General Dentistry

Defining General Dentistry

General dentistry covers treating, preventing, and diagnosing dental health diseases. The dentist performs routine checkups, cleaning, restorations, and examinations. They also develop individualized oral hygiene plans for patients.

A general dentist offers different types of procedures and treatments, while a specialist pays attention to a specific area of dentistry. That means a specialist brings more skills, expertise, and knowledge to oral issues within their specialities.

Disease prevention is a paramount part of general dentistry. Regular checkups and diagnostic equipment allow your general dentist to identify and treat issues early. Nevertheless, depending on your oral health condition, a general dentist can refer you to a specialist.

The section below discusses different general dentistry procedures:

Pediatric Dental Care

Pediatric dentistry is committed to children’s oral health from infancy through adolescence.

Children’s initial teeth start emerging at six months of age. By age six, they begin to lose their teeth, which permanent teeth replace.

Without proper oral care, your child might suffer from oral diseases that could cause them a lifetime of complications and pain.

Below are some of the services dentists offer:

• Infant oral health examinations, including risk analysis for tooth cavities in child and mother
• Preventive dental care like fluoride treatments, cleaning, and nutrition recommendations
• Early assessment of orthodontic issues
• Habit counseling, like thumb sucking and using a pacifier
• Diagnosing oral diseases related to illnesses like diabetes
• Taking care of dental injuries like knocked-out, displaced, or fractured teeth
• Managing conditions like ulcers, mucoceles, short frenulum, and gum disease

Preventive Dentistry

Preventive dentistry focuses on preventing the development of dental issues later in life. Everyone can benefit from it. In your children, it permits their new teeth to be healthy and strong, and as an adult, it helps you keep your natural teeth. With proper dental hygiene, you can risk the likelihood of secondary health conditions caused by poor dental health. These diseases include osteoporosis, cancer, respiratory disease, heart disease, and diabetes. Finally, it can save money by eliminating the need for future expensive treatments like root canals, dental implants, and fillings.

Typically, dentists provide home-based dental care education on the following measures:

• Brushing your teeth twice daily — You should brush your teeth using fluoride toothpaste and a soft-bristled toothbrush. Remember to replace your toothbrush about four times annually or once the bristles begin fraying. Remember to brush your tongue to remove bacteria and freshen your breath.
• Eat a balanced diet — Eating a balanced diet offers your teeth the necessary nutrients. Drink a lot of water and limit your daily sugar intake.
• Visit your dentist regularly.
• Floss daily — Flossing cleans out the spaces between your teeth. If you have braces, use a floss threader to reach between your metal brackets. Your dentist should demonstrate to you how to floss appropriately.

Dental Cleaning

Teeth cleaning involves the removal of a buildup of tartar and plaque on teeth, reducing inflammation and improving oral health.

Plaque is a sticky film that forms on your teeth’s surface. It has saliva and develops when saliva mixes with food particles. While you can remove plaque by brushing, it does not eliminate plaque between the teeth. Leftover plaque hardens into tartar. Accumulation of tartar or plaque could result in gum disease.

The procedure involves the following:

• An examination
• Before the cleaning process, your dentist will examine your mouth. They will use a minor to look for signs of potential dental concerns around your gums and teeth.
• Using the mirror for guidance, your dentist will use a scaler to remove tartar and plaque around the gum line and between teeth. The more plaque you have, the more time your dentist will scrape a specific spot.
• Next, your dentist will use an electric toothbrush to brush your teeth. It removes any plaque left behind after the scaling process.
• Your doctor will then clean between the teeth and identify potential trouble areas where your gums might bleed.
• Finally, the dentist will give you a rinse with liquid fluoride to remove all debris.

Oral Examination

A dental exam is key for safeguarding your oral health, including your gums, teeth, bones, and muscles that allow you to chew, speak, or smile. It is a process in which your dentist investigates different aspects of your systemic and oral health to identify concerns or issues and develop an individualized treatment plan centered on improving your oral health.

