Why is Dentistry so long?

I can see why Medicine is so long because doctors need to do so many different things but do dentists really have so much to learn?

Reply 1

Cerulean

13

gangsta316

I can see why Medicine is so long because doctors need to do so many different things but do dentists really have so much to learn?

Erm, yes. Do you want someone incorrectly rearranging your teeth because they took a quickie course?

Reply 2

zodiac90

ive always wondered this as well, a tooth a week? should be over in 32 weeks, no?

Reply 3

dani2511

2

gangsta316

I can see why Medicine is so long because doctors need to do so many different things but do dentists really have so much to learn?

Dentistry isn't just drilling, filling and billing... it's a complicated profession, filled with risks just like medicine. There are many things that could be wrong in someones mouth that a dentist needs to know how to deal with.

Reply 4

Banu_Hashim

2

well yeah. It's got a lot of medicine in it, and the dentists need to know the head and neck anatomy inside out. Also it's a surgical course, so dentists by the time they graduate need to know however many procedures there are, so they can do it easily if need be. They specialise in depth. And by the time a dentist is qualified they know pretty much everything they need to know, to practice dentistry for the rest of their career. I'd trust a newly qualified dentist to treat me, because they're truly proficient at what they do after the right amount of years training.

Reply 5

Banu_Hashim

2

dani2511

Dentistry isn't just drilling, filling and billing... it's a complicated profession, filled with risks just like medicine. There are many things that could be wrong in someones mouth that a dentist needs to know how to deal with.

exactly. A dentist is the first health professional to recognise the signs of oral cancer, which doesn't happen everyday so they need to be aware of irregularities. Not just drilling and filling.

Reply 6

Cerulean

13

Banu_Hashim

well yeah. It's got a lot of medicine in it, and the dentists need to know the head and neck anatomy inside out. Also it's a surgical course, so dentists by the time they graduate need to know however many procedures there are, so they can do it easily if need be. They specialise in depth. And by the time a dentist is qualified they know pretty much everything they need to know, to practice dentistry for the rest of their career. I'd trust a newly qualified dentist to treat me, because they're truly proficient at what they do after the right amount of years training.

Yeah, I've been told this is v. interesting and learning about how you can tell what foods a person has eating from their teeth (acid erosion, etc)

Reply 7

kinglrb

12

For dentistry you don't actually study for the full 5 years or so, alot of the time is spent in training in dental hospitals. The mouth is quite complicated and a dentist has to practically know everything as soon as he graduates. For dentists I dont think they have the same system as medicine where you would go from F1, F2 to registrar and then consultant so they cant train as the go along but am not entirely sure on the last bit.

Reply 8

Banu_Hashim

2

kinglrb

For dentistry you don't actually study for the full 5 years or so, alot of the time is spent in training in dental hospitals. The mouth is quite complicated and a dentist has to practically know everything as soon as he graduates. For dentists I dont think they have the same system as medicine where you would go from F1, F2 to registrar and then consultant so they cant train as the go along but am not entirely sure on the last bit.

that's right. Graduate dentists have a VT year, then they're fully fledged dentists. Obviously with the opportunity for postgraduate specialisation.

Reply 9

username197472

17

there are many possible complications so I value their experience, in many ways their job is being like a doctor. Their placements consume time too.

Reply 10

Bateman

17

Because there is a tooth that is directly connected to your spine, if it's pulled out you walk like a cat.

-The guy from 8/10 cats :biggrin:

Reply 11

SuicidalLemming

16

Bateman

Because there is a tooth that is directly connected to your spine, if it's pulled out you walk like a cat.

-The guy from 8/10 cats :biggrin:

That made me laugh, I love 8/10 cats :smile:

Reply 12

Speedbird2008

3

Cos they as to be well cleva ennit.

Reply 13

Allthewayhome

10

The reason that it's so long?

It cause we're big on oral.

Reply 14

mushoo

8

you need to learn all the disease, all the stuff about the head face and neck, and the techniques. doctors only prescribe drugs which do the work, dentist does it all by hand, and so they do the work. we need to perfect our hand work

Reply 15

dentalstudentGKT

9

dentistry is not just teeth. its the whole mouth. the whole mouth can have certain conditions due to all sorts of systemic conditions like HIV, diabetes, even stomach problems.
if we were good at your job and you had a severe childhood disease we may be able to tell you when it happened simply by looking at your teeth if they were affected.
psychological disorders such as bulimia and anorexia can often be spotted first by the dentist just by having a look at the teeth.
when we graduate we are known as surgeons because we have done surgery in the mouth and would do it on a regular basis in our working life. the uni needs to make sure that we are competent at it before we graduate, and as everyone knows, surgery is no mean feat.

dentistry has many different branches-prosthetics (fixed eg crowns and removable eg dentures) and it doesnt take long to have it taught to us, but it does take a while to become competent at is. the same applies to general restorative work such as fillings and root canal treatment. there is a separate module based solely on the treatment of children for obvious reasons. oral surgery, radiology and orthodontics also can be taught quickly but needs practice at.

we could quite easily make it a 3year course, forget treating patients in uni and go straight into practice without having treating a patient, would you like that????
would you like it if we told you that you had an some sort of ulcer or rash of some sort in your mouth and not tell you why it may be there and refer you to a gp for a checkup???
i very much doubt it.

if a course is 5yrs long then there is a reason for it. dentistry is no doss course and is probably more intense within the 5yrs than medicine itself.
sorry for the rant but we are probably the only people in uni right now which is why i get a bit short fused when someone says "why is it so long" when the answer quite simply is-because there is a damn lot to learn and practice.

Reply 16

Vlad1974

1

I think it is just the way to cut down the number of dentists and to control the market to increase the profits. Most of operations are standard and most of dentists do not operate mouth themselves they just drill and fill. Everybody can do it with as a normal hand craft with a half year training. I had many dentists in my life with many years experience and high school diplomas which made a lot of mistakes or even neglected their duties so I lost several teeth. So the quality of a dentist work does not depent on schooling time rather on care...

Reply 17

Sataris

21

Original post by Vlad1974

I think it is just the way to cut down the number of dentists and to control the market to increase the profits. Most of operations are standard and most of dentists do not operate mouth themselves they just drill and fill. Everybody can do it with as a normal hand craft with a half year training. I had many dentists in my life with many years experience and high school diplomas which made a lot of mistakes or even neglected their duties so I lost several teeth. So the quality of a dentist work does not depent on schooling time rather on care...