Career as Periodontist Essay Example

Career as Periodontist Essay Example Career as Periodontist Essay Career as Periodontist Essay Dentistry is a rewarding career option that deals with the study relating to mouth, teeth, gums and other hard and soft tissues of the oral cavity. It is the occupation concerned with prevention and treatment of supporting tissues, oral disease and particular diseases of the teeth. Dentistry, in recent times, is offering great career opportunities to the professionals in the field. Dental disorder has become a common problem among people of all sections of the society. With the development of recent science and technologies, the treatment procedures have also changed considerably. The opening of more specialized subjects like periodontics, oral pathology and orthodontics have all enhanced the scope in this field. Periodontology or periodontics is the specialty of dentistry that studies supporting structures of teeth, diseases and conditions that affect them. The supporting tissues are known as periodontium. A professional who practices this speciality field of dentistry is known as a periodontist. Periodontist practices a full scope of periodontics with expertise ranging from dental implants to cosmetic periodontal surgery, gum grafting and crown lengthening and specializes in a wide variety of periodontal disease devoted to restoring and enhancing the natural foundation of the smile using conservative, state-of-the-art procedures that will result in beautiful, long lasting foundation of one’s smile. Apart from the routine oral hygiene maintenance, other faculties which form the scope of periodontics are treatment of periodontitis, depigmentation of oral tissues, laser surgeries, reattachment procedures, gingivoplasty, implant surgeries, etc. Gum disease is the most common disease that afflicts mankind. It may be 20 years before a patient realizes they have it and by then it may be too late, as teeth may become loose and cannot be saved. Many people don’t realize that the issues that they are having with their teeth really are gum conditions, not teeth problems. In the early stages of the disease a dentist or hygienist can treat it; but as it progressively worsens a specialist is required to treat the gum disease. The periodontal team includes the periodontist, dental assistants and dental hygienists. The periodontist screens the patient, performs the surgical care, and provides continual care according to the patient’s needs. The dental assistant performs chair side assisting duties while the dental hygienist performs traditional hygiene procedures. The goals of periodontal therapy are to preserve the natural dentition, periodontium and peri-implant tissues; to maintain and improve periodontal and peri-implant health, comfort, esthetics and function. A periodontist is a dentist with a specialty. The specialty is the area supporting the teeth and its structures. He diagnoses and treats diseases by checking on the state of the patient’s mouth, gums and teeth. He is fully certified and qualified to prescribe antimicrobial medication and drugs to treat an infection or anything else that may need a prescription. Periodontists are able to perform specific surgeries that can improve problems that affect the gums that cannot be helped through nonsurgical means. Some of the periodontal surgeries conducted by these dental providers have a cosmetic element to them and can enhance and beautify the smiles of the people who have the work done. Dental implants are also part of the surgical options that this oral health care provider may offer. These are not the limit[pic], though and he or she may also offer other services that involve his field of expertise. The scope of a periodontist’s practice includes the diagnosis and delivery of care in a variety of areas:- Full periodontal diagnosis, treatment and management Gingival augmentation grafting procedures (free gingival grafts, connective tissue grafts) Root coverage pedicle and free soft tissue graft procedures Implant dentistry Interdental papilla reconstruction Regenerative therapy Crown lengthening procedures Gingival preservation at ectopic tooth eruption Removal of aberrant frenulum Prevention of ridge collapse associated with tooth extraction. Correction of the deformed edentulous ridge Cosmetic periodontal procedure Temperomandibular joint disease – diagnosis and treatment Supportive periodontal therapy for cancer patients Comprehensive management of dental care for elderly patients [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] A broad range of therapies exist in periodontics. No single treatment approach can provide the only means of treating any one or all periodontal diseases. One treatment modality may be appropriate for one section of the mouth while another approach may be suitable at other sites. The treatment procedures include:- Chemotherapeutic agents Resective procedures comprising of soft tissue procedures like gingivectomy, gingivoplasty, various mucogingival flap procedures; osseous procedures like ostectomy, osteoplasty; and dental tissue procedures like root resection, tooth hemisection and odontoplasty. Periodontal regenerative procedures include soft tissue grafts, bone replacement grafts, root biomodification and guided tissue regeneration. Periodontal plastic surgery Occlusal therapy include minor tooth movement, occlusal adjustment and splinting. Preprosthetic periodontal procedures Replacement of teeth by dental implants Procedures to facilitate orthodontic treatment Management of periodontal systemic interrelationships when appropriate. A significant recent development in periodontal research has been the convergence of basic and clinical research resulting in a logarithmic increase in the rate of progress. Throughout the 20th century, investigators and clinicians sought to discover the causes and trace the natural history of periodontal disease. Noteworthy progress has been made on several fronts. It was once believed that oral hygiene and age accounted predominantly for variances in the prevalence and severity of periodontal disease; now, a number of innate, acquired and environmental risk factors have been identified. Insight into periodontal wound healing has fostered promising approaches to promoting regeneration of damaged periodontal structures. The progress made in understanding the nature of periodontal disease have been  complemented by equally noteworthy therapeutic advances. The coupling of surgical and medical approaches to treatment ushers in a new era in the management of periodontal disease. Laser-assisted new attachment procedure, the LANAP protocol, is a surgical therapy designed for the treatment of periodontitis through regeneration rather than resection. This therapy and the laser used to perform it have been in use for more than a decade. The last 25 years have brought unprecedented advances to our understanding of periodontal disease. Consider that in 1970 periodontitis was believed to effect most individuals over the age of 35 years, to progress steadily in an individual once initiated until teeth were lost, to be the primary cause of tooth loss. In the 25 years then, impressive research advances in the epidemiology of periodontal disease, the specific bacterial etiology and immunoinflammatory mediators of periodontal tissue destruction have greatly altered our view of periodontal disease. Thus, given these research advances in the understanding of periodontitis, what may the future hold for improved diagnosis and treatment of periodontal disease ? Impressive research into new ways to diagnose the periodontal diseases is well underway. Investigators are seeking new ways to diagnose an individual’s degree of risk for periodontal disease initiation, susceptibility to disease progression, level of disease activity and the likely response to treatment and recurrence of active disease. New diagnostic tests should greatly advance our ability to more accurately and specifically diagnose periodontal disease. The future also looks promising for new treatment strategies to slow or arrest periodontal disease progression. Likely, we have barely scratched the surface in studying the efficacy of locally delivered antimicrobial agents to alter the disease progression. The future also holds promise for slowing disease progression by blocking inflammatory pathways important in periodontal tissue destruction. Last, research into regenerating periodontal structure lost as a result of disease has had a noteworthy record of progress in the past 25 years. Techniques that utilize bone grafts, root treatments, tissue guiding membranes or polypeptide growth factors have ably indicated that it is  possible to regenerate new attachment structures in humans. As investigators continue to unravel the mysteries of the embryonic development of periodontium, the ability to predictably regenerate lost periodontal attachment structures hold great promise for the future. CONCLUSION A standard of excellence in personalized periodontal care enables us to provide the quality periodontal services our patients deserve. As periodontal health care professionals, we should pride ourselves in providing the care the patient needs to keep his smile healthy. Building a foundation of trust by treating our patients as special individuals is vital to our success. As a periodontal practitioner, we must truly believe that preventive care and education are the keys to optional dental health. We must strive to provide dental health care vs. disease care and overwhelmingly dedicated to provide excellent personalized care and service to make the patient as comfortable and pleasant as possible. GINGIVAL GRAFTING ROOT COVERAGE FRENECTOMY DENTAL IMPLANT PERIODONTAL PLASTIC SURGERY