Too many dentists not enough doctors

It seems that not a week goes by without some new story of people being turned away from hospitals for treatment, due to a lack of trained physicians, and dying as a result, as per this article in Mainichi. Imagine my surprise then to find out that Japan has a surplus of dentists. According to Japan Times, there are more dentists in Japan than convenience stores and many are in dire straights financially. In most countries dentistry is a cushy high-earning job. Wonder if all too many of these dentists fell for this dream instead of the more humanitarian goal of saving lives.