I am writing in opposition of the proposed change to advertising as a dental specialist. 

I practiced general dentistry for 5 years, including AEGD training, and I loved general dentistry.  As a general dentist, I knew the limits of my abilities when it came to different specialty areas and I referred accordingly.  After my specialty training, I realized how little I actually knew about my specialty (orthodontics) when I was a practicing general dentist (I had some training in orthodontics and practiced limited orthodontics). Any specialist will tell you that specialty training enhanced theirr knowledge and performance of that specialty (that they are better at whatever it is becasue of their specialty training).   This isn't to say that all specialist work is always superior to those of generalists, but there needs to be a clear distinction, for the public, between who is specialty trained and who is not. 

You would be very disappointed to learn that your primary care doctor is about to perform open heart surgery on your family member...similiarly, the public should be clear on who has the knowledge, skill set, and ability to perform work at the highest quality of dental professions.

Thank you for your consideration,

Matt Joosse, DMD, MSEd, MSD