dental to device?

[Anonymous]

Anyone heard of of reps making the jump from dental to device sales? I'd imagine they're a better candidate than a pharma rep. Debating on a dental gig that seems solid and curious about getting into device down the road if dental helps/hurts my odds.

 

[Anonymous]

I went from dental to medical. I technically sold "medical devices" to dentists. The experience helped me get interviews with real medical device companies but I it didn't help me much once I was hired.

Sales is sales but selling to a hospital and to a dental office are two totally different things. Dental is a lot easier to get penetration. You have cranky receptionists to get past and that's about it. Most dentists make their own decisions so it is not a multi-level sale. You are asking them to spend their own money (and not hospital money) so that can be difficult. Some of them have very little business sense and because of that they often make poor/unpredictable decisions.


I work mostly in the OR and it can be an extremely complex sale. You have to sell nurses, docs, purchasing agents, C-Levels, materials managers, SPD managers........and the list goes on and on. You have to be a lot more strategic. In dental it was ok if I pissed off an office manager by being too persistent to get an appointment because there were 1000 other offices in my territory. But now with medical I only have about 50 hospitals. There is no room for error with only 50 accounts.

If I could do it over again, I would have held out for a medical job and skipped going into dental all together.

The pay is similar between medical and dental. If your end goal is medical, my recommendation is to start with medical and get your feet wet in an entry level position that will actually help you in your future endeavors.

 

[Anonymous]

I went from dental to medical. I technically sold "medical devices" to dentists. The experience helped me get interviews with real medical device companies but I it didn't help me much once I was hired.

Sales is sales but selling to a hospital and to a dental office are two totally different things. Dental is a lot easier to get penetration. You have cranky receptionists to get past and that's about it. Most dentists make their own decisions so it is not a multi-level sale. You are asking them to spend their own money (and not hospital money) so that can be difficult. Some of them have very little business sense and because of that they often make poor/unpredictable decisions.


I work mostly in the OR and it can be an extremely complex sale. You have to sell nurses, docs, purchasing agents, C-Levels, materials managers, SPD managers........and the list goes on and on. You have to be a lot more strategic. In dental it was ok if I pissed off an office manager by being too persistent to get an appointment because there were 1000 other offices in my territory. But now with medical I only have about 50 hospitals. There is no room for error with only 50 accounts.

If I could do it over again, I would have held out for a medical job and skipped going into dental all together.

The pay is similar between medical and dental. If your end goal is medical, my recommendation is to start with medical and get your feet wet in an entry level position that will actually help you in your future endeavors.

Do you mind if I ask which dental company? This position does involve some devices and instruments etc. Medical might not be the end all goal, more fit and money really for me personally. The dental board is full of reps bitching about comp and the job and seeming envious of device reps, so I figured I'd reach out on here to see if it has been done and what the experience has been and looking back what your experience has been on the dental side now that you've moved on. I appreciate the honesty.

 

[Anonymous]

What about Animal health? Interviewing with Patterson Veterinary right now

 

[Anonymous]

Vets are a different animal. You think DDS are cheap? Wow. They make no $. They are all very nice, just strange.

 

[Anonymous]

I am currently selling dental devices and enjoy it. It would be wise to stick with one of the larger companies if you are new to dental to start out. The pay is solid. Most implant reps make 100k-120k on average. I have also considered moving to medical device as well. Anyone else made the move? i have also heard vet sales is great. Not sure of the pay.

 

[Anonymous]

Went from a dealer rep (Burkhart) to orthopedics (sports medicine and total joints). Honestly can say QOL was far superior in dental, and while the money in surgical has been great, the stress of losing product lines via distributor changes and acquisitions is maddening. It all depends on your current situation, just want to remind you that the grass isn't always greener! Currently in spine and facing roadblocks in the form of PHysician-owned distributorships. I would take a top-tier dental implant job any day if it came my way, because I could still pull a six-figure income but have time to spend with the kids instead of living in the OR. To each his own!

 

[Anonymous]

OR device companies for dental reps to look at for OR device sales are:

Davol Bard, Covidien's surgery divisions, Ethicon, Atrium, Applied Medical. I have seen some go to Cardinal and McKesson also but not that exciting over there.

I'm not saying they are the only ones, just the ones I know that have former dental reps working for them. Some have even moved into management rolls after a few years as a rep with some of these companies.

 

[Anonymous]

OR device companies for dental reps to look at for OR device sales are:

Davol Bard, Covidien's surgery divisions, Ethicon, Atrium, Applied Medical. I have seen some go to Cardinal and McKesson also but not that exciting over there.

I'm not saying they are the only ones, just the ones I know that have former dental reps working for them. Some have even moved into management rolls after a few years as a rep with some of these companies.

appreciate the feedback. With a small device company now that hasn't opened too many doors. Debating a jump to dental for the income and then maybe jumping back after a few years.