Are dentists doctors

[ReallyCuteGirl]

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My favorite way to answer this: If you're on an airplane, a person suddenly faints, and someone yells, "is there a doctor on the plane?", do you raise your hand?

I would not raise my hand not because I'm not a doctor, but because when they ask "is there a doctor on the plane?" they actually mean "is there a Physician on the plane." Besides, if I were to suddenly collapse, I'll take an EMT over a physician anyday.

 

[Vicviper]

👍👍

Also, I would like to add that just a degree does not give one a status of doctor/dentist/physician. ahem ahem😉

Haha, good point, but I think it would be safe to say they have the title from the degree, as a few of the faculty at my school are international dentists who do research and teach other didactic classes, but don't have a license in this state because they have no interest in a clinical practice, and I'm guessing something similar is the case for disabled dentists who teach. But yes, to practice dentistry you need a degree + license, but you don't need a license to have a Ph.d in English and be called Doctor.

Anyways, it's silly to have this continuing argument about Dentists as Doctors or not, isn't there a sticky about this or something? Hehe, oh the fun of SDN. 🙂

 

[Vicviper]

I would not raise my hand not because I'm not a doctor, but because when they ask "is there a doctor on the plane?" they actually mean "is there a Physician on the plane." Besides, if I were to suddenly collapse, I'll take an EMT over a physician anyday.

Hahaha, good point!

 

[doc toothache]

Only idiots think of themselves as doctors when they have no medical training. I'll tell you what the first D in DDS stands for...dumbasses of dental surgery.

Is that how you will be asking your patient to address you?

👍👍
Also, I would like to add that just a degree does not give one a status of doctor/dentist/physician. ahem ahem😉

And on what planet would that be a correct statement?

 

[D3ntalDud3]

I'll repeat for all those who fancy themselves a doctor. Nothing in dental school comes remotely close to diagnosing and treating diseases, skills required to be a physician. Knowing basic biomedical sciences doesn't make one a doctor.

And what exactly will you "fancy" yourself as when you complete dental school??

I can hear it now.."Dr. dentstd you're needed in room 2 for a wisdom tooth extra--"

"excuse me nurse that will be Mr. dentstd to you"

I'm with ReallyCuteGirl on this one...I'll jump off the top rope and big elbow someone that calls me Mr.

 

[lekso]

haha I can't believe people are still debating on this. Of course dentists are doctors. It's just assumed by most people that the title of doctor is used only for physicians.

 

[bigstix808]

I would not raise my hand not because I'm not a doctor, but because when they ask "is there a doctor on the plane?" they actually mean "is there a Physician on the plane." Besides, if I were to suddenly collapse, I'll take an EMT over a physician anyday.

this was quite funny. doctor only refers to "master teacher" (taken from latin origins)....i mean, if i was having an MI on a plane and a botonist said "i'm a doctor, i'll take care of it" only because they had a PhD...i'd come back from the that MI and smack em.

that phrase "is there a doc in the house?" is only making reference to a physician and i think that a lot of people just take that to the extremes. if you're a DMD/DDS, you're a doctor...just don't plan your practice around heart surgeries or the alike.

 

[TedyBearSuicide]

It's these two years that you truly learn human medicine, how to diagnose and treat human diseases. Everything that came before are just pre-reqs that make no sense by themselves.

Exactly, that's why every medical graduate is an internist. The three years of IM residency is just a formality in order to get cheap labor.

 

[beeho]

dentists are not doctors. we are gods. 😛

 

[NAVY DDS 2010]

rofl. nice.

Like that is an original comeback?

 

[NAVY DDS 2010]

Nothing in dental school comes remotely close to diagnosing and treating diseases, skills required to be a physician. Knowing basic biomedical sciences doesn't make one a doctor.

Wow! I must be hallucinating then. I thought the Physical Diagnosis course I was taking, which is taught partially by MDs and will have physical diagnosis clinics at the medical school with live patients, was actually occurring. Please remind me later that the various ocular exams, chest and lung exams, neurological exams, dermatologic exams, etc that we learned and performed never actually happened since nothing in dental school comes remotely close to diagnosing and treating diseases.

You will probably rarely do most exams that a physician will use, but there are times when you can and should be able to understand and do the physical exams. Even though we are practitioners who specialize in treating the oral cavity and head and neck region, we are still responsible for the overall health of our patients whne they are in our care. If for some reason you suspect something is going on and the patient has never been diagnosed with the condition, you should know how to perform an exam so you are able to give the physician you are referring the patient to see a better idea of why you are referring the patient. Dentists are quite often the first practitioners to pick up on a certain disease that will evenually have to be treated by a physician. A dentist MUST be able to recognize and do a quick exam. If you know how to do the various exams, you may prevent yourself from looking like an idiot in the physician's eyes for referring a normal patient just by beign able to perform diagnostic exams! you will not make the diagnosis, since that is the physician's job. But you can at least give the physician an idea of what you saw to better direct them to the problem.

I am not saying we will be experts at diagnosing medicla issues outside the head and neck region. I am just saying that at least at our school we are taught how and expected to know how to diagnose things for the patient's sake!

 

[Doc Smile]

If you have pain in the heart - you go to a docotr who specializes in the heart

If you have pain in the kidney - you go to a doctor who specializes in the kidney.

If you have pain in the oral cavity - you go to a doctor who specializes in the oral cavity.

seems pretty simple to me. . .

 

[littlemango]

Simple. The career is dentistry. The title is Doctor.