Abstract
In 1840, when Chapin Harris and three other physicians founded the first dental school in the United States, they could not have known that their intention to elevate the practice of dentistry and improve dental care would have such a dramatic unintended consequence: to wholly sever the educational connection between medicine and dentistry. Since then, differences in policy, funding, and self-regulation of medicine and dentistry have only forced the fields further apart. As an example, in 1958, the Joint Council to Improve the Healthcare of the Aged was founded by both the American Medical Association and the American Dental Association in opposition to Medicare; after Medicare was signed into law, covering medical services but excluding dental care, dentistry evolved further away from the rest of the healthcare system.
Recommended Citation
Simon, Lisa MD, DMD
(2025)
"Medical-Dental Integration: Dispatches From “Both Sides of the Aisle”,"
Journal of the American College of Dentists: Vol. 91:
No.
4, Article 3.
Available at:
https://commons.ada.org/jacd/vol91/iss4/3