eli5: How did dentistry become its own distinct field separate from medicine?

Question

eli5: How did dentistry become its own distinct field separate from medicine?

In: 29

Answer 1

In the olden days, Dentistry was seen as a personal service kind of like going to the barber. Dentists pulled bad teeth and replaced them with dentures, and that was about the extent of care that you received from a dentist. The thought went that teeth are just bones, they’re dead tissue (never mind that they have nerves,) so you don’t need a doctor.

In the 1840’s a couple of self-taught dentists went to the University of Maryland to discuss adding dental instruction to the medicine program, and the professors at the University said no. So the dentists started their own school and their own professional licensing scheme.