Salutation of Dentists

My UK dentist would give me a very odd look if I addressed her as "Mr". I call her by her first name (Jane). This is the usual practice. Most first-line dentists hold Bachelor of Dental Surgery degrees (BDS, 5 year program) and are not usually addressed as "Doctor". They are Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms or more often these days, their first name. They are not doctors and are not seen as doctors. This is not the case, I believe, in the US and most of Europe, where dentists are routinely called "doctor". In Britain, to get to be called "Doctor", you have to have a medical degree, a PhD, or be a bishop or above in the Church Of England.

Some dentists do call themselves "Doctor" but this is controversial; as this 2008 report makes clear:

Thank you. Very interesting.

I said that a 'PhD' was needed to be called Doctor, in fact any doctor level degree entitles the holder.

In the U.S., unless things have changed, both medical and dental school education is studied after one graduates from a University with a BA or BS degree, and they both are called doctors when they finish the additional schooling, 4 years for medicine and 4 for dentistry.
Medical doctors have an additional internship and often residencies after getting their m.d.s. Re dentistry here:

Dental education in U.S. re wiki -
In order to be accepted to an American dental school, most candidates must possess at least a Bachelor's degree as well as the pre-requisite courses.

The first 2 years of dental school consist mostly of didactic education as well as simulation courses. The last two years generally involve direct patient care under supervision. There tends to be much overlap in most schools' curricula; the didactic years may have some clinical components while the last two years still have significant didactic coursework. During dental school, students must take and successfully pass Part I and Part II of the National Board Dental Examination (also known as "the Boards"), which are administered by the ADA. Part I is usually taken after the second year of dental school, while Part II is usually taken sometime in the fourth year.

So that's eight years of school to get to be called doctors.

In the UK, initial dental education comprises of a bachelors degree (either a BDS or BChD) from one of the approved dental schools, followed by a chosen specialty (5 years) then postgraduate dental education (2 to 3 years). So like the US it takes around 8 years to qualify. Except they don't get to be called "Doctor". The British dental profession has lobbied for the right to use that title, but it never gets anywhere.

Well, here, the people entering dental or med school already have bachelors
degrees and then do at least four more years before specialties. I know the system is different even before one goes to university, so it's hard to compare.

It would seem that in Britain, first degrees are taken at med school, and are Masters level although they retain, for historical reasons, the titles "Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery" and are abbreviated to MBChB or MBBS. Then follows a vocational training phase.

A dentist is a person who puts power tools in my mouth. I will call him anything he wants to be called.

maxdancona-
Thank you. I think you gave the best answer.