What Does DMD Stand For?

In the medical world, there are several different abbreviations and acronyms that you have to wade through. This can be said about the dental industry as well. Your dentist or surgeon likely has a DMD or DDS at the end of their name, and you might be wondering what does DMD stand for?

This article will answer this question for you. Not only this, but we will also explore the differences between a DMD and a DDS professional.

What does DMD stand for and what is the difference between a DMD and a DDS?

DMD is an abbreviation that stands for Doctor of Dental Medicine. This is not the same as a DDS title, which stands for Doctor of Dental Surgery. Both of the titles perform essentially the same functions; the differences in their names come from the school that the dental doctor graduated from. This is the only difference, and it actually has an interesting history behind why the two names are different.

They are the same in the way that both titles are awarded by accredited dental schools. These schools are the ones that will choose whether or not they award a graduate with the DDS or DMD title. Regardless of the title, both of the types of graduates under either a DMD or a DDS title will have the same sort of schooling and requirements for the curriculum.

This means that they will go through three or more years of undergrad studies. Then they will go through around four years of their dental school of choice, and these years must all be completed before they are able to graduate.

If they want to practice what they have learned in a professional environment, they will have to do more. These graduates will have to take the same legal tests. The tests include a difficult national exam as well as a state or regional clinical licensing exam.

They can take it one-step further by completing a postgraduate degree. This will let them specialize in their industry. After doing this, they will be able to choose a profession such as a pediatric dentist, an orthodontist or an oral surgeon. Some of these professionals even have to go through additional training if they want to get an MD degree.

Dentists must also complete annual continuing education requirements to continue to practice. This means that they must stay current with all of the recent technological, clinical and scientific developments in their field. Their training and studying never quite ends, and both the DMD and DDS accept this as a part of their job.

While they do not have the same name, they clearly go through the same paths in order to practice. This means that one of them is not better than the other. There are simply 58 different dental schools in America, and each one awards something different; 22 of these schools give DMD degrees while 36 of them give out DDS degrees. It all matters where they went to school.

The ADA, or the American Dental Association, says that there is no difference between the two degrees but recognizes the confusion. They both have the same level of education; the state licensing boards will accept either one of these titles as well. They can both be licensed and allowed to practice.

Why the different titles?

If they are, in fact, the same thing, why are there different titles? This is because when everything started, there was only a single dentistry degree. This degree was the DDS. Then, in the 1800s when Harvard University popped up, things changed. Harvard puts out their degrees in Latin. Because of this, the DDS degree was translated and given a Latin name. The Latin abbreviation was CDD. This stands for Chirurgae Dentium Doctoris.

Harvard University knew that this would be hard to say, so they made it something a bit easier, though not by much. The result was the title Denatariae Medicinae Doctor. So, in fact, if you are looking for what does DMD stand for, you can argue there are two answers. For Denatariae Medicinae Doctor can also be abbreviated to DMD. Other universities, some of them at least, began to do the same thing as Harvard was doing. Other universities decided to keep the DDS degree instead of switching over.

Is a DDS Better than a DMD?

ADA (The American Dental Association) explains that both DDS and DMD are equally good titles. They understand that there is a lot of confusion about this, but they feel that not much can be done. They know that they could take out one of the degrees and leave a universal one in its place; that said, they feel like they can’t.

The reason they think they can’t is because people have a lot of school pride. It would be hard to convince the schools that give these degrees to change their degrees since they are identical. It is also because they take pride in the original title that they were given.

Costs for treatment are also identical for the most part. You won’t have to worry about being charged a huge difference just for going to one DDS or DMD over the other. Even though they are the same, it is still smart for you to look at the specialties of a dentist as well as their education before going to them. The qualifications of the dentist you are considering can help you make a decision about whether or not you want to go to them.

What Can a DDS or DMD Do?

Now that we’ve looked at what does DDS stand for, as well as understand the differences and similarities between DDS and DMD, let’s look at the responsibilities of the DDS. Note that both DMDs and DDSs can perform these activities within a dentistry office. Thus, a DDS (or DMD) is qualified to perform:

  • Oral surgery
  • Fillings
  • Oral checkups and exams
  • Teeth whitening
  • Enamel shaping
  • Dental crowns
  • Gum disease treatments
  • X-rays
  • Teeth cleanings

Conclusion

In this article, we answered the question, “what does DMD stand for?” We also discussed the differences in the DMD and DDS titles. Do you still have questions about the DMD title? Ask us in the comments below.

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