In your opinions, what do you think are the biggest challenges facing dentistry?
Problems Facing Dentistry
- Thread starter ilikecats
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Hm...dental therapists doing fillings and extractions?
that's the result of a much bigger problem
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Definitely, but more participation in rural/underserved loan repayment or subsidization would be a better idea than giving lower quality care to those lacking access to dentists.
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The OP is obviously doing his/her supplemental app. This is the exact question that UPenn asks you in their supplemental. Good try OP lol.
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the biggest problem facing dentistry is that some schools are training some students who don't do their own work.
Point? This secondary is asking YOU what YOU think is the biggest challenge facing dentistry. Do the work and answer the question!
Lets say hypothetically, a future patient asks you, the professional, what your opinion is on their predicament and you didn't know the answer. Would you say "let me get back to you on that while i ask my friends at the "practicing dentists forum" or would you look through some literature and form your own professional opinion? I'm not saying either is wrong, consulting with colleagues is always good. But dayam, at least do some research before you go wasting other people's time
Point? This secondary is asking YOU what YOU think is the biggest challenge facing dentistry. Do the work and answer the question!
Lets say hypothetically, a future patient asks you, the professional, what your opinion is on their predicament and you didn't know the answer. Would you say "let me get back to you on that while i ask my friends at the "practicing dentists forum" or would you look through some literature and form your own professional opinion? I'm not saying either is wrong, consulting with colleagues is always good. But dayam, at least do some research before you go wasting other people's time
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I'll give your question a quickie:
Perhaps the biggest problem is the underserved, primarily children I remember reading on a pamphlet that 50 percent of cavities are neglected for children 5-14 (something like that) and there is a correlation with the individuals socioeconomic status as to whether they seek preventable treatment. This is due to economic situations and ignorance, with the majority of the problems preventable via fluoride treatment (cheaper as well). People severely underestimate the importance of oral health. Not one mention was made about dental care in the recent healthcare (insurance) reform bill and thus the ADA doesn't support it (last I heard).
As far as problems facing the dentist, I don't know, I suppose a shortage of other dentists as demand increases. Try to make a dentist appointment now. Most are booked for a month or two ahead.
Just a quick edit: look up the average cavities per person according to nationality. For Americans, I think there is average of about 4 surface of decay as opposed to the British who have ( I think ) 1.8.
Operating a private profitable business is often a conflict of interest with providing healthcare to those most in need. Dental professionals are health professionals with the power to heal, but yet so many choose to do only cosmetic dentistry.
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Thank you for replying. I asked this question because I recently went on a free dental care project in one of the rural areas in Virginia. What I saw there made me really upset because there were so many patients there for extractions. They did not seem to care about having any teeth. I remember that one patient had 3 of his teeth removed and the post op instructions were not to smoke for at least one day. But guess what I saw? An hour later, I saw the patient sitting in the parking lot smoking! How can a dentist convince his/her patients to actually take really good care of their teeth? Most patients do not care because they know that they can always get their teeth either fixed by cosmetic dentistry or removed.
Wait till you see a 12 year old needing root canal or 5 year olds with the majority of their teeth in silver crowns or meth addicts that have full mouth extractions at 30. Unfortunately for these people that rely on these free dental care, they get the low end of the stick. So while they can get an affordable extraction, they cannot easily afford a bridge or dentures. And those who can get root canal cannot afford a permanent crown. Oral health is something that is not taken as seriously as it should be. People only worry about their teeth when they start losing weight because their toothache is so severe that they can't eat anything beside chicken noodle soup.
And that smoker is going to get his/her just dessert: dry socket, baby!!!
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I think that the biggest problem in dentistry is the economic impact (recession) on the dentists and insurance companies.
