I always wanted too know...

[Taty]

Guys, could you please tell me what is the difference between DMD and DDS?

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[da8s0859q]

Not a thing.

http://www.ada.org/public/topics/dds_dmd.asp

 

[Taty]

Thank you

 

[da8s0859q]

Surely!

oh, and this page - http://dentalschool.wordpress.com/2006/12/09/whats-the-difference-between-a-dmd-and-a-dds/ - lays it out a bit more. I believe the owner of that WP is a member here.

 

[t man]

if you look in the dental forum, there are a bunch of answers to FAQs like yours:

DDS vs. DMD
Thanks to SDNer edkNARF for recommending that the following brief article/link be posted concerning the history of the DDS and DMD degrees.

The following brief article was written by Dr. Kimberly Loos, DDS, a contributor to iVillage.com, in order to educate parents on the differences between dentists who hold the DDS or DMD degrees: http://www.parentsplace.com/expert/d...a=adid=9208033

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D.D.S. or D.M.D. degree?
Many people, including dentists, share your confusion over the use of the D.D.S. and D.M.D. degrees. Today, some dental schools grant a D.D.S. degree and others prefer to award the D.M.D. degree instead. The training the dentists receive is very similar but the degree granted is different. Here are the details:

Ancient medicine was divided into two groups:

1. the surgery group that dealt with treating diseases and injuries using instruments; and

2. the medicine group that dealt with healing diseases using internal remedies. Originally there was only the D.D.S. degree which stands for Doctor of Dental Surgery.

This all changed in 1867 when Harvard University added a dental school. Harvard University only grants degrees in Latin. Harvard did not adopt the D.D.S. or "Doctor of Dental Surgery" degree because the Latin translation was "Chirurgae Dentium Doctoris" or C.D.D. The people at Harvard thought that C.D.D. was cumbersome. A Latin scholar was consulted. The scholar suggested the ancient "Medicinae Doctor" be prefixed with "Dentariae". This is how the D.M.D. or "Dentariae Medicinae Doctor" degree was started. (Congratulations! Now you probably know more Latin than most dentists!)

At the turn of the century, there were 57 dental schools in the U.S. but only Harvard and Oregon awarded the D.M.D. In 1989, 23 of the 66 North American dental schools awarded the D.M.D. I think about half the Canadian dental schools now award the D.M.D. degree.

The American Dental Association (A.D.A.) is aware of the public confusion surrounding these degrees. The A.D.A. has tried on several occasions to reduce this confusion. Several sample proposals include:

1. eliminate the D.M.D. degree;
2. eliminate the D.D.S. degree; or
3. eliminate both degrees and invent a brand new degree that every dental school will agree to use.

Unfortunately, this confusion may be with us for a long time. When emotional factors like "school pride" and "tradition" arise, it is difficult to find a compromise.
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i didn't click on any of the links posted, but they probably say something very similar (perhaps even in more detail) than this.

 

[1992Corolla]

Here is some more information:

DDSstudent.com

 

[Sprgrover]

Normally I don't close threads until it is absolutely necessary, but this topic has been beat to a bloody pulp so many times before that I see no reason to let it happen again. A quick search will yield many, many threads dedicated to this eternal question. As others have pointed out, the difference is only in the letters; there's no special training in one versus the other, there is no truth whatsoever that one can only do certrain procedures, and so on. Both spell "dentist". Closing.