Who is a dentist?
A dentist is a medical professional trained in preventing, diagnosing, and treating teeth and mouth disorders. When you visit a dentist for the first time, they will examine your teeth and may recommend an X-ray or other diagnostic tests, depending on the condition. They can develop a customized treatment plan after analyzing the diagnostic reports and clinical observations. If dental surgery is required, your dentist will help you prepare accordingly.
Dental health is not restricted to the care of teeth and mouth. Dentists receive training to address abnormalities in the muscles and nerves of the head and neck, jaw muscles, salivary glands, and tongue. During clinical examinations, dentists look for lumps, ulcerations, swellings, discolorations, or other anomalies. They can perform biopsies and other screening tests to safeguard against cancer and infectious or chronic diseases.
Research has detected a correlation between oral health and overall well-being. Certain cardiovascular diseases, premature birth, pregnancy-related issues, cancer, pneumonia, etc., can result from poor oral health hygiene. On the other hand, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, osteoporosis, AIDS, etc., can adversely affect your dental health. Therefore, it is crucial to have timely dental consultations to avoid potentially life-threatening health complications.
How to become a dentist?
Dentists must complete similar educational requirements as other physicians. After completing their undergraduate education focused on biology, health, chemistry, and mathematics, they can get admitted to a dental school to earn a Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) or Doctor of Dental Medicine (DDM).
The first two years of dental school comprise biomedical science studies in anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, immunology, microbiology, and pathology. Following that, dentists spend two years in clinical practice, where they gain valuable experience diagnosing and treating dental diseases. For further certification, dentists can appear for the National Board Dental Examination. Based on their specialization, they may have to undergo one to three years of residency training.
What are the subspecialties of dentistry?
Various kinds of dental problems necessitate specialized treatment. Dentistry is divided into nine branches, enabling practitioners to focus on specific medical expertise. The specialties include:
- Dental public health: This is a public health awareness and prevention specialty. The purview of work includes assessing major dental health crises in a community and formulating remedial measures for the masses rather than a particular individual.
- Endodontics: This specialty deals with dental pulp, the soft core of your teeth. Part of endodontics is performing root canal therapy and related surgical procedures to treat cracked teeth and other tooth trauma.
- Periodontics: Periodontists care for your gums (gingiva), bones that form the tooth socket (alveolar bone), cementum, and periodontal ligaments.
- Orthodontics: This branch focuses on structural defects of teeth and jaw bones.
- Prosthodontics: This specialty replaces missing teeth or restores natural teeth. Dentists use and insert artificial devices like dentures in prosthodontic procedures.
- Oral and maxillofacial surgery: This branch handles various disorders in the neck, jaw, head, and mouth tissues. Natural anomalies and injuries affecting these parts fall within the expertise of oral and maxillofacial surgery.
- Oral and maxillofacial pathology: This dental specialty focuses on diseases in the oral cavity, jaws, salivary gland, facial muscles, temporomandibular joints (hinge that connects the temporal bone with the lower jaw), and perioral skin (skin around the mouth).
- Oral and maxillofacial radiology: This branch of dentistry involves interpreting X-rays and diagnostic images to examine structural irregularities.
- Pediatric dentistry: Experts in this field provide dental care to infants and children, including adolescents. Apart from performing regular activities, like cleaning teeth with fluoride and diagnosing and treating dental diseases, these specialists also monitor the growth of teeth and gum areas in children. Further, they perform surgeries as and when necessary.
Advanced techniques in dentistry
Technological innovations have paved the way for better diagnosis and management of dental disorders. A dentist has to stay updated with the recent developments in their field to ensure the best treatment delivery. Some advanced dentistry-associated techniques include:
- Digital X-rays: This is a more advanced version of X-ray imaging that gives an accurate picture of your teeth and gums, thus enabling the dentist to perform their tasks with greater precision.
- Digital anesthesia: The after-effects of anesthesia meant that you couldn't talk or eat for several hours post-administration. Digital anesthesia has reduced the discomfort level to a bare minimum.
- Computer-aided surgery: With the advent of 3D technology, dentists can now rely on advanced technology to carry out surgical procedures with ease and accuracy.
- Intraoral scanner: The device allows 3D pictures of your teeth and mouth so the dental care specialist can develop the ideal treatment plan based on current conditions.
What are the standard medications that dentists prescribe?
Dentists use a variety of medications to prevent and treat oral health issues. Some of the common drugs are:
- Sedatives and painkillers: Dentists routinely use local anesthesia, nitrous oxide, and general anesthesia before dental procedures. The sedatives work against pain and anxiety. Dental surgeons also prescribe other pain-controlling drugs, such as prescription anti-inflammatory medicines, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen.
- Anti-inflammatory drugs: Dentists prescribe corticosteroids to prevent pain and swelling following oral surgery and treat oral lichen planus. They also use nonprescription anti-inflammatory medicines such as Motrin and Tylenol.
- Anesthetics: Other forms of dental anesthetics that dentists commonly use include dental paste, aerosol spray, ointments, gel, solutions, and tablets. These medications control pain caused by toothache, oral sores, and dental appliances.
- Antibacterial medications: Dentists prescribe antibacterial mouthwashes in patients with excessive plaque and gingivitis to prevent periodontal diseases from spreading further. Dentists typically prescribe these before a dental procedure to treat oral problems.
- Antiseptic mouth rinses: These help control germs and plaque buildup around the teeth.
