Family Dentistry: Dental Care for the Whole Family
Dr Don Weikum is a family dentist providing a wide range of services. Family dentistry is essentially general dentistry and provides services that help you maintain a high level of oral health. The terms "family dentistry" and "general dentistry" are often used interchangeably.
Some dentists restrict their dental practice to certain age groups like pedodontists who provide dental care and treatment to children. Family dentistry involves caring for a wider variety of patients from young children to older adults. Family dentists are responsible for helping their patients develop and maintain a high level of oral health. This approach will minimize the risk of developing gum disease, which typically affects 70-80% of adults, and tooth decay, which affects almost 100% of the population.
If any disease conditions develop the family dentist is the first line of defense in the treatment of these and other conditions.
Family Dentistry Services
Because they are considered to be the first line of defense against dental abnormalities, family and general dentistry are often thought of as preventive care. The American Dental Association recommends that each individual visit their family dentist for a check up a minimum of twice each year. Such a routine helps prevent the development of gum disease and keeps it from reaching serious levels since it is diagnosed much sooner. Individuals that visit their family dentist regularly have a much better chance of keeping their teeth than individuals that visit their dentist only when they have a problem.
During your visit to a family dentist, that stresses prevention, your mouth will be examined for the presence of any abnormality that might indicate an abscess, oral cancer, any type of gum disease, cavities, or even a medical condition.
On some visits, depending on the circumstances, x-rays may be taken to help detect cavities, other tooth problems or jaw problems. If a cavity is detected during the check-up your family dentist can treat it by removing the decay and placing a dental filling before the decay develops into a more serious and costly situation. Advanced tooth decay can require root canal treatment with a crown, extraction of the tooth and placement of a dental implant, a bridge or other restorative procedure.
Training and Practice
After obtaining an undergraduate college education and often a four year degree and passing the National Dental Admission Test (DAT), prospective family dentists must complete 3-5 years of dental school education. Dental school is intensive with much of the first two years being similar to the first two years of medical school with anatomy, chemistry, physiology, endocrinology and histology courses. At graduation the dentist is awarded a DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery) or a DMD (Doctor of Dental Medicine) degree. He not only has completed the dental school requirements for graduation but has passed the National Board Dental Examination. DDS and DMD are different titles for the same education. The dentist may also need to pass any examinations required by the local or state dental boards.
After graduation a dentist may choose to go immediately into family practice or general dentistry or he/she may choose a specialty. In dentistry there are nine specialties recognized by the American Dental Association. They are:
- Dental Public Health
- Endodontics (root canal therapy)
- Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology
- Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology
- Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
- Prosthodontics (dental prosthetics)
- Periodontics (gum treatments and surgery)
- Pedodontics (pediatric dentistry)
- Orthodontics
The amount and duration of additional education varies depending on the school and the specialty. For example a dentist pursuing endodontics may require 2-3 years of specialty training while an oral and maxillofacial surgeon will need 4-6 years beyond their dental degree.
Family Cosmetic Dentistry
Some dentists, like Dr Don Weikum, have a special interest in cosmetic dentistry. In order to develop the expertise needed to perform these procedures at a high level these dentists will need extensive additional training.
True cosmetics in dentistry involves much more than doing porcelain veneers. It involves extensive knowledge regarding the structures in the mouth and how they and dental restorations should relate to facial structures in order to provide the best esthetics possible for the patient.
|
Menu
|
