Oral health is extremely important – even though people sometimes ignore it. Having healthy teeth and gums is not only cosmetically important, but they are a sign of your overall health condition as well. It is a dentist who takes care of different dental health-related problems. If you have any kind of pain, disease, deformity, infection, injury or other problems with your teeth or gums, your dentist will recommend some kind of dental treatment procedure. If you are planning to visit a dentist and want to get the right procedure done with your teeth, you can learn more details about them here.
What are the common dental procedures?
Any procedure that includes a dentist working on your mouth is categorised as a dental treatment procedure. Some of the common ones are listed here:
- A tooth filling
- Tooth extraction
- Placing a crown on a tooth
- Gum or periodontal disease treatment or surgery
- Teeth straightening
- Alignment of bite, teeth, and jaws
- Fitting a custom made dental implant, denture or dental bridge after teeth loss
- Dental surgery after suffering from cancer or an injury
What are the Different Types of Dentists?
When you normally go to a dentist, it is the general dentist who diagnoses and treats various diseases or issues of the teeth, mouth, and gums. Some dentists become specialists in a particular area, for which they have studied more. For example, orthodontists take care of crooked teeth, poorly aligned jaws, and bite problems, and endodontists are specialists for the interior of a tooth. The type of dentist you approach would depend on the type of procedure you want to get done on your teeth or gums, and the dental problem you are experiencing.
What should you discuss with a dentist before a dental treatment procedure?
Any general dentist or dental specialist that you visit should explain what kind of dental procedure he or she wants to perform on you in detail. You must be in agreement about this treatment, and the law demands that the dentist informs you about all the costs involved too.
There are some basic questions you can ask your dentist before agreeing to any procedure. They are as follows:
- What does the procedure involve and how long should it take?
- How much will it cost?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages?
- Are there any alternatives? And if so, what are they?
- Will I get a choice of what dental fillings are to be used?
- What will happen immediately after the procedure?
- What kind of anaesthetic will be administered? You must tell the dentist about any allergies you may have.
- Any after-care steps you need to take.
- How should I prevent gum disease and tooth decay in the future?
Some Common Dental Treatment Procedures
Here are some details about a few commonly done dental procedures:
Bridges
A missing tooth is replaced by something known as a dental bridge. An impression of the surrounding teeth is made, and then the bridge is created using this.
Crowns
A crown is a kind of cap that totally covers a real tooth. It can be made from either porcelain and metal, or just metal and the dentist fixes it in your mouth.
Tooth Fillings
Fillings repair tooth decay by filling the holes in the teeth. Mostly amalgam is used for filling. It is made from a mixture of metals including tin, copper, mercury, silver, and zinc.
Root Canal Treatment
Root canal treatment, also known as endodontics, treats the infection at tooth’s centre, that is at the root canal system.
Scaling and Polishing
When a professional dental hygienist cleans your teeth, that is known as scaling and polishing. Deposits on the tartar are removed using this dental treatment procedure.
Dental Braces
Braces, which is part of orthodontic treatment, are used to straighten or move teeth to improve the teeth’s appearance and their functioning.
Wisdom tooth removal
Wisdom teeth sometimes grows at an angle or gets stuck in between teeth. Then they need to be removed by a dentist.
There are many other dental treatment procedures like veneers, teeth straightening and others. If you have teeth problems, do not hesitate to contact your dentist and ask him or her the above mentioned questions.
