What does this passage most strongly suggest about the field of dentistry in McTeague’s time?

"McTeague" suggests that the field of dentistry is something that needs to be done very carefully as it requires very delicate care and precision.

We can arrive at this answer because:

As we watch McTeague talk about his training and the job of a dentist, we can see how this is an area that demands a lot of attention, as it is full of minimal details that need to be handled with care.

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Answer and Explanation:

McTeague novel is not only a story about McTeague, but also San Francisco and the American West, and their greed, masculinity, and medical authority. From the novel, readers learn that McTeague acquired his dental training as a young man not from any professional organization or school, but as a trainee to a traveling dentist who was characterized as an imposter. Despite not having a professional education as it happens today, McTeague shows some impression of belonging to the profession, which is being shown in his office where he keeps copies of The American System of Dentistry and Allen’s Practical Dentist. The Dental office quickly becomes one of his big achievements, with clients such as butcher boys, shop girls, drug clerks, and car conductors. The clients almost belong to the working and lower-middle classes. Americans, at the time, are distressed with dental care, usually only when pain is present. Dentists’ ability to mitigate pain from infected or decaying teeth gave them a large amount of medical authority. The mouths valued as the beginning of the digestive system symbolizes that the dentist’s job was just as critical as that of the physicians.