Hey peeps, I'm just wondering how and what is the life of being a dentist. Anyone here a dentist student or even a dentist? I'm just asking about career prospective as a Dentist.

work like mad..

You need to be quite a smart student to take up dentistry as it is one of the most difficult courses.
Your question doesn't reflect your smartness.

http://www.imu.edu.my/imu/index.php/progra...duate/dentistry

I'm not saying I want to take up dentistry. I'm just curious Anyway, thanks for your info though.

Really? Mad in terms of?

have to see a lot of patients to earn..

everyday see ppl mouth..

and imu is expensive..

Courses in IMU is quite expensive from what I've heard. Anyway, thanks for your info

really depends on what you like..

cos i see some dentists work like crazy like no life..

I see. I never encountered any dentist who works like there's no tomorrow My dentist seems relaxed and he's a politician too

depends on what you want to do lor..

because you can earn only if you have patients right?

unless you have a chain of practices which are manned by different dentists..

Go India for dental education is cheap and good =D

rapidly saturating field. limited jobs with the govt after the next few years. heavy competition when govt dentists resign to join private sector.

go study something else.

True Story.

Hi. I'm a gov dental officer. from what I can see, opportunities in this field is getting very saturated in both gov and private sectors. many private practices are facing their toughest times right now, many with very poor patient flow as little as 4-5 patient a day. even in the larger towns some are on the brink of closure.

as for the gov dental services, training centers are getting so limited. fresh grads have to share chairs (usually up to 8 officers per chair), this limiting opportunities to build up their skill after uni life.

rumors had it that there are plans as to hire future local officers by contract. and even so, you'll be put in a waiting list first.

the future for future gov officers in malaysia is bleak as we're facing an acute influx of officers from dodgy universities.

This post has been edited by edge85: Feb 1 2013, 08:59 AM

Gosh that's quite a disappointing news to hear. I was told that the future in the dentistry field is very bright and would ensure secure, steady and rewarding job.

That bad eh? The situation created by the government.
It's even worse in the medical profession.
I think the type of training that you get makes all the difference.
There will always be demand for competent professionals in any field.
So, do you think RM0.5m spent on getting a degree from IMU is worth it?

Plenty are recognized.
http://mdc.moh.gov.my/uploads/Section%2012(1).pdf

You will live with teeth's .. ahaha

the population has increased to 7 billion last year...there will never be enough competent doctors or dentists..saturation only happens in bigger cities and towns. currently its only 1:8000 dentist to patient ratio..msia aims to reach 1:4000 but still there wont be enough. i cant guarantee all dentist in the private sector will have good patient flow but im pretty sure the established and competent ones struggle to have some breathing space. those are usually old doctors and looking to retire soon. as one forummer jst mentioned, competent professionals will always be insufficient

smart and intelligent isn't sufficient enough.. must have good hand coordination and good practical skills

I agree that training is very important. but the training you get from dental schools are inadequate compared with the ones you will get during your FYDOship. and with less and less chairs to practice with during FYDO, how do you expect that dentist to turn out?

0.5M? totally not worth it.

that ratio 1:4000 you mentioned is more or less (or already) met in big towns. in other states it could even reach 1:18000. buy you must ask yourself, who has more exposure to dental education and purchasing power?

and also more dentists doesn't mean the ratio will be met. lack of chairs with oversupply of dentists means work output remains the same.

competent grads from new private unis are pretty much a fallacy. foundation courses are bullshit if you ask me. if you can't even score a cgpa of 3.5 in ALEVELS/STPM, means you're not up to the standards already.

for the sake of discussion, mind telling us where you graduated from?

how do you define the worth of a degree? have you seen the dental facilities in imu? any idea how many dental chairs they have in the dental clinic ?

hope some imu dental students can shed some light on their faculty !

They expose their students to clinical practice as early as in the 2nd yr... With real patients, not simulated....

depends on wat u meant by competent... so wat if ur good in academics but u cant even handle a handpiece, cant drill a cavity or prepare de suitable restorative material?? u hv 2 b an artist 2 coz ur dealing wit instruments and equipments jst like a painter with his brushes n paints... a lot of my smarter colleagues hv vomited blood trying 2 prepare a cavity while de some can jst prepare 1 effortlessly, but its a skill which u can develop wit a lot of hardwork n practice...

n y do u think foundation is bs?? wat if a patient has an emergency in de dental chair, n u know no medical knowledge?? wat r u going 2 do?? dentistry is de end is still a branch of medicine, jst dat we specialize more 2 de head n neck region n de oral cavity...

