What makes a dentist a doctor?

At the doctor I get examined and if a problem is found it is treated with a change in diet, more exercise or drugs. At the dentist if a problem is found it is treated with tiny power tools.

The medical profession develops a new drug about every fifteen minutes or so. Has any drug ever been developed for dentistry? The greatest cause of tooth loss is gum disease, the sole treatment as far as I can tell is to scrape the gums with steel tools, which in my experience never works. Both my parents and brother lost all their teeth after several scrappings. I refused the treatment and still have all my teeth more than twenty years later.

As far as I can tell every drug used by dentists, antibiotics and anesthetics were developed for and by the "real" medical profession.

I hear of medical studies for new drugs and treatments all the time, yet I have never heard of one for dentistry. Medicine is a science, it follows the scientific method, Observation, Hypothesization, Experimentation and Peer review. Absent utilization of these steps how can dentistry be considered a science, and if it's not a science how can it be considered a part of the medical profession?

The sole advances in dentistry in my life time seem to be in tooth whitening and adult braces, neither advance does anything to make the patient healthier. They serve only to line the pockets of the dentist, who spends half the exam pushing these products.

I knew a woman who had her teeth filed down so they would all be the same length, her front teeth were less than half their original length. Seems to me this would destroy the enamel exposing the dentin and promoting tooth decay, something no real doctor would do.

I refused to let a dentist pull a cracked molar that had just come in when I was about eight, he said that it couldn't be drilled and filled and if I he didn't pull the tooth it would abscess. I still have the tooth, it was untreated until I had it drilled and a crown put on a few years back. I can't imagine the problems that would have been associated with having the gap in my mouth as my other teeth were coming in. In hind site the judgment of a grammar school boy was better than that of someone who graduated "medical" school.

Until a few years ago dentists routinely used lead in fillings, when I told my dentist not to use lead he assured me it was safe and told me enamel fillings were only temporary and urged me to get "silver fillings", again I refused, I still have those fillings, again in hind site I was right. Children should not routinely exercise better judgment than a doctor.

So what exactly is it that makes a dentist a doctor? Seems to me they are at best tradesmen, at worst snake oil salesmen.

As the child of a dentist I can show you many journals with studies as rigorous as those in medicine, and there are also many therapeutic advances that are devoted to maintaining a patient's natural teeth or improved replacements (most recent replacement technique is probably still implants, but those are pretty good). Over the past 50-100 years the number of people with their own teeth or very workable replacements in older years has gotten significantly higher.

Drugs: I can tell you two off the top of my head: flouride and the topical oral use of clorhexidine gluconate. Septocaine is an anaesthetic that is generally used only for dental work as well. Beyond that the big reason why most drugs are also used in other medicine is (drum roll) guess what - the mouth is a part of the body. It is a slightly different environment because of the interface of partially-inside/partially outside and the mix of soft and hard tissue, but it is the body.

The dental degree is generally Doctor of Dental Surgery, DDS. Yes, it is a hard tissue surgical degree. Yes, dentists go through quite a bit of postgraduate training.

The dental degree is generally Doctor of Dental Surgery, DDS. Yes, it is a hard tissue surgical degree. Yes, dentists go through quite a bit of postgraduate training.

I share your regard for dentists. I have personally benefitted from bone grafting and dental implants. I do believe that a large percentage of dentists have the degree D.M.D. in addition to some who hold D.D.S. degrees. It just depends on the particular dental school.

SickBoy69 said:

At the doctor I get examined and if a problem is found it is treated with a change in diet, more exercise or drugs. At the dentist if a problem is found it is treated with tiny power tools.

The medical profession develops a new drug about every fifteen minutes or so. Has any drug ever been developed for dentistry? The greatest cause of tooth loss is gum disease, the sole treatment as far as I can tell is to scrape the gums with steel tools, which in my experience never works. Both my parents and brother lost all their teeth after several scrappings. I refused the treatment and still have all my teeth more than twenty years later.

As far as I can tell every drug used by dentists, antibiotics and anesthetics were developed for and by the "real" medical profession.

I hear of medical studies for new drugs and treatments all the time, yet I have never heard of one for dentistry. Medicine is a science, it follows the scientific method, Observation, Hypothesization, Experimentation and Peer review. Absent utilization of these steps how can dentistry be considered a science, and if it's not a science how can it be considered a part of the medical profession?

The sole advances in dentistry in my life time seem to be in tooth whitening and adult braces, neither advance does anything to make the patient healthier. They serve only to line the pockets of the dentist, who spends half the exam pushing these products.

I knew a woman who had her teeth filed down so they would all be the same length, her front teeth were less than half their original length. Seems to me this would destroy the enamel exposing the dentin and promoting tooth decay, something no real doctor would do.

