Is dentistry really a science?

[nelliebly]

@bump

List of dental journals - Wikipedia

These guys would probably argue the point that there are “Almost no studies, period.”.

The issue isn’t whether or not studies are being done, or anything like that, but rather if rank and file dentists are getting the word or paying attention. I also suspect that for many of them (the non-crooked ones), most academic research isn’t really relevant, as where their particular part of the dental profession is concerned, the research isn’t really pertinent. If you’re some kind of specialist- say… a pediatric endodontist or orthodontist or something, you’re much more likely to be up on the latest techniques than your average garden variety dentist.

This isn’t limited to dentists either; if you’re a civil engineer who designs roads, that’s something that’s been figured out for a LONG time. Maybe there are some concrete admixtures that are new or something, but in general, that’s a mature technology, so you may not be so up on the latest research. But if you’re a structural engineer working on cutting edge architecture, you’re probably way more up on the materials research and structural engineering research than the guy designing residential roads out in the suburbs.

Same thing if you’re a developer. If you’re working for some software company whose product is written in Visual Basic, because it’s a 20 year old product, you’re not as likely to be up on the very latest in terms of artificial intelligence, machine learning or big data analysis. You’re just probably chugging along doing your job. But if you’re working in certain positions for Google, you’re going to be up on that stuff, if not doing the research yourself.

In other words, I suspect that part of the contention that dentistry is not an evidence or science-based field is due to the fact that you’re interacting with something of a backwater section of the field, at least in terms of research.

Just wondering if you read The Atlantic article.

[dtilque]

@road_lobo

Science is an extremely vague word. Witness Christian Science and Scientology.

I’ve heard it said that any field of study that has the word “science” in its name is not actually a science. It seems to be true. Consider: Creation Science, Political Science, Forensic Science, Computer Science…

[Nava]

The question varies by location, among other things because there are locations (such as the US) where dentistry is separate from medicine and others (such as Spain) where it is a medical specialty. Some of the details mentioned in the OP’s cites are US-specific (visiting the dentist twice a year, for example) and directly linked to the for-profit nature of the profession.

In Spain and even though most of our dentistry is private practices, I’d say dentistry is exactly as much of a science as any other branch of medicine. But that applies to places where dentists need to be medical school graduates; it doesn’t follow in places where dentistry is not a branch of medicine. Regarding the for-profit aspect, one reason Spanish dentists with personal practices are better than group clinics is that the individual doctor is looking to make enough to feed his family, not to buy the kind of car that breaks the top of police radars; the group practices are exploitative of both their employees and of their patients (a lot pushier on cosmetic procedures and on more-expensive options) because they are more focused on profit, less on getting and keeping people healthy.