dent in future

[LestatZinnie]

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hi all...i was just strolling through the optometry forum and whether the question whether that profession has a future came up (the view was rather pessimistic)

i'm currently in dental school and i have similar concerns that demand for dentistry would decrease sharply in the next 3-4 decades (which is about the length of time we new grads will be working for) due to preventive care. do any of you have any insights into this?

 

[Yah-E]

Is there a scare for Medicine's future? I believe not! The same will go for Dentistry!

Some to think about:

1) Just learned today that EVERY Level One trauma medical center in the US is required to have 1 OMS as part of their trauma team and be on call.

2) What health professions do NIH fund the most? Medicine and Dentistry!

Dentistry to the future as I am to this SDN!

Alright, it's time to click on "Submit Reply"

 

[LestatZinnie]

haha...thx for your reply

I agree with you that oral surgeons will not be out of demand, since they have a specialized role. but what about general dentists who mostly drill and fill (which is going to be what 95% of us will be)? 3-4 decades is a loooooong time....and it would not be surprising if dental caries could be 99% prevented in the future..i sure don't want to be out of a job 😕

on the other note...what about denturists? somehow I feel that they'll be pretty much out of work in the next 2 decades since their primary customers (ppl of my grandparents' age, around 70-80) would not be around for much longer, and the baby boomers such as my dad most likely will not lose all their teeth...just curious what your thoughts are about this ^^

 

[ItsGavinC]

Man, this exact topic has been discussed ad nauseam on this board.

Dental caries being prevented will NOT impact dentistry as much as you might expect.

Further, it is highly doubtful that caries will be prevented. After all, good hygiene already can eliminate 90% of caries, but that doesn't seem to motivate people to keep such things in check.

Do a search and you'll find pages of thoughts on this topic.

Dentistry isn't going anywhere, regardless of what happens to dental caries. Caries are NOT the basis of our profession. We are NOT tooth specialists unless that is what we limit ourselves to.

 

[UBTom]

to LestatZinnie:

Well, that's the problem with preventive care... The patient has to be in the mindset to be proactively preventive for it to work.

There will always be people who didn't know any better and don't go to the dentist until it's too late-- When their teeth starts to hurt. 😀

 

[groundhog]

There is a huge block of folks out there who are not inclined to be proactive in regards to their oral health care. They comprise a whole new market waiting to be tapped when someone develops that decay stopping silver bullet which can be cheaply administered once or twice per year by a licensed dentist. When that occurrs, most of those peeps will come in by the droves to get their annual quick fix and oral check up. Regardless of what their dentist tells them, most of those same peeps will then leave the office with a false notion that they can now SAFELY continue on with their poor oral hygiene habits without severe consequence. Welcome a whole new batch of regulars to your practice who will still need that ongoing perio care down the road. Can"t you hear that cash register sing?

 

[UBTom]

Yea, tooth loss through periodontitis. Oral surgeons and prosthodontists will profit from this too-- Extraction of hopeless teeth, maybe an alveolar ridge augmentation graft here or there, then it's time to make them complete dentures.. 😀 Cha-ching!

Who says restorative dentistry will be dead?