to have your hands in people's mouths all day?" Just respond, I think of it more as putting my hands in their wallets. Shuts em up every time.
No kidding, if I have to hear the suicide rate thing one more time...I'll kill myself.I just heard heard that response today and I wish I would have known it when nearly half the people I tell I'm gonna be dentist make some remark about how gross it would be....or they comment on suicide rates. It's annoying.
No kidding, if I have to hear the suicide rate thing one more time...I'll kill myself.
They're not impressed because there are no TV shows about dentists.
They're not impressed because there are no TV shows about dentists.
yes there are. it's called the golf channel.
When you tell people that you are in or are going to dental school, are they impressed? Whenever I tell anyone, they act as if it's not a big deal. I don't need people to be in awe or anything, but it would be nice if they acknowledged the fact that it is a competitive process that leads to a prestigious career.
They're not impressed because there are no TV shows about dentists.
yes there are. it's called the golf channel.
do you think ob/gyns get the "how disgusting" thing? I don't.
They're not impressed because there are no TV shows about dentists.
isn't there a (serious) adam sandler movie that's involves a dentist (played by the black dude in gray's anatomy)? the preview portrayed the profession of dentistry and having prestige.
jb!
to have your hands in people's mouths all day?" Just respond, I think of it more as putting my hands in their wallets. Shuts em up every time.
Little shop of horrors (steve martin played a great neurotic DDS)
The whole nine yards (dilhole from Friends was the dentist, and was portrayed as a rich bumbling idiot)
The Man (dental salesman played by Eugene Levy with a cop Samuel L Jackson) not really dental related, but it is good.
Hermey the Elf from rudolph
I hate how when friends of mine here that I'm in dentistry they will say, "what u didnt get into medicine," I just tell them that pulpating an oral cavity is better than pulpating the anal cavity (u know..prostate checks).
I think if you said "pulpating", you would prove to them that indeed you did not get into medicine.
As a dentist, do u not pulpate the patient's neck in the "head and neck exam"? Do u not pulpate the oral cavity when u suspect oral diseases?
Although I've also considered medicine and pharmacy as an undergrad I never applied to anything other then dentistry because for me that was the best choice. That said, I dont believe that we are like enzymes in the sence that only one career is appropriate for us. I think that medicine and pharmacy are decent careers, however, it is my perogative that dentistry is superior. That said, there are similarities in medicine and dentistry. The theme of this conferance that ADEA once had was "The head is conntected to the body"
As a dentist, do u not pulpate the patient's neck in the "head and neck exam"? Do u not pulpate the oral cavity when u suspect oral diseases?
I agree with everything except the part about dentistry and medicine being similar. Simply put, the only thing similar about them is the perscribing of medications. Physicians (atleast the majority of them) have a greater depth of knowledge about the basic and clinical sciences than we do as dentists. As general dentists, our main goal is to restore the health of the oral cavity (and even that is restricted to certain areas of the OC).
I agree with everything except the part about dentistry and medicine being similar. Simply put, the only thing similar about them is the perscribing of medications. Physicians (atleast the majority of them) have a greater depth of knowledge about the basic and clinical sciences than we do as dentists. As general dentists, our main goal is to restore the health of the oral cavity (and even that is restricted to certain areas of the OC).
No, "Pulpate" is what the Hertwigs Epithelial Root Sheath does with respect to the enamel epithelium during morphodifferentiation of the tooth.
"Palpate" is what you do to the body structures.
I should have proof read it. I c what u meant.
let me guess...you've never been in private practice have you? yes if every patient needed simple restorative, wasn't medically compromised in any way, never been hospitalized, etc etc, then i'd agree with you.
at the end of the day i guess some people have this view of all facets and specialties of medicine being a certain way, probably due to what they see on tv. in reality, a huge chunk of MDs just focus on one aspect/portion of the human body as well. the fact of the matter is we don't make sweeping statements like the one above about them, because both dent and med fields are trained a certain way and rely on knowledge and skills in order to diagnose and treat the complex, multidisciplinary cases that present to us, so you won't hear me saying of that ophthalmologists aren't real doctors b/c they do simple lasik 75% of the time, or derms pop zits and do facials so that's not medicine, what about the odd skin cancer case that comes in etc....my opinion.
now b/c of the 3rd and 4th yr med student rotations ya they have more practical knowledge, and we have to rely on being trained mostly on didactic knowledge.
now back to the original point.....ya , sometimes it is disgusting to work in the oral cavity....won't lie about that.....but hey you get used to it, and often it's a sight to see.
let me guess...you've never been in private practice have you? yes if every patient needed simple restorative, wasn't medically compromised in any way, never been hospitalized, etc etc, then i'd agree with you.
at the end of the day i guess some people have this view of all facets and specialties of medicine being a certain way, probably due to what they see on tv. in reality, a huge chunk of MDs just focus on one aspect/portion of the human body as well. the fact of the matter is we don't make sweeping statements like the one above about them, because both dent and med fields are trained a certain way and rely on knowledge and skills in order to diagnose and treat the complex, multidisciplinary cases that present to us, so you won't hear me saying of that ophthalmologists aren't real doctors b/c they do simple lasik 75% of the time, or derms pop zits and do facials so that's not medicine, what about the odd skin cancer case that comes in etc....my opinion.
