What is the difference between a dentist and a dentist? Times have changed, and if earlier the profession of a doctor involved in the treatment of teeth and oral cavity was considered the only one, now visiting a dental clinic you can get confused in the names of narrow specialists and sometimes figure out by what principle they are divided.
What is the difference?
What is the difference between a dentist and a dentist? Despite the fact that these two words are synonyms, there are still significant differences between these medical professions. Specialists who graduated from a secondary medical institution, having studied for 3 years, receive the qualification of “dentist” and have the right to treat teeth and oral cavity for limited medical indicators. These are simple manifestations of caries, periodontal disease, stomatitis. College graduates can provide care for patients with maxillofacial injuries and carry out simple physiotherapeutic procedures, diagnose the disease and, when the situation is difficult, refer them to a more qualified doctor for treatment.
The dentist will take up any possible diseases of the mouth and teeth, for which he is entitled to graduate from a dental university in which he studied for 5 years, plus two years of internship or internship. Therefore, he has a higher qualification and level of training.
But the development of medical dental science and the requirements of the time have shown that just being a dentist is not enough, so narrow specializations of this area of medicine have appeared:
- dental surgeons;
- general practitioners
- general practitioners
- orthodontists;
- children's dentists;
- orthopedic dentists.
These highly qualified professionals each specialize in their field, which allows them to penetrate deeper into the intricacies of the field, get acquainted with new scientific achievements, high technologies and put them into practice.
Dentist Therapist
What is the difference between a dentist and a dentist? A dentist is limited in his ability: to cure deep caries complicated by pulpitis, or to restore a badly damaged tooth, qualifications will not allow him. Of course, to fill a small hole in the tooth in his power, but the dentist-therapist deals with more complex cases.
At the appointment, the doctor, examining the patient’s oral cavity, will make the correct diagnosis, cure caries, pulpitis, periodontitis of any complexity, prepare the mouth for prosthetics, remove the inflamed nerve, and ideally restore the shape of a broken tooth.
Patients who care about the health and condition of their mouth visit this specialist at least once every six months. Then the incipient caries will have no chance of development. And if there is bleeding in the gums, their redness, incomprehensible pain for no apparent reason, the reaction of the teeth to the temperature when eating, in this situation, you should not postpone the visit to a professional for later.
So, we found out what the difference between a dentist and a dentist is. Consider other specializations of doctors in this area.
Dental surgeon
What is the difference between a dentist and a dental surgeon? If the tooth has completely collapsed and there is no way to restore it, it's time to consult a dentist surgeon. He will remove the hotbed of infection in his mouth and give recommendations on what needs to be done so that the wound heals faster. He can also pull out a healthy tooth, growing incorrectly and interfering with neighboring ones. Surgeons can not only prepare the oral cavity for implantation, they themselves are able to implant the implant, but also perform an operation in case of trauma to the jaw or its joint.
To the ordinary dentist these manipulations are not subject. His qualifications and knowledge do not give him the opportunity to perform such complex operations.
Children's dentist
What is the difference between a dentist and a pediatric dentist? The structure of the oral cavity of the child, as well as the entire body, has its own characteristics, therefore, the teeth of young patients should be treated directly by a pediatric dentist.
Many believe that milk teeth will fall out themselves and it is not necessary to fill them, and if they began to deteriorate, then you just need to remove them. In fact, the health of the child in the future depends on their condition, and if, without hesitation, to destroy bad teeth, their root followers will also be prone to caries and grow crooked.
The treatment of children's teeth requires special tools and materials, special equipment and methods of pain relief - all this should be known to the children's dentist. To this we must add that correcting the wrong bite is also part of his duties. He requires knowledge of child psychology, the ability to handle a child during treatment, charm, restraint, goodwill. These qualities should be possessed by a professional dealing with children so that the baby can overcome fear and, without falling into hysteria, give him a good and good job. And the fact that he will subsequently relate to visits there throughout his life will depend on what memories the child will have from visiting the dental office. This is the difference between a dentist and a dentist in a children's clinic.
General Dentist
What is the difference between a dentist and a general practitioner? This specialty is in demand in areas where there are no clinics with narrow specialists. Such a dentist should know and be able to quite a lot, in fact, he knows almost everything in this specialty, because he is a little dentist and therapist, and orthopedist, and hygienist, and surgeon. He will inform the population how to take care of the oral cavity, and he will provide first aid and heal the damaged tooth, remove, if necessary, appoint tests and x-rays. It can help almost any patient suffering from toothache and various types of inflammation of the oral cavity. He will not undertake only the most difficult cases and operations.
Orthodontist Dentist
This direction in dentistry deals with the correction of the pathological structure of the jaw. Such a specialist can correct the incorrect growth of teeth, their curvature, reduce the distance between them. The orthodontist will also deliver the now popular braces. This method does not injure the tissues of the oral cavity, but the alignment is delayed for a longer period.
Orthopedic dentist
And what is the difference between a dentist and an orthopedic dentist? Nowadays, it is one of the most needed and sought-after specialties. Losing teeth, a person loses the ability to fully and qualitatively chew food, and an orthopedist helps restore this function to him through prosthetics. There are several such methods now, and prostheses can be removed at night or can always be in the mouth. There are also conditionally removable prostheses - these are crowns, bridges, pins, implants.
Removable prostheses are relatively inexpensive and can be installed quickly, look natural and last a long time. Crowns, bridges are placed when one or more teeth are removed. Another doctor may offer several options for modern techniques to choose from.
Dental Hygienist
The priority in medicine is disease prevention, and dentistry is no exception. A professional dentist-hygienist deals with this. He will indicate to the patient how inexpensive, but effective ways to preserve the health of teeth and oral cavity for a long time, informs the population about how to care for themselves, and explains how to choose the right products that are important for dental tissues and how to use drugs that restore them.
Doctors periodically conduct examinations in kindergartens, schools, and enterprises, train the population, correct minor flaws, treat teeth with fluorides, and etch them with sealants to those who need it. In children’s institutions they learn how to use toothbrushes, recommend the best dental cleansers to people, convey the necessary information to the masses to maintain oral health.
Dentist and dentist - are there any differences?
The names of these professions, although they sound different, but their representatives are engaged in one thing - maintaining the health of the oral cavity. In the dictionaries, dentists are characterized as specialists involved in the treatment and prosthetics of teeth, but without higher education. This name is practically not used in Russia now, it is popular in Western countries. And with us it corresponds to the category of a dentist or technician.
Having fully understood the difference between a dentist and a dentist, surgeon, orthodontist and orthopedist, having solved the riddles and subtleties of specialization, you can safely go to a dental clinic without fear of getting into trouble, and turn to the specialist who is needed at this moment .