"They're Not A Real Doctor"

I know you're speaking to other pre-dents, but when I hear someone say something like that it always bugs me. I know they really mean "medical doctor," and simply aren't acclimated enough to the realm of higher education to understand that other types of doctors are very real doctors in their respective fields. If it were me, I'd say something like "I'm not a doctor of medicine, I'm a doctor of dentistry, and a real one."

I say if I wanted to be a 'doctor' I would have gone into medicine. PERIOD! Poor MDs under ObamaCare If this keeps up, I'm sorry to say that there will be a TON of spots open they will need to recruit people for in med schools. If it ever moves into dentistry... same thing

its just the way "doctor" is used.... when your talking to your friends or coworkers and you say "Im going to the doctor", its always implied that your going to a physician to get checked out, most people (if not all) will not think your going to a dentist. Its just the way the word is used

As far as dentists being "doctors" or not.... It doesn't matter what people think of you, you've busted your butt to obtain this "dental" degree, if they don't wanna believe your a doctor, thats fine, there is nothing you can do to change their mind. It shouldn't bother nor pleasure you.

I've actually heard a few medical students before say how dentists' position in society is overrated because they are called "doctors"..... I guess if you wanna think about it, they are kinda right, physicians and oral physicians are NOT the same thing

SugarNaCl said:

I say if I wanted to be a 'doctor' I would have gone into medicine. PERIOD! Poor MDs under ObamaCare If this keeps up, I'm sorry to say that there will be a TON of spots open they will need to recruit people for in med schools. If it ever moves into dentistry... same thing

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I doubt this will continue tho.... pretty soon pre-meds will come back to their natural sense "MEDICINE IS MORE PRESTEGOUS, SAVING LIVES, PICKING UP CHICKS, I WANNA BE THE NEXT DR. CHRISTIAN TROY, I WANNA HAVE A LOVE STORY JUST LIKE GRAY'S ANATOMY.... blah blah blah"

It will come back, just wait a little lmao

This was mentioned in "The Hangover" LOL

.

Anyone with a doctorate degree should be able to be called doctor. That includes PhD's, pharmacists, dentists,...you name it. The public doesn't seem to have a problem calling optometrists doctors, so why shouldn't dentists be called doctors? Most people do not understand that MD's are only one of many different types of doctors.

Who cares?

Do you need the ego stroke to be called a "doctor"?

You're a dentist. Make your patients happy. Hell, they don't even know that you went to school for 8 years on average to be a "doctor".

"They're not a English as first language speaker."

DrReo said:

Who cares?

Do you need the ego stroke to be called a "doctor"?

You're a dentist. Make your patients happy.

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Couldn't have said it better myself!

dentalWorks said:

I doubt this will continue tho.... pretty soon pre-meds will come back to their natural sense "MEDICINE IS MORE PRESTEGOUS, SAVING LIVES, PICKING UP CHICKS, I WANNA BE THE NEXT DR. CHRISTIAN TROY, I WANNA HAVE A LOVE STORY JUST LIKE GRAY'S ANATOMY.... blah blah blah"

It will come back, just wait a little lmao

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I think we will just end up with some pretty below the bar in intelligence MDs, personally... and I don't want that. Maybe the Grays thing is true... I don't know. I don't really watch TV and never really saw the draw of medical fiction.

SugarNaCl said:

I think we will just end up with some pretty below the bar in intelligence MDs, personally... and I don't want that. Maybe the Grays thing is true... I don't know. I don't really watch TV and never really saw the draw of medical fiction.

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What are you talking about? What is the event that would lead to "below the bar in intellignce MDs?"

DrReo said:

Who cares?

Do you need the ego stroke to be called a "doctor"?

You're a dentist. Make your patients happy. Hell, they don't even know that you went to school for 8 years on average to be a "doctor".

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Exactly my thoughts.

Titles are made exclusively for the patients. As long as they recognize that I'm a dentist, that's enough for me.

In my opinion, "real" doctors are those with Ph.D.'s - those who make groundbreaking discoveries and invent new ways to approach something. For example, discoveries by Ph.D. scientists that practitioners (dentists, optometrists, physicians, etc) use to "help" patients.

Bottomline:
Ph.D. - creators
MD, DDS, OD, DO - users

So who's the "real" doctors?

Take my post with a grain of salt though.

People often equate "doctor" with physician. When someone asks what you do, you don't say "oh, I'm a doctor" you say "I'm a dentist". You can still introduce yourself as Dr. Such and Such in the appropriate setting, but you're not a physician.

