There are a variety of specialty dentists that a person can choose to be. Here is a quick rundown.
Before considering a job in the dental field,
it is important to think about what kind of specialty you would like to have. There are, in fact, many varieties of dentists covering every facet of oral care. Whether your desire is to work with children, to perform surgery, or to improve the beauty of your patients, there is sure to be a field that appeals to you. This is, of course, just an introductory text and you may find that something that at first did not appeal to you may become your passion during dental school.
Traditional "general practitioner" dentists are far and away the number one type of specialty that most doctors choose to go into. Although they do not necessarily have the specialized techniques of some of these other areas of dentistry, they are the cornerstones of their patients' oral health.
A variation of this field is pediatric dentistry, which is basically a general care practitioner for children. They deal with the formative care of kids, teens and adolescents. They deal with typical problems like cavities and losing baby teeth.
One of the most popular fields of dentistry is orthodontics. These doctors focus on proper alignment and arrangement of their patients’ teeth. They utilize a variety of appliances to straighten and realign problem areas. They too often work mostly with teens and adolescents as that is the most opportune time to receive this type of care.
If minor surgery is appealing to you consider being an ododontist. These professionals are experts in the internal structures of teeth and are the people to see when a root canal is called for.
If you have a bit of an artistic flair that you'd like to integrate into your career, there are a couple of types of dentists to look into. One choice is a prosthodontist. They create bridges, caps, and dentures to replace or lost or damaged teeth. The other field is cosmetic dentistry. This career is focused on modifying and improving the aesthetics of the mouth. This specialty uses veneers, caps, bridges, and whitening to improve the overall appearance of their patients' smiles.
A peridontist is someone who is skilled in addressing problems with the gums and underlying supporting tissue of the mouth. They deal with chronic problems like gum disease and bad breath.
If there is need for serious surgery, oral surgeons work on dealing with problems with the bones and whole mouth. They use surgical techniques to rebuild lost structure or to remove an impacted tooth. Sometimes they do work surrounding the mouth like repairing cleft palates.
Whatever your interests or desires to help people, there is probably a dental career for you. The world needs more dentists and they especially need highly skilled experts.
