🎙️ Clip from TikTok LIVE #40

Origins of the DDS Degree (1840)

• The first dental school in the United States, the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery (BCDS), was established in 1840.

• The school awarded graduates the Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree, a designation that became widely adopted across the country.

• The DDS degree was intended to emphasize dentistry as a surgical specialty focused on procedures like extractions and operative dentistry.

The Creation of the DMD Degree (1867)

• In 1867, Harvard University decided to establish a dental school, now known as the Harvard School of Dental Medicine.

• Harvard’s administrators, led by Dr. Nathan Cooley Keep, wanted to align dentistry with the traditional medical model and argued that the Latin designation “Medicinae Doctor” (MD) was more appropriate than “Surgery.”

• Since “Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS)” did not fit Harvard’s naming conventions, they chose to use “Dentariae Medicinae Doctor” (DMD)—or Doctor of Dental Medicine.

Adoption and Coexistence

• Over time, some U.S. dental schools followed Harvard’s lead and began using the DMD degree, while others retained the traditional DDS.

• Despite the different names, there is no difference in curriculum or scope of practice between DDS and DMD graduates—both degrees require the same education and clinical training as dictated by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA).

• Today, the choice between DMD or DDS is simply a matter of institutional preference.

References:

1. Rosenblum, A., & Fried, J. L. (2022). The dilemma of different dental degrees: DDS and DMD. Journal of Dental Education, 86(4), 429-436.

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