Thanks for the tutorial, but board certification is NOT required to practice a specialty. In most cases it is a voluntary process.
From "
I think it absolutely would be misleading" to "
I still think it would be unnecessary", it is safe to say we are dealing with a significant decrease in the decibel level.
Admittedly, the post in question should have been stated more clearly. Board Certification is not required and is indeed voluntary. What is required is the fulfillment of an ADA
accredited program in a specialty Approved by the Council on Dental Education and Licensure of the ADA. The legal right to practice dentistry/or any dental specialty comes from the State Board of Dental Examiners.
The master degree has been around a lot longer than the M.S. degree in a dental specialty. Thus, it is hard to understand why, in dental circles, the use of the M.S. should be the exclusive domain of dentists who have earned a specialty degree. Such claim may in fact be construed as arrogant. To suggest that a master degree in other fields is somehow less important (or misleading if used alongside D.D.S.) is premature and simplistic. A dentist with an M.S. in mechanical engineering will have much better understanding of the design (or lack of) and structural integrity of a build up, removable partial denture, implants and implant supported abutments, and removable or fixed orthodontic appliances than most dentists would ever care to know. A dentist with a background in polymer chemistry would certainly have a better understanding of the composite resins and impression materials. A dentist with a Pharm. D. degree certainly has more extensive knowledge of the drug armamentarium that a patient may need or is taking. Finally, a person with a background in sculpture most certainly can carve a much better looking amalgam or composite restoration. Whether or not this additional knowledge would make them "
better" dentists could be the subject of an endless debate.
Is it misleading to the public? Doubtful, at best. It is interesting to note that only our fellow practitioners (with or without a specialization) seem to have a problem with such a listing. While every profession has member that like to push the envelope, most dentist and other professionals list their degrees to show their accomplishments. It is a source of pride. Moreover, the patient may even benefit from the listing since they may come to accept the practitioner as someone who knows more than to just drill, fill, and bill.
As it has been pointed out by others, most patients are not particularly interested in the degree their practitioner has. For dentists with a Ph.D., the designation may even be a source amusement since patients are surprised to be dealing with a dentist that has a degree in philosophy.
The bottom line is that the listing or not listing of earned degree should remain a personal choice. As a profession, we need to learn to
Agree to Disagree. Epithets such as "misleading" and "unethical" are not in that spirit.
