Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, disorders, and conditions of the mouth, most commonly focused on dentition as well as the oral mucosa. Dentistry may also encompass other aspects of the craniofacial complex including the temporomandibular joint. The practitioner is called a dentist.
Sedation is the reduction of irritability or agitation by administration of sedative drugs, generally to facilitate a medical procedure or diagnostic procedure. Examples of drugs which can be used for sedation include isoflurane, diethyl ether, propofol, etomidate, ketamine, pentobarbital, lorazepam and midazolam.
A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry, the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. The dentist's supporting team aids in providing oral health services. The dental team includes dental assistants, dental hygienists, dental technicians, and sometimes dental therapists.
Cosmetic dentistry is generally used to refer to any dental work that improves the appearance of teeth, gums and/or bite. It primarily focuses on improvement in dental aesthetics in color, position, shape, size, alignment and overall smile appearance. Many dentists refer to themselves as "cosmetic dentists" regardless of their specific education, specialty, training, and experience in this field. This has been considered unethical with a predominant objective of marketing to patients. The American Dental Association does not recognize cosmetic dentistry as a formal specialty area of dentistry. However, there are still dentists that promote themselves as cosmetic dentists.
Oral and maxillofacial surgery is a surgical specialty focusing on reconstructive surgery of the face, facial trauma surgery, the oral cavity, head and neck, mouth, and jaws, as well as facial cosmetic surgery/facial plastic surgery including cleft lip and cleft palate surgery.
Early childhood caries (ECC), formerly known as nursing bottle caries, baby bottle tooth decay, night bottle mouth and night bottle caries, is a disease that affects teeth in children aged between birth and 71 months. ECC is characterized by the presence of 1 or more decayed, missing, or filled tooth surfaces in any primary tooth. ECC has been shown to be a very common, transmissible bacterial infection, usually passed from the primary caregiver to the child.The main bacteria responsible for dental cavities are Streptococcus mutans (S.mutans) and Lactobacillus. There is also evidence that supports that those who are in lower socioeconomic populations are at greater risk of developing ECC.
Jaw wiring is a medical procedure to keep the jaw closed for a period of time. Originally, it was used as the mandibular equivalent of a cast, to fix the jaw in place while a fracture healed. Jaw wiring is also used for weight-loss purposes, to prevent the ingestion of solid food.
Dental anesthesia is the application of anesthesia to dentistry. It includes local anesthetics, sedation, and general anesthesia.
Dental fear, or dentophobia, is a normal emotional reaction to one or more specific threatening stimuli in the dental situation. However, dental anxiety is indicative of a state of apprehension that something dreadful is going to happen in relation to dental treatment, and it is usually coupled with a sense of losing control. Similarly, dental phobia denotes a severe type of dental anxiety, and is characterised by marked and persistent anxiety in relation to either clearly discernible situations or objects or to the dental setting in general. The term ‘dental fear and anxiety’ (DFA) is often used to refer to strong negative feelings associated with dental treatment among children, adolescents and adults, whether or not the criteria for a diagnosis of dental phobia are met. Dental phobia can include fear of dental procedures, dental environment or setting, fear of dental instruments or fear of the dentist as a person. People with dental phobia often avoid the dentist and neglect oral health, which may lead to painful dental problems and ultimately force a visit to the dentist. The emergency nature of this appointment may serve to worsen the phobia. This phenomenon may also be called the cycle of dental fear. Dental anxiety typically starts in childhood. There is the potential for this to place strains on relationships and negatively impact on employment.
Special needs dentistry, also known as special care dentistry, is a dental specialty that deals with the oral health problems of geriatric patients, patients with intellectual disabilities, and patients with other medical, physical, or psychiatric issues.
Pediatric dentistry is the branch of dentistry dealing with children from birth through adolescence. The specialty of pediatric dentistry is recognized by the American Dental Association, Royal College of Dentists of Canada, and Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons.
Twilight anesthesia is an anesthetic technique where a mild dose of sedation is applied to induce anxiolysis, hypnosis, and anterograde amnesia. The patient is not unconscious, but sedated. During surgery or other medical procedures, the patient is under what is known as a "twilight state", where the patient is relaxed and "sleepy", able to follow simple directions by the doctor, and is responsive. Generally, twilight anesthesia causes the patient to forget the surgery and the time right after. It is used for a variety of surgical procedures and for various reasons. Just like regular anesthesia, twilight anesthesia is designed to help a patient feel more comfortable and to minimize pain associated with the procedure being performed and to allow the medical practitioner to practice without interruptions.
In periodontics, there are four reasons to seek medication. Those four reasons include infection, swelling, pain, and sedation. Although some patients may experience pain, swelling, and infection as a result of an acute periodontal problem such as advanced periodontal disease, periodontic patients usually do not need medication until they are faced with surgery. For successful surgery, medication is then introduced prior to the operation, usually the morning before the procedure and is continued for up to two weeks after.
Small Smiles Dental Centers was a privately-owned US chain of dental clinics focused on serving children from low-income families. The parent company, Church Street Health Management (CSHM), has its headquarters in Suite 520 of the Castner-Knott Building in Nashville, Tennessee. As of 2010, Church Street was the largest dental management company in the United States, and for a period it was the largest dental chain for children in the United States. As of March 2014, Small Smiles had 53 offices, and it stated that it served hundreds of thousands of children annually. As of September 2021, Small Smiles appeared to have one location in Reno, Nevada.
Oral sedation dentistry is a medical procedure involving the administration of sedative drugs via an oral route, generally to facilitate a dental procedure and reduce patients anxiety related to the experience. Oral sedation is one of the available methods of conscious sedation dentistry, along with inhalation sedation and conscious intravenous sedation. Benzodiazepines are commonly used, specifically triazolam. Triazolam is commonly selected for its rapid onset and limited duration of effect. An initial dose is usually taken approximately one hour before the dental appointment. Treatment may include additional dosing on the night proceeding the procedure, to mitigate anxiety-related insomnia. The procedure is generally recognized as safe, with the effective dosages being below levels sufficient to impair breathing.
In the United States and Canada, there are twelve recognized dental specialties in which some dentists choose to train and practice, in addition to or instead of general dentistry. In the United Kingdom and Australia, there are thirteen.
The American Dental Society of Anesthesiology (ADSA) is an American professional association established in 1953 and based in Chicago.
The Hall Technique is a minimally-invasive treatment for decayed baby back (molar) teeth. Decay is sealed under preformed crowns, avoiding injections and drilling. It is one of a number of biologically orientated strategies for managing dental decay.
Inhalation sedation is a form of conscious sedation where an inhaled drug should:
- Depress the central nervous system (CNS) to an extent that surgeons can operate with minimal physiological and psychological stress to the patient
- Modify the patient's state of mind such that communication is maintained and the patient can respond to verbal command
- Carry a margin of safety wide enough to render the unintended loss of consciousness and loss of protective reflexes unlikely.
Occupational hazards in dentistry are occupational hazards that are specifically associated with a dental care environment. Members of the dental team, including dentists, hygienists, dental nurses and radiographers, must ensure local protocols are followed to minimize risk.
