for this, but in general dental students are better looking, more sociable, more confident, and overall more rounded individuals than their medical counterparts. In short, those who choose dentistry are already pretty fulfilled socially. Gaining prestige tends to be down fairly low on their list of priorities and so naturally dentistry comes out on top when that variable is eliminated.

Of course there are exceptions to every generalization, but it is pretty safe to say that the opposite is often true of pre-meds. I will stop now before someone chimes in with the "C"ompensating word and makes the inevitable comparison of the MD title to a shiny, red sportscar ---- because that would just be uncalled for. )

OK, let the flames begin; I've earned them.

 

[delicious]

Wow. I didn't know such an idea could produce/provoke a bowel movement. Next time I've eaten too much cheese, I've got to remember to come back and read this thread to start things going again.

trypmo, you should've seen what shot out of my a$$ when someone said to me that Lindsay Lohan was hotter than Hilary Duff. Now that was a dump!!

 

[gUmNuMmEr19]

I believe all three fields are very prestiguous, although I would think dentistry and do are a little above optometry.

Also for those of you that think the starting salary of a dentist is below $100,000 where are you from and what are you smokin'. Correct me if I'm wrong anyone, but I thought it is around 120,000 easily, although it probably depends on a variety of factors.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Also for those of you that think the starting salary of a dentist is below $100,000 where are you from and what are you smokin'. Correct me if I'm wrong anyone, but I thought it is around 120,000 easily, although it probably depends on a variety of factors.

You're wrong in part (so I'll correct you ). Starting salary for most general dentists will not be near $120, but probably will be $80-100 to start. $120 is easily achievable after 2-3 years, however.

Now, many specialists will start at well over 120k, so if you factor those in with the stats from a general dentist, then it might come out to 120 for all new dentists (specialist or general) just out of school.

 

[gUmNuMmEr19]

You're wrong in part (so I'll correct you ). Starting salary for most general dentists will not be near $120, but probably will be $80-100 to start. $120 is easily achievable after 2-3 years, however.

Now, many specialists will start at well over 120k, so if you factor those in with the stats from a general dentist, then it might come out to 120 for all new dentists (specialist or general) just out of school.

Okay fair enough, but doesn't it matter what state you are practicing in, b/c I have heard wisconsin and illinois the avg is 140-150,000

 

[jessUMD]

This lies at the heart of one of the biggest differences between medical and dental students (in general, that is). I know I'm going to catch some flack for this, but in general dental students are better looking, more sociable, more confident, and overall more rounded individuals than their medical counterparts. In short, those who choose dentistry are already pretty fulfilled socially. Gaining prestige tends to be down fairly low on their list of priorities and so naturally dentistry comes out on top when that variable is eliminated.

well said! this is so true for all pre-dents i know. but...i think it's a little harsh to say the opposite is true for pre-meds - i know a lot of pre-meds that are pretty hot. ok that's an exaggeration but they are decent looking and fairly socially fulfillled, and genuinely want to pursue medicine because it is their lifelong dream, not for the prestige.

ps. doing something for its prestige is so lame.

 

[DDSdude]

Wow, what an original post there DDSdude!! You're awesome

People's perception of various professions is something that is out there, and I'm interested in it. I was surprised to see that people thought optometrists were equivalent to dentists so I made a thread about it.

If you think this thread sucks, don't post on it, and let it fall down the ranks.

You are entitled to your opinion as I am. Good luck in your pursuit for perceptions of others.

I hope you didn't take that post by me as an attack on the thread you started and are defending.

 

[delicious]

I hope you didn't take that post by me as an attack on the thread you started and are defending.

Yeah, I sorta did take that as an attack. Because your post was right after I wrote: "I was really expecting to get a lot of hate and bashing for starting this thread." And you seemed to imply that I (or others) might choose dentistry because of its prestige. I just feel that other people might be interested in this topic, and didn't want your post to dissuade them from continuing the conversation.

Peace be with you.

