Dentistry

[cooldog]

What do you ppl think of dentistry? I think the country is also short of dentists as are doctors. It's also a noble profession in the healthcare sector where you get to help ppl. Dentists are also highly paid and they don't work long hours.
But, it seems to me that more ppl are applying to study medicine and pharmacy than dentistry.

[nwx86]

yeah, thats true, coz most probably there is not many places offering dentistry courses in M'sia...compared to medicine and pharmacy. And perhaps due to the belief that Medicine is the 'better choice' among the 3...btw...do u know how much is the salary of a dentist?

[cooldog]

H'm, I think the salary should be as high as a doctor's salary. I think a dentist earns more than a GP. But, getting into a dentistry course is just as tough as medicine. There are so few places for this course. Many people think that a doctor gets more respect than a dentist... Some ppl think that dentistry is boring because they look at the mouth only... There are those who think that it is very stressful too... have to try to calm the patient down and so on... Are there anyone studying dentistry here? Would like to hear your opinions about this course...

[nwx86]

yeah, u r right....i think a dentist earn much more than a doctor.....I have to wait at least an hour to c my dentist....he has so many patients....well, other than high earnings, I think one should also consider the equipment needed by a dentist to do his work...I think they are far more expensive than the ones used by doctors. And they have to update themselves with new machines frequently....so I guess becoming a dentist isn't that easy after all..

[SHuLy]

haha. i think a dentist earns more and the job is relatively EASIER! the working conditions are better too.
you don't have work shifts. working hours are fixed!

hmm...why haven't i thought about dentistry?! haha. but nah, i'll still choose medicine in the end.. =p

i beg to differ. i think that a doctor's equipments are much higher in terms of tech and cost. tech for medicine change very often these days. of course, you'll have to include those machines in the labs and stuff in the OR. if you are talking about the stethoscope and the BP pump, ..that's a different case.

[nwx86]

Shuly, r u refering to dentists in a hospital or private practice? If its in a hospital, then i guess u should be right...speaking of working hours and the ease of the job, y not choose pharmacy instead? Pharmacists make lots of money too...anyway, mind sharing with us why u chose medicine?
well, tech stuff at a GP's clinic is not that high i suppose...

[SHuLy]

why medicine eh?

haha..cuz i didn't like other profession..and i like the challenges that medicine posed i guess. it's something that i wanna do...just un-explainable...lsomething like i am here for a reason...to work my @<hidden>$$ off... mebbe cuz i had a debt in my previous life that i now have the luxury of paying it off... :D

[nwx86]

hehe, thats a good reason...so where do you want to persue ur studies then? Do they offer such course in Taylors?

[cooldog]

I think if you were to compare a doctor and a dentist who comes out to do private practise, I think the dentist will have to spend more on their equipments... the dental chair and the drills and so on. I think it cost like RM10000 for the chair. It's imported from overseas. Not only that, usually orthodonthics have their own X-ray machines.

As for a doctor, you don't really have to get those high tech stuff as you won't be using it very much. If you need to get some X rays or what, just send them to the hospital... Basically, a doctor just need to get a basic stuff like bed, stethoscope, BP pump and bla bla bla...

[SHuLy]

haha..good reason huh? hopefully it'll impress the interviewers and readers of my personal statement in UCAS! haha!

well, no such course is offered at taylors (a college which my hatred towards it is growing day by day! :evil: ) i was posted here...aku orang miskin...mane lerr boleh afford private education, what more medicine. i am living in debt - JPA.

cooldog, that is one perspective to look at, but X-ray machines etc ARE part of a doctor's 'ka-chang' i.e, utilities. so they are actually included. and....a 'proof' of how expensive these stuff are are actually the separate places where X-rays, blood tests, MRI, CT scan, surgery..etc..are done! a doctor simply CANNOT afford to have these stuff in their clinics! if each dentist can have a chair and x-ray machine in their clinics, it shouldn't cost too much now would it??...besides, the chair lasts for the dentist's entire career....haha! unless some kid brings a penknife and mutilitates the chair when his teeth is being checked! or...a girl with sharp claws!

