Not good enough to be a doctor; become a dentist?

[Doctor Asnan]

Why is this a saying in the United States? It doesn't make sense. In other countries, dentists are respected like doctors but not here in the United States.

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[Daneosaurus]

Because people don't know that dental school is as competitive as med school for admittance. Some people don't realize that dentists are doctors, just not physicians.

 

[DaleDoback]

Because people don't know that dental school is as competitive as med school for admittance. Some people don't realize that dentists are doctors, just not physicians.

:troll:

 

[oralcare123]

We inflict pain at every appointment. It's an S&M relationship with patients - they love and hate you at the same time

 

[pathwizard]

Well with that attitude you won't become either

 

[AlbinoPolarBear]

It doesn't matter what people think. It only matters what you think. Physicians, dentists, pharmacists, optometrists, vets, PhDs... Everyone fills a role in society.

 

[allantois]

No one says that

 

[CMistry]

It doesn't matter what people think. It only matters what you think. Physicians, dentists, pharmacists, optometrists, vets, PhDs... Everyone fills a role in society.

The truth. If you think we are lacking respect, you can't imagine how podiatrists, PharmDs, optometrists, etc. feel...

 

[DentalLonghorn2014]

I don't know who you are hanging out with but dentistry is a very respectable profession.
If it makes you feel better, dentists are basically oral physicians.
Edit: Lol def not oral physicians...terrible wording. Oral surgeons are more like "oral physicians" since they have an MD also.
A lot of people automatically think that "Dr." only means MD. Doesn't "Dr." mean "to teach" or something in Latin?

 

[BetaHelix]

It's a personality thing in my opinion. If you like medicine but don't get in.. Apply for dental and do.. More than likely you won't like it. Dentists are distinctively different than doctors in how they treat patients

 

[DaleDoback]

After spending a bunch of time in the hospital around real doctors during my residency, I did begin to admire them. They are involved in patient care in a completely different aspect. Every single health care provider (doctor, dentist, chiropractor, podiatrist, psychologist, etc) plays their own unique part in the overall care of human beings.

After my residency, I thought about going back and becoming a plastic surgeon simply for the public perception and to improve my "hero" status...............realistically, I chose not to because I didn't want to take the pay cut.

 

[Pro-Dentite19]

Why is this a saying in the United States? It doesn't make sense. In other countries, dentists are respected like doctors but not here in the United States.

I think it is because a good Dentist makes something that is incredibly difficult look incredibly easy. Plus, many patients don't get cavities so they think that all a Dentist does is check your teeth after a cleaning and cash your check.

 

[Doctor Asnan]

:troll:

Why did you post this? I am applying to dental school right now, how am I trolling?

Well with that attitude you won't become either

I already have interviews lined up man. It's not an attitude that I have but it is a perception of society. That's what I am asking about

It doesn't matter what people think. It only matters what you think. Physicians, dentists, pharmacists, optometrists, vets, PhDs... Everyone fills a role in society.

I understand. I want to become a dentist, NOT a physician. But I just don't understand why people think like this.

 

[Fajardo04]

Never heard of this saying. I think most physicians will tell you they have immense respect for what dentists do and understand how hard it is to get into dental school now. But I don't really understand why anyone except a physician wants to be called "doctor." It creates confusion and ambiguity for patients who are not sure of the credentials of the provider who is treating them. Dentists are not "physicians of the mouth" either, since this title would be more deserved by an ENT or oral surgeon and dental training lacks key components of what makes a physician a physician. Everybody and their mother wants to be called "doctor" nowadays, and this benefits nobody and nothing except the ego of the wolf in sheep's clothing.

 

[DaleDoback]

Never heard of this saying. I think most physicians will tell you they have immense respect for what dentists do and understand how hard it is to get into dental school now. But I don't really understand why anyone except a physician wants to be called "doctor." It creates confusion and ambiguity for patients who are not sure of the credentials of the provider who is treating them. Dentists are not "physicians of the mouth" either, since this title would be more deserved by an ENT or oral surgeon and dental training lacks key components of what makes a physician a physician. Everybody and their mother wants to be called "doctor" nowadays, and this benefits nobody and nothing except the ego of the wolf in sheep's clothing.

