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as the title says
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Yes, UConn does. Dental and med students take the first 2 years together. Dental students ALSO have lab classes.I think UCONN does
To add onto this, the head of the ADA, Dr. Joseph Crowley is also of this belief, so pre-dents should take note.I recently went to a CE seminar where the integration of medical and dental treatment under a single roof seems to be the future of our professions. The infections originating in the oral cavity (periodontal disease) is a causative factor related to strokes, CHF, diabetes, heart attacks, etc. etc. It is hard to imagine that the medical and dental professions hardly have any diagnostic interaction when it comes to diagnosing and treating these diseases.
This has little to do with anything. First, because the ADA president’s opinion on something like this is irrelevant. Second, because he is not even president anymore.To add onto this, the head of the ADA, Dr. Joseph Crowley is also of this belief, so pre-dents should take note.
I don't mind it at all. I'm enjoying school. Totally agree with likkriue. Don't see why it's crazy and dystopian to imagine a future where dentists aren't arbitrarily sectioned of from the other guys.
An ophthalmologist would consider it an insult if you talked about him the way some dentists talk about themselves, and it's not like his potential areas of speciality/subspecialty are any broader than the various dental disciplines.
The difference is that they don't bitch when they have to learn more background info, mostly just because that's the convention in their profession; they're expected to be MDs -> ophthalmologists.
But if you rewound history, it could well have just turned into a residency after optometry school or something.
"Don't talk to me about all that patellar reflex crap; I'm just an eye mechanic."
In the mean time, I'll enjoy the primary upside of our current peon status - the severely reduced regulation. My MD classmates have so many more hoops to jump through when it comes to setting up a practice or making big treatment decisions.
I do see what you're saying.
Although opthomology is much less similar to the job of a mechanic than general dentistry or most of the dental specialities.
Having them take classes together seems good from an efficiency standpoint. I kind of like it. Although every once in awhile the instructors would loop the discussion back around to dentistry, which was nice. You'd lose out on that aspect of the first two years I'm afraid.
Most schools are year and a half or less now. No longer a full 2 years. My school is only 2/3 of the first year.
And in response to the poster saying you don’t wanna learn about leg and foot disease, it is not a bad idea to have a background on it so you can make the patient comfortable in the chair. Certain findings such as swollen ankles can mean heart failure which can impact heavily how you treat a patient. You might think that chances are the patient knows and it’s in the chart but cases of poorly controlled heart disease is common and you have to be vigilant. A complacent dentist is one that will end up with a lawsuit.
We are dental healthcare providers we obviously aren’t treating onychomycosis cases but it is our duty to refer to our physician colleagues when we see something abnormal. Just my 2 cents.