now b/c of the 3rd and 4th yr med student rotations ya they have more practical knowledge, and we have to rely on being trained mostly on didactic knowledge.
now back to the original point.....ya , sometimes it is disgusting to work in the oral cavity....won't lie about that.....but hey you get used to it, and often it's a sight to see.
in reality, a huge chunk of MDs just focus on one aspect/portion of the human body as well....you won't hear me saying of that ophthalmologists aren't real doctors b/c they do simple lasik 75% of the time, or derms pop zits and do facials so that's not medicine, what about the odd skin cancer case that comes in etc....
There is still a huge difference between a dermatologist and a dentist, even if all he does is pop zits all day long. The difference is that the dermatologist had to complete all the medical rotations, pass all the medical boards, and do rotations with other medical services during his derm residency. The medical boards and the dental boards are not even remotely comparable -- anyone who has taken both will agree with me on that. You have to have a pretty damn good general knowledge of medicine to pass them. We are not taught good history taking and physical exam skills in dental school -- this includes the head and neck. The only part of the body with which we, as dentists, are better trained to examine is the oral cavity. You may think you have some great knowledge in physical diagnosis, until you step into a medical school. How many times have you used an otoscope or an ophthalmoscope, actually tested all the cranial nerves, etc? There is a lot to be said for the statement "The more you learn, the more you realize you don't know."
I'm not trying to say that a person that goes into medicine is better than someone who goes into dentistry, or that they are smarter, better looking, more respectable, etc. You just cannot compare yourself to a physician and think you are on the same playing field because you can manage a patient's DM while they are in the dental chair in your private practice. In the same regard, a physician cannot begin to presume that he can diagnose and treat caries. Dentistry and medicine are two totally different entities, each respectable in its own right.
...there's no reason to dumb down dentistry in such a way either - b/c there is a significant amount of "medicine" involved...i simple use the ADA/AHA guidelines on heart murmurs and treat accordingly...gen dents must also be competent enough to at least diagnose and triage instead of "referring everything to o.s"...
my point had nothing to do with who's training was/is more in depth, board exams, intelligence, etc. as i mentioned above you cannot compare the 3rd/4th yr med rotations to dent school didactic training and the odd practical training here and there. what i'm saying is when it comes to everyday practice, procedures that are done 80% of the time by numerous MD specialists such as the ones i mentioned above lasik, zits etc has very little to do with what most ppl consider to be "medicine" and i related that to say there's no reason to dumb down dentistry in such a way either - b/c there is a significant amount of "medicine" involved - a lot more than saying that the only similarity is the medications, or saying they are completely separate entities. perhaps b/c i'm not the type to say MVP w/ regurg - med consult. i simple use the ADA/AHA guidelines on heart murmurs and treat accordingly. these are based on opinions of the leaders in both fields, are more evidence based and would stand up in the court of law more than a med consult. oral mass - gen dents must also be competent enough to at least diagnose and triage instead of "referring everything to o.s" don't mean to piss here, this discussion is great, and probably reflective of the different philosophies of dent schools we attend/attended.
I have a buddy of mine who is almost done with his radiology rotation and when I was asking him about Gastric reflux rx, he looked at me and said that doesnt remember enough to give any advice on it but at some point in med school, he could have told me. I wonder if thats also a phenominon (I'm not spell checking) that may exist in dentistry. Does an orthodontist have trouble making a partial denture or at the very least, do they not make it as good as a pros. or general dentist would?
I'm not dumbing down dentistry -- I will always consider myself a dentist first. I'm comfortable with being a dentist. I don't have an inferiority complex. I just don't understand the constant need to prove that dentistry is like medicine. I feel like you're one of the ones that subconsciously thinks that physicians are better than dentists. Otherwise, you wouldn't feel the need to convince everyone how much dentistry is like medicine.
You're dumbing down the medical specialties of ophthomology and dermatology with your comments -- which is exactly what you don't want someone to do to dentistry.
Following the ADA/AHA guidelines is not medicine. Neither is recognizing an oral mass. I'm confused about your "diagnose and triage" statement. So, you find an oral mass, it looks like SCCA. You perform a biopsy, and it is SCCA. Now what? Call your oral surgeon...who, in most cases, will probably send the patient on to someone else.
everytime they get something even slightly medically involved they feel the need to consult with all sorts of medical specialists and are afraid to make decisions themselves in order to tx the patient. imo they should acknowledge that there are more similarities to med and dent than just the medications and tx the darn patient already.
People in my family and close friends understand what dentistry is and its competitiveness. My uncle is a doctor and he says all the time that if he had to do it all again he would go to dental school. All of my close friends know understand. Rest of the ignorant people in this world that would make stupid comments on hearing that I am dental student, I don't care and don't give a damn about it.