This article describes the profession of a dentist. Read on for more information.
A dentist is a medical practitioner who specifically looks at people's teeth,
diagnoses the diseases and necessary treatment for the mouth, and helps with the prevention of such diseases and other problems associated with the mouth. Usually a dentist is surrounded and aided by a team of people who include dental technicians, dental hygienists, and dental assistants. In some states there are even people who work as dental therapists.
An aspiring dentist must take courses in biology, chemistry, physics, calculus, organic chemistry, and statistics. Usually in order to get into dental school, the prospective student must have gotten a bachelor's degree from a college. But sometimes, some dental schools will accept people who have only taken three years of college. To be able to even apply for the school, the prospective student must take the Dental Admissions Test. In order to get into dental school, it is very competitive, so scoring highly on the Dental Admissions Test is paramount. The dental school usually looks at a prospective student's GPA while in college, their Dental Admissions Test score, recommendation letters from professors or employers, and extracurricular activities. In order to become a licensed dentist, the person must go through and pass dental school and also must take and pass clinical competencies and national board exams. Even though some states only require a person to complete four years of dental school, some states require the person to complete a residency program after they graduate as well. Once graduated, a person is awarded a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree or the Doctor of Dental Medicine degree, depending on what kind of dental school the person went to. The degrees are actually exactly the same. Once they graduate, a person can then go on to do residency training to perfect a specialty for anywhere from two to six years.
Most people who earn a Doctor of Dental Surgery or Doctor of Dental Medicine degree are able to carry out pretty much all of the kinds of dental treatments such as restorative ones, which include crowns, bridges, and dental restorations, orthodontics, prosthetics, root canals, periodontal therapy, and teeth extractions. Of course they will also be able to examine people's mouths, perform x-rays on the mouth, and diagnose any problems that they see. Depending on if there is an issue that they see, they will also be able to prescribe certain medications such as, pain killers, fluorides, antibiotics, sedatives, and whatever other medicines are needed to help in the treatment of the conditions that arise in the head, neck, and mouth of the patient. In order to carry out more complex and complicated procedures, they will need to obtain additional qualifications. For instance if they want to do implants, anesthesia, or a specific kind of surgery, they will need special qualifications. Sometimes a disease in the mouth might be symptoms of something bigger, which is why it is important to go every year for a checkup.
