What is the difference between a dentist and a dental therapist?

How is a dentist different from a dentist?

The difference is in the level of education and credentials. According to the job description, a dentist cannot perform certain types of treatment.

In practice, patients often encounter specialists without higher education, “jacks of all trades.” This situation is common in small settlements, where a medical institution has only one staff member for the treatment of oral diseases.

Take note:

many specialists with secondary medical education claim that they perform dental treatment no worse than dentists, supporting their arguments with reviews from satisfied patients;
but without the necessary level of knowledge it is impossible to correctly deal with a complex case and prevent side effects;
without constant professional development, the introduction of new technologies, and modern materials, it is impossible to offer the patient the most gentle method of treatment;
It is no coincidence that private dental clinics regularly spend considerable sums on advanced training courses and symposiums for practicing doctors.

Features of the work of a mid-level specialist

Based on the diploma received, the dentist, as mentioned earlier, can perform various dental procedures, but at the same time limits complex types of treatment, for example, treatment of pulpitis, prosthetics.

Patients should know that despite the promises made by the doctor, it is impossible to carry out complex medical procedures without the appropriate education and experience .

Only a good dentist with experience and professional knowledge can achieve a high-quality treatment result.

To improve his qualifications, after a certain time, the dentist must necessarily upgrade his category.

A doctor with a second category - his work experience must be more than 3 years after receiving an education document. He must know the theory well and have at least some work experience.
A doctor of the first category - he must have at least 7 years of work experience. He is obliged to periodically improve his knowledge in his field.
A doctor with the highest category must have at least 10 years of experience in his specialty. This category corresponds to high theoretical and practical training.

Dentist

The specialist studies at a medical college for 3 years, studies the structure and features of the dental system, and learns simple dental procedures. But a doctor with a secondary medical education should not perform complex prosthetics, correct bites, or treat pulpitis.

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What does a dentist do:

examines the oral cavity;
finds out the cause of pain;
identifies and treats gum diseases;
fills a tooth with a small degree of tissue destruction;
explains the rules of oral hygiene;
gives advice on choosing toothpaste, mouthwash, dental floss, and oral irrigator;
if periodontal disease, periodontitis, deep caries, pulpitis, curvature of tooth units destroyed by 50% or more, or other complex pathologies are detected, he is referred for consultation to a specialist.

What to do if you are not satisfied with the quality of the dentist’s services?

To avoid most problems, when choosing dentistry, pay attention to the following signs of quality:

1. Multidisciplinarity Often toothache is a sign of a serious disease that cannot be cured by simply pulling out a tooth or putting a filling. The patient may simply need an x-ray or assistance, for example, from a prosthetist or orthodontist. It’s great if the clinic’s equipment and personnel specialization allow you to receive almost the entire range of dental services in one place. All necessary skills of personnel in the use of special equipment (for example, ultrasound and laser devices, visiograph, computed tomograph, microscope) must be confirmed by certificates of a particular doctor. Important! According to the Russian Federation Regulations “On approval of the rules for the provision of paid medical services to the population by medical institutions,” clinic visitors must be informed about the qualifications of specialists and certification for certain types of activities. Such information should be freely available.

2. Stability Find out from the manager how long the clinic has been in existence. And most importantly, how long have certain doctors worked there. It’s a good sign if a specialist has at least three years of experience in a particular place. The presence of “turnover” should alert you. If you start treatment with one doctor, he will quit and you will have to continue treatment with another.

3. Cleanliness There are bactericidal ultraviolet lamps in the offices. There are shoe covers for patients. The doctor is wearing white shoes. The doctor and assistant have gloves and masks, which are changed to new ones before seeing the next patient. After use, the doctor places all instruments that contain the patient’s blood or saliva (even disposable syringes for anesthesia) in a disinfectant solution. And only after disinfection, the instruments are sent to the trash or for sterilization.

4. Doctor's office hours If your doctor sees from 9 am to 9 pm, this is not normal. According to international standards, the dental profession is particularly dangerous and risky and requires extreme concentration. A doctor's working hours should be no more than 6 hours a day.

