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Are Dentists Doctors?

"Dentists are not Doctors." "You are a dentist, not a doctor." "You are just a dentist." Sounds familiar, right? Each one of my colleagues has heard one of the above statements at least once in his/her career.

The final set of points that prove that dentist are doctors 

    • We have patients. Not clients. Not customers.
    • While anesthetizing your jaw, one small mistake and you could end up with a hemifacial swelling.
    • Painful and debilitating conditions likeOral cancer, Oral Submucous Fibrosis and MPDS are treated by dental surgeons.
    • Many invasive procedures need dentists/dental surgeons such as cleft lip surgery, trigeminal neuralgia, face and jaw fracture reductions to name a few.

  • Most diseases that affect other parts of the body manifest in the mouth first. In such cases, the dentist is your first line of clinical diagnosis.
  • Deaths do occur in our line of work too; though very, very rarely. That is why we take proper precautions and complete medical history before every procedure. Also, dentists in India can issue death certificates in Government Hospitals.
  • All dentists are hardworking people. We do not just give consultations and prescriptions. We believe in treating our patients with a hands-on approach.
  • All banks offer“Doctor’s loans” to dentists, even online ones. If we weren’t doctors, we would not qualify for Doctor’s loans.


You have to realize that a person who is ignorant will never be able to comprehend these points. Also, a dentist cannot in person describe these points to each and every one.

But a dentist can make great upliftment of their profession by making few changes. For example the urge to keep the prices of treatments less than your neighborhood competitor.

Such attitude paints a picture in front of general public, that dentists are money minded, cheap and back biters.

Such behaviors by dentists reduce the level of respect that dental surgeons rightfully deserve.



A DENTIST IS A DOCTOR. A PHYSICIAN IS A DOCTOR. A SURGEON IS A DOCTOR.

Bottomline: The word “Doctor” in this particular context is a blanket term for a health professional who diagnoses, prevents and treats diseases and disability.

Dentists do all that, and more.

image source: PicLogo


This article is written by Dr. Chinmoy Hazarika. He is a practicing dentist and an avid blogger.

He writes at drchinmoyhazarika.com He has also authored a Novel Crooked Crusader: Morally Impaired