Hollywood smile everyone wants to have. But at the same time the thought of a drill emerges in my head and the desire for beauty disappears somewhere. Meanwhile, modern dentistry applies a lot of innovations that are designed to reduce pain and loss when visiting a doctor, increasing the client's motivation to achieve the goal.
As a rule, a dentist is referred for the treatment of diseases and defects, removal of teeth and adjustment of the dentition. However, it is necessary to understand that the specialty "dentist" has general characteristics and requires clarification and distinction. Let's try to figure it out.
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Dentist therapist
Over time, three areas have emerged in dentistry - therapeutic, surgical, orthopedic. Later, the first was divided into the following types:
- Diagnosis of oral diseases.
- Prevention.
- Treatment of diseases of the mucous membrane.
- Periodontics
- Children's dentistry.
However, the listed specializations are only a theory; in practice, a single dentist therapist who has the knowledge and practical skills to assist patients with periodontal diseases, mucous membranes, tongue, lips and others is enough. To be precise, there is no difference between a dentist and a dentist therapist. Dentist therapist treats diseases of the oral cavity, like other specialists.
The main purpose of the specialty dentist is the prevention and treatment of dental caries with its complications. This dentist has a wider range of knowledge within the profession, unlike the dental surgeon and the orthodontist dentist. Specialization dentist therapist involves the prevention and treatment of diseases related to the oral cavity. Some dentists have narrower specializations that expand their field of activity, for example, endontia is responsible for the internal state of the tooth, its root canals. Dentist therapist, in addition to caries, treats other pathological conditions of tooth enamel:
- Wedge-shaped defect.
- Increased erasability of enamel.
- Fluorosis
- Hypoplasia.
- Violation of the shape and color of teeth.
Cosmetic Services
Today, some dental technologies that are aimed at improving the aesthetic condition of the teeth and oral cavity belong to a separate area - cosmetic dentistry. To the list of their services includes, for example, such procedures:
- Whitening
- Tooth restoration with composite materials with light-cured properties.
- Fixation on the enamel of various decorations.
This is not the whole list of services that can be obtained today. The list of cosmetic directions of dentistry also includes the fight against halitosis - an unpleasant odor from the mouth. Based on this, we can conclude that dentists and general practitioners are the coveted employees of many large cosmetology clinics, who are valued no less than cosmetologists and plastic surgeons.
Who instead of the periodontist?
Moreover, a dentist therapist able to do the job of a periodontist, engaged in the treatment of periodontal disease and gums, if in the staff of a medical institution it does not appear. Dentist therapist will remove dental deposits, hold anti-inflammatory measures, will provide other types of assistance.This doctor will also cure cheilitis - diseases of the lips, glossitis - of the tongue, help get rid of the pathology of the salivary glands.
Approximately 1% of all his activities, the dentist deals with the treatment of pathologies of the oral mucosa. Of particular importance is the diagnosis of precancer and malignant tumors.
Who is a dentist surgeon?
If the tooth is not treatable, then it remains only to remove. This operation is performed by a dentist surgeon. This doctor may also remove healthy teeth if they have grown abnormally and cause any problems in the mouth. However, the activity of the surgeon’s dentist does not end there. For example, maxillofacial surgeon produces dental prosthetics and implantationstarting with the preparation of the oral cavity and ending with the installation of implants. The dentist surgeon also treats diseases that are not related to the state of the teeth. For example, it treats diseases of the trigeminal nerve, the temporomandibular joint, the salivary glands, and others.
What is an orthodontist?
The patient comes to the dentist orthodontist when it is necessary to eliminate aesthetic defects. It will help to correct the anomalies that have arisen due to the incorrect position of the teeth, and will also take measures to achieve the result of correcting the row with the wrong bite. This doctor will make your smile more attractive, trying to bring the state of the dentition to the most even position.
With the wrong arrangement of teeth, as well as to correct the bite, various options for bracket systems are used. Usually, children who undergo such manipulations are brought to an orthodontist, since it is almost impossible to correct the position of the teeth after 15 years. Therefore, the sooner you go to an orthodontist, the faster and more effective the result.
What does the dentist treat?
The main specifics of the activities of each doctor we considered, now move on to diseasesthat require dental intervention:
- Caries. With this disease, the process of enamel mineralization is disturbed, which inevitably leads to pulpitis - inflammatory processes localized in the area of the neurovascular bundles that feed each tooth individually.
- Periodontitis or periodontitis. When it occurs, inflammation of the connective tissue connecting the tooth hole to the tooth.
- Gingivitis. Inflammation of the mucous membrane of the gums, which is accompanied by an unpleasant odor from the mouth. If the disease is not treated, it will develop into periodontitis, after which a gum abscess will occur and the patient will lose a tooth or teeth.
- Benign gum lesions. For example, granulomas.
- Injuries resulting in damage to the jaws.
- Stomatitis. This disease is acute infectious in nature. It affects the mucous membrane of the mouth. This disease is not particularly dangerous, however, the processes that occur in the oral cavity, can cause significant discomfort. Started stomatitis in young children can cause weight loss.
- Periostitis, abscesses of the tongue and mouth.
- Mumps non-epidemic. Occurs on the background of dental diseases, expressed in inflammation of the parotid gland.
How are teeth treated?
If the patient came to the dentist's office for a routine examination and the doctor identified the problem at an early stage, then the treatment is painless. But in the case of the treatment of pain without a drill is definitely not enough. It will help remove the affected tissue, reach the dental canal, if it detects, for example, pulpitis. The patient is offered to use painkillers, if the procedure is painful enough. This occurs when the inflammation touches the dental nerve.
If the patient is very afraid of the drill, you can take advantage of the achievement of modern medicine - laser apparatus.This treatment involves the purification of healthy tissue from damaged or removal of plaque. This procedure is rather “long-playing”, but if you get a good doctor, it will be almost for you painless and completely safe.
The drill, as well as the laser, is used for the treatment of teeth with the subsequent filling and medical treatment. The latter is reduced, as a rule, to rinsing the mouth and taking pills, sometimes prescribed physiotherapy.
Therapeutic dentistry - modern high-tech direction medicine. Doctors use a variety of advanced equipment, in particular, laser, ultrasound, X-ray, which makes it possible to carry out high-quality diagnostics to solve the problems of the oral cavity.