I refused to let a dentist pull a cracked molar that had just come in when I was about eight, he said that it couldn't be drilled and filled and if I he didn't pull the tooth it would abscess. I still have the tooth, it was untreated until I had it drilled and a crown put on a few years back. I can't imagine the problems that would have been associated with having the gap in my mouth as my other teeth were coming in. In hind site the judgment of a grammar school boy was better than that of someone who graduated "medical" school.

Until a few years ago dentists routinely used lead in fillings, when I told my dentist not to use lead he assured me it was safe and told me enamel fillings were only temporary and urged me to get "silver fillings", again I refused, I still have those fillings, again in hind site I was right. Children should not routinely exercise better judgment than a doctor.

So what exactly is it that makes a dentist a doctor? Seems to me they are at best tradesmen, at worst snake oil salesmen.

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Let me start out saying my mother in law is an oral and maxillofacial pathologist and my father in law is a periodontist. I have occasionally done surgical assisting for my father in law and have sat through about thirty-five years of family dinners where dentistry and pathology were the main topics of conversation, so I have gleaned a lot during the time I have known my husband from my teen years to the present. I am going to come back to this because there is a lot to say, but for the moment, let me just say your knowledge and understanding of dentistry and periodontal diease is TREMENDOUSLY lacking.

You also appear to have a bone to pick with dentists.

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OK, I'm back.

Let's go point by point:

SickBoy69 said:

At the doctor I get examined and if a problem is found it is treated with a change in diet, more exercise or drugs. At the dentist if a problem is found it is treated with tiny power tools.

You appear to have limited experience with dentistry. Dentists use antibiotics, steroids, antivirals, antifungals, anesthetics, analgesics, sedatives, muscle relaxants, opiods, antisialogogues, glucogon, epinephrin, among others. The "tiny power tools" are generally used to gain access in tooth and bone for the source of infection, and yes, "cavities", is the DISEASE/INFECTION dental caries. "Tiny power tools" are also used to open into abscesses, the sinus for bone augmentation or infection treatment or harvesting donor bone or skin for grafting.

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SickBoy69 said:

The medical profession develops a new drug about every fifteen minutes or so. Has any drug ever been developed for dentistry? The greatest cause of tooth loss is gum disease, the sole treatment as far as I can tell is to scrape the gums with steel tools, which in my experience never works. Both my parents and brother lost all their teeth after several scrappings. I refused the treatment and still have all my teeth more than twenty years later.

Most drugs used in dentistry have the same uses as in other parts of the body because it's all part of the same body. As far as treatment for "gum" periodontal disease is concerned, "scraping with steel tools" as you call it is a part of the treatment to remove accretions of plaque and calculus from the teeth to make a healthy, biologically acceptable tooth surface for the gums to attach to. In deep pocket areas, surgery is needed for access down the bone crest for complete definitive cleaning. IT DEFINITELY WORKS. BUT if the patient screws up and does not take care of the newly created healthy environment or does not appear for regular periodontal care, the situation can go down hill. Periodontal disease is a chronic disease just like cardiovascular disease or diabetes. The patient plays a big role in its treatment and health maintenance.

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SickBoy69 said:

I hear of medical studies for new drugs and treatments all the time, yet I have never heard of one for dentistry. Medicine is a science, it follows the scientific method, Observation, Hypothesization, Experimentation and Peer review. Absent utilization of these steps how can dentistry be considered a science, and if it's not a science how can it be considered a part of the medical profession?

That paragraph really shows complete ignorance on the subject.

The reason you don't hear about specific drugs for dentistry is because dentistry is a medical science and specialty in and of itself. It's all part of the same body. A dermatologist uses different drugs and instruments from an orthopedist, from an anesthesiologist from an ENT or gastroenterologist but it's all connected.

Dentistry is just as much a science as medicine and has MANY refereed journals concentrating on the topic that use the scientific method:

This is a PARTIAL list of medical journals in dentistry by specialty.

