Does It Matter Where A Dentist Graduated From?
Ask Dr.A
dradental.com
The answers given by Dr.A are intended as non-professional advice, for entertainment only if you will. Please do consult with your dentist of record or your physician before making any decision regarding your dental or medical health.
I would like to find out where my dentist went to school without having to ask him outright. For physicians, their medical school is listed with the information about their license activity. For dentists, this is not true in California. I don't know what other states do.
I am one of those folks who have had both fabulous and truly awful dental work. One of the ways to increase the odds of good care is to know the dentist's background and training. Can you provide any help in this regard? I do hope so. If you can not, where do we write?
Dr.A - The dentist's year and school of graduation, and disciplinary record should be available at your state's dental association. If not made public on their site, then by all means call them. You can find your state's association by googling it.
Let me take this opportunity to discuss a dentist's abilities. If you are looking for a dentist that has recently graduated, then maybe the quality of the program at the school from which that dentist graduated from might make a difference. However, all dentists must continue to enroll in continuing education classes to keep their licenses active with their particular state association and department of health.
After a few years of continuing education and clinical experience the dentist's alma mater should not make a difference on the quality of work. What you should be looking for is how long a dentist has been working out of school, and if there are any disciplinary hearings on their professional record.
The answers given by Dr.A are intended as non-professional advice, for entertainment only if you will. Please do consult with your dentist of record or your physician before making any decision regarding your dental or medical health.
More Ask Dr.A
______________
dradental.com
The answers given by Dr.A are intended as non-professional advice, for entertainment only if you will. Please do consult with your dentist of record or your physician before making any decision regarding your dental or medical health.
I would like to find out where my dentist went to school without having to ask him outright. For physicians, their medical school is listed with the information about their license activity. For dentists, this is not true in California. I don't know what other states do.
I am one of those folks who have had both fabulous and truly awful dental work. One of the ways to increase the odds of good care is to know the dentist's background and training. Can you provide any help in this regard? I do hope so. If you can not, where do we write?
Dr.A - The dentist's year and school of graduation, and disciplinary record should be available at your state's dental association. If not made public on their site, then by all means call them. You can find your state's association by googling it.
Let me take this opportunity to discuss a dentist's abilities. If you are looking for a dentist that has recently graduated, then maybe the quality of the program at the school from which that dentist graduated from might make a difference. However, all dentists must continue to enroll in continuing education classes to keep their licenses active with their particular state association and department of health.
After a few years of continuing education and clinical experience the dentist's alma mater should not make a difference on the quality of work. What you should be looking for is how long a dentist has been working out of school, and if there are any disciplinary hearings on their professional record.
The answers given by Dr.A are intended as non-professional advice, for entertainment only if you will. Please do consult with your dentist of record or your physician before making any decision regarding your dental or medical health.
More Ask Dr.A
______________
posted by Dr.A at
1:22 PM
3 Comments:
I'd make a couple addenda to this question/answer...
first of all, if you're Googling state dental ASSOCIATIONS (as you suggest) you may find a professional organization rather than a state regulatory committee... you want the state dental BOARD...the "association" is going to be the local branch of the ADA, and may be known as a dental "society" as well (as it is in NH).
second, where a dentist went to school is almost irrelevant. There are good and bad grads from any program.
lastly, you probably don't want to put a ton of stock in "years out of school." the NEWER the grad, the more recent of techniques they will know, while the older, the more experience. There's probably a happy medium, catching a dentist maybe 10 years out of school? But as a younger (6 years out) dentist, I consistently see a TON of LOUSY work by dentists w/ 10,20,30 years experience - sometimes the older they get, the sloppier they are! I'm a perfectionist and resent the implication these guys are better than I am.... Anyway, once they have no disciplinary record (and a LOT of "bad" dentists have no such record!) after that the best way is maybe to ask friends and colleagues about experiences with THEIR dentist and go from there.
Dr Nate,
thanks for the correction. A patient should visit the state board rather than the association.
as for the years out of school; what I meant was a combination of experience plus a clean record. Years of experience alone is of course not the final say as to the aptitude of a dentist.
But one suggestion that you make, which is very true, is the opinion of those closest to you, family, friends, co-workers, etc. Great point, and advice that I should have included in my answer.
Dental Santa ClaraOf course it doesn't matter where the dentist graduated. It all boils down to experience and expertise.
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