Who are dentists?
Most of us think, "I brush my teeth regularly, and I floss, so why should I go for a dental checkup?" More than regular brushing teeth and flossing is required to maintain oral hygiene. A dentist visit is essential for maintaining oral health as it can help prevent dental issues.
Dentists are medical professionals who treat oral-related problems. They specialize in treating tooth decay, correcting misaligned teeth, fixing crooked or chipped teeth, filling cavities, root canal treatment, performing dental surgeries, and much more.
Professional dentists use advanced equipment such as drills, lasers, X-rays, and other tools to do dental procedures. Besides this, they also provide teeth whitening treatment, prosthodontics (implants), periodontics, and daily dental care. Some other specializations of dentists are dentofacial orthopedics, oral maxillofacial, sealants, dentofacial orthopedics, and orthodontics.
Education and qualifications of dentists
Dentists must be licensed to practice in the United States. To get a license, dentists should graduate from a recognized dental school and pass the written and clinical exams.
The dental school typically takes four years to complete. The first two years involve learning basic sciences, such as anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry. The last two years include completing clinical rotations in various specialties, such as oral surgery and orthodontics.
After dental school, many dentists choose to complete a one or two-year residency program. Residency programs provide advanced training in a particular dental specialty. The National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards formally recognizes 12 of them, including:
- Endodontics: This field focuses on diagnosing and treating diseases and injuries of the soft tissues (nerves, blood vessels, and connective tissue) present inside the teeth, known as dental pulp. Common endodontic conditions include tooth decay, tooth injuries, tooth abscesses, and cracked teeth.
- Orthodontics: This branch of dentistry aims to fix teeth and bite alignment using braces, clear aligners, removable retainers, and other treatments. Orthodontic conditions include crowding teeth, overbite, underbite, open bite, gaping, and crooked teeth.
- Periodontics: It involves the treatment of conditions of the tissues around your teeth, like gum disease, periodontitis, gingivitis, gum recession, and bone loss.
- Prosthodontics: This specialty restores or replaces missing or damaged teeth with dental prosthetics, meaning artificial teeth. Some of the common prosthodontic appliances include implants, crowns, bridges, and dentures.
- Oral and maxillofacial surgery: It deals with the surgical treatment of diseases, defects, and injuries affecting the mouth, jaws, face, head, and neck. It includes impacted teeth, facial injuries, misaligned jaws, cleft lip and palate, head and neck cancers, and temporomandibular joint disorders (TMJ).
- Oral and maxillofacial radiology: It involves interpreting X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, and other radiographic images to diagnose conditions affecting the oral and maxillofacial regions.
- Oral and maxillofacial pathology: This field studies the reasons, risk factors, and complications of conditions affecting the oral and maxillofacial regions.
- Dental anesthesiology: It uses advanced techniques to manage pain during dental procedures such as tooth extractions, root canal treatments, and gum surgeries.
- Pedodontics: This dental specialty provides comprehensive oral health care to infants, children, and adolescents.
- Orofacial pain: This area aims to manage pain disorders of the head, face, and neck regions, including chronic headaches, sleep disorders, temporomandibular muscle and joint (TMJ) conditions, teeth grinding, and nerve pain.
- Oral medicine: It deals with the diagnosis and medical management of a wide range of oral and maxillofacial conditions, such as ulcers, infections, allergies, cancers, salivary gland disorders, temporomandibular disorders, facial pain, and more.
- Dental public health: This specialty revolves around preventing oral diseases and promoting oral health among the general population through different interventions.
Why should you visit a dentist?
A regular visit to a dentist helps prevent serious dental problems such as:
- Tooth decay
- Gum disease
- Damage to jaw bones
- Bad breath problems
- Decaying teeth
Dentists also provide essential dental care tips during the dental visit, such as brushing techniques, flossing, and reducing bacterial growth. Even if your teeth are fine, you can still visit the dentist for teeth strengthening treatment, plaque removal treatment, damage tooth replacement, and flossing. You can achieve good oral health and fix problems at the right time with the proper treatment.
