joke time

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

That’s not an always thing. No idea how in works in the US, but dentists in most Commonwealth countries don’t always go to medical school - they get their undergraduate degree, then go to dental school. They’re also called ‘Mr’ or ‘Ms’, not ‘Dr’.

In fact, here in NZ, dentists - by law - cannot call themselves ‘doctor’ unless they have (in addition to a dental degree) a medical degree or a PhD.

Boru

In the States, "DDS" means "Doctor of Dental Surgery".  They can do surgery (in the mouth), and prescribe drugs. Here, dental school *is* medical school...specialized for dentists.  It's beyond me why dentists get so little respect for what they've accomplished, and what they do.

I also don't understand why the mouth is treated separately, when it comes to the practice of medicine.  It's even covered by separate insurance policies.  Last time I checked, the mouth is also part of our body...

It’s even more extreme here - national health covers everything EXCEPT dental. Broken arm? You’re covered. Need flu meds? Covered. Need a tooth pulled? You either have private dental insurance or pay out of pocket.

Boru