Services Available At Our Dental Clinics
A Wide Range of Services Available from Intercare Dental Clinics
As is true of many disciplines within the field of healthcare, the face of dentistry has been changed dramatically by new knowledge and advanced technology. Until the early years of the 18th century, for example, when teeth formed cavities and became painful, they were simply extracted. Where prosthetics might have been used to replace them, these would have been made from wood, ivory, or metal, and it appears that, sometimes, animal teeth or even healthy teeth removed from other humans were used as a replacement. In practice, the first dedicated dental clinic only opened its doors more than a century later in 1841.
From those humble beginnings, the role of the dentist has expanded by leaps and bounds, and today he or she will have typically been required to complete seven years of intensive study and practical training in order to establish his or her own practice. Given the extent to which the discipline has expanded, it has also become common practice for these healthcare professionals to specialise in a field such as orthodontics or maxillofacial surgery. That said, many dentists choose to offer a more general range of services rather than restrict themselves to a particular specialism and as a general rule, a reasonably-sized, modern dental clinic will have a team of suitably qualified and experienced personnel that should enable them to attend to most of their patient’s requirements.
For convenience, the role of the dentist can be regarded as consisting of three parts – routine care, more advanced procedures, and oral hygiene. Let’s take a closer look at just what each of these aspects of dentistry might entail. At a routine level, the main focus of the dentist is on the more basic aspects of care and will also include performing X-rays, root canal treatments, and fitting removable prostheses as required.
In addition to orthodontics, one of the more specialised procedures undertaken at a dental clinic is periodontal surgery, which may be needed to treat gum diseases such as periodontitis, a bacterial infection that can lead to the formation of pockets between the teeth and gums which, if untreated, can lead to tooth loss and erosion of bone. Surgery consists of exposing the root with a tiny incision in order to facilitate root planing and scaling combined with the use of topical antibiotics. Other procedures in this category include implants and other advanced restorations.
The third category of treatment, oral hygiene, focuses mainly on preventative measures, and a dental clinic may employ an oral hygienist to provide preventative care and advice. Scaling and polishing and teeth whitening also fall into this category.