10/25/2019
RESPONSES/COMMENTS (NON-CLINICAL) - PART 2
From: Elliot Udell, DPM
I’m questioning why podiatry does not have specialties as dentistry does. This ignores a rather large elephant sitting in our living room. Dentistry has true specialties. There are periodontists, oral surgeons, endodontists, pediatric dentists, etc. The one difference between dentistry and podiatry is that dental specialists limit their practices to their specialties.
If one goes to an endodontist for a root canal, or an oral surgeon for an extraction, those dental specialists would never be caught filling a cavity or making a crown for that patient. If he or she did, they could kiss their referral base goodbye. Podiatry is different. There are those who have greater training in surgery, biomechanics, pediatrics, or dermatology but I have yet to hear of any of my colleagues, outside of the academic arena, who limit their practices to any one area of specialization. Perhaps Dr. Levy could offer us some insight into why podiatry has not generated the types of limited specialty practices that we see in dentistry and medicine.
Elliot Udell, DPM, Hicksville, NY
RESPONSES/COMMENTS (NON-CLINICAL) - PART 2
From: Elliot Udell, DPM
I’m questioning why podiatry does not have specialties as dentistry does. This ignores a rather large elephant sitting in our living room. Dentistry has true specialties. There are periodontists, oral surgeons, endodontists, pediatric dentists, etc. The one difference between dentistry and podiatry is that dental specialists limit their practices to their specialties.
If one goes to an endodontist for a root canal, or an oral surgeon for an extraction, those dental specialists would never be caught filling a cavity or making a crown for that patient. If he or she did, they could kiss their referral base goodbye. Podiatry is different. There are those who have greater training in surgery, biomechanics, pediatrics, or dermatology but I have yet to hear of any of my colleagues, outside of the academic arena, who limit their practices to any one area of specialization. Perhaps Dr. Levy could offer us some insight into why podiatry has not generated the types of limited specialty practices that we see in dentistry and medicine.
Elliot Udell, DPM, Hicksville, NY