I think I'd have more concerns about every person in the hospital wearing white coats, even the laundry people.

So you think that only MDs should be called Doctor? That's cute.

 

[pathwizard]

[QUOTE="I already have interviews lined up man. It's not an attitude that I have but it is a perception of society. That's what I am asking about"[/QUOTE]

Who gives a s*** man. Do what you want to do and stop caring about what other people think. Your statement is also not true. There are many people who respect dentists just as much as they do "doctors" especially after they relieve them of tooth pain or turned their smile into something they thought they could never have.

 

[OrthoFriendly]

Never heard of this saying. I think most physicians will tell you they have immense respect for what dentists do and understand how hard it is to get into dental school now. But I don't really understand why anyone except a physician wants to be called "doctor." It creates confusion and ambiguity for patients who are not sure of the credentials of the provider who is treating them. Dentists are not "physicians of the mouth" either, since this title would be more deserved by an ENT or oral surgeon and dental training lacks key components of what makes a physician a physician. Everybody and their mother wants to be called "doctor" nowadays, and this benefits nobody and nothing except the ego of the wolf in sheep's clothing.

I understand that the title "Dr." gets used more in today's society, but I have to disagree with you that dentists are not "physicians of the mouth."

The perception that dentists simply drill and fill is ludicrous. Most, if not all dental schools will require students to take multiple pathology classes and clinically based courses that link problems in the oral cavity to systemic issues. For one, dentists are more likely to detect oral cancer in its early stages. By the time a patient shows up to a physician complaining about lesions in the mouth, the cancer is usually at its worst. How often does your physician check for oral cancer..? If they do, it is most likely by palpating lymph nodes in the neck which at that point an enlarged lymph node could mean the cancer has spread. A dentist will conduct a more thorough examination for oral cancer than any physician.

My intent is not to argue. Instead, offer a different perspective. Whether a physician or a dentist, both are doctors in their own light. Dentists are experts or "physicians" of the head/neck region. Anyone who thinks otherwise is misinformed.

 

[DentalLonghorn2014]

Never heard of this saying. I think most physicians will tell you they have immense respect for what dentists do and understand how hard it is to get into dental school now. But I don't really understand why anyone except a physician wants to be called "doctor." It creates confusion and ambiguity for patients who are not sure of the credentials of the provider who is treating them. Dentists are not "physicians of the mouth" either, since this title would be more deserved by an ENT or oral surgeon and dental training lacks key components of what makes a physician a physician. Everybody and their mother wants to be called "doctor" nowadays, and this benefits nobody and nothing except the ego of the wolf in sheep's clothing.

So professors with phds cant be called, "Dr. XY"?
They do have a doctorate in their respective fields right?

 

[Daneosaurus]

I understand that the title "Dr." gets used more in today's society, but I have to disagree with you that dentists are not "physicians of the mouth."

The perception that dentists simply drill and fill is ludicrous. Most, if not all dental schools will require students to take multiple pathology classes and clinically based courses that link problems in the oral cavity to systemic issues. For one, dentists are more likely to detect oral cancer in its early stages. By the time a patient shows up to a physician complaining about lesions in the mouth, the cancer is usually at its worst. How often does your physician check for oral cancer..? If they do, it is most likely by palpating lymph nodes in the neck which at that point an enlarged lymph node could mean the cancer has spread. A dentist will conduct a more thorough examination for oral cancer than any physician.

My intent is not to argue. Instead, offer a different perspective. Whether a physician or a dentist, both are doctors in their own light. Dentists are experts or "physicians" of the head/neck region. Anyone who thinks otherwise is misinformed.

Boom! Well said.

 

[A Pre-dent]

.

 

[DentalLonghorn2014]

Actually, I think @Fajardo04 has a valid point, but for a nuanced historical reason.