5. Presence of an assistant The doctor should work only in tandem with an assistant, as modern standards dictate. Working without an assistant is a violation of protocol and a high risk of poor-quality treatment results.

6. Medical card A medical card must be created for each patient, even if the appointment is a one-time visit. The medical record should display data on chronic diseases, allergies, and drug intolerances. And also about what manipulations the doctor performed, what diagnosis was made, what materials were used for treatment, etc.

7. Possibility of choice The doctor discusses the treatment plan with you, offers an alternative (for example, cheap or expensive filling materials). In addition, the doctor should not impose his medications or hygiene products (recommend, or worse, sell the patient a special mouthwash or toothpaste). A good doctor sells his knowledge, not his materials.

9. Guarantee on work If the patient is not satisfied with something, a professional dentist is ready to fix everything for free, be it additional grinding of a tooth or replacing a filling that fell out months after visiting the doctor. An agreement must be concluded between the patient and the clinic, a copy of which remains with the patient. The client must also be given a receipt that lists all the services he received and the cost of these services.

Dentist

The specialist spent 5 years gaining knowledge at a medical institute, after 2 years he studied in residency or worked as an intern for a year. In addition to the structure of the dental system, the dentist studied physiology, anatomy, and the interaction of various organs. Biochemistry, psychology, therapy, histology, bacteriology and a dozen other subjects were on the class schedule.

After graduating from medical university, a general dentist chooses one (or several) specializations. Pediatric dentistry differs significantly from orthopedic and orthodontic treatment. A dental therapist has broader powers than a dentist, and a dental surgeon can not only administer anesthesia and remove teeth, but also perform operations on the gums and jaw bones.

Do you know who a dentist is? This is what a dentist is called in other countries. In Europe, the USA, and other Western countries, a specialist with a secondary medical education performs the same functions as a dentist in Russia.

Features of working with a child of a professional with higher education

Children's health is made up of various factors, one of which is children's teeth. Pediatric dentistry is an independent branch in this field of medicine.

Pediatric dentistry is the most complex, unlike adult dentistry. In this case, both the diseases themselves and the methods of therapy are completely different.
Also, in this area of dentistry there are no adult infections.
All procedures must take place under anesthesia. You can’t do anything without it, not even treat caries. The healthy psyche of a child is the main task for a doctor.
Anesthesia should occur in such a way that children do not see or feel it; a good dentist knows how to do this.
In children, various pathological processes in the mouth develop much faster.
For example, baby teeth quickly become infected with caries, unlike permanent teeth. In just a few months, a child’s caries can turn from a dark spot into a deep formation or even completely collapse.
When treating children's teeth, it is necessary to take into account the location of future permanent elements; this is not the case in adult dentistry.
Not all doctors know how to work with children’s teeth, so the pediatrician has a separate specialty – “pediatric dentist.”

A pediatric dentist should be a sensitive and kind person who knows his job. He always knows that children are afraid of the dental office and tries to prevent this.

A self-respecting children's doctor will not allow small children to sit in line outside his office. He is able to captivate the child so that he completely forgets that he is in the dentist’s office.

Therapist

The specialist performs the same manipulations as a dentist. In addition, a dental therapist deals with more complex problems with teeth and gums.

The doctor has a wide range of responsibilities:

treats dental diseases: deep caries, pulpitis;
selects and places fillings for severe tooth decay;
carries out endodontic treatment;
treats severe inflammation of the gums, mucous membranes, tongue;
whitens teeth;
carries out sanitation of the oral cavity;
performs professional teeth cleaning with ultrasound or using Air Flow technology;
conducts preventive examinations and gives recommendations on oral care;
when identifying malocclusions or diseased teeth that cannot be restored, he refers the patient to specialized dentists: an orthodontist and a surgeon;
in the absence of one or more units of the dentition, the dentist-therapist recommends a consultation with an orthopedic dentist, or “in popular parlance” – a prosthetist.

