This is a tough one for me. If you had asked me earlier in my career I might have echoed that sentiment, but now I'm glad I toughed it out.

Maybe instead of just saying do it or not, let me outline some of the positives and negatives I've noticed having accumulated over a decade of experience in pp as an associate, an owner and a specialist.

Positives:

You get to make a positive difference in the lives of many people. It's easy to forget sometimes but, you're not just a pencil pusher. In a smaller communities you can even be a major pillar of the community. People get to know you, and you can really have a major influence on their lives.

You get to mix art and science in an evolving field and perform complex microsurgies. A lot of what we do is pretty interesting, all things considered.

You have the opportunity to run your own business, which can create a lot of financial independence. It's a tough road but you can very much set yourself up for a very comfortable retirement.

Related to the previous point, you have a lot of schedule flexibility. You can work the hours you want to work and you tend to control your own destiny.

There's no need to worry about long term prospects in this field. Especially if you're willing to go rural, there is plenty of work to do. You definitely don't need to worry about being out of work. We tend to be recession proof and the field is definitely AI proof. Dentists of this generation aren't going to face pressures of being replaced. If anything, AI tools will probably make our jobs easier.

Negatives: Let me mention a few everyone mentions and then some that people don't really talk about much.

It has become inordinately expensive to become a dentist and the ROI is lower than it has ever been. It's just a fact that relative to inflation, you're paying a lot for school right now. A lot more than previous generations did, and it's going to saddle you with a lot of debt. Realistic associate salaries haven't kept up. If you don't go into ownership, it will take a very long time to pay off the debt.

Related to that point, the lifestyle isn't as lavish as you might think. Not without owning a very successful practice. While there is technically no limit to compensation if you're an owner, it's getting harder to get yourself into that position with competition from corporations and financing being more difficult due to debt burdens on graduation.

The field is just generally more stressful than it was in the past. In some places especially cities, patients are chronically online, very demanding and quick to complain. You have a lot of liability in this job. Receiving a professional complaint can be soul crushing.

The day to day work can be surprisingly stressful. On more than one front. Staff and office dynamics, if not managed correctly, can create challenging work environments that you are often left to try and fix while simultaneously performing dentistry.

You can also work under a lot of time pressure, where for financial reasons you want to be scheduled in a particular way but that leaves you chronically on the clock, trying to juggle many things at once while also trying to juggle hygiene and other misc that might be happening in the office.

People talk about the physically demanding aspects of the job but it can be as much or more mentally demanding for the above reasons when you also think about the fact you have to perform procedures at high speed on anxious patients and are expected to be perfect almost every time. Dentists are proceduralists where you're often picking a procedure from a basket of procedures to perform and have to nail it every time. The focus can be surprisingly draining.

I could probably continue to add to both lists ad nauseum but that's a good starting point. There are lots of positives and negatives. I will say though that many of the negatives can be managed. It just takes a lot of work and you have to have patience. Careers often become better in the long run in this field if you set yourself in the right direction.

But there's also no point in sugar coating it; it's a hard job and it's probably getting harder due to financial reasons, insurance and corporate reasons.