Are there dramatic physiological differences between teeth/gums and the rest of the body? Or is it just tradition?
In: Biology
In addition to what others have said, it’s also tradition! Historically there were medicine people who treated everything as best they could, including dentistry and surgery. Eventually different groups developed. Barbers, for instance, had the sharpest blades and scissors and became founders of modern surgery. Some of those deviated and developed modern dentistry.
Nowadays you go to school to become a dentist and all the surgical interventions that entails. If you want to do reconstructive/facial surgeries, you become a dentist and then go to medical school (though an abbreviated form) followed by a residency in OMFS (oral maxillofacial surgery) and even fellowship to further subspecialize. It’s one of the longest educational pathway in medicine. 4 years undergrad, 4 years dental, 2-3 years med school, 4-5 years residency. These folks are the orthodontists you see for facial reconstruction/super advanced oral surgeries.
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