General Dentistry
A general dental practice provides a range of dental services. As the name suggests, a general dentist performs a wide variety of oral treatments, such as dental cleanings, fillings, root canals, teeth whitening, crowns, bridges and veneers, implants, gum treatments, and so on.
What Are the Advantages of a General Dentist?
A general dentist is a one-stop solution for all your oral concerns. In addition to routine dental care like teeth cleaning and preventive measures like fluoride treatment and application of sealants, a general dentist diagnoses and treats oral cancer, periodontal diseases, cavities, cracked teeth, etc.
What Does a General Dentist Do?
General dentists perform routine procedures like dental cleaning for removing plaque and tartar deposits from the surface of the teeth and deep cleaning for removing tartar deposits from the tooth roots.
The other services provided by general dentists include the following:
- Cavity restoration: Filling cavities can be done using tooth-colored fillings like composite resin and porcelain to restore decayed teeth.
- Crowns: Crowns are used to restore cracked and broken teeth or teeth that have undergone root canal therapy. They are used to cover the entire tooth structure and provide strength to the tooth.
- Veneers: Veneers are used to restore discolored or chipped teeth by bonding them to the surface of your natural teeth.
- Teeth whitening: Teeth whitening is carried out using a whitening gel containing hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide. These agents break down the stains on the teeth’ surface and remove them.
- Cleaning: Cleaning removes decayed food particles, plaque deposits, and tartar deposits from the teeth’ surface. The procedure also includes scaling that removes tartar deposits from the tooth roots.
- Root canal treatment: Root canal treatment is carried out when there is an infection in the pulp chamber of the tooth that can lead to tooth loss if not treated at the earliest.
- Cavity restoration: Cavity restoration involves removing decay from a tooth and filling the cavity with composite resin or ceramic filling material to restore its shape and functionality.
- Dental implants: Dental implants are used to replace missing teeth. Titanium screws are placed in the jawbone where the tooth roots were present after undergoing surgery. This enables the dentist to attach a dental prosthetic like a crown or bridge to replace missing teeth.
- Periodontal treatment: Periodontal diseases affect gum tissues resulting in gum recession or gum pockets that allow microbes to enter the tooth root surfaces and cause infection. Gum diseases are treated by removing tartar deposits from gum pockets, treating gum infections with medication, laser therapy, etc., and restoring gum tissues by grafting them with healthy tissue from other areas of your mouth or even other sources like cadavers.