Dentists and dentistry may seem a bit dull, but we have gathered ten interesting facts about dentists and dentistry.

General Dentists practice dentistry. Dentistry is defined by the American Dental Association “as the evaluation, diagnosis, prevention and/or treatment (nonsurgical, surgical or related procedures) of diseases, disorders and/or conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and/or the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body”.

DDS versus DMD

DDS means Doctor of Dental Surgery, DMD means Doctor of Dental Medicine.

The degrees are the same. They have the same education. Each individual institution can decide what their degree is called.

Dentists work on the hardest substance in the human body.

Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the human body. Everyday your dentist is wrangling with this substance trying to keep it clean and healthy. Kudos to you man or woman dentist!

Does your dentist know who the first dentist was? Quiz her or him!

The first guy brave enough to fix teeth was an Egyptian named Hesi Re. He lived over 5000 years ago.

Dental Implants are better today.

Oh my, your dentist would agree that dental implants today have got it over those of the past…think shells hammered into your gums. Shells look so much like teeth and I bet that was pain free!

Amalgam fillings are passé.

Unless you are still doing dentistry based on what a pencil pusher says, amalgam fillings are so yesterday. Now your dentist can put in beautiful tooth colored restorations. No more mercury-laden fillings! Hooray!

Dentists are respected.

In a 2012 Gallup poll dentists ranked 5th out of 22 in honesty and ethical standards. Only nurses, pharmacists, medical doctors and engineers (what?) scored higher than dentists.

Can you guess how long the average adult spends brushing their teeth during their lifetime?

I’ll give you a hint…it isn’t years! Give up? Okay 38.5 days…now doesn’t that seem like a drop in the bucket. Maybe we should all try to brush for 2 minutes, twice a day!

Has your dentist talked about “periodontal disease”?

I wouldn’t be surprised because over 3 million cases are diagnosed a year! Why? Because of poor oral health…just like bad sentence structure…it runs rampant among the over 19 years of age population. Save yourself from this nasty, expensive disease, brush twice a day and floss once a day!

Is your dentist a people person?

Does he or she enjoy their chosen field? Are they passionate about your oral health? Are your office visits pain free? Does the dental team treat you like family? That’s great…chances are you have a fantastic general dentist and dental team. Stick with them. They’ll take excellent care of you. If not…well take a look around, read some reviews, drop into an office or two. You don’t need an appointment to go inside an office and get a feel for the culture. Life is too short to not enjoy your dental visits!