[Destiny_Child]

ok..hi guys.....n gurls!i'm a new member here...
heyhey....i've been waiting 4 this thread 4 soooo long...
alas...*giggles*
ok...i'm very interested in this..urm..dentistry.....i applied for it thru jpa..hopefully, i'll get da scholarship.....(i got 9a1,1a2 n da a2 is my est).tho i knoe i stand a damn slim chance of getting it, but i really hope miracles will happen!(okok..dats more to comforting myself for my lousy result)
but..one thing came acrosss my mind....hmm.wut if the interviewer asks me.....the reason on choosing dentistry?...
i'll be like..urm..no idea...i just like it! :roll:
..can anyone here gif any suggestion?

[cooldog]

H'm, I suggest that you do some work experience so that you will be able to know what dentistry is all about and, maybe you will know why you would like to study dentistry after all. If you are applying for uni, some interviewers might ask you why did you choose dentistry and not medicine. If it's a JPA interview, I don't think they ask this kind of questions... cos from what I heard from friends, the JPA interview is sort of like a discussion of a topic given.

The question "why dentistry" is as hard as "why medicine". The bottomline is: Are you doing it for the $$, for the prestigiousness of the "Dr" title or because you were forced by your parents? Think about it and probably you might come to the answer of why dentistry.

[cooldog]

By the way, I think you did very well in your SPM... Congrats! I think you will stand a chance of getting the interview... at least...

[Destiny_Child]

hmp wut u mean by "work experience"?as in...i go to c how a dentist works in real life?isssit?issit like dat?..hmm....~i'll think bout dat..
why dentistry is stil the ques tht owez pops up in my mind......
nyway, cooldog:thanks a bunch for ur reply. :oops:
yea, hopefully i'll get interviewed..
*praying hard*....

[Destiny_Child]

n is it true that the seats offered by jpa 4 this course(dentistry)is ery very limited?im worried......
hmm..no wonder my friends didnt mention bout it..n i guess no one in this forum is taking this course rite?

[Destiny_Child]

n is it true that the seats offered by jpa 4 this course(dentistry)is ery very limited?im worried......
hmm..no wonder my friends didnt mention bout it..n i guess no one in this forum is taking this course rite?

[cooldog]

I don't really know about how many seats JPA are offering for students who want to do dentistry, but, I do know that overseas unis offer very limited seats for international students. Do correct me if I am wrong, but, if I am not mistaken, UK unis give around 5% of the total seats to international students only. Two years ago, when I was applying for UK unis, I talked to a Birmingham University UK representative, and she said that they give out only 2 seats to international students for dentistry. Probably they have already increased the quota. Some unis do offer more seats... Trying to secure a place in dentistry is quite hard as it's getting more and more competitive. Not only that, not many unis offer this course. In the UK, I think only about 13 unis offer this course.

Yeah, work experience as in shadow a dentist to see what a dentist does in real life. It's quite an eye opener... and probably you will find out that, dentistry is more than just looking into the mouth. Do go and shadow dentists working for the government and those practising privately.

[Destiny_Child]

anyone knoes where to study dentistry ? i knoe one of the country tht offers this course is Uk.....whr else?
n can u list out some of the prestigious U in any particular country?
thankiu..~~~~~

*i need this for my jpa inetrview tmr~*pls reply asap
:oops: :oops: :oops:

[nwx86]

congrats on being selected for the JPA interview. Other than UK, Australia, Singapore are the top ones which are also doing dentistry. NUS and University of Adelaide? I've also heard that the gov had recently recognised Indonesian Dentistry and pharmacy degrees. Locally, AIMST are also running the program. Hope this info helps.

[nwx86]

Destiny_Child, congrats on being selected for the JPA interview. Other than UK, Australia, Singapore are the top ones which are also doing dentistry. NUS and University of Adelaide? I've also heard that the gov had recently recognised Indonesian Dentistry and pharmacy degrees. Locally, AIMST are also running the program. Hope this info helps.

[deaf-knee]

if I repeat dentistry uk dentistry uk dentistry uk 5 million times, do you think jpa would give me dentistry uk?

dentistry uk dentistry uk dentistry uk..