Rights

The dentist has the right:

3.1. Receive the information necessary for the high-quality performance of functional duties.

3.2. Make proposals to management to improve the quality of dental care for the population and improve the organization of work.

3.3. Give orders to the junior medical staff of the dental department, control the volume and quality of work performed by them, monitor the work of the technician in repairing equipment and equipment.

3.4. Take part in meetings, conferences, sections, medical associations where issues related to professional competence are discussed.

3.5. [Enter as appropriate].

Surgeon

The specialist deals with the following issues:

removes diseased teeth if the therapist has given a conclusion that restoration is impossible;
carries out extraction (removal) of healthy teeth that interfere with the normal growth of neighboring units;
performs correction of dental anomalies, removal of impacted (unerupted) wisdom teeth, supernumerary units;
the help of a dental surgeon will be needed if certain units grow incorrectly, for example, in 2 rows;
The specialist's competence includes implantation and various types of prosthetics.

Narrower specializations

The large number and complexity of pathologies of the dentofacial apparatus, the constant improvement of existing treatment technologies and the development of new ones require in-depth, specific knowledge and skills from dentists.

This feature has found its implementation in the concept of narrow specialization of dentists.

Depending on the type of work performed, the following specializations of dentists differ:

therapist;

orthodontist;

surgeon;

orthopedist;

hygienist;

pediatric dentist.

Dentists often combine several specializations at once.

Dental surgeon

The prerogative of the profession of a dental surgeon is the following operations:

Dental surgeons often treat diseases that are within the competence of dentists of other specialties

tooth extraction;

treatment of neoplasms in the PR;

elimination of TMJ dysfunctions, diseases of the salivary glands and trigeminal nerve;

primary treatment of wounds and injuries of the mouth, neck, face;

plastic surgery and reconstruction of jaw bones;

operations on periodontal tissues (gingivectomy, gum pocket removal, soft tissue transplantations, gingivoplasty, plastic surgery of the oral vestibule and frenulum);

correction of tooth position anomalies.

implantation.

Dental surgeons often treat diseases that are within the competence of dentists of other specialties: phlegmon, periodontitis, sinusitis, periostitis, abscesses, osteomyelitis.

They also diagnose specific diseases, the symptoms of which may appear in the PR - syphilis, tuberculosis, actinomycosis.

Dentist-therapist

Dental therapist is the broadest specialization in dentistry.

Typically, patients who seek help from a dentist first see a therapist, who in most cases is able to deal with their problem alone.

The job description of a dental therapist provides for the following work:

examination of the oral cavity;
diagnosing;
treatment of teeth (caries, pulpitis, etc.) and periodontal disease (gingivitis, periodontitis, periodontal disease, periodontitis);
preparation of PR for prosthetics, its sanitation;
teeth whitening and PG;
preventive examination and advice on caring for RP.

A doctor of this specialization is engaged in the restoration of dilapidated, missing or lost aesthetic teeth using prosthetics.

General dentist

The specialty “General Dentistry” was introduced by orders of the Ministry of Health No. 553 and 112. This specialty is of particular importance for rural areas, where it is desirable to have a specialist who can provide assistance in several clinical areas.

However, until now, due to a number of organizational, educational and legal problems, general practice in dentistry has not received proper development.

Children and adolescents under the age of 17 are patients of the pediatric dentist. A child's teeth have many differences from adult teeth.

This includes the presence of baby teeth, the constant renewal and formation of the dentofacial apparatus, and the inability to use certain anesthetics for children.

And the reaction of children to the dental chair creates increased problems.

A dentist treating children must not only be able to distinguish pathology from the age norm, detect deviations in bite and tooth formation in time, but also be a bit of a psychologist.

Dental hygienist is a relatively new specialization in dentistry.

Its goal is the prevention of dental diseases, its field of activity is dental hygiene, proper dental care.

