Many of us have only had experience with getting routine cleanings or crowns at our local family dentist. However, dentistry involves various services for different parts of your oral health journey. No matter what dental work you are looking to get, professional dentistry makes investing in your oral health worth it.
Our professionals at Gulf Coast Dental want to help you be as informed as possible on the different types of dentistry available to you. The most common three categories of dentistry are preventative, corrective and therapeutic. Read below to understand their standard services and how they differentiate.
Preventative Dentistry
Preventative dentistry is dental care that helps maintain good oral health. It comprises routine dental cleanings and developing and maintaining good oral hygiene habits, like brushing and flossing your teeth. Under the right circumstances, preventive dental care begins in early childhood and is maintained and adjusted as needed throughout your life.
Here are some standard services that preventative care covers:
- X-rays
- Routine cleaning
- Regular oral exams
Even though we try our best to stay on top of our oral hygiene, we sometimes need more intensive preventative measures. These can look like:
Dental Sealants
This process uses resin material to cover the deep occlusal grooves and fissures on teeth to avoid bacteria penetrating the surface.
Fluoride Treatments
Applying fluoride helps strengthen the hard tissue to better resist bacteria trying to break through.
Oral Prophylaxis
This service involves cleaning and planing the tooth surface to remove tough plaque and calculus that can potentially cause infection.
Corrective Dentistry
Corrective dentistry, in some cases, is known as cosmetic dentistry. It is done because various things can be wrong with your teeth. Think of teeth whitening — it’s not a service that will affect the health of your teeth, but even the visual changes make all the difference in how you see and enjoy your smile.
Here are three common corrective services:
Teeth Whitening
Whitening treatment affects the surface of the tooth. It improves the appearance of the patient’s smile by lightening its color.
Orthodontics
Many different methods are used to correct tooth alignment and occlusion problems with a person’s smile.
Dental Implants
This involves the replacement of damaged or lost teeth. Prosthetics are a common solution to filling in spaces of missing teeth.
Therapeutic Dentistry
Therapeutic treatments are typically more severe in what they are correcting. They are the result of issues that are causing significant concern for patients. Oral pain can often be an indicator that therapeutic treatment is potentially necessary.
Standard therapeutic services look like this:
TMJ Treatments
This condition hinders movement or pain and discomfort related to normal jaw functions. TMJ treatment is essential for relieving pain and taking stress off the joints.
Tooth Extraction
This is the removal of teeth from their socket. This is a typical resolution to disease, trauma or an overcrowded mouth.
Periodontal Treatment
This treatment is geared toward treating gum disease in areas where tooth health has been compromised.
Looking For Dental Care?
Whether you have questions about types of dentistry or need a service for yourself or your family, we can help you. Contact a Gulf Coast Dental professional to assist your dental needs.