How frequently should you visit a dentist?
The frequency with which one should visit a dentist depends upon a few factors. Age, oral hygiene habits, and whether they have any underlying health conditions are all things that can affect how often they need to see a dentist.
For most people, twice a year is an excellent general rule. It gives them a chance to have a professional cleaning and catch any problems early. They may need to see a dentist more often if they are at a higher risk for dental problems.
If patients are over 65, have diabetes, or smoke, they should see their dentist at least once a year. People with these risk factors may develop gum disease, leading to other complications.
If a person has good oral hygiene habits and no underlying health conditions, they may get away with seeing their dentist every 18 months. However, it's still a good practice to visit at least once a year to have a professional cleaning.
Practicing good oral hygiene habits is essential no matter how often one visits a dentist. It includes brushing twice daily, flossing, and using mouthwash. If people care for their teeth and gums at home, they'll be less likely to need frequent dental visits.
What should you expect at the first dental visit?
During regular dental visits, a dentist will follow a screening methodology to ensure the following things:
- Tooth decay: A dentist performs a diagnostic technique by examining for visible indicators of tooth decay. Additionally, they analyze the tooth enamel to see whether it is damaged or eroded.
- Gum examination: Dentists examine the gums for swelling, tissue damage, and bleeding. The practitioner also inspects spaces beneath the teeth that form due to broken teeth.
- Biting problems: Dental care professionals will also examine you for biting issues. They look at the apparent indications and give suitable treatment to resolve the issue.
- Teeth development check (children): Dentists monitor the growth of children's teeth, such as eruption patterns. If orthodontic treatment is required, they can recommend it.
- Fluoride therapy: Your dentist may provide fluoride treatment to keep your teeth sturdier, brighter, and healthier.
When should children have their first dental visit?
While each child develops differently, the primary teeth typically come in (or erupt) between 6 months and 12 months of age. Most baby teeth will erupt when your baby turns 33 months old. Girls usually have their teeth come in before boys.
The 12th-month milestone is a good time to take your child to the dentist for their first appointment. The American Dental Association (ADA) and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry support establishing a "dental home" for your child. A dental home helps children get a comprehensive assessment for oral conditions, continuous accessible care for their entire childhood, personalized treatment, and timely preventive dental services.
All teeth, including baby teeth, are at risk of developing caries. Being proactive about your child's dental health will maintain a healthy smile and save them from oral decay, pain, and other complications. Routine dental visits every six months start when your baby has turned two years old. By this age, children transition from the bottle to a cup and don't snack or drink in the middle of the night. Some dentists may even recommend visiting every three months. You can consult your baby's dentist about the frequency of visits. Further, parents and caregivers may also choose to see a pediatric dentist.
Crying and fidgeting during the first visit is normal. Preparing for the first visit may ease some of the tension or fear your child may feel during the appointment. Practice opening and closing your child's mouth when the dentist counts or checks their teeth.
The first visit lets your child become familiar and comfortable with the dentist. The visit may last anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes. Your dentist will begin by examining your baby's mouth. This includes checking whether the jaws and teeth are developing as they should. A gentle cleaning may also be performed if required. X-rays aren't usually done for babies. However, X-rays may be recommended to diagnose decay depending on your child's age. X-rays can check if the root of a jammed baby tooth may be impacting an adult tooth. The first visit is also an opportunity for parents and caregivers to understand baby bottle tooth decay, infant feeding practices, how to clean your infant or toddler's mouth, teething, pacifier habits, thumbsucking habits, proper nutrition, and when to start incorporating a fluoride toothpaste into your child's oral hygiene.
Tips for choosing the best dentist near you
Oral health is essential for everyone. Before making an appointment with any dentist, you should ask these questions:
- Is the appointment time suitable for you?
- Is the dental clinic accessible from your location?
- What is the specialty of the dentist?
- Is the pricing of the treatment agreeable to you?
- Do they handle an emergency?