I dont think of pharmacists, vets, or chiropractors as doctors. I don't think this is a big deal. It's just the common use of the word doctor to mean physician.

12345a said:

i do

no....i need to be called "doctor" to stroke my ego.

making my patients happy is a good thing, but it's subsequent to my own happiness and personal satisfaction of my career and how I'm viewed by my peers and customers.

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WOW....lol...would you repeat that in an interview?

12345a said:

i do

no....i need to be called "doctor" to stroke my ego.

making my patients happy is a good thing, but it's subsequent to my own happiness and personal satisfaction of my career and how I'm viewed by my peers and customers.

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My god, I hope your peers view you by your work, not by a title. If your head is too far up your ass, I'm sure someone may help you.

12345a said:

i'm not sure if that makes any sense.

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Well, you have just proved that your head is up your ass.


Be known for your work. Be satisfied for making your patients happy, not by a title.

12345a said:

I hope that my peers view me by my work as well but i'm not sure if the second part makes any sense.

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just added 2nd part OK.

commenting on your ego stroaking

12345a said:

i guess that's all I can hope for...

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12345a said:

i do

no....i need to be called "doctor" to stroke my ego.

making my patients happy is a good thing, but it's subsequent to my own happiness and personal satisfaction of my career and how I'm viewed by my peers and customers.

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Very unnecessary.

Troll?

DrReo said:

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LMAO....priceless!

OP, always remember, you never know who your talking too!

:troll:

btpayne13 said:

Anyone with a doctorate degree should be able to be called doctor. That includes PhD's, pharmacists, dentists,...you name it. The public doesn't seem to have a problem calling optometrists doctors, so why shouldn't dentists be called doctors? Most people do not understand that MD's are only one of many different types of doctors.

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I personally think it should be reserved for health professionals. My theater teacher in high school has a PhD in statistics analysis or something like that...Doesn't make sense to call her Dr. XXXXXX to me. Just seems stupid.

I think it should be:
Pharmacists
Psychologists
Dentists
MDs
Vets
And any other health related professional degrees

TarheelDDS said:

I personally think it should be reserved for health professionals. My theater teacher in high school has a PhD in statistics analysis or something like that...Doesn't make sense to call her Dr. XXXXXX to me. Just seems stupid.

I think it should be:
Pharmacists
Psychologists
Dentists
MDs
Vets
And any other health related professional degrees

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Ehhh...

Then again, who teaches health professionals?

If I were to create a hierarchy with top being labeled as "doctor," healthcare professionals would be under Ph.D. scientists. They are fixing problems on a new level; healthcare professionals fix problems based on pre-existing techniques and methods.

I think even the dictionary gets the word "doctor" wrong, but it's correct when it refers to its gerund "doctoring" as it relates to the duties/responsibilities of healthcare professionals. That's where the misunderstanding lies. In fact, that will be the sole purpose of our job: to "doctor" any ailment into a tolerable and comfortable level.

In short, it would be better to refer to yourself as a dentist opposed to a doctor. however, when presenting yourself, i think it's acceptable to say your name as Dr. XXXXX, only when people know that you're a dentist. C'mon...will it not make you proud enough to represent the career that you love and cherish so dearly? Afraid that chicks won't have enough respect?

From the greatest source of knowledge (aka, wikipedia):

"Doctor, as a title, originates from the Latin word (gen.: doctoris) which means teacher. The word is originally an agentive noun of the verb docēre ('to teach')."

The title of Doctor was originally reserved for Ph.D's - everyone else just kinda merged into it. Being a "doctor" is all about having a certain body of knowledge, and, having been told by the faculty at our school who teach both med and dental students that dentists often know much more about the head and neck than your average physician, it makes perfect sense to me that the specialty health professionals - dentists, vets, pharms, Pods, etc - are called "doctors" - they do, after all, earn a Professional Doctorate. Though, my dad (a physician), always jokes with me that med students have four years for "the WHOLE body!" Whereas we have 4 years for "just the mouth!" hahaha.

I also found this interesting from wiki:

"In the Dutch language the word "dokter" refers to a physician, whereas "doctor" refers to a high academic rank."

