“… many of these dental implant offices only have 1 doctor (who is not even a specialist) performing all 3 parts of the dental implant process.”
This is NOT what you want.
In this day and age where it seems like every dental office is offering dental implants, it’s imperative to know who will be performing your dental implant surgery and restorations.
Before we dive in, let’s first give you some background. While there are so many specialties and subspecialties in the dental field that it is hard to know who does what.
Here are some of the basics of what you should know
- A general dentist is your primary care dental provider.
A general dentist diagnoses, treats, and manages your overall oral health care needs. Their focus is preventive maintenance as well as oral education, gum care, filling, crowns, and some times veneers.
- An oral maxillofacial surgeon is a dental specialist that’s trained to perform surgical procedures on the mouth, teeth, jaws, and face.
While dentists can perform minor oral surgeries, they are not oral and maxillofacial surgeons (OMS).
An OMS, spends an additional four to six years in training after dental school, mostly in a hospital-based surgical environment.
The average total length of education and training after secondary school for an oral and maxillofacial surgeon is 12 to 14 years.
Typical OMS training includes:
Two to four years of undergraduate study, four years of dental study (DMD, BDent, DDS, or BDS), and four to six years of residency training (six years includes two additional years for acquiring a medical degree).
- A prosthodontist specializes in treating and handling dental and facial problems that involve restoring and designing missing teeth and jaw structures.
A prosthodontist is highly trained in cosmetics, dental implants, crowns, bridges, dentures, temporomandibular disorders (TMJ/TMD), and more. - An anesthesiologist is a doctor who gives a patient medication so they do not feel pain when they are undergoing surgery.
However, these specialist physicians play a much wider role than just putting people to sleep for surgery. They are also involved in a range of other medical procedures, including carrying out assessments in critical care units, dealing with emergency situations, and giving advice about pain management.
**Anesthesiology is defined by the American Society of Anesthesiologists as: “The practice of medicine dedicated to the relief of pain and total care of the surgical patient before, during, and after surgery.”
- An orthodontist specializes in the alignment of your teeth and jaws using non-surgical procedures.
He or she will diagnose, prevent, and treat “malocclusions”, or bad bites. So you may be referred to an orthodontist if you have an overbite, underbite, gaps, or overcrowded teeth.
- A periodontist is a dentist who specializes in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of periodontal disease.
Typically, periodontal disease, or gum disease, is caused by poor brushing and flossing habits that allow plaque [a sticky film of bacteria] to build up on the teeth and harden.
Periodontal disease can lead to sore, bleeding gums; painful chewing problems; and tooth loss. Periodontists are also experts in the treatment of oral inflammation.
- An endodontist focuses exclusively on treatments of the dental pulp.
The root canal is the most common endodontic treatment. This is a procedure in which they access the hollow portion of the tooth, known as the pulp, to eliminate infected or inflamed blood vessels and nerve tissue.
ARCHPOINT Implant Dentistry is the DFW Implant Center leader when it comes to providing first-class service and patient care.
So, why choose a dental implant specialist like ARCHPOINT for your dental implants?
While your general dentist is playing all the parts themselves of the necessary specialists, ARCHPOINT has a team of those necessary specialists working with each other on implant procedures.
1) MD Oral maxillofacial surgeons
2) Our Anesthesia Provider
3) Prosthodontists
4) Along with our ARCHPOINT in-house lab & technicians who digitally design and make all our patients’ new teeth/restoration.
This unique formation of doctors and technicians is unmatched in the Dallas & Fort Worth area!
Most implant centers and dental offices claim to offer all the specialty doctors needed to perform quality, highly predictable, and long term dental implant success… but do they really?
Many of these dental implant offices only have 1 doctor (who is not even a specialist) performing all 3 parts of the dental implant process.
Yes, 1 doctor! Who is sedating the patient, who is operating and performing surgery on the patient, and who is also doing the restorations on the patient.
Would you allow your general practitioner to do open heart surgery on you? My guess is… NOT A CHANCE! Dental Implants should be thought of in the same way.
How do you know who is doing what?
Ask questions! When interviewing/attending consultations about your dental implants, ask very direct questions on who is performing what in your procedure and how do they work together. Compare apples to apples when judging who is the best choice for you and your dental/smile goals.
This is a big decision when it comes to your health, self-esteem, and confidence…
…be sure to pick the team that has you covered every step of the way… like our team here at ARCHPOINT Implant Dentistry! Call us today to schedule a consultation.