- Is the dentist an ADA (American Dental Association) member?
- What kind of treatment do they have?
- Are they offering online booking?
- What is their experience and other residency training?
- Do they provide dental treatment to kids?
How can you maintain oral hygiene?
Maintaining proper oral hygiene is important, as teeth and gum problems can lead to serious medical concerns affecting other parts of your body. Here are a few tips you can follow to ensure good oral health:
- Brush properly: Following the proper brushing techniques is as vital as picking the right oral hygiene products. Start by lubricating your toothbrush with water. Put a pea-sized amount of toothpaste on the head of your toothbrush, insert the brush into your mouth at a 45-degree angle to your gums, and brush your front teeth using short, gentle strokes. Flip the toothbrush upside down to clean the insides of your top front teeth, and flip it back around to reach the insides of your bottom front teeth. After brushing for about two minutes, spit out the remaining toothpaste, water, and saliva, and finish by rinsing your mouth with cold water.
- Use a fluoride toothpaste: Fluoride is a natural mineral. It fights germs that cause tooth decay, provides your teeth with a protective barrier, and helps prevent oral concerns like dry mouth and gum disease.
- Clean your tongue: Plaque build-up on your tongue can cause bad breath and lead to various other oral health concerns. Since rinsing your mouth does not help prevent the build-up, gently brush your tongue each time you brush your teeth.
- Floss regularly: Flossing has many benefits, including reducing the risk of cavities, removing plaque, preventing gum disease, and eliminating bad breath. The American Dental Association recommends brushing twice daily and flossing once a day.
How to find a top-rated dentist near you in Bethesda, MD
If you want to find the best dentist in Bethesda, Maryland, Zocdoc is here to help you. They provide a long list of certified dentists with which you can easily find an appropriate practitioner. Moreover, you get to read the complete biography of the dentist, which helps to make an informed decision.
On Zocdoc, you can read genuine reviews written by previous patients. You can apply location, date and time availability, license, language, gender, and more filters. In response to your preferences, Zocdoc will instantly compile a list of the top dentists through its massive database. Zocdoc also helps patients find in-network providers. If you can't find your insurance plan listed on Zocdoc, you may upload your medical insurance card (dental and vision excluded). Zocdoc will then scan the image of your card and display your likely plan. For more insurance-related information, you can browse Zocdoc's patient help center. You can also contact the Zocdoc service team to help upload your insurance card.
While you can add medical, dental, and vision insurance plans to your Zocdoc account, you can only search for and schedule an appointment with one insurance plan at a time. In case you have multiple plans, you can mention your secondary insurance plan and carrier in your notes for the provider in the last step of the booking process. If your provider uses Zocdoc’s intake forms, you can add details about your secondary insurance while filling out your forms online.
Once you've chosen the best dentist near you, you can safely and at no extra charge book an in-person or online consultation with the dentist.
Booking an appointment on Zocdoc is safe, quick, and free!
Statistics about dentists in Bethesda, Maryland
According to the Maryland Department of Health, there were around 4,211 dentists accessible in Maryland in 2021, of which 181 were pediatric dentists. The Maryland Matters news story from 2021 reports that 4,229 dentists participated in the Maryland Healthy Smiles program in 2019. In the same year, 56.7% of the young generation registered in Medicaid between the ages of four and twenty received dental treatment.
As per the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, nearly 2 million ED visits involving dental problems in 2018, corresponding to 615.5 visits per 100,000 people.
Sources
Maryland Department of Health
Maryland Matters
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Cleveland Clinic[1]
Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials[1]
Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials[2]
All Season Dental Care
Legacy Community Health
WebMD[1]
National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards
American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry
Johns Hopkins Medicine
MouthHealthy
Stanford Medicine Children's Health
WebMD[2]
Nationwide Children's Hospital
HealthyChildren.org
Nemours KidsHealth
American Dental Association
Healthline[1]
Healthline[2]
Healthline[3]
Healthline[4]
Sensodyne