 

[DDSdude]

Yeah, I sorta did take that as an attack. Because your post was right after I wrote: "I was really expecting to get a lot of hate and bashing for starting this thread." And you seemed to imply that I (or others) might choose dentistry because of its prestige. I just feel that other people might be interested in this topic, and didn't want your post to dissuade them from continuing the conversation.

Peace be with you.

To be honest I didn't even see that post you are referring to. I saw the topic of the thread and skimmed through and then posted.

 

[delicious]

To be honest I didn't even see that post you are referring to. I saw the topic of the thread and skimmed through and then posted.

Ah, interesting. Glad we got that cleared up DDSdude.

I should watch myself a little more closely; I tend to have a very sharp temper, exacerbated by a dangerous lack of thinking things through.

 

[aphistis]

i thought the dentist was portrayed pretty well. i also thought it was beyond adorable the way his fishies were watching him "ohhh, he's been using that handpiece a lot recently" it was obvious those fish were happy in their tank, dammit

I liked the touches of actual dental jargon the writers tossed in, especially toward the beginning. I like it even better that they got it right.

 

[ToothMonkey]

Maybe I'm crazy, but I actually *like* that physicians are more prestigious than dentists. Let's face it, with all of the problems medicine has these days its special status in society is really one of the last great advantages to that profession. If the prestige gap were to magically dissipate then I'd have to believe we would witness a massive exodus of potential med school applicants into fields like dentistry and optometry.

Hey, I may be a dental student but I'm also a patient of physicians, many of whom are sketchy enough as it is. So the *last* thing I want is to see happen is a reduction in the average caliber of entering medical students (even if it increased the caliber of other health care students).

 

[datu]

I saw someone on the medical forum say that podietry, optometry, and dentistry were on the same level on the "prestige scale." Of course, most there said that medicine was on its own level. I never really thought of dentistry as being equivalent to optometry in any way - pay, prestige. But I just looked up that they are 4 yrs as well. What do you guys think?

Yeah, I'd say that MDs are more prestigious than dentists, with dentists ranking second, osteopaths ranking third, and optometrists, podiatrists, and chiropractors in their own, distant league.

I'd put dentists on a level with lawyers, prestige-wise.

 

[DMD_hopeful]

I'd put dentists on a level with lawyers, prestige-wise.

Lawyers have prestige?

 

[J2AZ]

Hey...don't forget "Little Shop of Horrors" and that 90's movie with Sinbad, I think it was called "House Guest." Check them out if you havent already. I suggest the original "Little Shop of Horrors" with Jack Nicholson as the crazy patient who wants to have his teeth pulled without anesth!!!

 

[delicious]

Yeah, I'd say that MDs are more prestigious than dentists, with dentists ranking second, osteopaths ranking third, and optometrists, podiatrists, and chiropractors in their own, distant league.

I'd put dentists on a level with lawyers, prestige-wise.

I agree. And thank you for having the balls to come and say it. With threads like these, there's always someone who comes out and says: "you must be pretty insecure."

But these social hierarchies exist, and just because you're asking about them doesn't mean that they govern your life.

 

[aphistis]

Yeah, I'd say that MDs are more prestigious than dentists, with dentists ranking second, osteopaths ranking third, and optometrists, podiatrists, and chiropractors in their own, distant league.

I'd put dentists on a level with lawyers, prestige-wise.

I'd put people's notions of prestige...well, where the sun don't shine.

 

[v&andy_yankee]

prestige is not only in your job but how you well you do your job, how you conduct yourself.

you could be a podiatrist, and if you take your job seriously and work hard, be considered very prestigious. or you can be an MD but be a total, immature ass and have the prestige level equivalent to that of a fast food worker.

 

[konovsi]

I know that podiatry schools are desperate to fill their classes because few people go into podiatry. They accept people with low 20s on mcats and 2.7 gpas. And newly graduated podiatrist have a hard time finding work and at the same time pay off large student loans.

 

[delicious]

I'd put people's notions of prestige...well, where the sun don't shine.

What is with everyone being so darn politically correct here:

"Uhm, everybody is equal as long as we all try our hardest and love what we do "

"The best dental school is the one that accepts you "