Dental Specialties
& their area of expertise
General Dentist
The Family Specialist
A general dentist is your primary care provider, and caters to all your oral health care needs, including gum care, fillings, root canal, dental crown & bridge, dentures; cosmetic dental procedures, tooth extractions & minor surgeries. However, they may refer a patient to a certified specialist based on patient’s individual oral healthcare needs.
Endodontist
The Tooth Root Specialist
An endodontist is the dental specialist concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of the diseases & injuries of the human dental pulp (inside the tooth) and the tissue surrounding the tooth root. You might see or be referred to an endodontist for an injured or diseased tooth that requires root canal treatment of an increased level of complexity or a surgical root procedure.
Periodontist
The Gum Specialist
This specialty diagnoses, treats and prevents diseases of the soft tissues of the mouth (gums) & the supporting structures (bones) of the teeth. You might see or be referred to them for treatment procedures like simple & deep pocket cleaning, root planning, crown lengthening, soft tissue and/or bone grafting, gingival flap procedures, soft & hard tissue recontouring and implant placement.
Prosthodontist
The Replacement Specialist
This dental specialty restore and replace lost or damaged teeth; using dental implants, veneers, crown, bridge and dentures, by understanding the dynamics of a smile to address the oral function, comfort, aesthetics and oral health of patients. You might see or be referred to them for reconstructive dental treatment, post oral cancer reconstruction, jaw joint problems, traumatic mouth injuries, snoring and sleep disorders.
Orthodontist
The Alignment Specialist
This dental specialty diagnoses, prevents and corrects dental and facial irregularities. Correcting the bite and alignment of teeth & jaws will improve your smile, better the function & longevity of your teeth. You might see or be referred to them for straightening mal aligned teeth by moving them through bone by use of bands, wires, braces and other fixed or removable appliances or retainers to correct malocclusion in children as well as adults.
Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon
The Jaw Specialist
This specialty diagnoses & treats diseases, injuries and defects of both hard and soft tissue in the oral (mouth) and maxillofacial (jaw and face) region. You might see or be referred to them for corrective jaw surgeries to wisdom tooth removal, unusual swelling, tumors or when you have fractured your jaw or several teeth due to trauma/accident.
Pedodontist
The Child Specialist
They specialize in the dental care of children from infancy through their teens. Most general dentist also treat children, but they are referred to a pediatric dentist for their kid-friendly practices and age-specific knowledge. They are specifically trained to address specific needs, like fluoride treatments & dental sealants, tooth filling & root canal in primary teeth, space management after the premature loss of primary tooth, special counselling on nutrition, advice on teeth grinding, and discouragement of habits such as thumb & finger sucking.
Oral Medicine & Radiology
The Diagnosis Specialist
They diagnose and treat diseases of the mouth and jaw, including oral mucosal disorders, neuromuscular conditions, such as TMJ pain and orofacial pain disorders. You might see or be referred to them for a complex medical condition and require sophisticated evaluation & special dental care.
Dental Public Health
The Awareness Specialist
They diagnose, prevent and control dental diseases and promote oral health in the community through organised efforts and programs. They offer services such as developing dental care programs for schools, providing information on fluoridation in the community, answering common questions about oral health, and providing other oral health resources and support material to their community.
Oral Pathologist
The Tissue Specialist
The oral health care provider that studies the diseases that alter or affect the oral mucosa ( lips, cheeks, tongue, jaws) as well as parts of the face and neck. They perform laboratory procedures on oral and maxillofacial biopsy tissues to establish a diagnosis.
Dental Treatments
Dental scaling is routinely performed to help patients with gum disease and excessive plaque build up. Specialized cleaning instruments are used to break down the plaque or tartar deposits without causing damage to the gums. Once all the tartar deposits are removed, polishing the teeth with prophylactic pastes helps to remove superficial stains and render the surface smooth which also prevents debris from further attaching to the teeth.
A tooth is only ever filled because it has developed a hole/ cavity, as a result of plaque, bacteria, food particles and subsequent decay. The dentist first removes the dead and decayed areas of the tooth using a drill and then prepares the tooth for filling by cleaning out the cavity. Then the clean cavity is usually filled with a tooth-coloured filling material like glass ionomer or composite resin.
It is a procedure to save the tooth that has become badly decayed, unhealthy and painful. During the procedure, usually performed under local anaesthesia; the infected tissue, located in a narrow passage, called root canal, is cleaned out and then sealed with a root canal filling material so that there is no further damage done to your tooth. The root canal treatment is usually followed by a dental crown or a filling depending on the size of decay. If you don't have the procedure performed, there are chances of further decay, infection, an abscess and subsequent tooth loss.
A dental crown is a 'cap' that covers the prepared tooth and restores the tooth to a natural appearance. Whereas a dental bridge, is placed with the support of surrounding teeth to help fill the gap of a missing tooth/ teeth. A crown or bridge can be made of different materials like metal, porcelain-fused-to metal, or all-ceramic. The right material for you largely depends on the tooth to be restored,where the tooth is located in your mouth and your aesthetic preferences. Both crown and bridge are fixed prosthesis and cannot be removed.
Excessive tooth decay, tooth infection, crowding, impacted wisdom tooth can all require a tooth extraction. Tooth removal is performed by a dentist or an oral surgeon, mostly under local, intravenous anaesthesia, or a combination. Removing teeth that are visible in the mouth is a "simple extraction". Teeth that are broken, badly decayed, below the surface or impacted, require a more involved procedure i.e. "surgical extraction". Wisdom teeth likely become impacted because of a mismatch between the size of the teeth and the jaw.
A denture is a removable replacement for missing teeth & surrounding tissues. If you've lost your natural teeth, whether from gum disease, tooth decay or injury, replacing missing teeth is essential to retain its function, health and appearance. Partial dentures are given when some natural teeth are present, while Complete dentures are given when all teeth are missing.
Dental implant is a small post/screw, usually made of titanium, used to replace natural tooth roots in areas of the mouth where teeth are missing. Dental crowns and/or bridge are then connected by an abutment placed on or built into, the top of dental implant to replace the missing dentition.
Oral health care professionals can quickly determine whether you require gum surgery, by examining your gums to identify any signs of inflammation (caused by excessive bacteria build up, resulting in plaque and calculus, that your body is unable to fend off). Some of the types of gum surgery to treat the problem could be; pocket reduction (also known as gingival flap surgery), tissue regeneration, crown lengthening and soft tissue graft.
Veneers are thin custom-made, tooth-coloured shells that are bonded onto the front surface of the teeth to create a beautiful, natural looking smile. They can help restore or camouflage damaged, discolored, poorly shaped, or misaligned teeth. Unlike crowns, veneers require minimal tooth structure to be removed from the surface of the tooth.
Braces/ brackets are the most common method for achieving optimally aligned teeth. Brackets are bonded to the teeth, and a metal wire that is inserted into the brackets are tightened, working together with the brackets to move teeth into desired positions. At times, other components are used in conjunction with the braces to move teeth, jaw and bone, such as headgear and expansion devices. When teeth are aligned correctly, it allows your teeth to function properly, enhances your smile, and when teeth are correctly aligned it is easier to keep them clean, thereby improving your overall health.
Sealants create a barrier between the tooth and the decay-causing bacteria. Children should get sealants on their permanent molars as soon as the teeth erupt and before decay can attack their teeth. "Dental sealants" make it difficult for the plaque to stick to the tiny grooves on the biting surface of teeth, thereby preventing decay. "Space maintainers" are appliances fitted to the teeth to prevent the space loss created by primary teeth lost at an early age. They are temporary and are removed once the permanent teeth erupt in their place.