[shrenka]

Destiny_Child
U r a Sarawakian, right? Me 2. BTW, have u undergo ur interview? in Miri o Kuching? During orientation, Jpa acknowledged us that they would send dentistry students 2 Indonesia/ India, UK/Ireland, Aus/ NZ.......That's what I got!

[Destiny_Child]

yo guys!imback..sorry for my very-late-reply.i m not going to be around for 2 more weeks,ahah..
erm,,ya,,,..i went to jpainterview in miri.yup, its true that they r sending ppl for dentrity to indon..argh,..hope they wonr send me there,...:(..
my interview,,was just ok....eevryone in my group was kinda quiet...except a few of them..haha..but all of us werent tht outstandng i shud say,,,.unlike in petronas interview whr eevyrone were like...sort of debating
ahaha...
thanks for ur reply ya
any other ques?
ahaha

[shrenka]

Here is the site 2 look out 4 the unis n courses that r recognised by JPA.
http://www.interactive.jpa.gov.my/frmMainIktiraf.asp

[kamilchan]

hey..at last..i found a thread about dentistry..and i have been searching for ages..just a hyperbole...
ermm, i applied dentistry too for jpa scholars, and i think the results are going to be out on 28th May or early June..
btw, where does jpa sends their students for preparotary programmes or pre U for dental courses?

[chenchow]

Combining posts from another thread, which makes it redundant. Combining it would allow ReComers to get more information and share it together.

hi there. i am applied for dentistry course for the jpa scholar and has already passed the interview. so im currently waiting for the results.
anyway, i would just want to ask Recom members or anyone to give their opinion on this course.
if there any RECOM members that already are doing this course..please be welcome to help. thanks

kamilchan, can you be more specific? What help do you need?
What do you want to know about dentistry?

If you don't ask questions, we cant help you... hope you can understand that.

anything about dentistry. from doing pre-U or A levels..btw, what will we learn for A levels..and then entry to Universities till graduation.

ok, basically, the academic paths on dental courses. is that ok?


Yup, that sounds a lot better. It'll be difficult for everyone to post every single thing about Dentistry if you just put up a general question.

I'll leave this question to be answered by those who took Dentistry under JPA.

Erm, don't you research on this course before you select it? Or you just ticked it for the heck of it?



Is that a problem??
Most people do not really know what they want to study for their university courses. Some just choose because that what their parent tell them to, or because that what they have more interest in. Not everybody is well informed about their major/course choice. You do not need to use that kind of questioning tone to reply to his msg.

If my assumption about your tone is wrong, I apologize.

Anyway, Kamil Chan, there is not a lot of JPA dentistry students as far as I know. There are a few in IMU now; I will try to get their contact and PM it to you so that you can contact them. Hope that help.


You imply that this : "Some just choose because that what their parent tell them to, or because that what they have more interest in. Not everybody is well informed about their major/course choice. " is okay.

It is not.

What you study in university is your future after all. It is your future, and you should be well-informed.

I totally agree with weihan's message, and the implications behind it. I'm glad he brought that up as well, because while it may seem rather offensive, his words pinpoint a very serious problem in Malaysia, directly relating to the culture of "spoon-feeding" and tidak-apa attitude.

I believe that students have to find out more about what they want to do - after all, it's their future... and they only have one chance at it. It shouldn't be in the hands of laziness and the tidak-apa attitude. While being not be well-informed isn't a problem, leaving their choice of careers to the hands of parents or what's popular is wrong.

You can see it on Recom, where people post messages like: "what's a good career nowadays? or what should I do in university?" That is what bothers me: that students don't take the trouble to search info about careers and be well-informed.

(I'm not targetting anyone in particular, but just a general trend that commonly happens within the Malaysian student community.)

Yes, they should be well-informed, but the fact is that there are many who aren't well-informed. That's why they post questions like "what's a good career nowadays? or what should I do in university?" ... At least, they take their initiative to ask so it isn't really a "tidak apa" attitude, is it? However, I do agree that the questions are a bit too general... that makes u feel like you want to bang your head on the wall before replying.


aiks... are there any JPA dentistry students in... IMU? 8O I can say that I know quite a number of the JPA scholars in IMU and.. nope, none doing dentistry (in fact, there isn't any dentistry course in IMU to start off with :lol: )

perhaps you've been mistaken, windy_city....

yup agreed. At the end of the day, it's YOUR future.. not your parent's or anyone else's. It's what you're gonna spend a substantial amout of your life doing! So, it's best to have a clear mind of what career route you're gonna take by the end of secondary school.

