Why is dentistry so unscientific compared to nearly every other medical field? There seems to be a severe lack of evidence-based policy.
My wife holds a doctorate of dental surgery and practiced privately for years before becoming clinical faculty at a dental school. I can assure you that their curriculum is based in science. There is cosmetic dentistry, which is more akin to plastic surgery or something, but even in that, the procedures, materials, and medicines they used are all steeped in knowledge of biological science.
“‘Excessive diagnosis and treatment are endemic,’ says Jeffrey H. Camm, a dentist of more than 35 years”
“There are dozens of journals and organizations devoted to evidence-based medicine, but only a handful devoted to evidence-based dentistry.”
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/05/the-tro...
shame on them. but that doesn't mean the field is not based on science any more than an arbitrary recent conference by crackpots in maths being used as proof of invalidating maths.
> Excessive diagnosis and treatment are endemic.
Which is exactly OP's point on maligned incentives. This is despite scientific backing, not because of it.
> There are dozens of journals and organizations devoted to evidence-based medicine, but only a handful devoted to evidence-based dentistry.
Yes. As expected. Since it's a tiny subfield compared to the totality of medicine. Similarly there are dozens of journals on engineering, but presumably only a handful devoted to the use of solar panels in agricultural engineering.
The other points are also only anecdotes. Not to say I’m not inclined to believe them, but some better evidence is perhaps needed before declaring dentistry to be unscientific.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/05/the-tro...