What to Expect at the Dentist’s Office

Everyone needs to take care of their health, and this takes a variety of forms. And ear doctor can check for hearing problems, or a couple having trouble conceiving may visit a fertility clinic. Meanwhile, a more mundane and common, but no less important, sort of health care is going to the dentist’s office. Often, patients at the doctor’s office are getting routine checkups and examinations, but other times, there might be some serious tooth issues that call for tooth extraction, a root canal, a dental implant like dentures, and more. What might call for something as radical as tooth extraction in someone’s mouth? A person can check ahead of time to find out the cost of some of these medical procedures, such as the cost of dental implants or tooth extraction cost. Whatever may be afflicting a person’s dental health, they can visit a trusted dentist and have it taken care of.

On Dentists

Dentistry ranks as among the top 10 most trusted and ethical professions in the United States today, and students who graduate dental school are highly motivated and often plan to make a serious career out of dental work. A person who does not already have a dentist, such as if they moved in a new area, can and should find one. A person can perform an online search, for example, such as “nearby dentist’s offices San Francisco CA” or “good dentist Boston MA” to find local offices. The person can then visit these locations and make sure that everything there is to their liking, and they can sign on with their new dentist. Many millions of Americans go to the dentist every year, or they bring their young kids to the dentist’s office once or twice per year. This can cost some money, and exact prices may vary. An unfortunate trend is that today, many young adults have a hard time visiting a dentist due to financial constraints, according to a study done by the American Dental Association. Still, there are many different dentist’s office, and with a little luck, a person can find an affordable office in their area. What might be treated there? What goes wrong with teeth?

Dental Problems

Dental issues in Americans vary, and so do the remedies. For example, a tooth may have the fleshy pulp inside afflicted with disease, and this calls for a root canal. But even though many Americans fear the idea of a root canal, it is a painless procedure that leaves the tooth in the mouth, unlike a full tooth extraction. During a root canal, the afflicted tooth is numbed, and the dentist will surgically remove the fleshy pulp inside the tooth to deal with the infection. The tooth will still be in place, although the patient should be advised that the tooth will be slightly more fragile and will no longer feel heat or cold.

Meanwhile, tooth extraction might be done for wisdom teeth or heavily infected teeth. In the latter case, a tooth’s infection may be very serious and extraction is the only way to contain it. Or, gum disease and rot may be the issue, and the tooth will soon fall out anyway. In the former case, wisdom tooth extraction is fairly common. The adult human mouth can hold 28 teeth, but wisdom teeth threaten to exceed this number. When these teeth attempt to grow in, they may cause crowding, and this can cause teeth to grow at odd angles or even become displaced. For this reason, tooth extraction is routinely done on wisdom teeth for many Americans.

What if teeth are already missing? This can be taken care of, too, and dental implants are ready to help. If one tooth is missing, a false one can be put in, and it will be anchored in place by attached covers that go over the real teeth on either side of the gap. Due to the shape, this is called a dental bridge, and it is fairly common. Dentures do this on a larger scale, and can replace several missing teeth in a row, or even all the teeth in the person’s entire mouth. This is common among the elderly today.