Most dental procedures can be performed either at a dental clinic or in a dental hospital. A dental hospital may be part of a general hospital, or sometimes (especially in larger cities) it is completely separate. The dental professionals you might find working in a dental hospital include fully qualified dentists and specialists, specialists in training, and students. Patients attending a dental hospital do not choose their dental practitioner.
The dental procedures typically performed at a dental hospital include the following.
Most dental hospitals offer emergency treatment for patients in pain or when there is a tooth infection that requires treatment. The emergency department of a dental hospital is run similarly to that of a medical hospital, where patients are triaged according to the severity of their case and asked to wait their turn to be seen.
General dentists also work as dental hospitals and provide treatment such as fillings, cleans and extractions.
The treatments that may performed by oral surgeons at a dental hospital are numerous. Oral surgeons often extract teeth, especially those in complex situations such as impacted wisdom teeth. They also take biopsies, remove oral malignancies and perform orthognathic surgery, among other procedures.
An orthodontist is a dentist who specialises in correcting the alignment of teeth. The most common way to align teeth is with braces, but sometimes additional surgery to align the jaws and / or expose impacted teeth may be required.
Endodontic treatment, also known as root canal treatment, is necessary when there is deep dental decay causing inflammation and / or infection of the nerve within the tooth. It may also be necessary after traumatic injury to a tooth or several teeth.
Periodontal procedures include deep cleaning and gum surgery.
Sometimes children need to be put to sleep before receiving long or multiple dental procedures. This can performed at a dental hospital with the facilities and staff to administer a general anaesthetic.
Some patients with disabilities, those who have severe dental phobias, or those who are medically compromised may need to have dental procedures performed at a dental hospital where medical and dental specialists are present and relevant facilities are available.
Dr Lucy Burchall
BHSc (Dent), MDent (La Trobe)
General Dental Care