Stomatologist or Dentist? Which One is More Appropriate?

Vahid Karimi1 and Mahdi Rahbar2


1Dentist, Private practice, Tabriz, Iran.

2Department of Operative and Esthetic Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Tabriz University of Medical Science, Tabriz, Iran.

Corresponding Author E-mail: mahdirhbr@gmail.com

Abstract: Dentistry is a branch in the medical field, the graduates of which are mainly responsible for the diagnosis and treatment of oral and dental diseases. Based on the definition above, it appears the term dentistry is not an appropriate term for this branch and profession because the term directs the listeners’ minds toward the teeth only; on the other hand, the term is unable to introduce all the dimensions and aspects of this field. If the patients know dentists by the term stomatologists, they will ask for a thorough examination and treatment (not local treatment only). By the definition of the dentistry field prevailing in the community, dentists feel they are less responsible to carry out such examinations and evaluate the whole occlusion and the status of the masticatory system; by local treatment of only one or several teeth, they not only do not contribute to the treatment of such disorders, but also in some cases they help aggravate these problems.Also,the specialty fields of dentistry such as orthodontics, periodontics, oral medicine oral pathology, etc, and the nature of the specialty fields show that teeth are only a component of the oral system, and gums, temporomandibular joint, facial muscles, the tongue, palate, etc, are other important components, with close relationships with these specialty fields. Other reason that from the dentist’s and the patient’s viewpoints the replacement of that premolar tooth is the first priority; however, from a stomatologist’s viewpoint, determination of the cause of this problem and preservation of the remaining teeth are the first priorities and the second priority is the replacement of the lost premolar tooth.So that it is necessary to replace the term dentistry with stomatology and dentist with stomatologist.

Keywords: Denyistry; Stomatologisy; Stomatologist

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