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They are literally not medical doctors.

tostitos1979 13y ago
Yes, they aren't MDs. But they are Doctors. Personally, I have more respect for the average dentist than for the average GP. They put in tons of physical effort in their work. Lawsuits (or the threat thereof) are constant. Their board exams cover a lot of the same material as MDs. My personal experience is that the average dentist brings more relief to humanity (ever had dental pain?) than the average GP.
- mesaaz 13y ago
  Modern dental care is truly one of the wonders of industrial civilization. Anesthetized basic dentistry adds more to our quality of life than much of the modern "healthcare" industry.
  - javajosh 13y ago
    To further support your point, I read somewhere that dental pain was the leading cause of suicide, pre-1900 or so, which I find very easy to believe. Dentistry (along with sewage systems) is responsible for more quality of life than almost anything else.
    - tostitos1979 13y ago
      Wow. I did not know this statistic. With bit of googling, I saw this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigeminal_neuralgia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigeminal_neuralgia Apparently, Salman Khan has this. Painful :(
- falsestprophet 13y ago
  There are "Doctors" of everything. Psychologists, nurse practitioners, audiologists, veterinarians, optometrists, pharmacists, chiropractors, and podiatrists hold professional medical doctorates. They aren't "Doctors." In the United States when people refer generally to "doctors" they mean physicians and surgeons with a Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree who are licensed to practice medicine. When people say "Is there a doctor on the plane?" after someone has a hear attack they aren't looking for dentists or audiologists are they?
msellout 13y ago
Actually, in many ways they are. They dissect cadavers as part of education. Some schools have dental students and regular medical students take the same classes for the first two years.

tostitos1979 13y ago

Yes, they aren't MDs. But they are Doctors. Personally, I have more respect for the average dentist than for the average GP. They put in tons of physical effort in their work. Lawsuits (or the threat thereof) are constant. Their board exams cover a lot of the same material as MDs. My personal experience is that the average dentist brings more relief to humanity (ever had dental pain?) than the average GP.

mesaaz 13y ago
Modern dental care is truly one of the wonders of industrial civilization. Anesthetized basic dentistry adds more to our quality of life than much of the modern "healthcare" industry.
- javajosh 13y ago
  To further support your point, I read somewhere that dental pain was the leading cause of suicide, pre-1900 or so, which I find very easy to believe. Dentistry (along with sewage systems) is responsible for more quality of life than almost anything else.
  - tostitos1979 13y ago
    Wow. I did not know this statistic. With bit of googling, I saw this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigeminal_neuralgia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigeminal_neuralgia Apparently, Salman Khan has this. Painful :(
falsestprophet 13y ago
There are "Doctors" of everything. Psychologists, nurse practitioners, audiologists, veterinarians, optometrists, pharmacists, chiropractors, and podiatrists hold professional medical doctorates. They aren't "Doctors." In the United States when people refer generally to "doctors" they mean physicians and surgeons with a Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree who are licensed to practice medicine. When people say "Is there a doctor on the plane?" after someone has a hear attack they aren't looking for dentists or audiologists are they?

msellout 13y ago

Actually, in many ways they are. They dissect cadavers as part of education. Some schools have dental students and regular medical students take the same classes for the first two years.