Who is a dentist?
A dentist is a Doctor of Dental Medicine (DDM) or a Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) who focuses on diagnosing, treating, and preventing orofacial disorders, such as tooth erosion or dental caries, jaw or teeth misalignment, gum diseases, etc. These specialists use advanced technologies and scans to diagnose dental problems. Some of their equipment includes X-ray machines, lasers, drills, brushes, scalpels, and other medical tools.
A dentist accepting new patients near you can also treat your dental ailments and relieve discomfort by prescribing medication or undertaking other procedures. Their services include:
- Educating individuals about dental hygiene
- Filling cavities
- Cleaning and scaling teeth
- Repairing broken teeth
- Performing tooth extractions
- Removing wisdom teeth
- Undertaking orthotic treatment for misaligned teeth
- Whitening teeth
Dental assistants, hygienists, lab technicians, etc., collaborate and assist a dentist. Such a group works to guarantee that patients receive high-quality dental care.
What does a dentist do?
As mentioned earlier, dentists play a crucial role in assisting their patients in maintaining their oral health and preventing dental issues. They perform comprehensive exams to address various conditions affecting the teeth, gums, jaws, and other mouth areas. Their duties and responsibilities encompass the following:
- Preventive dentistry: During consultations, dentists check your mouth for early signs of dental, gum, and cancer problems. The earlier they discover these conditions, the quicker they can treat them. Dentists also help patients protect their teeth and gums from plaque and tartar buildup, which eventually causes gum disease and tooth decay. Further, they educate and guide their patients on how to prevent oral health conditions.
- Restorative dentistry: This practice entails replacing missing or damaged teeth or repairing them. Examples of restorative dentistry include fillings, dental implants, bridges, and crowns.
- Emergency dental care: Emergency dental care comprises treatments for root canals, tooth extractions, and knocked-out teeth. Other dental emergencies are extruded or partially dislodged teeth, dental abscess (where your face and jaw swell), lost or broken dental restoration, and agonizing soft tissue injury (for example, busted lip or deep cut).
Apart from the ones listed above, dentists also receive training for the following duties:
- Reviewing X-rays and other diagnostic tests
- Giving anesthesia to patients during specific treatments
- Conducting follow-up checkups to track the progress of treatments
- Collaborating with other healthcare professionals like lab technicians, hygienists, and dental assistants for procedures
- Utilizing lasers, brushes, drills, scalpels, and other medical tools to perform dental processes
- Conducting dental research in areas like genetic engineering to discover links between systemic and oral diseases and also participating in the development of new techniques, raw materials, and tools to advance the field of dentistry
Educational qualification and training of a dentist
Prospective students must hold a bachelor's degree in science or a related subject to enroll in dental school. Their success in the entrance exam, the Dental Admission Test (DAT), will determine whether they get admitted to an accredited dental institution.
After enrolling in a dental school, aspiring dentists train in biomedical science subjects such as anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, immunology, and pathology within their first two years. They then prepare for clinical practice in the second and third years, which entails diagnosing and treating oral problems in a patient-based setting. After graduating, they get their oral health degree and must pass a national, state, or regional clinical licensure exam to obtain a practicing license.
Twelve recognized dental specialties are available to dentists after dental school, and many continue their education to become certified in one of them. Dentists must maintain their licenses throughout their careers by meeting the standards for ongoing education. These standards guarantee that a specialist remains knowledgeable about medical advancements and can offer efficient care.
Specialties in dentistry
While most dentists practice general dentistry, others continue their studies, focusing on one of the twelve specializations. The various dental specialties include:
- Orthodontists and dentofacial orthopedists: They realign and straighten teeth using braces and other orthotic tools. Some other equipment that they can fit include retainers, aligners, etc. Children after the age of seven can usually start their orthodontic treatments if required.
- Periodontists: They are specialists who manage and cure conditions related to gums. Some diseases they treat include periodontitis, gingival hypertrophy, bone loss, etc.
- Pediatric dentists: These dentists care for oral diseases in children and patients with special needs.
- Endodontists: Doctors in this specialty closely work with structures related to the dental pulp and tooth nerves. They perform root canals and help save teeth from extreme forms of decay.
- Prosthodontists: These doctors use bridges, crowns, and dentures to assist patients with missing or broken teeth. This field is especially popular with the elderly population.
- Oral and maxillofacial surgeons: These doctors are trained to perform procedures to treat conditions related to the oral and maxillofacial regions (oral cavity, face, jaw, and neck). By performing aesthetic operations, these doctors can also enhance the beauty of these areas.
- Oral and maxillofacial pathologists: The diagnosis and research of the causes and effects of conditions affecting the salivary glands, temporomandibular joints, facial muscles, and perioral skin depend on their histopathological findings. This is where the oral and maxillofacial pathologists come into play.
- Oral and maxillofacial radiologists: These doctors use and interpret diagnostic and imaging tests such as X-rays, MRI scans, CT scans, etc. These tests are essential to identify conditions affecting the oral and maxillofacial regions.
- Dentist anesthesiologists: They control patients' pain, discomfort, and anxiety and ensure their general well-being through surgical or diagnostic procedures.
Common oral health diseases
If you do not properly care for your teeth and mouth, you expose yourself to the risk of various oral health diseases. Some of these include:
Cavities
Cavities are areas on a tooth that have been permanently damaged and may even form holes. Cavities are quite common and develop when bacteria, food, and acid build up on your teeth and form plaque. The acid gradually eats away at the enamel and eventually the underlying dentin, or connective tissue. Over time, this can cause lasting damage.
Gum disease (gingivitis)
Gum disease refers to gum inflammation, typically caused by plaque buildup due to poor brushing and flossing habits. This oral disease may cause your gums to swell and bleed when brushing or flossing. If not treated in time, gingivitis can turn into periodontitis, a more severe infection.
