Redesigning Dentistry-A Perspective Based in History.

Why is dentistry set up separately from mainstream medicine? It seems unnatural. The reason is embedded in historical shadows, as for centuries, dental disease and its treatments were accompanied by excruciating pain and human misery. Early itinerant dentists were in demand because the need for relief was so urgent and great, resulting in dentistry became an independent profession. However, toothache may no longer be a significant public health problem. Despite some pressures from present-day interlopers such as osteopathy schools, dental and oral medicine can and should fold back into mainstream medicine as one of the natural units of medical care. While undoing the existing educational and organizational infrastructure may be a nearly impossible task, there may be a way these perceived obstacles can be circumvented. Those responsible for the administration of medical education should be encouraged to create pathways for their Doctor of Medicine (Medicinae Doctor - M.D.) -seeking students to pursue dental/oral medicine as a bona fide specialty of medicine. The time appears right for this redirection in dental education.