Before the 19th century, there were three kinds of health professionals in Europe: physicians, surgeons, and surgeon-barbers. Dentistry was handled exclusively by the surgeon-barber (in addition to hair-cutting and bloodletting), and all other interventions on the body were performed by surgeons. Surgeon-barbers and surgeons often belonged to the same guilds and trained side-by-side, except the surgeons received additional years of schooling. A physician had a completely different profession: he was university-affiliated philosopher of the body who did not treat patients directly. This distinction between a surgeon and a physician made sense before introduction of science to medicine.

The modern MD is really a blend of the old-school surgeon and physician, while the modern DDS is simply a direct descendant of the surgeon-barber. (The "DMD" came about when dental schools began to affiliate with universities in an attempt to model medical schools, but it now means the same thing as the DDS.)

If "physician" loosely means "academic," a doctor of dentistry is not really a physician of dentistry because a dental degree has a significant practical component.

A quirky illustration of this distinction is the tradition observed by surgeons in the UK. Upon graduating from medical school, a British physician is called "Dr. So-and-so;" but once the physician finishes a surgical residency, he/she drops the doctoral honorific and is called "Mr./Ms. So-and-so."

Interesting.
I actually know retired physicians who still go by Dr. I guess it's different in America.

But what about our professors? We call them "Dr." Don't we? Anyone with a doctorate is simply called, "Dr." which is different from "doctor" the physician right?

 

[johnnn10]

I think becoming a doctor is costly as compared to dentist. so it is easy to become dentist rather than doctor for poor people.
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{ indian yoga}

 

[gn4]

I think becoming a doctor is costly as compared to dentist. so it is easy to become dentist rather than doctor for poor people.
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{ indian yoga}

I may be mistaken but I think the average dental student debt is higher than the average medical student debt

 

[free99]

I think becoming a doctor is costly as compared to dentist. so it is easy to become dentist rather than doctor for poor people.
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{ indian yoga}

What leads you to this conclusion? As far as I've seen, the dental tuition at schools with both a medical and dental school is generally more expensive than medical tuition. Not that either is really a factor in one's ability to pay for school - federal student loans will cover the entire COA, regardless of your wealth. The only exception I can think of is if someone is unable to get GradPlus loans because of bad credit, and cannot find a cosigner to endorse the loan.

 

[A Pre-dent]

.

 

[DentalLonghorn2014]

I guess it's just complicated because you can get a doctoral degree in almost any subject, and there are different conventions for different professional doctorates. This is not what the original doctorate was. For example, every lawyer in the US holds a Juris Doctor, but they are called, "Mr./Ms. So-and-so, Esq." (And personally I find it strange that pharmacists insist on being called "Dr." nowadays, even though they have less training and authority than para-medical professionals such as physician's assistants.)

At my school (one of the oldest in the US), we don't call our professors "Dr." We either call them "Prof. So-and-so," or use first names. The only faculty we call "Dr." are lecturers or researchers who do not hold a professorship. It's very stuffy and hierarchical, but it is an old tradition which I have had to observe.

Anyway, to shorten my drunken babbling, I think you are correct, @DentalLonghorn2014. In my opinion, the whole "doctor versus dentist" issue just comes down to a sloppy use of language. Technically, anyone with a legitimate doctorate can choose to be called a doctor for the rest of his/her life.

Can you imagine a faculty party and someone gets hurt and someone else goes, "Is there a doctor in the house?"
Everyone goes "Me but not like doctor doctor haha..." lol idk why but that thought is currently making me laugh so hard right now... maybe I'm the one with the drunken babbling ha

 

[Sublimazing]

With the rising tuition cost of dental school and the increase in amount of DO schools, there are a lot less people doing dentistry these days because they didn't have the stats to do medicine

 

[Dr.p53]

Not good enough to be a doctor;
become a dentist? This statement is wrong. It should be
Not good enough to be a PHYSICIAN;
become a DENTIST.
Physicains(MD) and Dentist (DMD) are both Doctors with different scope of practice.

 

[Jalcalde]

Can you imagine a faculty party and someone gets hurt and someone else goes, "Is there a doctor in the house?"
Everyone goes "Me but not like doctor doctor haha..." lol idk why but that thought is currently making me laugh so hard right now... maybe I'm the one with the drunken babbling ha

I think it depends on what you do. A dermatologist probably wouldn't be super helpful in a code situation lol.