Periodontitis
Periodontitis is a type of severe gum infection caused by the bacteria accumulated on your teeth and gums. As periodontitis advances, it can damage your bones and teeth. However, you can prevent further damage if treated early and combined with good oral hygiene.
Cracked or broken teeth
Teeth can crack or break due to mouth injuries, chewing hard foods, or grinding your teeth at night. A cracked tooth can be extremely painful, so it is essential to see your dentist immediately if you experience this.
Sensitive teeth
You might feel discomfort or pain when consuming hot or cold foods or drinks if your teeth are sensitive. Tooth sensitivity, also called "dentin hypersensitivity," can occur for a short duration after a root canal or filling. Other causes include:
- gum disease
- receding gums
- cracked teeth
- worn fillings or crowns
Some individuals have naturally sensitive teeth due to thinner enamel. You can often manage natural tooth sensitivity by improving your oral hygiene routine. You can use toothpaste and mouthwash specifically made for sensitive teeth.
Oral cancer
Oral cancer is a type of cancer that manifests in the mouth or throat tissues. Most cases begin in the squamous cells of the mouth, tongue, and lips. The use of tobacco products is the leading risk factor for oral cancer.
Causes of dental issues
Oral diseases can be avoided, but they still significantly impact people's health and well-being, often causing pain and discomfort that lasts a lifetime. Such conditions affect billions globally, with approximately 3.5 billion individuals facing some oral health issues
worldwide.
Most oral conditions and diseases share modifiable risk factors like tobacco use, alcohol consumption, and an unhealthy, sugar-rich diet. These are common with the four most common non-communicable diseases: chronic respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer.
Common causes of dental issues include:
- Dental plaque formation: Plaque is a transparent sticky film that coats your teeth. Dental plaque commonly appears due to the unrestricted intake of sugars and starches. When formed on your teeth, this layer can harden above or under your gum line and become tartar (calculus). This makes it more difficult to remove plaque and creates a shield for bacteria, causing further dental problems.
- Poor diet: Frequent snacking on food with high sugars increases the exposure of the teeth to the dissolving effects of various acids. This makes you more susceptible to tooth decay and gum diseases. To avoid this, consider replacing packaged snacks with those with high nutritional value and health benefits like fruits. Adding calcium-rich foods to your diet can also promote strong bones and teeth.
- Chronic dry mouth: Saliva helps prevent tooth decay by washing out plaque and food stuck in your teeth. Insufficient saliva in the mouth can cause it to dry out. This can result in problems like tooth decay, gum disease, and plaque buildup. Causes of dry mouth can include dehydration, after-effects of certain medications like chemotherapy drugs, exposure to head and neck radiation, or an impact of other medical conditions etc.
- Smoking and tobacco use: Tobacco use can increase the risk of severe gum diseases like periodontitis. Smokers have double the chances of getting gum disease compared to non-smokers. Smoking also weakens your immune system and makes it less effective in fighting infections. It also reduces the speed of recovery, making it harder for your gums to heal.
Find top dentists near you in Commack, New York
Good oral health and hygiene are crucial to maintaining overall health. Regular dental checkups can help pinpoint issues early on and help prevent them. However, finding the right dentist may take time and effort. You can rely on Zocdoc to conveniently find the best medical specialists.
Users on this platform can easily, quickly, and at no cost locate reputable dentists accepting new patients near them. You can book a physical or virtual session with a highly-regarded dentist from your home in just a few minutes! To schedule a consultation, follow these easy instructions: Visit the Zocdoc website and sign up for free. Then press search after entering your disease, symptoms, specialty, location, and chosen appointment date in the search bar.
A list of health practitioners matching your requirements will then appear. Browse it and narrow your list based on doctors matching your search criteria. Finalize the practitioner and schedule an appointment with a dentist near you, depending on their availability.
To help you in decision-making, every doctor's profile on this website lists the insurance plans they accept, their hospital affiliation, spoken languages, specialties, typical wait time, office location, and other relevant details. You can also learn about their medical background, clinical experience, certifications, awards, or licensures earned. Moreover, you can also view verified patients' reviews and ratings under each profile to aid you further in your decision-making.
Moreover, Zocdoc helps you find dentists within your insurance network. Filtering out results of providers that accept your insurance can save you time. To do this, you can update your insurance information on your Zocdoc account or upload an image of your insurance card. Remember that uploading images is possible when searching through a smartphone or tablet. Accordingly, the search results will display all the dentists near you within your network. You can visit insurance FAQs to learn more.
All bookings on Zocdoc are free, safe, and secure!
Statistics on the dental workforce in New York
According to a report by the American Dental Association (ADA), the dentist-to-population ratio (number of dentists per 100,000 population) in New York was almost 74.9. The average dentist's age was around 49.4 in 2010 and 49.3 in 2020. Dentists' average age at retirement was around 68.1 in 2010 and 68.2 in 2020.
According to a study published by the New York State Oral Health Surveillance System in 2005, the estimated percentage of children in New York State who have experienced caries was about 54.1%. In contrast, the rate of children with untreated caries was nearly 33.1%. The study also shows that the estimated percentage of children with a dental sealant on their permanent molars, an indicator of access to preventive services, was roughly 27.0%. Moreover, of all the children researched, approximately 80% reported having dental insurance coverage.
Sources
American Dental Association
WebMD
Mayo Clinic[1]
New York State Oral Health Surveillance System
Webster Dental
Mayo Clinic[2]
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic [1]
Cleveland Clinic [2]
American Dental Education Association
Healthline[1]
Healthline[2]
Healthline[3]