A dental hygienist performs the following work:

diagnosing RP diseases;
professional teeth cleaning;
disease prevention;
training in proper dental care skills;
educational activities (inspections in kindergartens, schools, institutions, organizations, enterprises).

Orthopedist

Patients who have lost one or more units of dentition turn to this specialist. The doctor will help people who have ugly stumps sticking out instead of teeth, causing injuries to the mucous membrane.

What does an orthopedic dentist do:

performs full or partial prosthetics;
restores the beauty of a smile;
selects the optimal method for normalizing chewing function.

Important! Before consultation with a prosthetist, it is mandatory to sanitize the oral cavity and eliminate inflammatory processes of various etiologies. A visit to the dentist or dental therapist is the first stage of orthopedic treatment.

Case 2. Perforation of the tooth canal.

Also often referred to are patients whose tooth canal was unfilled and treated by the so-called. “blindly”, without sufficiently enlarging the surgical area. In this case, the dentist’s instrument could come off the hard material of the canal and cause damage to the root canal - perforate it. In this case, two foci of inflammation occur:

the first focus of inflammation occurs at the root apex due to an untreated root canal,
the second focus of inflammation occurs in the area of canal perforation.

The doctor recommends tooth extraction, but in such a situation it is also possible to avoid extraction and save the tooth!

How to do it right:

Contact a clinic that uses a powerful dental microscope in medical practice. Is the tooth removed in this case? - No.
Using a dental microscope, the doctor can look into the root canal, see all the filling material, carefully remove it, unfill the root canal, treat the perforation area, reach both sites of inflammation, eliminate the inflammation and fill both the canal and the previously caused perforation.

Thus, we save the patient’s tooth without resorting to unnecessary removal.

Orthodontist

Most people encounter a specialist in this category during their lifetime. Bite anomalies, according to statistics, are observed in 80% of residents of different countries. Some studies suggest a higher percentage of patients who are candidates for orthodontic treatment.

The main task of an orthodontist is to restore the beauty of a smile. According to scientists, bite defects not only worsen aesthetics, but also provoke serious pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract, cause headaches, and severe diseases of the gum and bone tissue.

What does an orthodontist do:

aligns the dentition;
eliminates wide interdental spaces, removes diastema - the gap between the “units” in the center of the dentition;;
corrects the growth of milk and permanent units;
gives recommendations for the prevention of malocclusions;
controls the formation of the jaw in childhood.

Take note:

the specialist draws up a treatment plan, takes impressions, sends the jaws for x-rays, sends the collected materials to the dental laboratory;
after receiving the finished product, the doctor installs the design, gives recommendations for care and correct correction;
During the entire period of treatment, the patient is observed by a doctor who installed braces, retainers or other special devices;
The duration of correction is calculated in months, often years (especially in adults).

Removable and non-removable orthodontic structures help correct bite defects:

stretching plates;
bracket systems;
veneers;
lumineers;
orthodontic devices;
lip bumpers;
retainers;
trainers;
aligners;
orthodontic aligners;
clasp devices.

What qualities should the best dentists in Orenburg have?

The specialist must have the necessary education, diploma, and license to carry out his activities in Russia;
Before starting treatment, the doctor must conduct a comprehensive consultation, explain to the patient what procedures he will perform and why - this allows for a comfortable, trusting atmosphere for the patient;
All manipulations must be carried out in accordance with septic/antiseptic requirements: the doctor must wear a gown, mask, gloves and safety glasses.

Before starting treatment, it is difficult for the patient to assess the real qualifications of a specialist, therefore, the Internet can help in choosing, it is worth asking the search engine the query “orthopedic dentists orthopedists in Orenburg reviews” - popular sites of the city will open in front of you, where people leave their reviews about the quality of treatment from this or that dentist By carefully studying them, you can determine the strengths and weaknesses of a particular specialist in a particular clinic.

Another good way to choose a doctor is the personal experience of your loved ones, friends or colleagues. As a rule, they provide an objective picture of the quality of their own treatment from a particular specialist, and can also tell about unscrupulous representatives of the profession.