Here is what to expect with the oral examination:

• First, your dentist will collect information about your current medication, whether you drink alcohol or smoke, your allergy list, previous hospitalizations or surgeries, and any reaction to anesthesia.
• Next, your healthcare provider will thoroughly examine your teeth and their supporting structures. They will explore all teeth’s surfaces to identify new cavities. Your hygienist can use pigtail equipment to look for calculus deposits. If an X-ray is necessary, the dentist will take a full-mouth X-ray to identify abnormalities invisible to your eyes.
• After the investigative phase of the oral examination, the dentist will dedicate time to discussing the patient’s concerns, findings, problematic issues, and the most effective treatment plan.

Dental Filling

Also known as cavity filling, a dental filling is a restorative treatment that repairs minor tooth decay or fractures. For improved chewing or bing, you can use filing material like porcelain or composite to even out your teeth surfaces.

Enamel loss is common in tooth cavities and can lead to tooth sensitivity. Once dentists place the appropriate filling material, they generally improve or eradicate sensitivity due to enamel loss.

The exact steps of placing your cavity fillings depend on the material your healthcare provider uses and the form of filing they place. However, here is what to anticipate:

Your dentist will:

• First, numb your teeth using anesthesia
• Remove decayed or damaged tooth tissues
• Fill the cavity with the filling material
• Harden the filling material with a curing light
• Polish your teeth before smoothing rough edges
• Check your bite to ensure it is normal

If you are anxious, your dentist can use a sedative to aid you stay comfortable and calm during your treatment.

Dental Implants

A dental implant is a ceramic post inserted into the jawbone to hold your artificial tooth. It serves as a natural tooth’s root, offering a foundation for a removable or fixed replacement tooth that matches your natural teeth. It replaces a gap left by a missing tooth.

The benefits of dental implants include the following:

• Improves your ability to chew
• It enhances your ability to talk
• It is more comfortable
• Better appearance and restores your smile and self-esteem
• They are durable
• Protects you against bone deterioration

You qualify for the procedure if you have an adequate jawbone, are in good health, have healthy gum tissues without gum disease, and do not smoke.

A day before your dentist appointment, you should do the following:

• Avoid drinking or eating after midnight on the day of your surgery, including water, because it can lead to nausea during the operation.
• Make transportation plans because you might be unable to drive home after the dental procedure.
• Take any medication prescribed by the dentist.

On the morning of your dental implant procedure, it will be helpful if you:

• Put on a loose-fitting outfit and avoid tight buttons or collars that can lead to discomfort during the implant procedure.
• Follow your oral surgeon’s or dentist’s directions on fasting. You will be asked not to drink or eat anything for several hours before the procedure.
• Take the pre-surgery medications as instructed by your surgeon or dentist
• Brush your teeth as usual, but refrain from using toothpaste with a strong flavor or mouthwash
• Inform the dentist of your allergies, medical conditions, or any medications you are taking

Tooth Extraction

Dentists prefer saving natural teeth. However, sometimes restorative techniques like crowns and fillings are not adequate. Your dentist can recommend tooth extraction if you have any of the following:

• Cavities
• Fractured teeth
• Impacted teeth
• Severe gum disease
• Dental injuries
• Crowded teeth

Before extracting your tooth, the dentist will analyze the affected tooth and the nearby gums. They will also perform diagnostic imaging to check your bone levels and determine the degree of damage.

Here is what happens during the procedure. Your general dentist will first administer local anesthesia to numb your tooth and the nearby gum tissues. With specialized equipment, the dental healthcare provider will loosen the tooth and lift it from the socket. If the tooth is broken at your gum line and severely decayed, your dentist might make an incision in the gums to access the tooth. After removing the tooth, the dentist will clean and disinfect the socket. Finally, they will place stitches to promote recovery.

Dental Dentures

A dental denture is a removable oral appliance that replaces missing teeth. Common dental materials include nylon, metal, porcelain, resin, and acrylic.

There are four types of dentures, namely:

• Full dentures — They replace the whole arch of the missing teeth. The denture rests on top of the gums and depends on your lower jawbone ridge or palate for support. You might require adhesive to hold the appliance in place.
• Immediate dentures — Patients wear immediate dentures after tooth extraction. After your recovery, the physician will replace them with final dentures.
• Implant-retained dental dentures —These dentures are attached to implants, making them removable. You can remove them at night. They are more stable than conventional dentures since they hold onto implants placed in the jaw. You do not require glue to secure them in the mouth.
• Partial dentures — Like complete dentures, they depend on your underlying bone and gums for support. However, a partial denture tightly holds the hook around the existing natural teeth, offering more stability.

