Editing Dentistry (section)

==Education and licensing==
{{Main|Dentistry throughout the world}}
[[File:Cross sections of teeth labels.png|thumb|right|A sagittal cross-section of a molar tooth; 1: crown, 2: root, 3: enamel, 4: dentin and dentin tubules, 5: pulp chamber, 6: blood vessels and nerve, 7: periodontal ligament, 8: apex and periapical region, 9: alveolar bone]]

[[File:Early dental chair, Shamrock, TX IMG 6151.JPG|right|thumb|Early dental chair in Pioneer West Museum in [[Shamrock, Texas]]]]

John M. Harris started the world's first dental school in [[Bainbridge, Ross County, Ohio|Bainbridge, Ohio]], and helped to establish dentistry as a health profession. It opened on 21 February 1828, and today is a [[Harris Dental Museum|dental museum]].<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Owen |editor-first=Lorrie K. |title=Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places |volume=2 |location=St. Clair Shores |publisher=Somerset |year=1999 |pages=1217–1218}}</ref> The first dental college, [[Baltimore College of Dental Surgery]], opened in Baltimore, Maryland, US in 1840. The second in the United States was the [[Ohio College of Dental Surgery]], established in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1845.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Teeth: the story of beauty, inequality, and the struggle for oral health in America|last=Mary|first=Otto|publisher=The New Press|year=2017|isbn=978-1-62097-144-4|location=New York|pages=70|oclc=958458166}}</ref> The [[Philadelphia College of Dental Surgery]] followed in 1852.<ref>{{cite web |title = History |url = http://www.dental.upenn.edu/about_us/history |website = Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine |access-date = 13 January 2016 }}</ref> In 1907, [[Temple University]] accepted a bid to incorporate the school.

Studies show that dentists who graduated from different countries,<ref>{{cite journal |author = Zadik Yehuda |author2 = Levin Liran |title = Clinical decision making in restorative dentistry, endodontics, and antibiotic prescription |journal = J Dent Educ |volume = 72 |issue = 1 |pages = 81–86 |date = January 2008 |doi = 10.1002/j.0022-0337.2008.72.1.tb04456.x |pmid = 18172239 }}</ref> or even from different dental schools in one country,<ref>{{cite journal |author = Zadik Yehuda |author2 = Levin Liran |title = Decision making of Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University Dental Schools graduates in every day dentistry—is there a difference? |journal = J Isr Dent Assoc |volume = 23 |issue = 2 |pages = 19–23 |date = April 2006 |pmid = 16886872 }}</ref> may make different clinical decisions for the same clinical condition. For example, dentists that graduated from [[Israel]]i dental schools may recommend the removal of asymptomatic [[Tooth impaction|impacted]] [[third molar]] (wisdom teeth) more often than dentists that graduated from Latin American or Eastern European dental schools.<ref>{{cite journal |author = Zadik Yehuda |author2 = Levin Liran |title = Decision making of Israeli, East European, and South American dental school graduates in third molar surgery: is there a difference? |journal = J Oral Maxillofac Surg |volume = 65 |issue = 4 |pages = 658–62 |date = April 2007 |pmid = 17368360 |doi = 10.1016/j.joms.2006.09.002 }}</ref>

In the United Kingdom, the first dental schools, the [[London School of Dental Surgery]] and the Metropolitan School of Dental Science, both in London, opened in 1859.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gelbier |first1=Stanley |title=Dentistry and the University of London |journal=Medical History |date=1 Oct 2005 |volume=49 |issue=4 |pages=445–462 |doi=10.1017/s0025727300009157 |pmid=16562330 |pmc=1251639 }}</ref> The British Dentists Act of 1878 and the 1879 Dentists Register limited the title of "dentist" and "dental surgeon" to qualified and registered practitioners.<ref name="125years">{{cite journal | last=Gelbier | first=S. | title=125 years of developments in dentistry, 1880–2005 Part 2: Law and the dental profession | journal=British Dental Journal | volume=199 | issue=7 | date=2005 | issn=1476-5373 | doi=10.1038/sj.bdj.4812875 | pages=470–473 | pmid=16215593 | url=http://www.nature.com/bdj/journal/v199/n7/full/4812875a.html}} The 1879 register is referred to as the "Dental Register".</ref><ref name="bdatimeline" /> However, others could legally describe themselves as "dental experts" or "dental consultants".<ref>{{cite news |url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BEdAAAAAIBAJ&pg=2752%2C3609354 |title = Banning Clerks, Colliers and other Charlatans |author=J Menzies Campbell |work = [[The Glasgow Herald]] |date = 8 February 1955 |page=3 |access-date = 5 April 2017}}</ref> The practice of dentistry in the United Kingdom became fully regulated with the 1921 Dentists Act, which required the registration of anyone practising dentistry.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.museum.rcsed.ac.uk/media/4014/dentistry_history.pdf |title=History of Dental Surgery in Edinburgh |website=Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh|accessdate=11 December 2007}}</ref> The [[British Dental Association]], formed in 1880 with Sir [[John Tomes]] as president, played a major role in prosecuting dentists practising illegally.<ref name="125years" /> Dentists in the United Kingdom are now regulated by the [[General Dental Council]].

Dentists in many countries complete between five and eight years of post-secondary education before practising. Though not mandatory, many dentists choose to complete an internship or residency focusing on specific aspects of dental care after they have received their dental degree. In a few countries, to become a qualified dentist one must usually complete at least four years of postgraduate study;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.purdue.edu/preprofessional/documents/Dentist.pdf|title=Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.)|website=Purdue.edu|access-date=17 May 2018|archive-date=9 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170109193952/https://www.purdue.edu/preprofessional/documents/Dentist.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Dental degree]]s awarded around the world include the Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) and Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) in North America (US and Canada), and the Bachelor of Dental Surgery/Baccalaureus Dentalis Chirurgiae (BDS, BDent, BChD, BDSc) in the UK and current and former British Commonwealth countries.

All dentists in the United States undergo at least three years of undergraduate studies, but nearly all complete a bachelor's degree. This schooling is followed by four years of dental school to qualify as a "[[Doctor of Dental Surgery]]" (DDS) or "[[Doctor of Dental Medicine]]" (DMD). Specialization in dentistry is available in the fields of Anesthesiology, Dental Public Health, Endodontics, Oral Radiology, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Oral Medicine, Orofacial Pain, Pathology, Orthodontics, Pediatric Dentistry (Pedodontics), Periodontics, and Prosthodontics.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cda-adc.ca/en/oral_health/specialties/|title=Canadian Dental Association|website=cda-adc.ca|access-date=2019-10-21}}</ref>