Becoming a Montana Dentist
The saying goes, “Summertime and the Livin is Easy.” Is this true? Is life easier in the Summer? I will agree that life is much more fun and exciting in the summer. The days are longer, the weather is obviously better than the other Montana seasons, but man am I exhausted at the end of the day. I wouldn’t call it easy living, but man is it far and away the best time.
I’m sitting here writing this article on July 3rd and I have a confession to make. While I was born and raised in the USA and am 100% American at heart, I am also a Citizen of Canada. How you might ask, and the easy answer is my mother is from Edmonton, Alberta. In addition to that I married a full fledged Canadian and now all of my kids have dual citizenship.
Why does this matter on July 3rd? Because Canada celebrates its independence on July 1st much the same way America does with parades, cook-outs with family and friends, and…you guessed it…fireworks. So, as I’m writing this getting ready to host my own July 4th Freedom Fest I still haven’t recovered from the Canadian version. Which is a lot like the American version…but just a little different.
As a dual citizen raised by a Canadian in America who then married a Canadian, I can bridge the gap for y’all. I can translate. Prior to covid it felt like the majority of our tourists were Canadian and for us Locals it felt like they had a holiday damn near every month. Well, they do. And while these holidays have names, if you ask a Canadian, they’ll just tell you it’s their long weekend preceded by the month you’re in.
For example, we have Memorial Day. We get the last Monday in May off to remember our fallen service men and women. In Canada they have May-Long Weekend. It’s very literal. It’s the long weekend in May. Now I should know what the actual holiday is called considering the influence that Canada has had on my life, but I don’t. I could look it up but I’m proving a point. My wife will roll her eyes when she reads this but she knows I’m right. They also have August-Long weekend which no Canadian has ever told me what they are celebrating. “It’s just like our long weekend in August eh.”
I feel at this point I need to clarify that I’m not digging at our friends to the North. A large portion of my friends and loved ones are Canadian. Maybe I’m just jealous of all of their holidays. Of the other 150+ countries in the world Canada is hands-down the most like the U.S.A. But when you’re up there it’s just subtlety different. The U.S.A. and Canada are like a set of identical twins that you’ve known for decades, they look alike but you can tell them apart. They might also have different political leanings??
This is true for our professions and careers also. The art and practice of dentistry is different around the globe. Not only will you find that dental procedures, techniques, and materials vary greatly throughout the world, but even attitudes towards dental aesthetics. Different cultures value different things. There’s no sugar coating it, America values beauty…or at least their definition of beauty. It’s very common for a patient of mine to request a “Hollywood” smile. Which translates to perfectly straight and unnaturally white typically accomplished with crowns or veneers.
And since it is the 4th of July (wink wink) we’ll contrast this standard with that of Great Britain, which has long held the reputation for not valuing straight teeth nor necessarily even white teeth. I think the easiest way to put it is they tend to have natural smiles devoid of orthodontic or cosmetic intervention. This does not mean their teeth are unhealthy, they’re just not “Hollywood.” A quick google search of countries with the healthiest teeth informs me that the United Kingdom (aka Great Britian basically) ranks 5th worldwide versus our rank of 9th.
Due to the worldwide differences in the practice of dentistry foreign trained dentists must be accepted and complete an IDS degree at a participating accredited U.S. dental program. At my Dental School, The University of the Pacific, the IDS program was the final 2 years of school. In other words, during our final 2 years, we were joined by 20 or so foreign trained dentists, some who had been practicing for years. They were a great asset to the rest of us, it was like having 20 professors as peers.
Now let’s break it down within our own country. When a dental student completes his formal school training, he or she must pass multiple board exams. These board exams are region specific. For example, I took the Western Regional Board Exam (WREB) as it is accepted by the state of Montana and was the board offered at my school. It covers the majority of the western united states in addition to a sprinkling of other states. If I wanted to practice in New York let’s say, I would’ve needed to pass the North Eastern Regional Board (NERB). This was not offered at my school and would’ve honestly been a huge pain in my butt.
If we peel back the onion a little more, we find that each state has its own dental board with state specific rules and requirements that govern not only the dentists, but the hygienists, assistants, and denturists as well. These rules and requirements can vary greatly from state to state. Each state also has its own additional licensure exams such as a jurisprudence exam.
I worry that this article may not have been the most exciting but I’m feeling exceptionally patriotic as I sit here typing and thought you might be curious not only what it takes to become a dentist in the United States, but a dentist in the Flathead Valley in Montana. There’s a lot of red tape, hoops, background checks, vetting so rest assured that your local dentist has been given the green light and thumbs up from Washington D.C. and Helena, MT based on their successful passing of like a million written and clinical exams with probably no felonies on their record.
Have a safe and happy summer everyone. Check off a bucket list item. Climb a new peak or hike a new trail. Get a little sunburnt at least once it’s good for the soul. Jump into cold water as often as the opportunity presents itself. Ride a bike often. It’s hard not to SMILE during a Northwest Montana Summer.
Read Becoming a Montana Dentist by Dr. John F. Miller, DDS, in 406 Woman magazine.