Would/Do you call your Dentist .. Dr?

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There are some 3 year ones. Well, the one at Leeds is 2 years 8 months to be precise, according to the dental graduate that gave a maxfax talk here and who'd just gone into 3rd year medicine.

Okay yes in fairness there are opportunities for 3 year second degrees for medics/dentists but these are negotiated on an ad hoc basis, and often leave you tied down to the university where you did your first degree. You also often require postgraduate qualifications like MRCS/MFDS.

Besides, this argument is about whether dentists get enough general medical training during their degree to justify calling themselves doctor in the "medical physician" sense of the word. And I don't see how this point does that, as you would only do both degrees if you wanted to do OMFS, not because you wanted to justify the use of the title doctor.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 61

PandyAndy

Original post by electricjon

She was a Newcastle graduate who'd come to study medicine at Leeds. She'd done DF1 and 2, then gone straight to medical school. Quite a few dentists entered 3rd year medicine last year I'm told by my medic friends.

And there's no way hell I'm touching that discussion again, not until I've done a few more pages of dissertation at least :wink:

Damn you for editing while I was replying :mad2:

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 62

splitstriker

Original post by electricjon

Who is arguing that?! At least I'm saying dentists should not pretend to be medics...but that does not mean they haven't had enough academic training (to an equivalent level as that of a doctorate, and similar to that of a medical graduate) to earn the honorary title of Doctor.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 63

electricjon

Original post by PandyAndy

Damn you for editing while I was replying :mad2:

Well I'll admit that I don't know that much about "dentistry-first" OMFS trainees, coming from a "medicine-first" background, but certainly, they aren't advertised on UCAS, and do have to be negotiated with each individual university admissions office. As far as I am aware the only official advertised 3 year course is the Dentistry for Medical Graduates course at Kings, of which there is only a 4 year equivalent for dentists.

Reply 64

splitstriker

Original post by electricjon

They aren't applied for through ucas, but they are proper courses. QMUL and newcastle do a 3 year medical course for dental students...we are drifting off the point here though!

Reply 65

electricjon

Original post by splitstriker

You're right that wasn't the argument put forward - I do apologise. But we are going to have to agree to disagree on this one. I am simply of the opinion that the courtesy title of doctor is not justified, regardless of academic training. But I respect your view that they should.

Reply 66

electricjon

Original post by splitstriker

They aren't applied for through ucas, but they are proper courses. QMUL and newcastle do a 3 year medical course for dental students...we are drifting off the point here though!

The fact is that ALL medical and dental schools can offer 3 year courses to medical/dental graduates, though such an offer may be dependent on individual considerations and postgraduate experience (e.g. MRCS/MFDS, DF1/2, FY1/2, CST1/2).

And yes it is drifting off the point!

Reply 67

splitstriker

Original post by electricjon

Fair enough, it'd be really interesting to see if your opinion changes during your dental training...you could dig up this thread then :P

Reply 68

No Future

If on the side of his practice he calls himself Mr Smith, I'll call him Mr. If it states Dr Smith, I'll call him Dr Smith.

Why so much dentist bashing??

I call mine steve

Original post by No Future

If on the side of his practice he calls himself Mr Smith, I'll call him Mr. If it states Dr Smith, I'll call him Dr Smith.

Why so much dentist bashing??

I've noticed the medics like to dental bash, most likely due to jealousy. :smile:

Reply 71

No Future

Original post by gradbio

I've noticed the medics like to dental bash, most likely due to jealousy. :smile:

I'm a medic and find dentist bashing ridiculous and ill informed.

Reply 72

wer343lit

Original post by No Future

I'm a medic and find dentist bashing ridiculous and ill informed.

Was there really any dentist bashing in this thread though?

Some people said dentists shouldn't call themselves Dr, but I wouldn't call that dentist bashing.

gradbio

I've noticed the medics like to dental bash, most likely due to jealousy.

I've seen both dentists and medics bash each other on the forum, so don't try to portray the medics as the only perpetrators. :wink:

edit: why on earth did this get negged? :s-smilie:

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 73

No Future

Original post by Jonty99

Was there really any dentist bashing in this thread though?

Some people said dentists shouldn't call themselves Dr, but I wouldn't call that dentist bashing.

I agree with you that saying dentists shouldn't call themselves Dr isn't quite direct dentist bashing - that wasn't what I was referring to.

Just things like: dentists are less qualified/less educated/less important/are failed medics etc

Just a general attitude from some people that suggests dentists are somehow inferior. Or "they only look at mouths, how boring haha" - what about a doctor who spends most of him time looking at vag or dead people or imaging?

Or people who make stupid comments about dentists.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 74

wer343lit

Original post by No Future

Just things like: dentists are less qualified/less educated/less important/are failed medics etc

Had people made such posts in this thread though?

Some people said dentists were less medically qualified than a doctor, but I wouldn't have thought that was an insult. A doctor is less dentally qualified than a dentist.

Reply 75

minacolada

doc·tor Noun /?däkt?r/
doctors plural
1.A qualified practitioner of medicine; a physician
2.A qualified dentist or veterinary surgeon
3.A person who gives advice or makes improvements
?the script doctor rewrote the original
4.A person who holds a doctorate
?he was made a Doctor of Divinity
5.A teacher or learned person
?the wisest doctor is graveled by the inquisitiveness of a child
6.An artificial fishing fly

I'm quite happy to address any of the above as doctor, including the artificial fishing fly (although if one of those introduced itself to me then I'd have problems...)

If a dentist introduced him/herself as 'Dr.' that's fine by me yet both my dentist and my GPs all refer to themselves by their first names and not Dr.

A friend of a friend loves to throw the title around whenever possible, especially when she's had a few drinks down her, and it really irks me. She once tried to cut infront of a couple in a taxi cue screeching 'but I'm a dooooctor' (this was on the way home...)

Reply 76

No Future

Original post by Jonty99

Had people made such posts in this thread though?

Some people said dentists were less medically qualified than a doctor, but I wouldn't have thought that was an insult. A doctor is less dentally qualified than a dentist.

Look, I wasn't referring only to this thread, but to various posts on various threads I have seen that make ignorant comments about dentists. There seems to be a general assumption that dentists are inferior to Drs.

Your second statement is basic logic, well duh!

ETA: I didn't neg you

Reply 77

hannahsl

My dentist and I are on first name terms (Y)

Reply 78

NOBODY MOVE!

i would refer to my dentist as 'doctor' (she does have a phd),
but she grew up with me (only a few years older than i am) and she tells me it would be too weird if i was to call her this.

i refer to her by her forename because this is what she asks of me :}
she makes all the little-aged patients call her doctor though ;D