The Family Dentist DDS vs DMD: Is There a Difference?

You may have heard that there is a difference between a family dentist with a DDS (Doctor or Dental Surgery degree) and a family dentist with a DMD (Doctor of Dental Medicine). Nothing could be further from the truth.

The fact is, the requirements for both the DDS and DMD degrees are exactly the same, and to become an accredited professional, a student in either program must successfully complete the same test: the National Board Dental Examinations, Parts I and II. In addition, students of both programs must pass either a regional or state dental board examination as well as a state ethics exam before practicing dentistry in your state.

The real difference in the degree lies in the school and program your family dentist chose, not in the education. In the United States, there are about 35 accredited DDS degree schools and 20 DMD degree schools. In Canada, the ratio is about 50/50.

In addition to the degree of DDS or DMD, there are 9 dental specialties recognized in the US. There are different requirements to become a specialist that may include training in an advanced graduate program, or residency training. The specialties are, in no particular order,
• Orthodontics
• Periodontics
• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology
• Endodontics
• Prosthodontics
• Pedontics
• Anesthesiology
• Dental Public Health
Completing accredited training programs in these specialties allows the family dentist to use titles related to the particular field(s) of studies.

Why the different dental programs?

The answer lies in the history of dental medicine.

DDS was the first abbreviation used in the mid 1800’s given by trade schools or apprenticeship schools unaffiliated with universities. That changed when the first dental school at the University of Maryland—the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, arose.

At the time, educators sought a separation of surgery and medicine, wherein physicians healed by the administration of internal or external medicines, and surgeons treated by manual or instrumental operation.

With that division, determining professional medical degrees became a bit of a problem. The Latin translation of Doctor of Dental Surgery is “Chirurgiae Dentium Doctoris;” however, the abbreviation, CDD, was unacceptable for administers of the degree at newly developing dental schools, such as Harvard. The English DDS, Doctor of Dental Science, was also unacceptable as dentistry was not considered a science at the time.

The traditional Latin M.D., “Medicinae Doctoris,” was adopted instead with the Latin “Dentariae” added to designate the dental field of expertise, and so the degree DMD was born. Besides Harvard, Yale University began awarding this degree and over the years many other universities did as well, but even more adopted the trade school degree designation DDS.

Both Drs. Bobbi and Robert Stanley were awarded the DDS degree. To learn more about our staff, visit our team page.