A lot of people ask what the difference is between a medical student and a dental student. Here is what I can gather: there is little to no difference. The difference is in the field of study. There are a lot of traits they have in common.
Here are some Similarities found in the students of medicine and dentistry:
Brilliance and ability are equal in both classes.
Both classes have big time gunners.
The gunners are very competitive.
Once the students get into medical or dental school, there is a myriad of resources to help them succeed.
If school classes are not required, most students will not go to class and then study on their own.
Students like to make fun of the other class. This is usually harmless and usually comes from people who have never worked with the other field i.e. students and residents. In practice, there is a very cordial, respectful, working relationship.
Here are some Differences in the fields of medicine and dentistry:
Medicine likes to ponder the process of diseases, make a list of differential diagnoses, then treat the patient, usually with medicine which can take some time.
Dentistry likes to diagnose and correct the disease, usually quickly with surgery.
Dentists know enough medicine to know the dental implications.
Physicians know enough dentistry to know the medical implications.
My experience in medical school is quite different from dental school and from the experience of the other med students. The major cause of this is the fact that I do not have to compete against my classmates in order to out rank them and get into my residency. I am glad I do not have to do that. It is very nice to be able to learn for the sake of learning. It is awesome. In fact, I study a whole lot less. The funny thing is that my grades have not changed that much. But that little difference on every test over the course of the year is the how a student gets ahead of the class and into the resident of their choice. I am glad I am already into my residency of choice. I have already taken the classes back in dental school so it is a review for me. And on top of that I have had lots of patient interaction. That is why medical school during OMS residency is a "vacation".
Oral & maxillofacial surgeons have a foot in both fields. I love that an OMS can do the dentoalveolar surgeries like tooth extractions, implants and wisdom teeth along with surgeries like facial cosmetics, trauma, head and neck cancer, and cleft left and palate and more. Many doctors may get upset that we can do so much, but I don't need to apologize for the scope of OMS being broad and full of good surgeries.
