Every person should have a vested interest in his or her’s teeth and oral health. The number of studies available that link oral health to other diseases (particularly heart disease) continue to grow. People who do not take care of their teeth eventually have diseased teeth and gums and the bacteria and infection from that can travel through the blood stream and affect the heart. People with compromised immune systems are the most likely to be thus affected.
The person who partners with you in caring for your teeth and gums throughout your life is your dentist. A Dentist in Oklahoma City is a trained professional who understands the relationship between your teeth and gums as well as what is generally going on in a person’s mouth. There are some circumstances where a dentist is trained to recognize but not to treat. Examples of this would be the need for braces (he would refer the patient in this circumstance to an orthodontist), oral cancers, etc.
The bulk of a dentist’s day in, day out work includes things such as teeth cleaning (although many dentists will hire a dental hygienist to clean teeth and will only inspect the results when the hygienist has finished), reading x-rays of teeth that might show abnormalities or cavities beneath the surface of the gum, extracting teeth, drilling out the decayed matter in teeth and filling them with fillings, giving fluoride treatments and so forth. Some dentists will perform root canals where others will refer them to people who specialize in the practice. Some will extract wisdom teeth (or third molars, as they’re also called) but most will refer the patient to an oral surgeon.
It is important to have an established relationship with a capable dental firm such as Baumann and Lanman Dentistry. You never know when a toothache might strike, and you’ll want to be able to call someone to come to your aid when that occurs, pronto!
A good dentist, however, does more than just take care of his patient’s teeth. A really good dentist, probably by nature of the fact that he’s in a “caring” profession, develops relationships with his patients, and cares about far more than just their teeth.