"In German language-speaking countries, the word Doktor always refers to a research doctorate awardee, and is distinct from Arzt, a medical practitioner. An Arzt who holds the Dr. med. degree is addressed as Herr Doktor; an Arzt who does not would simply be Herr. This rule has been weakened recently, and people (e.g. in Austria) refer to medical practitioners as Doktor too.[citation needed]"

"In France, the title of Docteur is only used by physicians, dentists, veterinarians and pharmacists. Confusingly, they do not hold a doctorate, which is in France only a research doctorate, but a "State Diploma of Doctor". The holders of a doctorate are never addressed as "Doctors", even in an academic environment.[citation needed]"

I must not have been thinking so late at night. I fed the troll.



To amped up
Not at all, chicks love dentists.

Everyone is aware of public's perception of the word "doctor" which is fine by me.

But when someone ask what am I doing after graduation, I tell them I am going to dental school to become a DENTIST!
I would be proud of myself if people referred to me as a dentist because that's what I will be.

Vicviper said:

From the greatest source of knowledge (aka, wikipedia):

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Came here to quote that article too. Physicians technically aren't real doctors either .

DrReo said:

Who cares?

Do you need the ego stroke to be called a "doctor"?

You're a dentist. Make your patients happy. Hell, they don't even know that you went to school for 8 years on average to be a "doctor".

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well you seem to like being called "DR." DrReo is your forum handle lol!!!! Why didnt you make it DentistReo? I think because you like fact to say you are a Dr.

This is probably one of the more ridiculous threads i have posted on.... that being said....

The "Doctor" meaning the profession and the "Doctor" meaning the title are getting way to mixed up here. I thought this was common sense. When people ask me what my profession is... i will tell them a Dentist, not a doctor. It is exactly the same for Vets, Pharmacists, Optometrists, College Professors, Lawyers, and guess what.... Doctors!!!

The title Doctor is just to let the public know you have expertise in a field... Doctor of Dental Surgery, Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Law, Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology, etc.

You simply cannot define your profession by your title. Its the same as any title..... take "Mr." for example... all that tells you is that the person being referred to as "Mr." is a man... it does not imply that they are a successful, good looking, happy, white, whatever...

If you have this great need to feed your ego and be considered a "real" doctor... then go to med school and make your profession a "doctor".... not a dentist.... because we all no being a dentist carries no prestige.....lol... cut this elementary comedy act and grow a pair.

Cheers!

It's been ingrained in society for years that "doctor" is synonymous with physician and no else really cares that now you in 2010 want to get a little ego boost because TV and movies make docs look cool

People should refer to themselves as Dr so and so in their respective academic/work environment....dr so and so in college English class...dr so and so in dental office and sure put the 2 little letters in front of your resume or business card but when people say you're a doctor they assume physician and I don't see hundreds of years and billions of lay people undoing this now natural association

But it doesn't matter because those 2 little letter are now in front of everyones name dr vet, dr chiro, dr PT, dr nurse practioners, dr academic, it's really commonplace now and the cashier and everyone at a hospital wears a white coat so if you want some respect and prestige you're gonna have to earn it some other way

so if you want some respect and prestige you're gonna have to earn it some other way

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So why is it that you are in med school then? looks like every post you have typed has to do with your insecurity. Seems like you need to feel elevated by your position because you are unable to earn respect on your own.

pathetic

homeboysalute said:

It's been ingrained in society for years that "doctor" is synonymous with physician and no else really cares that now you in 2010 want to get a little ego boost because TV and movies make docs look cool

People should refer to themselves as Dr so and so in their respective academic/work environment....dr so and so in college English class...dr so and so in dental office and sure put the 2 little letters in front of your resume or business card but when people say you're a doctor they assume physician and I don't see hundreds of years and billions of lay people undoing this now natural association

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So what about 4 year program OMFS residents(no MD)? What are they refereed to in a hospital. Does the hospital page Dr. Blah Blah for facial trauma or does the hospital page Dentist Blah Blah for Facial Trauma?

A dentist has the right to be called Dr. so and so in ANY environment because he/she graduated from a doctoral program. Dentists are not physicians, but they sure are doctors and there's nothing misleading about that.

Are you serious?

homeboysalute said:

...it's really commonplace now and the cashier and everyone at a hospital wears a white coat ...

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so true! it's kind of sad.

Go say you're a doctor when you meet someone, and guess what they'll assume...I'm just saying it like it is I don't give a **** what people think but it's becoming ridiculous...and for the OMFS dude read my post again...stop stalking me truthseeker, weirdo

Talk about my insecurity? I didn't start the goddamn thread....I wish I went to dental school