Periodontics

International Journal of Periodontics and Restorative Dentistry

Journal of Clinical Periodontology

Journal of Indian Society of Periodontology

Journal of Periodontal & Implant Science

Journal of Periodontal Research

Journal of Periodontology

Periodontology 2000

Journal of the International Academy of Periodontology

Orthodontics

American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics

The Angle Orthodontist

Australian Orthodontic Journal

Chinese Journal of Orthodontics

European Journal of Orthodontics

Greek Journal of Orthodontics

Hellenic Orthodontic Review

International Orthodontics

Journal of Clinical Orthodontics

Journal of Orofacial Orthopedics

Journal of Orthodontics

The Korean Journal of Orthodontics

Orthodontic waves

Orthodontics and Craniofacial Research

L'Orthodontie Francaise

Ortodoncie

Progress in Orthodontics

Seminars in Orthodontics

South European Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Research

Prosthodontics

Chinese Journal of Prosthodontics

European Journal of Prosthodontics

European Journal of Prosthodontics and Restorative Dentistry

International Journal of Prosthodontics

Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics

Journal of Indian Prosthodontic Society

Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry

Journal of Prosthodontic Research

Journal of Prosthodontics

Pediatrics

European Journal of Pediatric Dentistry

International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry

Journal of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry

Journal of Dentistry for Children

Journal of Pediatric Dentistry

Oral surgery

British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal

Clinical Oral Implants Research

Dental Traumatology

Implantoprotetyka

International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Italian Oral Surgery

Journal of Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery

Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Journal of Osseointegration

Operations Research for Health Care

Oral Surgery

Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology

Revista Espanola de Cirugia Oral y Maxilofacial

Endodontics

Australian Endodontic Journal

International Endodontic Journal

Iranian Endodontic Journal

Journal of Endodontics

European Endodontic Journal

Saudi Endodontic Journal

General (restorative) Dentistry

Acta Odontologica Scandinavica

American Journal of Dentistry

Australian Dental Journal

Brazilian Dental Journal

Caries Research

Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dentistry

Clinical Implant Dentistry and Related Research

Community Dental Health

Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology

Dental Materials

European Journal of Dental Education

European Journal of Oral Sciences

Frontiers of Oral Biology

International Journal of Computerized Dentistry

International Journal of Oral Science

Journal of Adhesive Dentistry

Journal of the American Dental Association

Journal of Conservative Dentistry

Journal of Dental Education

Journal of Dental Research

Journal of Dentistry

Journal of Oral Microbiology

Journal of Oral Rehabilitation

Journal of Orofacial Pain

Journal of Public Health Dentistry

Molecular Oral Microbiology

Monographs in Oral Science

Operative Dentistry

Oral pathology

Journal of Oral Pathology and Medicine

Oral Oncology

Oral & Maxillofacial Radiology

Asian Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology

Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology and Endodontics

Dental hygiene

International Journal of Dental Hygiene

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SickBoy69 said:

The sole advances in dentistry in my life time seem to be in tooth whitening and adult braces, neither advance does anything to make the patient healthier. They serve only to line the pockets of the dentist, who spends half the exam pushing these products.

Once again, this demonstrates a total lack of your knowledge on the subject. You have absolutely NO IDEA what is going on in dentistry. I'm going to leave it at that because my fingertips are getting tired.

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SickBoy69 said:

Until a few years ago dentists routinely used lead in fillings, when I told my dentist not to use lead he assured me it was safe and told me enamel fillings were only temporary and urged me to get "silver fillings", again I refused, I still have those fillings, again in hind site I was right. Children should not routinely exercise better judgment than a doctor.

Lead was never used in dental fillings. There is mercury in the amalgam alloy that is tightly bound in the alloy and the reason it has been largely eliminated, especially in Europe is because of environmental ground water contamination when old fillings were removed and the particles went down the drain.

There is also an entire field of dental materials science that I won't go into, but only because you didn't mention it and I am less familier with that than the ones I discussed.

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SickBoy69 said:

So what exactly is it that makes a dentist a doctor? Seems to me they are at best tradesmen, at worst snake oil salesmen.

You really have a bone to pick with dentists and your argument might be a lot better of you weren't so ignorant on the subject.

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OP, dental health has an impact on one's overall health and vice versa. It's important to have dental care because 1. teeth are needed for eating a healthy diet and 2. see my first sentence.

An example of #2 is diabetes. Diabetics tend to get cavities easier because high blood sugars dry the mouth out which contributes to tooth decay. Hence, it's important for diabetics to have regular dental checkups and cleanings.

My first reaction to the OPs question was to think, you must be an idiot! Then my smart ass mouth was to add, the “MD” at the end of their name/title!

I am so glad @SwitchableSusie answered, thoughtfully, thoroughly, and most accurately.

Being a diabetic myself I also agree with @bbw4docs comments as one of many examples.

I have a phobia of dentists. I can take a needle anywhere on my body but my mouth. I procrastinate going to the dentist even when I am in severe pain. I have had abscesses so badly infected(partly due to my procrastination and being diabetic) that it has spread deep into my jaw bone. I have had drains inserted into my jaw by oral surgeons and been put on iv antibiotics, morphine drips and steroids.