Speaking of parental pressure to take up a certain career, I've to agree that it happens quite often and affects more people than we expect it to do. For instance, my parents wanted me to become an engineer. My secondary school physics teacher felt that I was better off as an engineer as I kinda enjoyed physics and that physics was my strongest science subject. My uncles and aunts also feel the same.. often quoting examples of my other cousins who are well-established engineers abroad... :P

At one point, I was seriously contemplating to dump my childhood ambition in favour of a more lucrative and appealing job.

But, at the end of it all, I did not yield to the expectation of others. I did it my way..... I followed my heart.

Then again, I've to say that we must acknowledge the fact that quite a large number of students out there who are still clueless and ambitionless after completing SPM. Can't blame them 100% though.. I guess they got too complacent with student life! :lol:

[windy_city]

Sorry, got my info wrong. Initially I thought of trying to get the info from my AUSMAT friend, because some of them are in AUS, NZ and IMU now. Got confuse bout their major, sorry. They were the AUSMAT student during my batch. Well, since Tab is here, I think he should know more people who are doing dentistry, hope you can help him out. I will try to get hold of my friends too.

[kamilchan]

thanks windy_city

[Steppe]

I have an ex-classmate (SPM 2003) who got JPA to do dentistry in Australia.

The JPA put her in Sunway college (she gave up her 5 months A levels study in Taylors). As it was mid-year, she just did some projects and studies in Sunway. She is doing the Australian matriculation this year and then onwards to Australia for dentistry, I suppose.

Unfortunately you can be fairly clued-up and still be indecisive, although I agree there are some people who can't be bothered about life post-secondary school. It's quite difficult to commit the next 3-5 years of your life at the very least to something you've had minimal exposure to, and that exposure may just be from impressions and what you've been told. Hands up all those people who had real practical experience of law before choosing to study it? Wow, what a response!
It's possible to be undecided even after graduation - go to any medical school, do a survey of new house officers and most will tell you they aren't sure of their career path yet, even after 5 years of med school. (Going off on a tangent, perhaps the moral is that there is no real rush, and that haste makes waste.)

[kamilchan]

Dear Steppe, mind if u give me any contacts of ur fren (JPA scholar for dentistry) imean not her number, maybe an email would be ok. thanks.
i'm really interested in this field. thanks again guys.

[sda]

hi kamilchan.i'm facing the same dilemma as you are undergoing now.i've finnished my Jpa interview in Ipoh last month.and i'm still waiting for the results.i think it is a great relieve to finally meet someone who shares the same interest as i am(dentistry).glad that i'm not alone here.haha.

[Crazieee]

Do i need straight a1's to get jpa scholarship for dentistry?? :cry:

[suzanne]

crikey! i hope we do not have to be absolutely straight A1 ppl to get it.. Phew! finally thanks to another recomer i've found this thread... If any of you get dentistry from JPA please post it okay? I'm also applying for it.. Do we have to call them? do you guys have the number? or check online?

[suzanne]

does IMU offer dentistry? what are the local establishments that offer dentistry? UM...

[shrenka]

Any1 here getting straight A1s applied for JPA dentistry scholarship this year? I'm applying 2 but i'm not a straight A1s, with A2 in EST! :(

[shrenka]

Do i need straight a1's to get jpa scholarship for dentistry?? :cry:

Hope no need! O r else, i'll be crying.......

[shrenka]

crikey! i hope we do not have to be absolutely straight A1 ppl to get it.. Phew! finally thanks to another recomer i've found this thread... If any of you get dentistry from JPA please post it okay? I'm also applying for it.. Do we have to call them? do you guys have the number? or check online?

