General Dentistry Guide: All You Need to Know Before Getting the Services
The general dentistry in Peabody, MA, industry is at the forefront of dental care. It includes services needed for maintaining and improving oral health. Many people visit their general dentist more than any other health care provider because they offer a wide range of services, including cleanings, fillings, extractions, and even cosmetic procedures like teeth whitening and dental implants.
Who Are General Dentists?
A general dentist is a professional who provides oral health care to patients of all ages and backgrounds. They provide a range of oral health services that can be preventive, diagnostic, or therapeutic.
General dentists do not specialize in any dental field but offer a range of dental services. They diagnose the oral structures and the diseases that affect them and recommend treatment options based on their findings. The treatments they offer include teeth cleaning, root canal treatment, tooth extraction, dental fillings, crowns, bridges, and other dental restorations.
Your dentist can also offer general family dentistry services.
What Are the General Dentistry Services?
General dentistry includes various dental treatments that are grouped into preventive, restorative, and cosmetic.
- 1. Preventive dental procedures
Preventive dental procedures are used to prevent dental problems. The procedures include:
- Oral dental exams and cleanings
Oral exams are the best way to see how healthy your teeth are. It is also helpful in determining what type of oral care you need.
Some people think that oral exams and cleaning are the same things. But actually, they are different things with different purposes. Oral exams involve checking for cavities, plaque, or diseases in the mouth. Cleaning is getting rid of dental plaque by professionally brushing the teeth and expert flossing.
- Fluoride treatment
Fluoride treatment is a type of dental treatment that uses fluoride and can be found in water, food, toothpaste, and some mouthwashes. Fluoride helps your teeth resist cavities by strengthening the enamel on the outside of your teeth. Fluoride treatment is very important for children because their teeth are more vulnerable to cavities. The dentist recommends getting fluoride treatment every three, six, or twelve months.
- Dental sealants
A dental sealant is a thin plastic coating applied to teeth as an extra layer of protection against tooth decay. It protects the teeth from foods and drinks that contain high sugar, which can lead to cavities.
- 2. Restorative dental services
Restorative dental services are not intended for cosmetic purposes but instead focus on restoring function or appearance.
- Dental fillings
Dental fillings are designed to restore damaged teeth due to cavities, decay, or trauma. The filling can be made of different materials, but typically they are made of metal alloys or tooth-colored restoratives.
- root canal
A root canal is a dental procedure in which the infected tissues and nerve cells in the pulp are removed and filled with a filling material to prevent the spread of infection.
Root canals infection can happen because of many reasons, such as dental work, injury, or teeth grinding. The root canal is performed by an endodontist who will remove any damaged tissue from inside your tooth. They will then clean out all of your canals and fill them with a special filling called gutta-percha. Once they have finished, they will seal it off with a filling.
- Dental bridges and implants
Bridges and implants are both devices that dentists use to replace missing teeth. They can be used to replace just one tooth or an entire row of teeth.
A dental bridge is a device that bridges the gap created by a missing tooth or teeth. It is fitted onto neighboring teeth and then secured into place by dental cement.
Implants are made from titanium, titanium alloy, or ceramic. They are surgically placed in the jaw bone, where they act as anchors for replacement crowns or other types of dental restorations such as bridges, partials, onlays, inlays, and dentures.
- 3. Cosmetic dental services
Cosmetic procedures are done to improve the appearance of the teeth, and they include
- Tooth whitening removes stains from the surface of the teeth to make them look whiter.
- Tooth bonding, also known as composite resin restoration, is a cosmetic dental procedure in which tooth-colored composite material is used to fill in gaps between teeth or missing pieces of tooth structure.
- Teeth straightening, also known as orthodontics, corrects irregularities in the alignment of the teeth.
- The dentist in Peabody, MA can also use veneers or crowns to correct cracked, chipped, and worn-out teeth.
Schedule an Appointment
Visit Premier Family Dentistry for more information on our general dental procedures.