DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORAL SURGEON AND DENTIST

Before we identify the differences between a general family dentist and an oral surgeon, lets first look at their similarities. Both graduated from a four-year dental program after their undergraduate degree. Both rotated through all the different disciplines of dentistry and studied anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, pathology and oral surgery. An oral surgeon then chose to extend their education with another four to eight years and specialize in that specific area of dentistry. As we will show you, some general dentists can perform some minor oral surgery and an oral surgeon may choose to perform some common general dentistry functions.

What Does a General Dentist do?

Your family dentist is whom you should be seeing twice a year. They will become familiar with your oral hygiene habits and create a history of the care with your teeth and gums. They will routinely shoot x-rays and perform regular exams and will clean your teeth at every examination. The teeth cleaning is an overlooked benefit to taking good care of your teeth. The cleaning helps you stay ahead of bacteria carrying plaque that causes both cavities and gum disease. A general dentist can remove a cavity and put in a filling and place a crown over a weakened tooth. They can perform root canals, apply sealants and design a dental bridge for a missing tooth. They can also watch and take care of your gums. They will extract teeth that have erupted as well.

What Does an Oral Surgeon do?

Common practice is for your family dentist to refer you to an oral surgeon because you need a procedure that they are not specialized in. Some of those procedures are the removal of an impacted tooth. This happens often with the third set of molars that are supposed to erupt between the ages of 17 and 25. Often times they do not erupt but still crowd the remaining teeth. An oral surgeon will specialize in pulling these teeth. An oral surgeon will also be your choice for complex tooth removals that might include some jawbone. They will remove soft tissue, remove tumors and many times will specialize in the inclusion of dental implants because of the complications that may exist in dealing with the jawbone. If you have problems with your jaw alignment or the joint at the back of your jaw an oral surgeon will specialize in correcting that. They can deal with overbites and underbites which ends up correcting facial proportions.

Teamwork

As mentioned, you usually will see an oral surgeon after a referral has been placed from your family dentist. You can clarify and qualify that oral surgeon of trust your family dentist. That referral comes after prior collaborations so the trust has been earned. After the oral surgeon has performed their proceduce they will send you back to your general dentist. They have become part of your team. Both will encourage you to start the program by taking good care of your teeth and gums at home prior to any scheduled appointments. They can’t help you there, that oral hygiene is with you.

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