The Many Reasons We Should Thank Our Community Dental Professionals

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The dreaded dentist visits. A lot of us view going to the dentist as the worst torture we could ever receive. Whether it be for cleaning or extraction, the dentist brings a substantial number of us to a high anxiety level or panic attack mode at just the thought of sitting in that swivel back chair. Nevertheless, most of the time it is all in our heads and when we walk out, we know we are much better off for taking care of our teeth as we would be if we didn’t.

In small rural areas, we are lucky if we do not have to drive many miles from home to visit a dental office. A general dentistry ripon ca office seems like one of those small towns that have no formal dentists. However, they have a good many in the area. If you have a dentist who lives in your small town, make sure you appreciate them as a valued entity in your community.

The number one reason we see the dentist is to keep up good oral hygiene with regular six-month cleanings. Within that process, we have dental x-rays to make sure our teeth are aligned straight and to determine if there are any unseen problems that the dentist may not be able to see by an opened mouth examination. Therefore, there are different specialties in the dental field.

A general dentist is the most common dentist and probably the most important. He is a patient’s gateway to move on to the next dentist if there is a need to do so after his examination. A general dentist’s examination will include x-rays, cleanings, fillings and teeth extractions as well. However, a general dentist will refer you to an oral surgeon if it is the wisdom teeth that need to be extracted. Wisdom teeth are a bit riskier to remove because they are closer to jawbones and other nerves that if removed incorrectly could cause significant problems to the patient. Therefore, the general dentist will refer a patient to an oral dental office.

In addition to wisdom teeth removal, an oral and maxillofacial dentist performs issues such as TMJ, facial pain and performs procedures like corrective jaw alignments. They also undertake major surgeries like craniofacial surgeries. Their job is more complex than just general dentistry and the time it takes to become this type of specialist requires a much bigger commitment in order to be able to work as this type of dental expert.

Certainly, as a general dentist is for the most basic procedures and an oral maxillofacial dentist would be for the most high-risk dental problems, there are many other specialties in between that is just as important within their spectrum of dental specialty. Although a general dentist can perform root canals, it is sometimes necessary to refer a patient to an endodontist if the pulp of the tooth has become infected. Of course, an orthodontist is an alignment specialist that uses braces, headgear, and Invisalign to bring teeth together or separate them back into place. A pediatric dentist works with only kids. A periodontist specializes in the health of your gums, and a prosthodontist replaces bad teeth for good ones by placing implants, veneers, and other types of replacement teeth in the mouth. In many ways, we think of dentists as villains but as I hope this article has made clear, they are more like heroes. Dentists serve an important purpose in all of our lives and with that in mind, we should be thankful and smile a little more often.

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