Hi jwkhan and welcome to the forum.
You are asking some very good questions and, in fact, they are exactly the same questions I was asking 27 years ago when I was finishing high school in Brisbane, QLD. Back then, you went directly into your course of choice eg medicine or dentistry. There was no other course to complete prior.
I was tossing between medicine, dentistry and science. I read whatever I could find about the different disciplines and I talked to a couple of doctors and dentists. (This was about 15 years prior to the Internet being available!)
It really is a big decision as it basically sets your path for a very long time (if not the rest of your life). I achieved the necessary tertiary entrance scores (as they were called back then) to get into any of the courses I wanted to; in the end, I chose dentistry because of lifestyle decisions. I remember what one dentist said to me; "No night calls" which to a very large extent is true. That was the decider for me.
I have enjoyed dentistry, however, in the last decade my practice has been restricted to oral surgery and sedation (after completing post-graduate training) which has given me even greater freedom and enjoyment.
As far as specialties go, there are quite a few including:
Orthodontics (straightening teeth)
Endodontics (root canal treatments)
Prosthodontist (restoring and replacing teeth)
Oral Surgery (may involve completing medicine as well)
Periodontics (gum surgery)
Oral Medicine/pathology
Some dentists restrict their practice to certain areas such as cosmetic dentistry and implant dentistry.
However, to be a good all round general dentist is probably the most challenging, as you need to maintain a broad range of skills.
In my mind, to be successful as a dentist, you really need to have great communication skills. You need to be a good listener and you need to be able to explain often complex treatment plans in simple language that patients can understand. This may seem obvious, however, it is a lack of good communication that can lead to problems later.
As far as remuneration goes, this can vary enormously. A dentist can be employed in various areas: private practice, government, defence force, health funds etc. It is often stated that dentistry, on average, is the highest paid profession immediately after graduation. An average guide might be around $50 - 70k per year. Your remuneration will generally increase as the years go by, and like most things in life, will be dictated by the amount of effort you put in.
But back to where you are now; don't get too concerned about money. I know you would have heard this a thousand times, but follow what you enjoy and put the effort into it. The money side of things will fix itself.
In every profession, trade or other job you will find people who love what they do and people who hate what they do. That's why it is so important to follow what you enjoy.
Good luck with your studies! I hope this has helped a litle. Please feel free to ask any other questions. Maybe someone else reading this might be able to offer another point of view. Let us know what you finally decide on.
