Terahertz

Why is there so little quackery in dentistry?

I’m not saying this is a bad thing, but as I look around, even in Vancouver (woo-capital of Canada), it’s hard to find “wholistic” or “naturopathy” dentists. There are some, who complain about mercury in amalgam fillings, but even they admit the fillings work!

Perhaps it’s because real dentistry so obviously works.

You have tooth pains, the dentist pokes, jabs and hurts your mouth for an hour, then after a bit of healing, your teeth are fine. It’s hard to question the results.

There’s also very few cases of chronic dental pain, whereas undiagnosed chronic pain issues abound in normal medicine.

I think this also helps that dentists are quick to embrace recent scientific findings, like the discovery of Recaldent, a compound that actually helps rebuild tooth enamel. In only the last few years, this has been discovered, researched, and commercialized in both dental paste and a special brand of Trident Gum.

Despite the general quality of dentists, you still get activists pushing for de-flouridation of water, and naturo-nuts selling fluoride-less toothpaste (which amounts to breath freshener I guess).

Nevertheless, good work dentists.