Going to the ER because of my medical conditions an ER doc would not touch me except get me started on meds and send me to an emergency oral surgeon. Thankfully they have the extensive education and training!

Bridgette, you need to find another dentist! A GOOD dentist can use a needle in your mouth without causing you any pain - he simply uses a topical anesthetic first, so you don't feel the needle.

As for the OP and his diatribe on drugs, IMO the fact that dentists can treat so much WITHOUT using drugs is a POSITIVE aspect of the practice! Also, dentistry has advanced FAR in front of the rest of the medical profession in the use of PREVENTIVE medicine instead of reactive medicine. Only recently has preventive medicine been given the emphasis it should have, e.g., in the obamacare mandate that most preventive care is covered by ALL insurance policies without further copayments. That may be the ONLY positive aspect of obamacare that I can think of...

Thank you @intruder, it is not my dentist or oral surgeon, they always put a topical first. ITS ME !! Lol I am a big baby when it comes to my mouth. I don’t know if I am just super sensitive there or if its a combination of anxiety and being a wuss but I absolutely can’t take it. I am also a ridiculous gagger so going to the dentist even for just a check up is never pleasant for me.

Exam Doc said

I share your regard for dentists. I have personally benefitted from bone grafting and dental implants. I do believe that a large percentage of dentists have the degree D.M.D. in addition to some who hold D.D.S. degrees. It just depends on the particular dental school.

The D.D.S. Doctor of Dental Surgery degree is educationally and legally identical to the D.M.D. Doctor of Dental Medicine degree.

As Exam Doc stated, the only difference is the school you graduated from. There does seem to be a bit of geographic preference for schools to award one degree or the other--at least there used to be. The D.M.D. seems to becoming more common than ion the past.

Digging a little further into the history of the DMD vs DDS designation, DDS stands for Doctor of Dental Surgery and was established by the world’s first dental school in 1840 at the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery. This school has since merged with the University of Maryland. So for many years through the mid 1800’s, all dentists had the suffix “DDS” and it was pretty simple to understand the professional designation for trained and licensed dentists.

However, in the late 1860’s Harvard University decided to create a dental school … the first at a major university. Of course desiring to be different, they created the DMD or Doctor of Dental Medicine. In 1900 only Harvard and the University of Oregon offered DMD degrees. Today it is a relatively even split. There are now approximately 58 dental schools in the U.S. with 24 awarding DMD’s and 34 awarding DDS’s.

This is not directly related but important. Dentists & oral surgeons want to (and sometimes need to) X-ray a lot, sometimes more than once at a sitting. I read recently where some dental technicians either don't use the thyroid guard if it's separate or pull the guard (if it is attached) up far enough to guard the thyroid. In the article the person asked the technician where the guard was and was told it was in a drawer because no one asked for it. Hmmm! I have had a lot of dental work & CAT scans & a short while back several nodules were noted on my thyroid & the endochronologist recommended a biopsy. NOT FUN. Maybe you can avoid it if you guard your thyroid.

A dentist is a surgeon (dental surgeon) as opposed to a doctor. In the UK surgeons are accorded the superior style of Mister or Miss and it is an insult to address them as Doctor. A dentist here should therefore never be addressed as Doctor.

Wow, @SickBoy69, please read @SwitchableSusie post. You seem to REALLY have something ingrained against dentists. Feel free to never see one again, but when you get older, dont complain that you can’t eat anything. Teeth/mouth are ignored by many, until they don’t work! And the impact they have on quality of life is tremendous, way more than you’d think.

As far as dental science goes, it’s like any science. Treatments are proposed by observations, scientific studies are performed to statistically test the treatment results, and further future studies can change treatment recommendations based of new results! Science by design is self correcting, unlike other types of beliefs/faiths. When something is proven to be wrong/ineffectual it is abandoned for something shown to be better. And then the cycle repeats, leading to better and better knowledge about diseases, treatments, and causes.

I have a phobia of dentists. I can take a needle anywhere on my body but my mouth. I procrastinate going to the dentist even when I am in severe pain. I have had abscesses so badly infected(partly due to my procrastination and being diabetic) that it has spread deep into my jaw bone. I have had drains inserted into my jaw by oral surgeons and been put on iv antibiotics, morphine drips and steroids.

Oh yikes, @bridgette! I used to be/am scared of dentists, too, but I learned the hard way to go get regular checkups/cleanings. I've had a couple abscesses, and they were the worst pain I've ever had and I've had a finger bit off! After the last one, which was far worse than the first, I've made sure to go regularly.

I hear ya about needles in the mouth. They suck, and when you are getting one in the top, even with a gel applied first, it hurts. My dentist said that's because the roof of the mouth has more nerve endings.