A General Dentist is a healthcare professional qualified to practice dentistry after graduating with a degree of either Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS), Doctor of Medical Dentistry (DMD), Bachelor of Dentistry (BDent), Bachelor of Dental Science (BDSc), or Bachelor of Dental Surgery/Chirurgiae (BDS) or (BChD) or equivalent. To become a qualified dentist one must usually complete at least 4 years of college or University and then attend a 4 year postgraduate dental program.
General practitioners of dentistry prevent, evaluate, diagnose, and treat diseases of the oral cavity and associated structures (e.g. the temporomandibular joint), as well as maintain the functionality and esthetics of the teeth and associated tissues and structures. They can prescribe medication , x-rays, and devices for home or in-office use. Many oral diseases and abnormalities can indicate systemic, neural, or other diseases. A general practitioner may refer patients to their physician or a specialist for further evaluation, or vice versa for treatment.
A general dentist can provide the following services:
- Comprehensive Examination, Treatment Planning, and referral to specialists as needed
- Simple Root Canal Procedures
- Simple Crown (Caps) and Bridge Restorations
- Routine non surgical Gum Therapy
- Evaluation of the bite and the muscles of head and neck as well as TMJ and referral as necessary
- Direct (in office) and Indirect (lab fabricated) fillings.
- Simple Extractions
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next Jane is a 35 year old mother of 3. She has had these old black mercury fillings (silver or amalgam) in her mouth for over 5 years. They did not hurt, nor did they fall out and on the xrays, they appeared normal. As you can see on these photos, the meeting area between the filling and the tooth are broken and there is leakage of bacteria inside there tooth. These were not evident to her, as she could have never seen what is inside her own mouth in the mirror and if the dentist does not take the proper PHOTOGRAPHS and is not thorough enough, these will be missed in a general dental examination. Once the old fillings were removed, decay and cavity was observed under her old fillings, as well as cracks on her teeth that went too deep (the silver mercury fillings have an expansion ability, acting as a wedge and causing cracking of the teeth not only during chewing but also when something hot or cold is eaten, causing expansion and shrinkage of the mercury) Fortunately these teeth were saved and did not need to be removed nor did they need root canal treatment.
prev next Mary came to us looking for solutions for her missing tooth. She had lost this tooth because when the old black mercury (amalgam) filling was removed, it was discovered that there is a large crack on the tooth and needed to be removed. She also wanted to change the black mercury fillings on the other two teeth as well. She did not want to have dental implants. An average dentist would have given her a Bridge, which means, they would have had to shave about 2-21/2 mm all around her teeth in order to fit her in with a bridge. The Top dentist decided to treat her in the most conservative way. The old fillings were removed, and two pieces of porcelain were placed in where the old fillings were (like a piece of puzzle) and a tooth in the middle was connected to them. The high level of training of her dentist allowed her to have the most conservative treatment, most cost effective, and most esthetic results possible. She is not worried about smile showing a missing tooth, her teeth next to the missing tooth area do not shift any longer since there is a bridge in place and the tooth below it, will not be coming up into that missing tooth space as the space is filled with a tooth now.
prev Danny had three 10 year old fillings in his mouth that were worn down. He had no idea that there was any leakage of bacteria under these fillings, until his highly trained dentist showed him in these photographs how there were areas of leakage of bacteria under the fillings. Danny had no pain, only slight sensitivity on the very back tooth. Once the old fillings were removed, cracks, and bacteria were discovered on the teeth. All old decays and cavities were removed, the cracks were removed. Medications were placed to hold the tooth together and to help with sensitivity and new tooth colored fillings were fabricated. He was very happy that he took care of these fillings now as he could have ended up with root canals or event breakage of his teeth had he not taken care of them now. He was so happy that he changed all his other fillings afterwards.