Monthly Archives: May 2021

Differences Between Dentists and Orthodontists

What are the differences between dentists and orthodontists? Dentists and orthodontists are both essential to maintaining the oral health of their patients. But they provide care in different methods. A dentist specializes in treating your gums, teeth, jaws, and nerves. However, orthodontics specializes in dentistry and focuses on occlusion, correcting bites, and straightening teeth.

What Services do Dentists Provide?

Dentists take care of oral health. They study in a pre-medical or pre-dentistry college. Afterward, they graduate from a graduate school of dentistry. The dentist also undergoes much practice before they receive their certification. Around 80 percent of dentists pursue their careers in general dentistry.

Difference between dentists and orthodontists
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You can visit a certified dentist for the diagnosis and treatment of your oral health. These health conditions could be regarding your mouth, tongue, gums, and teeth. Even though dental hygienists focus on cleaning the teeth, you can also visit the dentists. Below, you will find some tasks that a dentist performs:

  • Fill and bond teeth
  • Fill cavity
  • Conduct dental X-rays
  • Extract teeth
  • Repair cracked teeth
  • Treat gingivitis and other gum diseases
  • Promote oral hygiene and oral health
  • Prescribe treatment do oral health conditions
  • Whitening the teeth
  • Perform oral surgery
  • Install veneers or crowns
  • Oversee the growth of the children’s teeth

Reasons to See a Dentist

Keep in mind that it is essential to visit a dentist every six months. Here are some reasons to visit dentists:

1.     Preventive Care

On your visit to your dentist, they will check the risk of dental decay, gum problems, and mouth cancer. When your dentist diagnoses these conditions on your regular visits, you can easily prevent these serious problems. You can also visit a dentist to remove the buildup of tartar and plaque. By eliminating these buildups, you can decrease the risk of gum diseases and tooth decay. Your dentist works with a hygienist and shares tips to maintain oral hygiene at home.

2.     Pain or Discomfort

You should visit a dentist when you experience discomfort and pain in your mouth, gums, jaws, and teeth. Furthermore, your neck, face, or mouth might be swelling, or you might be suffering from pain in these areas. In these particular cases, you might have a serious dental problem. Therefore, it is important to immediately visit a dentist. Also, you might be bleeding from your gums or have trouble chewing. These issues could be serious, which is why you should consult a dentist and share the problem with them.

3.     Maintenance and Health

If you recently underwent surgery, make sure that everything is fine. Sometimes, after dental surgery, you will develop different problems. Therefore, you should visit your dentist after surgery, so they can assess your current condition. Also, you can visit a dentist for a diagnosis of your health. These visits are especially important if you are pregnant, suffering from any medical condition, and use tobacco. They will diagnose your risk factors similar to a medical doctor.

What Services Does an Orthodontist Provide?

Orthodontists also help you with your oral conditions. They are a type of dentist responsible for jaw and tooth alignment. They have further specialization in dentistry. You can visit a certified orthodontist to make sure your teeth and jaw are correctly set. They will diagnose and treat your oral condition related to mouth, gums, and teeth. Here are some tasks that orthodontists perform:

  • They create treatment plans including retainers and braces
  • They diagnose and provide treatment for misaligned jaws and teeth
  • They perform surgery to straightening your teeth
  • They supervise facial growth in children such as jawline and bite
  • They install dental appliances such as palatal expanders, braces, appliances, or orthodontic headgear.

Difference between dentists and orthodontists
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Reasons to See an Orthodontist

1.     They are also Dentists

When a dentist completes their dental school, they become an orthodontist by specializing. Dentists and orthodontists both practice general oral care. However, orthodontists also access, prevent, and treat dental and facial irregularities. An orthodontist has a lot of patients for orthodontics; therefore, they don’t have enough time to practice general oral care.

2.     Straighten Teeth

You can visit an orthodontist to reshape your crooked teeth. They will place braces on your teeth to straighten them. These treatments are effective for children because their jaw is growing. Because the age of seven is the ideal age for the growth of the jaw, you should get your child diagnosed during this time. An orthodontist will ensure that your child’s teeth are growing perfectly or not.

Differences Between Dentists and Orthodontists: Conclusion

If you want to visit an orthodontist for correcting the alignment and condition of your teeth, contact us today.Our expert orthodontists will provide orthodontic services with advanced tools and dental expertise. They will diagnose the condition and correct your dental health condition.

