I have to confess I've never really considered why dentistry is the one area of physical health care[1] that is so separate from the others. Dentists go to dentistry school, not medical school. They have their own professional associations, their own processes, their own clinics, their own little branch of the medical world, and neither side seems much interested in bridging that gap.
Which is a problem because, aside from creating some nifty tribalism, it creates a rift in insurance coverage (with dental coverage often being harder to get). And, as the article notes, the body doesn't respect the arbitrary dotted line between physician territory and dentist territory, and infections and other health problems can easily move back and forth between those realms, leading to further adverse effects or even death.
The article also notes the increasing trend in dentistry away from "normal" tooth and gum care into cosmetic work, which would be akin to surgeons emphasizing plastic surgery and tummy tucks over other parts of their trade. We have a great dentist who does not at all cavil at our only going to her for "normal" checkups and fillings and the like — but whose business model is clearly focused on upselling people to whiteners and appliances and other things to create a facade of perfect pearly whites to the world.
No particular answers here, just observations on an odd historic division between two things that oughtn't be divided, to the point where I suspect the majority of people never even think about it.
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[1] To the extent that mental health issues are not also tied to physical / medical root causes. There are some analogous problems there, but not quite as clear-cut as "fixing problems with bones and flesh and infections and so forth here is only for dentists; doing it anywhere else is for doctors." I am also not including more fringe physical health care areas like, say, chiropractic.
Why Dentistry Is Separate From Medicine
The divide sometimes has devastating consequences.
