Dentistry

An area of medicine that seeks to prevent, diagnose, and treat oral diseases and conditions associated with the mouth and teeth is dentistry. General dentists diagnose, treat, or restore missing or damaged and diseased teeth and provide preventative oral care. In some cases dentists treat only adults, but others practice family dentistry and treat all ages.

There are nine areas of dentistry that deal specifically with dental conditions and treatments:

Cosmetic Dentistry

Cosmetic dentistry concentrates on improvement of the appearance of a person's teeth. Traditional dentistry centers on treating and preventing periodontal diseases. A cosmetic dentist can give people whiter, straighter, and healthier looking smiles. Through the use of dental veneers, dental implants, teeth whitening, and other procedures, people can improve the appearance of their teeth.

Common cosmetic dentistry procedures include:

• Teeth whitening is a common cosmetic dentistry procedure. Teeth whitening bleaches stains and discolorations on teeth. Though teeth whitening is not permanent, it can dramatically improve the appearance of stained and discolored teeth.



• Dental implants have artificial roots that a dentist implants into the jaw to hold a bridge or tooth. Dental implants are an ideal option for people with good oral health, but have lost teeth to injury or to disease. Dental implants can provide natural looking teeth.



• Dental veneers are thin porcelain or composite material shells designed to cover the front tooth surface to improve the color and shape of teeth. The veneer shells are bonded to the front of the tooth, changing the shape, size, and color. Veneers are ideal for patients who have gaps in their teeth or where whitening is not successful.

Other Dentistry Procedures

With new technological advances and methods in dentistry, such as sedation dentistry, procedures are performed more quickly and comfortably than ever before.

A person's smile and self confidence are affected by missing teeth from injury or poor oral hygiene. Dental implants, however, offer a solution to improve their smiles. Dental implants are metal cylinders, which look like screws, that act as roots for replacement teeth. Once the cylinder is implanted, an abutment is attached and an artificial tooth, or a dental crown is fixed to the abutment. The crown looks like a real tooth and completes the smile. Dental implants are an alternative to dentures and dental bridges.

Dental fillings remove decay in teeth and fill in the area where the decay was removed with composite or porcelain materials. Bonding repairs cracked and chipped teeth. A composite material is applied to the tooth surface and then molded and shaped to fit the tooth. It is then polished to disguise the crack or chip in the tooth. Root canals are performed to remove diseased or damaged tissue within a tooth.

Dental bridges are used to replace missing teeth with an artificial tooth that is held in place by material that wraps around other supporting teeth. Dental crowns are used to repair decayed teeth. Dentures are used to replace missing or damaged teeth that can not be repaired or restored with other common dentistry procedures.

Laser Dentistry

Laser dentistry employs dental lasers to perform a variety of dental procedures, instead of using traditional dentistry tools such as brush heads, suctions, or rinse heads.

Dental lasers use a precise beam of light and make no actual physical contact with the mouth. Dental lasers are thought to produce less pain and faster recovery than traditional dentistry procedures. Laser dentistry can be used for traditional dentistry procedures such as dental crowns and dental fillings, and cosmetic dentistry procedures such as teeth whitening.

For more comprehensive information about cosmetic dentistry, laser dentistry, cosmetic dentists, or other dental procedures, visit Consumer Guide to Dentistry.