THE IMAGE OF DENTISTRY IN CONTEMPORARY CULTURE

The multimedia portrayals of dentists and dentistry have expanded in s cope. Prevention and esthetics have replaced drilling and extraction i n the public perception of dental practice. According to the author, d entists themselves are no longer treated exclusively as buffoons or sa dists. Instead, he writes, they are more apt to be seen as solid citiz ens, occasionally as romantic figures and even as complex, realistic h uman beings.