question

[comatose]

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Which three letters would you rather have after your name (even though they both mean the same thing): DDS or DMD??

 

[saman1]

Even though it really doesn't matter....
I like the traditional DDS.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Doesn't matter to me. I think our administration is going to let us vote on the degree we receive. Right now we are slated for the DDS, but we'll see.

Either way, I think there ought to be a sole degree. It might clear up some confusion among the lay population.

 

[busupshot83]

DMD means dental medical doctor? if so, i gues that one

 

[KDBuff]

I believe it stands for doctor of medical dentistry, but I could be wrong

 

[ShawnOne]

Doctor of Dental Surgery sounds soo much better!

 

[ecdoesit]

could we have a combined degree
DMD/DDS program?

 

[critterbug]

As much stuff as ya'll are covering, the class should vote for an MD/DMD

Just kiddin

 

[Comet208]

Originally posted by ShawnOne
Doctor of Dental Surgery sounds soo much better!

I totally agree....

 

[comatose]

Does anybody know why they introduced the DMD degree in the first place?

 

[aphistis]

It's all over the forum. Run a search for DMD and you'll find all you need. The Cliff Notes version goes like this: DDS was the original degree, but when Harvard opened their dental school, they wanted to preserve their tradition of naming degrees in Latin. The translation of DDS didn't work to their taste, so they came up with the DMD to fit better. The End.

 

[Omahahahaha]

I think it depends on where you want to practice. Here in the Midwest, if someone opens the yellow pages they will and see 100 DDS dentists for every 2 or 3 DMD dentists.

Even if you tell someone that they are equivalent degrees I think people here are more likely to trust a DDS more simply because that is what they are used to.

Gavin, I thought Arizona was FOR SURE going to grant a DDS? Please inform me if you hear differently, because that is one of the many reasons I want to attend Arizona (Because I don't want to be the oddball in the yellow pages when I come back to South Dakota to practice!).

 

[savvysearch]

I like DMD for absolutely superficial reasons. I like that the two "Ds" are on either side of the "M". WIth "DDS", there is no symmetry in the way the letters are arranged.

 

[Rezdawg]

I'll be pissed if Im stuck with DMD.

 

[comatose]

that's funny savvysearch, b/c that one of the reasons I like DMD too.

 

[Ann]

Hello there Dentistry people,
I'm studying Dentistry in Australia at the University of Sydney and we get the letters BDent(usyd) after our name once we graduate. And though the letters don't make it clear we do become "doctors".
Ann

 

[UBTom]

My uncle is an assistant professor of General Surgery at the UT San Antonio med school. He was an oral surgeon-- Dr. Peter Wang, DMD MD.

Somehow I think that title sounds like a stutter... For an oral surgeon "DDS MD" just seems to roll off the tongue more smoothly. 😀

Definitely DDS for me!

 

[busupshot83]

but not all dentists perform "Dental Surgery" as the DDS suggests.. true?

 

[UBTom]

Originally posted by busupshot83
but not all dentists perform "Dental Surgery" as the DDS suggests.. true?

As a general dentist you can do some surgical procedures. Lots of periodontal surgery procedures are taught in dental school pre-doc programs and are definitely within the capability of general dentists, such as flap surgery for guided tissue regeneration, osseous recontouring, crown lengthening, free gingival grafts, etc. In fact, I'm slated to do an osseous recontouring/crown lengthening procedure this coming Wednesday, and I'm not even a DDS yet. 😀

Certain basic oral surgery procedures are also taught in dental school so a general dentist can do those, such as surgical extractions that involve laying a flap, recontouring bone and sectioning of the tooth to be exo'ed (as opposed to simple extractions in which you just elevate then luxate a tooth with forceps). I've done a few surgical exo's already too.

 

[aphistis]

Originally posted by busupshot83
but not all dentists perform "Dental Surgery" as the DDS suggests.. true?

False. The basest, most boring dentist who sits around doing nothing but extracting and filling all day is still most definitely doing surgery. Extractions can develop post-op complications that the dentist will need to treat, and a whole host of things can go wrong in operative if you don't do it right. And that's without even touching implants, endo, tissue grafting, perio...you get the idea.