Overspecialization may be strangling general dentistry, possibly preventing dental professionals from meeting most patients' treatment needs. This perspective was published in March in the Journal of Dental Education.
To combat too many students entering specialty fields, undergraduate dental training programs should expose students to the different areas of clinical dentistry instead of advocating for specialization, the authors wrote.
"Overspecialization, and the resulting fragmentation of responsibilities, may undermine patient's basic care needs," wrote the authors, led by Dr. Mario Brondani, PhD, MPH, of the University of British Columbia in Canada (J Dent Educ, March 22, 2025, e13878).
Though general dentists are trained to identify and treat the most common oral diseases and their complications, many senior undergraduate students and junior dentists report a lack of confidence practicing comprehensive clinical dentistry. Sometimes, their lack of assuredness may lead students and young dentists to avoid surgical endodontic procedures, orthodontic treatment, and implant cases and trigger them to pursue a career in a dental specialty, according to the perspective.
Students should be trained to become clinically well-rounded providers. If general dentistry fails to maintain itself as the foundation of the profession, clinicians may not improve access to care and address inequities. Also, this approach may unwittingly take the focus off prevention and not completely address the dental needs of the public, the authors wrote.
Instead, specializing should be less common and aimed at the more unique and complex needs of a few patients. Furthermore, dental educators should not be mentoring undergraduates to make career choices focused on specialization at the expense of general dentistry, they wrote.
To save general dentistry, undergraduate clinical practice should be bolstered by revamping the dental curriculum to eliminate redundancies and repetition and implementing more community-based dental education, the authors wrote.
"Oral health inequities may only widen if the profession focuses on specialization over general practice, as this might inadvertently take the focus off prevention and not fully address general oral health-care needs of the population," Brondani and colleagues wrote.
