Dentaltown December 2014 - (Page 14)

howard speaks column Saving the World One Tooth at a Time There is (and will always be) an ongoing debate about what constitutes standard of care in our sacred and sovereign profession of dentistry. Amongst dentists in the United States, the debate is rather difﬁcult and it becomes even more so when the discussion turns to global standard of care. I have traveled around the world, and I've lectured to thousands of dentists in 5 0 countries on six continents, and the difference in standard of care between the 20 richest countries in the world vs. the remaining countries is vast. Standards in Ethiopia wouldn't pass muster in Germany, however, Ethiopian dentists do what they can with the resources they can get their hands on. Y es, the chasm of what ought to be the global standard of care is immense, but as they say, a rising tide lifts all boats- and the tide of better global dental care is already starting to rise. For years, Dentaltown has been the go-to resource for dentists who want to practice smarter, faster dentistry that's higher in quality and lower in cost. Dentaltown currently boasts almost 200,000 registered members, and that really does seem like a lot, but when you realize there are more than two million dentists practicing on Earth, we haven't even scratched the surface. Dentaltown has an amazing library of online continuing education courses. W e have more than 300 of the greatest courses ever created and they're in nice, easy-to digest, hour-long increments. They're approved for ADA and AGD credit. And now with the help of Dr. Ken Serota- one of the most well-known and respected endodontists on the planet- we are attracting and retaining the greatest clinicians from around the world to provide C E courses to our beloved Townie membership. W e have provided a forum where the standard of care debate carries on, but even more, we have provided a place where dentists can learn better dentistry from their peers. W hen you think about raising the global standard of care, dentists in the poorest countries in the world will not learn better dentistry in classrooms. They won't even learn it on a personal computer. They're going to learn better dentistry from their smartphones. In the United States and in most of the countries once occupied by the B ritish empire, it's standard for a dental program to be four years of undergraduate work, then another four years of dental school. In fact, in most countries it's pretty impressive if you have a dental program that's four to six years long. B ut, when you visit South America, Africa and Asia, many of those dentists only went to school for two years. That's it. Like it or not, the person who went to dental school in C hina for a couple years is making a living as a dentist, and will be until he or she reaches a ripe old age. It's not going to go away, and there's nothing you can do about it. Global standards of dental education are not going to change overnight - especially in those countries. Y ou can't increase the quality of dentistry today with some arcane conversation about making sure all dental schools are eight years long or that they follow U.S., C anadian or B ritish standards. That's a long way off, and it doesn't solve today's problem. W hat can help? Q uick answer: Y ou (and I'll get to that in a sec). As a dentist who practices in a privileged country where dental education takes eight years and you have every bit of space-age technology at your ﬁngertips to do root canals, place implants, take 3D images of the jaw, etc., it is truly our job to provide an arsenal of online continuing education courses, made available for free on our Dentaltown smartphone app. In lesser-privileged countries, dentists might not have access to a personal computer, but almost all of them have smartphones, and they're already learning better dentistry on them. In the poorest countries I've ever visited, like Ethiopia and Tanzania, their dentists have iPhones and they're learning from them. They're learning from as many resources as they can ﬁnd on their phones- including Y ouTube! It is so exciting to me that now instead of countries relying on a wealthy dentist from a rich country to ﬂy in for a weekend to do charitable dentistry, where the village is happy and out of pain for a week- local dentists can learn how to do quality dental work from their iPhones, raising the village's optimal oral health for a lifetime! by Howard Farran, DDS, MBA, Publisher, Dentaltown Magazine continued on page 16 14 DECEMBER 2014 » dentaltown.com http://www.dentaltown.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dentaltown December 2014

Dentaltown.com Highlights
Howard Speaks: Saving the World One Tooth at a Time
Continuing Education Update
Professional Courtesy: New Equipment Can Buy Happiness
What Is The Youngest Age That You Have Put Someone in Dentures?
Dental Tourism
I Love White Fillings Without Tints –Am I a Quack?
Townie Choice Awards 2014
The Pain of Broken Appointments
Financial Timelines for Any Age Doc
Bulk Fill Optional Restorations
CE: Simplifying the Denture Process
Are You Using the Best Cement for the Job?
Ad Index
Product Profile: LSK Chairside Shade Guide
Product Profile: SmartBox
Poll: Oral Systemic
Product Profile: Patient News
Industry News
Perio Reports
Dentally Incorrect

Dentaltown December 2014