Different types of dentists
Dentists are professionals how manage and take care of oral health issues including mouth problems and teeth problems.
As any other profession, there are different types of dentists that perform different tasks. Here are a guideline that you will find useful to differentiate between different dentists.
A general dentist is a health professional who is primarily responsible of oral health care. This responsibility includes teeth issues like cracks, decay. General dentist also help other team members diagnose and manage the gum issues like gum bleeding or gum inflammation. Together with other types dentists, general dentist is responsible for overall oral health. If a person needs an advanced type of treatment then general dentist can refer the person to a specialist.
Dental specialists in Canada are oral surgeons, orthodontists, periodontists, pediatric dentist, oral pathologist, oral radiologist and endodontist. Other team members are hygienists and dental assistants.
Orthodontist is a dentist who specializes in providing braces and appliances to align teeth. They are experts in straightening the teeth and treating misaligned teeth. They also provide invisible braces, invisible trays and removable appliances to correct the bite. Orthodontists complete additional training in orthodontics to become specialists.
Pediatric dentist is a dentist who specializes in treating young people including infants, toddlers and kids. They complete additional training to help them manage children in the dental settings. They are experts dealing with
Endodontist is a dentist who specializes in providing treatment for infected or cracked teeth. They complete additional education focused on the dental nerve (nerve inside teeth) and they are experts in performing root canals and all related services.
Oral pathologist is a dentist who specializes in providing services including diagnosis and treatment of soft and hard tissues surrounding the teeth. They analyze and study biopsy from the mouth and surrounding structures.
Oral radiologist specializes in taking radiographs and analyzing different types of radiographic images. They study radiographs to help dentists and patients understand structures, disorders and conditions affecting the oral structures. They complete additional training to become specialist in oral radiology.
Oral Surgeons are specialists who perform surgeries inside the mouth. This includes removing teeth, widsom teeth surgeries, implant or removing disordar and performing biopsies. Oral surgeons go through intensive training to gain expertise in performing surgeries in the mouth. One common time to see an oral surgeon is to remove the wisdom teeth.
Periodontist is dentist speciliazes in treating conditions affecting the gums. This includes surgeries to the soft tissues surrounding the teeth and gum pocket cleaning. They also provide other servies like lengthening teeth, grafting and implants. They go through extensive training to become experts in Periodontics.
Prosthodontists are dentists who take additional training to treat teeth and provide services like caps, veneers and repair natural teeth. They also expert in full mouth smile makeovers. They restore dental implants.
Dental hygienist is a dental team member responsible for providing dental care during recall visits including examining teeth, cleaning and polishing, diet advise and oral hygiene instructions. If you have questions regarding how to brush your teeth or what tooth brush is the best, dental hygienist would be the best dental professional to ask.