- Drugs to control decay: Fluoride, in the form of mouthwashes, chewable tablets, and liquids, forms a protective layer and helps bring down sensitivity and prevent the development of cavities in the teeth.
- Medications to prevent dry mouth: Dentists prescribe drugs, toothpaste, and mouth rinses to stimulate the formation of saliva and stop the dry mouth.
- Oral antibiotics: Help in eliminating bacteria.
- Muscle relaxants: These are useful for dentists to treat temporomandibular joint disorders.
- Oral antifungal drugs: Dentists rely on these to treat oral thrush
When should you see a dentist?
Many studies indicate a link between oral health and various health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. Therefore, it is essential to maintain optimal oral health and practice preventive care to prevent the development of dental conditions.
Furthermore, it is generally recommended that you visit a dentist near you at least twice a year. However, the frequency of visits will vary by your lifestyle, habits, oral hygiene, and pre-existing medical conditions. You could visit a dentist for the following reasons:
Dentists are crucial in detecting early signs of dental conditions and providing effective treatments before it worsens. They will check signs for dental decay, gum problems, or mouth cancer and educate you on how to practice preventive care. They also carry out dental cleanings to eradicate the buildup of plaque and tartar, preventing gum disease and tooth decay.
You must see a dentist when you experience pain in your teeth, mouth, jaws, or gums. These signs point to dental problems and cause issues in daily activities, including chewing and swallowing. You should also visit them when you experience teeth sensitivity, loose teeth, swollen gums or cheeks, and clicking jaws. Dentists can find the underlying cause of the issue and help alleviate the symptoms.
Dentists can also help you maintain oral health if you have had a dental procedure such as dentures, crowns, fillings, or orthodontics. Moreover, they can coordinate with your primary care doctor if you have ongoing medical issues. Accordingly, you must have regular appointments with a dentist near you if you undergo radiation therapy and chemotherapy.
You must visit a dentist if you experience consistent dental problems like mouth sores and spots or dry mouth. Additionally, it is a cause for concern if you have bleeding gums, fever, swelling under your eyes, or a knot or lump on your jaw. Dentists can diagnose and find the root cause of the issue to develop appropriate treatment plans.
Finding the best dentist in Spring, Texas
People are often reluctant to go for regular dental checkups. This can be due to general hesitance in seeing medical practitioners or not finding such visits necessary enough. However, doing so is not advisable as it can affect one's health negatively. Delayed or no dental visits can aggravate oral health complications, significantly affecting your quality of life. If you want to find the top-rated dentists in Spring, Texas, Zocdoc is here to simplify your work.
To search for the best dentists near you in Spring, Texas, visit the Zocdoc website and enter your condition, preferred time and location, and insurance details to find top practitioners. If you want to find practitioners in your network, you can use Zocdoc's insurance finder feature. Moreover, you can also refine your search results based on gender, hospital affiliations, languages, whether the practitioner treats children or not, etc.
Before choosing a practitioner, you can visit their dedicated profile to learn more about their academic qualifications, professional certifications, hospital affiliations, licensures, awards, and recognitions. In addition, you can also view the verified patient reviews to help you select the best practitioners.
With Zocdoc, you can book appointments with a dentist near you on weekdays, weekends, and even after office hours, depending on the practitioner's availability. All appointment bookings through Zocdoc are safe, secure, and free.
Dental-health statistics in Texas
According to data published by the East Carolina University School of Dental Medicine in 2016, around 15 million people have root canals yearly in the U.S. Endodontists perform about 25 root canals weekly, compared to about two cases that general dentists handle. Recent studies by private clinics, such as Jefferson Dental and Orthodontics, have shown that almost 58% of adolescents and 37% of children in Texas have dental cavities. Gum problems affect nearly half of all adults over the age of 30 and 70% of those over the age of 65.
According to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Texas had 272 designated Dental Health Professional Shortage Areas in fiscal year 2025, indicating that many communities and population groups continue to experience shortages of dental health professionals.
The Kindergarten Oral Health Screening Survey (2018-2019) reported that nearly 78% of children visited the dentist in the previous year, but approximately 52.9% had a history of tooth decay, and 19.7% had untreated cavities. The Third Grade Oral Health Screening Survey (2017-2018) reported that roughly 75.1% of children had a dental visit in the previous year, 67.1% had a history of tooth decay, and 17.5% had untreated cavities.
According to the Occupational Employment and Wages statistics report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Texas had the second-highest number of general dentists in the United States as of May 2021. As per the same analysis, around 9,540 general dentists were active in the state. In addition, there were about 180 orthodontists, 13,030 dental hygienists, and 33,040 dental assistants.
As per America's Health Rankings, in September 2022, for every 100,000 people in Texas, there were nearly 51.4 dental practitioners. In 2020, an estimated 57.5% of adults in the state visited a dental clinic, of which 60.6% were women and 54.3% were men.
Sources
WebMD
KidsHealth
American Dental Education Association
GalanDNTL
IBISWorld
ECU School of Dental Medicine
Health Professions Resource Center
Jefferson Dental & Orthodontics
Texas Health and Human Services [1]
Texas Health and Human Services [2]
Cleveland Clinic
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics[1]
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics[2]
America’s Health Rankings[1]
America’s Health Rankings[2]
America’s Health Rankings[3]
Colgate
MedicalNewsToday
verywellhealth
