The letters DDS, DMD or DDS may be the letters you have been looking for. Your dentist might also refer you to a specialist. What are the different types of dentists and how can you choose which one to see for your particular needs?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A general dentist is the most common type of dentist you will see when visiting the dentist. A DDS dentist can be either a DMD or a DDS. DDS dentists have earned their Doctor of Dental Surgery degree. DMD dentists have earned their Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Dental Medicine degrees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A doctor can earn DDS\/DMD credentials by completing at least three years of undergraduate study followed by four years of school in dentistry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is the difference between DMD and DDS? They are both the same. The difference is due to the university they attended and how that university recognizes the profession. To practice dentistry, both must complete the same classes, take a written exam and pass a certification exam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DDS and DMD dentists can be considered general dentists. They are primary providers that treat all aspects of dental care. This includes the diagnosis and treatment of oral health problems such as gum disease, decay, root canals and crowns, as well as preventative and curative care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes your dental needs may require your general dentist to refer you to a dental specialist. Additional training in dentistry is required for dental specialists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You will receive specialized training and expertise that will help you achieve optimal dental health. These are the most common types of dental specialists:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pedodontist<\/strong> – Dentists who only work with children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Orthodontist<\/strong> – A general dentist will refer a patient to an orthodontist if he\/she notices misalignment in the jaws and\/or teeth of children or adults. An orthodontist can help with braces, Invisalign, and\/or retainers if there are missing or extra teeth. An orthodontist can be referred early to children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oral Surgeon<\/strong> – An oral surgeon is a specialist in treating diseases, injuries, and cosmetic or functional areas of your mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They can remove wisdom teeth, perform dental implants, and treat any suspicious stains. Anesthesia training is also available to oral surgeons in order to provide comfort for patients during surgery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Endodontist<\/strong> – Specialists who have been trained to treat tooth pain and save natural teeth. Root canal treatment is a procedure that treats infected tissue within a tooth. Endodontic actually comes from the Greek term “endo” meaning “inside” and “odont” meaning tooth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Periodontist<\/strong> – A periodontist is a specialist in dental care that looks after your gums, supporting tissues, and structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A referral to a periodontist will most often be made for patients suffering from advanced gum disease. They are also trained to place dental implant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dental specialist<\/strong> – This dental specialist helps patients to restore or replace missing or damaged teeth. They aim to examine all aspects of a patient’s smile to ensure a natural, functional smile. They can perform treatments such as dental implants, bridges and dentures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your primary contact for all your dental care concerns will be your general dentist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The letters DDS, DMD or DDS may be the letters you have been looking for. Your dentist might also refer you to a specialist. What are the different types of dentists and how can you choose which one to see for your particular needs? DDS vs. DMD A general dentist is the most common type of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10285,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/arrowdentalarts.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Rancho-Cucamonga-Dentist.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4SN89-2Z0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arrowdentalarts.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11470"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arrowdentalarts.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arrowdentalarts.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arrowdentalarts.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arrowdentalarts.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11470"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/arrowdentalarts.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11471,"href":"https:\/\/arrowdentalarts.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11470\/revisions\/11471"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arrowdentalarts.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arrowdentalarts.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arrowdentalarts.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arrowdentalarts.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}