Is your dentist a specialist?

Recently the news was published about the complaint of the General Council of Dentists for Vitaldent to remove the terms ‘specialist’ and ‘specialties’ from its advertising.

So, is it true that there are no specialized dentists? In other words, that any dentist is equally prepared to treat any oral health problem? Nothing could be further from the truth.

Although the Council’s claim has been made on an indisputable legal basis, we think it is important to qualify some ideas.

Officially, there are no specialists recognized as such…

So far, so true. The Law in Spain does not (yet) recognize specialists or specialties in the field of Dentistry. So, with the law in hand, we cannot refer to them with these terms. Spain is, together with Luxembourg and Malta, the only country in the European Union that does not officially recognize them. But this will change in the next 5 years. As the Council itself points out, work is being done to have these specialties recognized (and regulated).

…but there are indeed de facto specialists.

Actually, from our point of view, there are indeed specialists. And what would we consider a specialist?

First you have to understand how a dentist is trained. Since ’86 there has been an undergraduate, now graduate, degree in dentistry. This would be the first step in becoming a ‘general’ dentist.

From this point on, to specialize we enter into non-regulated training, which each dentist follows according to his or her own criteria. The most common is a university program in a hospital, accredited by the European Union, which usually lasts three years. There are also dentists who carry out equivalent programs abroad.

On the other hand, there are shorter courses, which do not provide a sufficient knowledge base to be considered as ‘specializing’. Shorter courses would be complementary to the above.

And to make an analogy, a cook who has completed a three-year master’s degree in Asian cuisine is not the same as one who has taken a one-day Sushi course for beginners.

After training comes practice. A ‘specialist’ would be, in our opinion, a dentist who in addition to the aforementioned training practices in the discipline in which he or she has been trained – dentistry includes up to twelve different disciplines.

What makes a specialist a specialist?

According to our experience, and until the legal requirements to be called ‘specialist’ are regulated, a dentist who practices a certain discipline must have formal training in dentistry (bachelor’s degree or degree), plus a university specialization program (of at least two or three years), and at least five years of practice in this discipline, as a guideline.

That is why, when faced with any oral health problem, it is best to choose the most appropriate professional based on his or her training and experience in the discipline in which he or she has (dare we say it) specialized. Because, as in any professional area, not everyone knows how to do everything.

The Ahoa Dental Clinic has been characterized from the beginning by providing its patients with the best dental treatment and care, based on a team of dental professionals, all of them specialized with university training in different areas of oral health and esthetics.

Ask us if you have any questions!

Iñaki Cercadillo

Ahoa Clinic Director