UPTOWN (646) 760-8028
DOWNTOWN (212) 477-3871

Differences between Children’s Teeth & Adult Teeth

Ever wonder why humans have two sets of teeth? That’s because of the differences between children’s and adult teeth. The first set of teeth, known as milk teeth, are temporary and begin to emerge around six months of age. By the time children are around three years old, they will have all their milk teeth. These teeth start falling out around the age of 5 or 6 to make way for adult teeth.

Adults have 32 teeth, while babies have 20, but that’s not the only difference. There are many other differences between a child’s and an adult’s teeth. It is important to know the difference because while both need proper care, the type of dental care differs. Mentioned below are all the differences you will come across between children and adult teeth.

Differences Children's Teeth & Adult Teeth
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The Main Differences between Children and Adult Teeth

Mentioned below are a few differences between children and adult teeth:

The Level of Strength

For starters, adult teeth are stronger than milk teeth. Permanent teeth usually have a thick layer of enamel, which makes them less prone to dental issues such as cavities and tooth decay. Children have softer teeth with thinner enamel. Consequently, their teeth are highly susceptible to damage by bacteria, which can cause cavities and tooth decay.

The Number of Teeth

Another main difference between children and adult teeth is the number of teeth. Children usually only have 20 teeth, and these start to erupt around six months of age. On the other hand, adults have a total of 32 permanent teeth.

20 Teeth That Children Have:

  • 4 Second Molars
  • 4 First Molars
  • 4 Lateral Incisors
  • 4 Central Incisors
  • For Cuspids

32 Permanent Teeth That Adults Have:

  • 4 Central Incisors
  • 4 Lateral Incisors
  • 4 third Molars
  • 4 Second Molars
  • 4 first Molars
  • 4 first bicuspids
  • 4 second bicuspids
  • 4 Cuspids

The Color

You will always find baby teeth whiter and brighter compared to adults with permanent teeth. You will only be able to notice the color difference in children’s teeth once their baby teeth fall out. Sometimes, the color depends on the way you brush and maintain your teeth. But if you take a close look at a child’s teeth, you will notice a white milky texture.

The Shape and Size

Children’s teeth start with incisors that have flat edges and are smaller in size compared to adult teeth. You will notice a child’s tooth is more square-shaped. While adult incisors have more rounded biting edges and also have three ridges right on the biting edge. The ridges are also known as mamelons, and while the teeth erupt, it becomes easier for them to break through the gums. Adults with molars have deeper valleys and grooves along the surface where you chew. Meanwhile, children’s teeth don’t have noticeable grooves and are very shallow instead.

Differences Children’s Teeth & Adult Teeth: Purposes of Each

Children’s teeth have a different purpose compared to those of adults. Both types of teeth share similar functions when it comes to eating food and trying to speak.  The purpose of baby teeth is to maintain the spacing of the jaw for your adult teeth to have more room to erupt into the right position. Consequently, children’s teeth gradually disintegrate, and the teeth fall out. The main purpose of adult teeth is to keep the mouth functioning properly. They can do so because of their increased strength. Adults have to take extra care of their teeth to improve their longevity.

Top Differences between Children's Teeth & Adult Teeth
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What Are the Other Purpose of Children’s Primary Teeth?

Though primary teeth aren’t permanent, it is still important to take care of them. Teaching young children to look after their teeth helps them develop better brushing and flossing habits that they will continue as they grow older.

Whenever a child eats, it causes harm to the gum, so by protecting your primary teeth, you are also preventing certain gum diseases and tooth decay. Children’s teeth are at a lot of risk as they are not permanent. Hence, you have to do everything you can to protect them till they all fall out and permanent teeth start growing.

Children’s teeth also act as spacers until the permanent teeth are ready to erupt. Losing baby teeth before the eruption of a permanent tooth could lead to many spatial problems. You will struggle with this once adult teeth develop. The important thing to remember is that just because children’s teeth aren’t permanent doesn’t mean they’re not important. Children’s teeth are more like base starters for permanent teeth.

Differences Children’s Teeth & Adult Teeth: Final Words

Now that you are aware of the difference between a child’s teeth and adult teeth, you’re better equipped to take care of them by keeping them safe and clean.

For the best orthodontic consultation, get in touch with Manhattan Family Orthodontics at our uptown or downtown locations in New York City.

For more information, visit our main website at https://manhattanfamilyorthodontics.com/