The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-11-17
A DENTOR WHO SPEAKS LIKE
 A DOCTOR

| My friends the dentsts-I still like to think
 of them like that, although an item in recent l bill for some repairs made for member oi
 my menage made 1t very di,,icuH; olpr ropny. my, can't we insert surcharge of five berries oI so for asepsis" in most of our, CT, statements: 1.-the dentists are not greatly enamored or my l proposal that they show an example by re l linquishing the professional use Of the titie 1 Doctor to practicing physicians exclusively and content themselves with some such trade- mark as "Dentor' instead Not that the den- tists at least dentists legally quaiiffed, are no' entitled to all the prestige and business ad- vantage the designation of Doctor gives them. The usual legree D. D. 5. means Doctor of Dental surgery: and at least one dental school grants the degrce--well, 1t Is so exotic am not sure but think it is D. M. D., mean ing Doctor of Dental Medicine or something of the kind So the dentists have as sound a claim on the title as has any physician or any Doctor of Divinity or. Doctor of Philosophy or any other individual who has received a doc torate degree. But many of the foremost 'den- lists have assured mo in private that they'd as lief drop the title of Doctor" andrI con- tend that if all dentists were to do so 1t would promote public welfare and rot injure any reputable dentists standing or practice. It would promote public welfare by removing much of the confusion that the piratical use of this title Doctor has caused in recent years. If friends the dentists were not tarred by the same stick, so to speak. we could soon teach the gullible public to beware oi the chap who purports to be ''Dr John Doe
 but neglects to make known to his prospective suckers what authority he has for the use of the title. For example, the egregious 'Dr' Betts who propagates the kitchen and cooking ware phobia and the fear of certain excellent brands of baking powder. Many laymen who are quite alarmed by this propaganda at first feel reassured of the wholesomeness of the kind of utensils and baking powder concerned when they discover that the doctor behind
 it is not physician at all, but a dentist.
 To-day came letter from Dentor who makes noise like Doctor, and by good right, for he IS not only an M. D. with four years hospital practice, and then D. D. $. with ten years of dentistry, which is his profession. This physician exemplihcs the ideal hope will eventually become the rule; in fact all rep utable licensed dentists in practice are prac- ticing as medical specialists. and in fairness to the public, the medical profession and to themselves they ought to be trained as .physi- clans before they undertake the special work of dentistry at all. The student of dentistry should receive his medical course in Q regular medical school, and when he has completed htat and received his degree of Doctor ol Medicine. then. if he so elects, he should take the necessary postgraduate course in the tech nical subjcctsp ertaining to t.le practice oi dentistry. When that square deal is given the public, we shall not qubble over the Dentor's claim on the title of Doctor nor shall we think fhim as MERE dentist.