Saying eye doctor in a conversation feels normal. Saying tooth doctor feels like listening to someone who had a bad disco elysium roll and they're punching themselves in the face to get the words out.

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[–] 32 points 2 years ago (1 child)

Probably because of the more common word "dentist".

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  • [–] 16 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    That's because it's shorter, eye doctor is slightly shorter and easier to say and spell than opthamologist

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  • [–] 6 points 2 years ago (2 children)
  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    I think the 'easier to say' part is the key thing here. "Pee-dee-atrition" is a lot easier for most English speakers that "op-tha-mologist". I think the "th" throws people off enough to just say "eye doc"

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago*

    It's even harder to spell than it is to say "ophthalmologist" What are the extra h and l doing there? I don't know. Most people forget them. Another English word not really pronounced like it's spelled. Trips me up every time I try to type it out. Optometrist, the non-MD eye doctor, much easier to say and spell.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)

    In the UK we see the optician. E z.

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  • [–] 6 points 2 years ago

    In the US at least, an optician is specifically a vendor of eyeglasses. The person who measures your vision and gives you the prescription is usually an optometrist. Neither of the above are physicians; whereas an ophthalmologist is a physician who treats eye diseases.

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  • [–] 14 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    Funny, because in German it's exactly that: Tooth doctor (Zahnarzt).

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  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    The one that always bothered me is Hals-Nasen-Ohren-Arzt. Why is it Nasen? We only have one. It should either be Hälse-Nasen-Ohren Arzt or Hals-Nase-Ohren-Arzt.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago

    I assume it's for the same reason you say Nasendusche, Nasenrücken or Nasenbluten but Halsschmerzen or Halstuch (though I'm not sure what's the exact grammatical reason). It has nothing to do with the number of noses. I think it would be Augenarzt and not Augearzt even if we had only one eye.

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  • [–] 8 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Optician? I've never heard "eye doctor" here in the UK

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  • [–] 6 points 2 years ago

    Technically a general eye doctor would be an opthalmologist. An optician is someone who makes lenses. The person you see for an eye test at the opticians is an optometrist (someone who measures what strength lenses you need).

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago

    Don't be an anti-dentite

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Similarly, saying butt doctor doesn't have the same ring to it as proctologist, but either way they're checking for rings around Uranus.

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  • [+] 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)
    [–] 1 point 2 years ago

    uh well where I live: https://emergencytoothdoctor.com/

    they do in fact take care of emergencies too. They pulled a tooth for me on walk in.

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  • [–] 0 points 2 years ago* (2 children)

    Dentists and podiatrists don't go to med school in the US.

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