Another recommer? Do you mean "shrenka"? :lol: If yes, it's me! such a "thick-faced" recommer????? wuahahahaha. I think we can check the results online by that time. not need to waste money to call JPA. The line will be very busy and they will pass your phone call around. This is what had happened to 1 of my friends when she called JPA to check for JPA JAPAN scholarship's result.

[suzanne]

crikey! i hope we do not have to be absolutely straight A1 ppl to get it.. Phew! finally thanks to another recomer i've found this thread... If any of you get dentistry from JPA please post it okay? I'm also applying for it.. Do we have to call them? do you guys have the number? or check online?

Another recommer? Do you mean "shrenka"? :lol: If yes, it's me! such a "thick-faced" recommer????? wuahahahaha. I think we can check the results online by that time. not need to waste money to call JPA. The line will be very busy and they will pass your phone call around. This is what had happened to 1 of my friends when she called JPA to check for JPA JAPAN scholarship's result.


Hahahah!! yup! it's you Shrenka! Damn la.. forgot your name when I was putting the post in.. so like, yeah... but i did PM you what.. LOL

[shrenka]

oh, welcome. pls add me in MSN! ( should this be written in private message?) so sorry!

[cooldog]

does IMU offer dentistry? what are the local establishments that offer dentistry? UM...

IMU definitely does not offer dentistry... 8O Public universities that I know of are offering dentistry are UKM and UM. The rest, I am not sure.

[flibbertigibbet]

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is facing a shortage of dentists ? there are only 890 employed under the Health Ministry compared with the 1,567 positions to be filled.

Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said: ?This means we have only filled 57% of that and still have a vacancy for 677 positions.

?There are only 2,720 dentists in the country,? he said yesterday after launching the five-day 27th Asia Pacific Dental Congress that began on Wednesday at the Putra World Trade Centre here.

Malaysia, he said, needed at least 3,780 dentists in order to fulfil the target ratio of one dentist to 4,000 people as a developed country by 2020.

To achieve that goal, Dr Chua said 375 dentists needed to be trained annually but lamented that only 150 were trained in a year.

?Apparently, the job's too difficult and the pay isn't attractive enough.

?We hope more people will be interested in dentistry.?

[Crazieee]

:lol: Yo....dentistry rulez...ALL THE BEST TO RECOMERS..
:wink:

[shrenka]

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is facing a shortage of dentists ? there are only 890 employed under the Health Ministry compared with the 1,567 positions to be filled.

Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said: ?This means we have only filled 57% of that and still have a vacancy for 677 positions.

?There are only 2,720 dentists in the country,? he said yesterday after launching the five-day 27th Asia Pacific Dental Congress that began on Wednesday at the Putra World Trade Centre here.

Malaysia, he said, needed at least 3,780 dentists in order to fulfil the target ratio of one dentist to 4,000 people as a developed country by 2020.

To achieve that goal, Dr Chua said 375 dentists needed to be trained annually but lamented that only 150 were trained in a year.

?Apparently, the job's too difficult and the pay isn't attractive enough.


?We hope more people will be interested in dentistry.?


Love to read this news. :D The government should allocate
more seats for dentistry course so that we won't face the crisis of dentist shortage!

Absolutely! Hidup dentistry.. LOL

[deaf-knee]

anyone got jpa dentistry?

[kamilchan]

me :D

me too :)

[deaf-knee]

yay good :) add me on msn at delaboratemannequin AT hotmail DOT com ? :)

:( any1 receive the letter from JPA??i still haven .... Sooo nervous

[kamilchan]

i also havent receive d letter..
:(
:(

[Crazieee]

i got indonesia...any1 same with me?

[kamilchan]

i got ireland, gonna do international baccalaureate at kolej mara banting for 2 years.

[seancl85]

lucky u,kamilchan...a lot of ppl wanted to go to ireland...

[deaf-knee]

YA LOR!

tsk tsk.

I shld ask my bro rag u die die. :P

haha jk jk.

[kamilchan]

got to struggle really hard for two years u know, Ib is not easy.

[Ecinue]

anyone got UM dentistry?

[luthien]

can i noe how many ireland-bound(dentistry) students r thr in kmb now?

[beyond_99]

How much do u all need to pay?