Hi, I'm currently an A-levels student interested in pursuing a future career in Dentistry, would you mind me asking from your perspective..


what exactly are the facilities like in the dental faculty of IMU? is it big? i visited once but was not shown the entire area.

and are there enough patients to practice on?

and would there be any significant advantage by having clinical practice in 2nd year? how does it differ compared to other dental faculties in other universities?

Thanks in advance for your feedback !

i believe you did not get what i mean.

i wasn't comparing your beloved IMU to other public or private universities. I'm sure IMU offers quality degrees.

but the FEW patients that you will treat throughout your 4-year clinical practice, is nothing compared to working at a training clinic (usually in big towns) where you treat like 50 or more patients in one morning.

now what happens when you have too many NEW officers? you wil start to share chairs. instead of one officer to 50 patients like how we did, now you have 8 officers to 50 patients. hence you learn at a much slower pace.

so the amount that you could learn in your 2-year compulsory service, would severely be hampered. and when your contract ends (I sure hope MDC would implement this), there you go! go start a clinic in KL!

This post has been edited by edge85: Feb 3 2013, 02:28 PM

i believe i was jst answering a ques... i do agree wit wat u said.... we'll b saturated wit freshly graduated 1s 4~5 yrs down de road... in fact now we can c clinics sprouting abt...

Foundation courses are mostly 'tailored' by the uni so that kids can get into some demanding courses easier. However, I'm not generalizing here. But most of the foundations offered by private unis in msia are that way. I think edge was trying to say that if you're serious about entering dent/med, do a more accredited pre-U such as Alvl/IB/etc.

so... you guys are number 1 in suicide rates, next to us health careers are all so sad huh? just joking, i'm sure we all love our jobs. Apparently my parents preferred me to do dentistry but I chose med instead. I'm just not into dentistry. to be honest i'm scared of dentists ;p don't ask me why.

Well, imho, they earn a lot. Those long established dental clinics I mean. Where I came from, there's this one clinic which serves as the only clinic in town (or nearby cities) to offer braces facility. Her schedule is booked for months.

since it's situated at Bukit Jalil, there may be enough patients to practice on. but it will not be as much as how much you will treat during your training years.

having said that, with more dentists graduating will lead to less and less training space during your first two years of compulsory service.

would you dare to start your own private practice, with half baked education/training? patients are getting more educated and demanding. be prepared to face lawsuits if you cannot live up to their expectations!

with oversaturation of healthcare professionals, starting with 8000 unemployed nurses and now doctors. dental ones are joining them very quickly. ask yourself, do you really want to join that group?

This post has been edited by edge85: Feb 4 2013, 08:05 PM

Thank you for your honest reply, I really appreciate that. I believe it's important to get responses from the people who are actual dentists in the field now than from those who are still studying or contemplating dentistry.

May I ask your take on some other dental unis like MAHSA? and SEGi?

and newly LUC?

http://www.lincoln.edu.my/prgms/programmet...B6-49BF9C0C57DF

they are situated within the vicinity of KL, which would be a better option?

life as a dental student?
compared to mainstream courses, the sem starts earlier n finish later..
very short break, the mainstream got 1 month of sem break, dental student only 1 week..
starts dealing with real patient by year 3..
stdy n do clinical session like crazy to complete requirements by year 5..

I see. Which U are you in currently?

Uitm:)

How's the study environment in Uitm? Is it okay? Just curious

just ok..condusive n safe..what do u mean actually by 'is it ok?'in term of what?

The lecturers and the facilities for dental students.

Yeahh..the lecturers are all supportive..the facilities is okay n well equipped..currently we are preparing for a big move to our new campus in sg.buloh..

I see. From your personal experience, is Dentistry course competitive?

I heard its a dog eat dog world out there once you get to clinical years.

You will each turn on your friends and backstab each other in order to complete your clinical quota so that you may take your final exams.

theres no such thing in uitm..we r all helping each other in completing our requirement...such as giving patients to other needy friends, to the final year seniors,to the one that need to take competency exam, assist anyone who dont have assistant at the moment..i dont know about other dental school..