Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery - Dental Columbian Yearbook (New York, NY)

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The securing of this degree, however, would not by itself qualify a man as a specialist, though it would end the university ' s part in his prepara- tion. It is regarded as essential that one have several years of experience in general practice before entering a special field. Three years of such practice either before or after the two years of graduate study should fulfill the requirements in this respect. Now if we regard a candidate as suitably trained to practice as a specialist, it still remains to have some authorized certifying body pass upon his qualifications before he assumes the badge of the specialist. At least two states have laws authorizing the State Board of Dental Examiners to pass upon candidates and certify them as specialists. If the laws escape being declared unconstitutional, as seems unlikely, it would still seem undesirable to have such a lack of uniformity in the certifying procedure as would be certain to result should each state board endeavor to pass on the merits of specialists in all branches of dentistry. It would seem more desirable to have the recognized organizations in each field, such as the American Association of Exodontists and Oral Surgeons, set up its own board of examiners to pass upon those candidates who had fulfiled the five year requirements for specialization. In order that there be similar standards in the various specialties there should also be an advisory board patterned after that functioning in medical specialization. This board should be made up of representatives from each of the specialty boards and representatives from each of the associations interested in dental edu- cation, such as the American Association of Dental Schools, the Dentai Educational Counci l, and the American Association of Dental Examiners. Such a board would act in an advisory capacity in matters concerning the coordination of the education and certification of dental specialists. Such a plan would insure adequate training for the specialist and would protect the public, both lay and professional, in that dentists claiming to be specialists with presumably special proficiency would be required to actually possess the qualification they claim. The day of the self-appointed specialist must end. Twelve

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Postgraduate and Graduate Dental Training HOUGHTON HOLLIDAY, A.B.. D.D.S.. Professor oi Dentistry, and Associate Dean Attempts to meet the needs of the general practitioner who has been out oi school for a few years have been made in various cities by dental societies and voluntary groups of dentists. However, the work offered by these dental society groups is at best fragmentary and does not fill the need for additional training for men already in practice. Such courses are vastly better than no courses at all and are to be preferred to the type occasionally given by dental equipment supply houses. It is hoped that the time will come when the schools will be able to take over prac- tically all of this training. The fact that there are not dental schools in all communities where we have dentists should not prevent this plan from working out satisfactorily for most dentists. In this age of rapid transporta- tion, if the dentist can not come to the school the representatives of the school can often go to the dentists. Oi perhaps greater importance than the need for these postgraduate courses is the need for adequate training and certification in the various branches of dental practice which have acquired the status of dental specialties. Here again the schools have made only a beginning and as a result the specialists have secured their training chiefly through apprentice- ships or by self-instruction. As for certification, the specialist has for the most part been his own certifying board. The term of specialist has been self-imposed and the public has had no means of judging the qualifications of one who styles himself a specialist. The general practitioner has the right to practice any branch of dentistry, but when the dentist sets himself up as a specialist in one field of dentistry, implying thereby that he has ability superior to that of the general practitioner, the public and the profession are entitled to have proof of his qualifications in the form of special training or the passing of an examination, or both. The nature of this graduate training for specialization is still to be determined, but one thing seems certain and that is that it should be on a university basis and qualitatively equivalent to graduate training in other branches of the university. Since the least graduate work to carry uni- versity recognition is that for the master ' s degree, it might be well to start with that in the field of dentistry. It is conceivable that in any of the special clinical phases of dentistry two academic years of work might be so planned as to satisfy the graduate school requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Dental Surgery or Orthodontics or some oiher special field of dental practice. Eleven

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Oral Surgery HENRY SAGE DUNNING D.D.S., M.D., B.S. Professor of Dentistry ADOLPH BERGER DD.S. William Carr, Prof, of Oral Surgery r i JOSEPH SCHROFF DOUGLAS B. PARKER FRANCIS S. McCAFFREY SAMUEL BIRENBACH KENNETH F. CHASE B.S.. M.D.. D.D.S. M.D.. D.D.S. B.S., DD.S. D.D.S. D.M.D. Assoc. Proi. of Dentistry Assoc. Prof, of Dentistry Assoc. Prof, of Dentistry Assist. Prof, of Dentistry Instructor in Dentistry J. L. McSWEEIIEY ALBIM R. SEIDEL F. A. STEWART, Jr. ROBERT NORTHROP D.D.S. D.M.D. A.B., D.D.S. D.D.S. Assistant in Dentistry Instructor in Dentistry Instructor in Dentistry Instructor in Dentistry