What is the difference between a dentist and a dentist? Times have changed, and if earlier the profession of a doctor dealing with 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 on what basis they are separated.
What's the difference?
What is the difference between a dentist and a dentist? Despite the fact that these two words are synonymous, there are still significant differences between these medical professions. Specialists who graduated from a secondary medical institution, having studied there for 3 years, receive the qualification of a “dentist” and have the right to treat teeth and the oral cavity according to limited medical indicators. These are simple manifestations of caries, periodontal disease, stomatitis. College graduates can provide care for patients with maxillofacial injuries and perform simple physiotherapy procedures, diagnose the disease and, when the situation is difficult, refer for treatment to a more qualified doctor.
The dentist will take on anypossible diseases of the mouth and teeth, he is en titled to this by graduating from a dental university, where he studied for 5 years, plus a two-year practice in residency or a year of internship. Therefore, he has a higher qualification and level of training.
But the development of medical dental science and the demands 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;
- dental therapists;
- general dentists;
- 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 direction, get acquainted with new achievements of science, high technologies and put them into practice.
Dental Therapist
What is the difference between a dentist and a dentist-therapist? The dentist is limited in his abilities: to cure deep caries complicated by pulpitis, or to restore a badly damaged tooth, he will not be qualified. Of course, filling a small hole in the tooth is 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, ideallyrestore the shape of a broken tooth.
Patients who care about the he alth and condition of their mouth visit this specialist at least once every six months. Then the emerging caries will not have a chance to develop. 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 visiting a professional at all.
So, we found out what is the difference between a dentist and a dentist-therapist. Consider other specializations of doctors in this field.
Dental surgeon
What is the difference between a dentist and a dental surgeon? If the tooth is completely destroyed and there is no way to restore it, it's time to contact the dentist-surgeon. He will remove the hotbed of infection in the mouth and give recommendations on what needs to be done so that the wound heals faster. He can also pull out a he althy tooth that grows incorrectly and interferes with the neighboring ones. Surgeons can not only prepare the oral cavity for implantation, they themselves are able to implant an implant, but also perform an operation in case of an injury to the jaw or its joint.
These manipulations are beyond the control of an ordinary dentist. His qualifications and knowledge do not allow him to perform such complex operations.
Pediatric dentist
What is the difference between a dentist and a pediatric dentist? The structure of the oral cavity of a child, like the whole organism, has its own characteristics, therefore, the teeth of young patients should be treated directly.pediatric dentist.
Many believe that milk teeth will fall out on their own and it is not necessary to fill them, and if they start to deteriorate, then you just need to remove them. In fact, the he alth of the child in the future depends on their condition, and if, without hesitation, destroy bad teeth, then their indigenous followers will also be susceptible to caries and grow crooked.
Treatment of children's teeth requires special tools and materials, special equipment and methods of anesthesia - all this should be known to the pediatric dentist. To this we must add that the correction of malocclusion is also included in his duties. It requires knowledge of child psychology, the ability to deal with a child during treatment, charm, restraint, goodwill. A professional dealing with children should have these qualities so that the baby can overcome fear and, without falling into hysterics, let him do his job efficiently and well. And what memories the child will have from visiting the dental office will determine how he will subsequently relate to visits there throughout his life. 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 dentist? This speci alty is in demand in areas where there are no clinics with narrow specialists. Such a dentist should know and be able to do a lot, in fact, he can do almost everything in this speci alty, because hea little and a dentist-therapist, and an orthopedist, and a hygienist, and a surgeon. He will inform the population how to take care of the oral cavity, and will provide first aid, and cure the damaged tooth, remove it, if necessary, prescribe tests and x-rays. It is able to 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
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 put 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
What is the difference between a dentist and an orthopedic dentist? Nowadays, this is one of the most necessary and demanded speci alties. Losing teeth, a person loses the ability to fully and efficiently chew food, and an orthopedist helps him restore this function through prosthetics. There are several such methods now, and prostheses can be removed at night or permanently in the mouth. There are also conditionally removable prostheses - these are crowns, bridges, pins, implants.
Removable dentures are relatively inexpensive and fit quickly, look natural and last a long time. Crowns and bridges are placed when one or more teeth are removed. Another doctor, perhapswill offer several options for modern techniques to choose from.
Dental hygienist
The priority in medicine is disease prevention, and dentistry is no exception. This is done by a professional dental hygienist. He guides the patient on inexpensive but effective ways to maintain long-term dental and oral he alth, educates the public on how to take care of themselves, and explains how to choose the right foods that are important for dental tissues and how to use drugs that restore them.
Doctors periodically conduct examinations in kindergartens, schools, enterprises, educate the population, correct small defects, treat teeth with fluoride, etch them with sealants for those who need it. Children's institutions teach how to use toothbrushes, recommend people the best dental cleansers, convey to the masses the necessary information to maintain oral he alth.
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 he alth of the oral cavity. In dictionaries, dentists are characterized as specialists involved in the treatment and prosthetics of teeth, but do not have higher education. This name is now practically not used in Russia, it is popular in Western countries. And here it corresponds to the category of dentist or technician.
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Having fully understood how a dentist differs from a dentist-therapist, surgeon, orthodontist and orthopedist, having solved the riddles and subtleties of specialization, you can safely go to the dental clinic, without fear of getting into trouble, and turn to that specialist, needed at this moment.
