Through careful examination of the World Wide Web, I find that the most superlative pages feature links to other websites of high caliber. I applied this principle to my own blog in an effort to add depth. As done in a previous post, I judged each website by the standard Webby Awards criteria and each blog by the IMSA philosophy on aptitude. These pages are now present in my linkroll to the right. One of the first pages I found was that of the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics which contains vital information about the profession of dentistry ranging from the number of dentists in the US, to the average salary, to probable future statistics. What the government site lacks in aesthetics, it makes up for in hard to find, distinct information. Another government resource is the United States National Library of Medicine page about cosmetic dentistry. Though it features a simple design, it is easy to navigate, and has a plethora of topics and links allowing for a more comprehensive explanation of the subject. While avoiding generic names for websites is usually a good idea, one of similar caliber to the previous was Dentistry.com. It is deficient in design and utilizes the hyperlink too much, but features a consistently updated forum filled with many interesting discussions 
and facts. A blog that is kept very current and is insightful to those interested in dentistry is The Endo Blog. Written by professionals, without the public in mind, it can be difficult to understand without some prior dental knowledge, but those with enough will view it as interesting and informative as well as educational. Typical discussions are about rare dental cases, and new developments in the field.
For those interested in recent news and articles, the Evidence-Based Dentistry Journal(The most recent cover is the displayed image) on Nature.com is another excellent site. It does not engage the observer, but does feature free articles from the journal and allows online viewing. The same can be said about the University of Southern California Dental School’s video archive. While only offering videos of different dental procedures and containing no external links or attractive decor, it is the only site I found that has this element of dentistry available to the public. The Dental Phobia Treatment Center homepage is also very public oriented. It addresses the issue of dental phobia honestly and methodically, which makes up for the under-utilization of online technologies. A blog with a similar issue is entitled Going Dental. While the articles are informative to read, the absence of additional features and consistent posting makes visiting the website frequently, unnecessary. On the other hand, a blog frequently updated is available on About.com and is know as Dental Care. The page has many advanced options, and the posts are well done, but the author is not a dental professional, even though she is very educated on the subject. The final item added was a link to Animated-Teeth.com. Though the color scheme and advertisements make it hard to navigate, with ample bonus material, and simple explanations of complex dental procedures (which I believe is key to understanding and appreciating dentistry), the site is top-notch. With the addition of all these new resources to my linkroll, I hope that my blog is now more of an asset to those curious about the world of dentistry.
1 comment:
TC
I really enjoy what you have done in this post. I think it is interesting to know that there are twenty reliable and interesting sources on dentistry. I thought you were very informative throughout the post, especially in the second paragraph. I think that you really have done your homework as far as the new additions to your link roll go. I really like that in your second paragraph you mentioned how often each page is updated, I think this is so important to inform your reader about. I do have a hard time with reading your post then identifying which link on your sidebar you are taking about. I feel some clarification could be done there to avoid confusion. I think fellow blogger on the endo blog which you mention is a rich resource for your blog. I think that discourse with the author could be valuable in future posts.This line in your post was extremely important and i forgot to include something like this in my post, "As done in a previous post, I judged each website by the standard Webby Awards criteria and each blog by the IMSA philosophy on aptitude." I think this post does as your say facilitate as an asset to those attempting to delve into the world of dentistry.
MDH
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