#Thread: "Are dentists doctors?"

This question comes up time and again, directly or indirectly. I don't know why but it does.

So I posted this poll and the results surprised me. The popular joke was that there were more dentists voting given the results!

#dentist #doctors https://twitter.com/Gautaamm/status/1256987869639565314

I am a dentist. BY CHOICE. I got into Mechanical Engineering but moved to dentistry by choice. Could have gotten into a government medical college but was never interested in Medicine.

I studied in an amazing institute here and in the US, was able to practice and teach there.

Now back in Pune. And I LOVE my profession.

Which brings us to the basic question "Are dentists doctors?"

And the answer is Yes AND No! and it does not end with being a doctor. We are much more than just that. Let's see how.

Traditionally medicine was the most glamorous profession. The really smart kids went into KEM and BJ etc. Dentistry, mainly due to lack of technology and economic restrictions, was the poor cousin. There was very limited scope as to what can be done.

But they were still called a doctor, treated patients and hence most of the folks who went into dentistry pre 2000 did so because they did not get into medicine. And in their heart, they really wanted to be a "doctor". So they were adamant that Dentists were doctors

and the more they insisted on it, the more society rejected that notion.

In my opinion, there is no profession as amazing as dentistry. Because it is a unique combination of MULTIPLE professions: Medicine, surgery, psychiatry, psychology, engineering, art, enterpreneurship,

business, HR etc.

Lets see how:

1) Medicine: Believe it or not, we study a fair bit of the basic medical subjects like Anatomy, Physiology, Pharmacology etc. And attached to every tooth is a HUMAN BEING.

We need to be able to evaluate a person's physicial health

and adapt out treatment to that. We often see the patient more often than their physician and are able to diagnose so many systemic diseases first. Best example being Diabetes (Swollen gums, non healing wounds etc).

With people living longer and more and more diseases more

prevelant, it is even tricker but we have to and are able to do that.

We play a vital role in detecting primary and secondary oral cancer. Eg. The first area for secondary spread of breast cancer is the mandible (Lower jaw). A simple panoramic xray can be life saving and guess

who uses that most commonly.

2) Surgery: We are able to painlessly inject and anesthetize a considerable area of your upper or lower jaw to be able to work painlessly while keeping you awake and conscious. We are able to remove nerves from teeth and relieve excruciating pain.

We are able to remove teeth and prevent or resolve infections which can be very debilitating. We are able to replace jaw bones resected due to cancer and give a person his life back.

We place titanium implants INTO people's jaws with near zero discomfort and give them a

replacement tooth as natural as it can get.

3) Psychiatry and Psychology: The next 25 people you meet, ask them "Are you scared of the dentist?" I don't need to tell you what MOST people will answer. Way way back, that might be justified. Today with amazing anesthetics,

better technology and improved science, dentistry is virtually pain free. I say virtually because there is no surgical procedure that is actually pain free.

This is where we have to tackle the mental aspect of the patient and be able to treat them without phobia.

Sometimes the pain is coming froman inherant fear of the actual pain or a temporary local factor like grinding teeth etc. There is always a hypochondriac. And then there are people who are just lonely. The amount of personal issues that people share with us in our chair will put

the average American therapist out of a job. So we have to play that role.

4) Engineering: The orthodontist aka the braces doctor has to use physics, bone quality, vectors, growth pattern, compliance etc while treating patients. When we place implants, we have to manage torque

of the drills and the implant as it is placed into bone. There are chewing forces that have to be considered for something as simple as a single crown/cap to replacing all teeth with dentures/fixed teeth. The more expensive the treatment, the more crucial these calculations.

5) Art: Every definition in our textbook starts with "The Art and Science of...." With esthetics playing such a major role in life, the demand for precision, perfection and making it as natural as possible is HUGE! Forget just the front teeth, the look of even back teeth is key.

Making a broke tooth look life like with just a bonded filling takes tremendous artistic skill. Some are born with it but most are able to achieve it by sheer practice.

6) Enterpreneurship, business and HR: At the end of the day, the real question is "Are dentists professionals

or business owners?" We own a small business, where we have to set up shop, hire people who help us who have ZERO training, train them, manage them, pay them, provide good customer service to our patients, discuss finances, provide value for the cost, satisfy them, collect

fees, manage expenses, make projections, fulfill them while being ethical, prepare for emergencies like Corona, all of which needs tremendous skill and training which we do not receive in college. Not blaming the college because there is so much of dentistry to be taught.

I could add a few more points but the basic point I wish to make is stop making comparisons between dentists and doctors/surgeons. We are DENTISTS and that is something I am very proud of. I don't ever hear questions like "Is a civil/structural engineer an architect also" or

is a CA also a financial advisor?" just because they handle homes and money respectively.

Just think of all the facets of our profession and think of us as dentists. Don't get into comparisons.

Stay Home! Stay Safe!