It is a disservice to the public and the profession to allow dentists that have not attended an ADA accredited specialty program to advertise as specialists.  Would anyone choose to have their kidney removed by a physican who is not a surgeon, but advertises as a specalist in surgery? How is this protecting the public?

All dentists should be allowed to perform all procedures they are legally allowed and trained to do, but not to advertise as something they are not. Depending on the specialty program, 400 hours of training at an accredited insitituion are covered in just the first couple of months. Equating 400 hours of training to 3, 4 or more years of full time residency training diminishes the profession and confuses the public.