A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry, the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. The dentist's supporting team aids in providing oral health services. The dental team includes dental assistants, dental hygienists, dental technicians, and sometimes dental therapists.
The American Dental Association (ADA) is an American professional association established in 1859 which has more than 161,000 members. Based in the American Dental Association Building in the Near North Side of Chicago, the ADA is the world's largest and oldest national dental association and promotes good oral health to the public while representing the dental profession.
Midwestern University (MWU) is a private medical and professional school with campuses in Downers Grove, Illinois and Glendale, Arizona. As of the 2020–21 academic year, a total of 2,987 students were enrolled at the Downers Grove campus and 3,902 were enrolled at the Glendale campus.
Endodontics is the dental specialty concerned with the study and treatment of the dental pulp.
The Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) is the dental school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to the DMD degree, HSDM offers specialty training programs, advanced training programs, and a PhD program through the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The program considers dentistry a specialty of medicine. Therefore, all students at HSDM experience dual citizenship between Harvard School of Dental Medicine and Harvard Medical School. Today, HSDM is the smallest school at Harvard University with a total student body of 280.
A number of professional degrees in dentistry are offered by dental schools in various countries around the world.
The UCLA School of Dentistry is the dental school of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) located in the Center for Health Sciences building in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. The school has several educational and training programs, conducts oral and dental health research, and offers affordable dental care at three locations: Westwood, Venice, and Inglewood. The school also participates in several outreach endeavors, including numerous health fairs during the year, STEM pipeline programs and provides dental care for underserved populations in the region. The School of Dentistry is considered among the nation's best research-intensive dental schools.
Dental laboratories manufacture or customize a variety of products to assist in the provision of oral health care by a licensed dentist. These products include crowns, bridges, dentures and other dental products. Dental lab technicians follow a prescription from a licensed dentist when manufacturing these items, which include prosthetic devices and therapeutic devices. The FDA regulates these products as medical devices and they are therefore subject to FDA's good manufacturing practice ("GMP") and quality system ("QS") requirements. In most cases, however, they are exempt from manufacturer registration requirements. Some of the most common restorations manufactured include crowns, bridges, dentures, and dental implants. Dental implants is one of the most advanced dental technologies in the field of dentistry.
The American Student Dental Association (ASDA) is a national student-run organization that is concerned with the rights, interests, and welfare of dental students. It has the aim of introducing students to lifelong involvement in organized dentistry and provides services, information, education, representation, and advocacy.
Dentistry throughout the world is practiced differently, and training in dentistry varies as well.
The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) is a non-profit organization that works to further the education of dental professionals and the advancement of academic dental programs in Canada and the United States. Founded in 1923 as the American Association of Dental Schools, ADEA is based in Washington, D.C.
The American Dental Hygienists' Association (ADHA) is the largest national United States organization representing the professional interests of more than 185,000 dental hygienists across the country. Dental hygienists are preventive oral health professionals, licensed in dental hygiene, who provide educational, clinical and therapeutic services that support total health through the promotion of oral health. Its headquarters are in the Near North Side, Chicago.
Pediatric dentistry is the branch of dentistry dealing with children from birth through adolescence. The specialty of pediatric dentistry is recognized by the American Dental Association, Royal College of Dentists of Canada, and Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons.
Association of American Educators (AAE) is a national, non-union, non-partisan professional educators association in the United States and is the fastest-growing association of its kind. Its stated mission is to “advance the profession through personal growth, professional development, teacher advocacy and protection.” AAE also seeks to “promote excellence in education so that [teachers] receive the respect, recognition and reward they deserve.” AAE is officially nonpartisan. AAE is not a union or a lobbying organization, but licensed as a 501(c)(6) professional trade association. AAE is funded by dues from thousands of members located in all fifty states and the District of Columbia and by contributions to the AAE Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. AAE claims to “help lead a coalition of nearly 300,000 teachers across the country who have joined a non-union teacher association.”
In the United States and Canada, there are twelve recognized dental specialties in which some dentists choose to train and practice, in addition to or instead of general dentistry. In the United Kingdom and Australia, there are thirteen.
Dr. Edgar D. Coolidge was an American dentist and endodontist.
The American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM) is a medical society for the medical subspecialty of neuromuscular and electrodiagnostic medicine based in the United States. Members are primarily neurologists and physiatrists—as well as allied health professionals and PhD researchers.
José Freitas Siqueira Jr. was born in Miracema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in October 1967. He received his DDS from Gama Filho University, Rio de Janeiro in 1989, and his endodontic certificate from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in 1991. In 1996, he received his master's degree in microbiology and immunology from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He concluded his PhD in microbiology and immunology in 1998 at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Since 2002, Siqueira is the chairman of endodontics, director of the postgraduate program in endodontics and head of the molecular microbiology laboratory at Estácio de Sá University, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The American Association of Endocrine Surgeons (AAES) is a professional organization for endocrine surgeons. The organization partakes in patient care, education, and scientific investigations in the field of endocrine surgery, including training endocrine surgeons and developing practice guidelines.