Once your general dentist determines you qualify for dentures, they will discuss the above options with you. Your ideal choice depends on the number of missing teeth, how long you have had a gap, your jawbone’s density, and preferences.

Denture fabrication and placement procedure entails the following:

• Taking impressions of the jaws, existing natural teeth, and gums.
• Next, the oral healthcare provider will send the impressions to a lab. A technician will use the impressions to make a model of the mouth that they will later use to create a customized denture.
• After the laboratory technician creates the new denture, they will polish it to give it a shine and resend it to the dentist.
• Finally, the dentist will place the denture into the mouth and confirm your fit. They will look for regions exerting pressure on the gums before making the final adjustments.
• Typically, it takes numerous dental appointments to realize your desired fit. Your mouth’s soft tissues require time to adjust to the restoration.

The Relationship Between General Dentistry and Overall Health

The section below discusses how your dentist can improve your general health.

Assists with sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a health condition in which an individual’s breathing repeatedly halts while they sleep. An obstruction like your cartilage in the throat or tongue blocks the airways.

The condition makes it challenging to obtain quality sleep at night and can cause severe mental and physical conditions. Additionally, it comes with symptoms like fatigue, circulatory issues, and irritability.

Your dentist can provide a customized mouthguard that keeps your airways open while asleep, improving your quality of life.

Restores Teeth Functionality, Enhancing Healthy Eating Habits

Oral problems like decayed, sensitive, or missing teeth can make it hard to eat a balanced meal. Damaged teeth force patients to stick to easy-to-chew foods, ruling out most healthy foods.

Your general dentist can repair your teeth structures and replace your missing teeth, restoring your teeth’s functionality, allowing you to enjoy a wide range of foods, and improved nutrition.

Protects You against Respiratory Problems

Oral health issues like periodontitis are associated with many respiratory problems. You can inhale the periodontitis-causing bacteria into your lungs, leading to respiratory issues like pneumonia.

Mental Health

A healthy smile, mouth, and gums boost confidence and self-esteem, improving mental health. Additionally, it alleviates the stigma related to oral challenges.

On the other hand, when your dental health suffers, it can reduce the quality of your life. You might feel embarrassed, withdraw, and have social anxiety.

If you are anxious or depressed, it can feel challenging to take care of yourself and complete small everyday tasks. If you are anxious, you might experience jaw pain or grind your teeth at night. Individuals living with bipolar or obsessive-compulsive disorder might have worn enamel because they brush their teeth many times a day.

Diabetes Management

Patients who have diabetes are more vulnerable to periodontitis and gum disease. Diabetes slows down recovery, interfering with periodontitis treatment.

Additionally, gum disease could make diabetes more challenging to regulate. Your dentist can help you manage the dental health complications.

Moreover, diabetes can cause thrush or dry mouth. Dry mouth occurs when you have less saliva, resulting in ulcers, tooth decay, soreness, and infections.

How Often Should You Visit Your General Dentist?

Even when you floss and brush your teeth, you should visit your dentist regularly. Your dental hygienist and dentist are qualified to check for issues you might not feel or see on your own. Problems like gum disease and cavities are not painful or visible until they are advanced. Additionally, it is wise to see a dentist regularly because issues like oral cancer are easier to treat or prevent when caught early.

Although visiting a dentist twice a year is the thumb of rule for most patients, you have unique smile needs. The number of your visits depends on your dental habits, hygiene, and medical conditions. Some patients require more appointments than others. Your general dentist should advise you when they want to see you next.

The higher-risk category includes the following:

• Patients vulnerable to plaque buildup or cavities
• Individuals with weak immune system
• Diabetes
• Expectant mothers
• Smokers

Find a Skilled General Dentist Near Me

General dentistry plays a significant role in maintaining dental health and general wellness. Its benefits encompass early disease detection, preventive care, educational support, enhancement of your general health, and cosmetic improvements. Calabasas Smiles Advanced Dentistry recognizes the power of general dentistry in ensuring you have a healthy, beautiful smile and an improved quality of life. When you schedule your appointment with us, we can assess your dental health, detect any problem early, and offer necessary treatments to prevent more complications. We can also empower you to take charge of your dental health and make wise decisions about your health.