{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,17]],"date-time":"2025-10-17T16:40:02Z","timestamp":1760719202623,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":12,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,22]],"date-time":"2025-03-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1742601600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Journal of Dental Education"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,10]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Issue<\/jats:title><jats:p>General dentists are trained to identify and treat the most common oral conditions and their complications, including dental caries lesions, by restoring tooth structure and function and replacing missing teeth, as well as by treating gingival diseases. However, many senior undergraduate students and junior dentists believe they lack confidence to practice comprehensive clinical dentistry; they may avoid surgical endodontic procedures, orthodontic care, and implant\u2010related cases, for example. The answer, they believe, lies in the imminent need to pursue a specialization to have a successful career.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Approach<\/jats:title><jats:p>General dentists must remain the backbone of the profession if we aim to improve access to basic dental care and address inequities. This perspective explores the values of a general dentist in meeting the majority of the care needs of society at large by recognizing the importance of training students to graduate as clinically well\u2010rounded providers. It discusses the issues pertaining to overspecialization in dentistry, while acknowledging that specialized care is needed when general dentistry falls short.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Impact<\/jats:title><jats:p>We argue that 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\u2010care needs of the population. Overspecialization, and the resulting fragmentation of responsibilities, may undermine patient's basic care needs. Training a broad\u2010spectrum dentist is paramount while acknowledging the value of specialization to deliver specific\u2014and complex\u2014clinical care that does not come at the expense of general practice.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1002\/jdd.13878","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,22]],"date-time":"2025-03-22T06:48:32Z","timestamp":1742626112000},"page":"1506-1508","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["General Dentistry on Life Support: The Overspecialization of the Profession"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"89","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2437-4552","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mario","family":"Brondani","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oral Health Sciences Faculty of Dentistry University of British Columbia Vancouver British Columbia Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4469-6500","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mariana","family":"Braga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department on Pediatric Dentistry Faculty of Dentistry Universidade de Sao Paulo S\u00e3o Paulo Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8905-398X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jonathan","family":"Broadbent","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oral Sciences Faculty of Dentistry University of Otago Dunedin New Zealand"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5859-7055","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Linda","family":"Slack\u2010Smith","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Population and Global Health University of Western Australia Perth Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5368-7975","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Diego","family":"Ardenghi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oral Health Sciences Faculty of Dentistry University of British Columbia Vancouver British Columbia Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_6_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12954-022-00626-4"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/adj.12428"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.21815\/JDE.017.022"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/eje.12781"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/jdd.12302"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41415-019-0368-6"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/jdd.13359"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.14219\/jada.archive.2003.0084"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_10_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/froh.2024.1368121"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_11_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/hec.1377"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_12_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/sj.bdj.4811389"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_13_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/jdd.13392"}],"container-title":["Journal of Dental Education"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1002\/jdd.13878","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,17]],"date-time":"2025-10-17T16:01:31Z","timestamp":1760716891000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1002\/jdd.13878"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,22]]},"references-count":12,"journal-issue":{"issue":"10","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,10]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1002\/jdd.13878"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/jdd.13878","archive":["Portico"],"relation":{},"ISSN":["0022-0337","1930-7837"],"issn-type":[{"type":"print","value":"0022-0337"},{"type":"electronic","value":"1930-7837"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,22]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2024-11-02","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2025-02-20","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2025-03-22","order":3,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}]}}