These qualifications invariably indicate a high standard of postgraduate training. There is an increasing number of dental practitioners who have sought to increase their breadth of knowledge by undertaking courses of study and examination in subjects related and peripheral to dentistry. There are now dentists who have obtained formal legal qualifications, and in some cases practise as lawyers, either exclusively or in addition to dentistry. These practitioners will also be well placed to assist their instructing lawyers as they have been trained to prepare and handle evidence for use by the courts. Be advised that whilst this might be a doctorate it is in fact only equivalent to the British BDS or LDS, discussed above, and does not indicate that the holder has received any postgraduate training.
Many dentists have commitments with the administrative and political bodies of the profession.
Quite apart from the qualifications mentioned thus far, which all have an element of examination or assessment, there is a myriad of organisations to which dental practitioners can belong, such as the British Dental Association and General Dental Practitioners Association, membership of which merely requires the payment of a fee. Courses of study Top Dentists are known to be enthusiastic about their subject, and to fuel this enthusiasm there has been a proliferation of postgraduate courses. Many are run under the auspices of the recognised teaching establishments and will therefore be monitored and of an approved standard, but others will be run by private individuals or organisations. There is no doubt that many privately run courses are of the highest possible standards, but since none are subject to any official control this can never be guaranteed. Any practitioner could carry out techniques in his own practice which are unproven and unacceptable, and then present courses thereon to his fellow practitioners.