Dentist

A dentist is a specialist with a higher medical education who graduated from the faculty of dentistry at a medical school.

Each of us always wants to have a snow-white smile and a beautiful appearance of teeth. A dentist helps us achieve this. Each person periodically needs to visit a dentist - a stomatologist. These can be both preventive regular examinations and planned treatment of teeth and diseases of the oral cavity.

Who is a dentist?

Depending on the specialization, there are such dentists - pediatric dentist, dental surgeon, orthopedic dentist, orthodontist, periodontist, and maxillofacial surgeons are also included in the category of dentists. A separate category includes specialists with secondary medical dental education - dental technicians, the essence of their work is only in the manufacture of various types of dental prostheses, face, orthodontic and maxillofacial devices, the installation of which is then carried out by a dentist of a certain specialty. A dentist is a fairly popular specialist in the modern market of medicine and medical services, since each of his patients definitely wants to get a "Hollywood smile".

When should you see a dentist?

It is common knowledge that people always go to doctors when it is "urgent", i.e. when the disease is already either in an advanced or acute stage. The same applies to visiting a dentist. Everyone knows that you need to visit a dentist regularly twice a year, regardless of the presence of complaints, since there may be no symptoms, but the disease may already be progressing. You need to see a dentist when you notice the following symptoms:

• gums began to bleed after brushing teeth,
• there is a bad smell from the mouth,
• you feel some swelling on your gum,
• food has started to constantly get stuck between the teeth (this may indicate that the teeth are starting to become loose and “slid apart”),
• inflammation of the nasopharynx began to occur more frequently,
• white or, conversely, dark spots appeared on the enamel.

Naturally, this is not the entire list of symptoms after which you need to see a dentist. Therefore, regular preventive visits to the dentist will help you prevent the development of any complex and dangerous diseases and prevent the progression of already obvious diseases.

What tests should you take when visiting a dentist?

There is not always an urgent need to take tests before visiting a dentist, but when you are about to have a tooth extracted or undergo other surgical intervention, the doctor has the right to require blood tests for HIV, hepatitis and other diseases that are transmitted by transmission in order to protect yourself from potential infection. In addition, the doctor needs to know whether you have diabetes, since this disease has a very negative effect on the ability to regenerate tissues in the postoperative period, and the platelet count in the blood is also very important in order to prevent blood loss during surgery. But in any case, if you are about to have a serious surgical intervention with a dental surgeon, then before this it is imperative to take a general blood test and, if necessary, do additional blood tests, sputum, etc.

What diagnostic methods does a dentist use?

It often happens that in order to make an accurate diagnosis or examine an obvious problem more thoroughly, the dentist refers the patient to undergo additional diagnostic methods. There are several basic and most popular diagnostic methods in dentistry:

• Profilometry is a study of a tooth using a laser beam, which allows one to view the structure of the tooth to a depth of 5 mm.
• Rheodentography is a research method that allows you to view the blood flow through the vessels and tissues of the periodontium.
• Radiography is a method that allows you to obtain panoramic images of teeth, jaws and nasal sinuses.
• Computer tomography is a study that allows you to view teeth and bone tissue layer by layer.
• Luminescent diagnostics is a diagnostic method in which UV rays are directed at the teeth and mucous membranes of the oral cavity, and thus healthy tissues change their natural color. This method can diagnose caries at an early stage.

What does a dentist do?

A dentist deals with the treatment and prevention of diseases of the teeth, oral cavity and maxillofacial area. Depending on the qualifications of the dentist, he/she deals with the following activities:

• A dental therapist conducts an initial examination of patients, refers them to additional examination methods, makes a diagnosis, and carries out dental treatment, which is limited to the scope of the dental office.
• A pediatric dentist treats diseases of baby teeth and also deals with the prevention of various diseases during the eruption of permanent teeth.
• A dental surgeon performs various surgical interventions in the oral cavity and partially in the maxillofacial area. It is the dental surgeon who performs tooth extraction, treatment and removal of various neoplasms, opening of abscesses in the oral cavity, performs reconstruction and plastic surgery of the jaws, and treats diseases associated with the maxillofacial area (diseases of the salivary glands, trigeminal nerve, etc.).
• An orthodontist specializes in the correction of congenital dental and jaw defects. The main category of orthodontist patients are children and adolescents with bite anomalies and incorrect tooth position, but elderly people who have undergone changes in the periodontium and masticatory-speech apparatus due to tooth loss also turn to an orthodontist.
• Orthopedic dentistry treats patients with defects and deformations of the masticatory-speech apparatus that have arisen as a result of trauma or other damage.
• Maxillofacial surgeons treat diseases, defects and injuries of the head, neck and jaws. Their activities include treatment and plastic correction of the consequences of traumatic injuries, correction of congenital defects and anomalies of the maxillofacial region, surgical correction of bite defects.

What diseases does a dentist treat?

Today, there are many diseases that a dentist treats. Depending on their qualifications, dentists treat the following diseases:

• Dentists-therapists treat inflammatory diseases such as stomatitis, gingivitis, glossitis, treat dental diseases such as: caries, tartar, pulpitis, periodontitis, periodontosis. In addition, therapeutic dentistry treats diseases of the salivary glands, simple traumatic injuries of the tongue, lips, jaws.
• Dental surgeons perform tooth extractions and treat more complex diseases such as abscesses and tumors of the oral cavity, perform bone grafting and dental implantation, and perform operations on periodontal tissues.
• Orthodontists treat anomalies in the position and size of the jaws, anomalies in the relationship, size and shape of the dental arches, and anomalies in the development of teeth.
• Orthopedic dentists are engaged in the correction of anomalies resulting from injury or illness. They are the ones who deal with various types of prosthetics.
• Maxillofacial surgeons deal with the correction of both congenital and acquired defects. These include congenital cleft palate (commonly known as "hare lip" or "cleft palate") as well as cosmetic correction of the maxillofacial area after traumatic injuries or illnesses.

Advice from a dentist

A dentist can give his patients a lot of useful advice and if you constantly follow it, then the need for regular dental treatment may disappear once and for all.

• Brush your teeth twice a day and use dental floss or a brush.
• Have a preventive dental check-up twice a year and have your teeth professionally cleaned.
• Change your toothbrush every three months.
• It is preferable to use dental floss instead of toothpicks.
• Eat fresh fruits and vegetables, they help cleanse tooth enamel from various plaque.
• To strengthen your teeth, eat foods rich in calcium (especially for children).
• If your child develops an incorrect bite, you should immediately contact your dentist to avoid further complications.
• Do not get carried away with excessive teeth whitening, this can damage the enamel and make it vulnerable.
• Monitor the temperature of the food you eat. Avoid sudden temperature changes.
• If possible, rinse your mouth with mineral water after eating.
• If you experience the slightest pain in your teeth or gums, contact your dentist immediately.

Thus, we can conclude that a dentist in the modern world is a fairly popular specialist who specializes in the prevention and treatment of various types of dental and maxillofacial diseases. There are many types of dentists who, depending on their qualifications, work only with specific diseases. The range of work of a dentist is very wide and requires high professional training.