Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Parker Mizelle
Ms. Davis
22 February 2018
Mizelle 2
Parker Mizelle
Ms.Davis
22 February 2018
A Career in Dentistry
A dentist goes through their office checking in on patients that the oral hygienists cared
for. The dentist sits and talks to his or her patients evaluating their experience and how it can get
better. The dentist inspects and assesses a patient's mouth for problems. He or she builds a strong
relationship with their patients so that they keep coming back. It takes skill to become a dentist.
Dentists have to protect patients, save patients from injuries that cause them pain, act personable,
and at the end of the day make people feel confident about their teeth and how they look. A
career in dentistry includes three disciplines: oral hygiene, cosmetic dentistry, and periodontics.
People have had chipped teeth, torn gums, and broken jaws ever since the first humans
began to develop teeth. Egyptians etched in stone in 3000 B.C.E. that tooth doctors resided at
medical facilities to fix teeth (“Dentistry”). Dentistry never had a place in the medical field until
Egyptians etched dentistry in the stone above the ancient hospitals. Only the very rich in Ancient
Egypt got offered dental care. Offering dentistry to the rich set a precedent so that dental care
would eventually trickle down the social hierarchy. After the Egyptians started recording their
dental discoveries, Aristotle began studying the anatomy and structure of the jaw and the teeth in
humans (“Dentistry”). Aristotle's discoveries act as one of the first times dentists had science to
back up the dental discoveries they had made. This allowed for more and more research to take
place based off of Aristotle's findings. Following Aristotle and his discoveries of human teeth, a
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Roman encyclopedist in the first century A.D. named Aulus Cornelius Celsus discovered that if
you filled teeth with lint before extractions, they would not shatter (“Dentistry”). This early
discovery made it so that more complex procedures get done less dangerously during the first
century in Rome. More and more discoveries revolving around teeth extractions began to come
about after this, which made dental hygiene better and safer in later years after the first century.
In more recent times, people have begun to have more and more problems with their
mouth and the organs that surround it. Due to this, people began to devote more time to dentistry.
During the 16th century, the first person to specialize in dentistry arrived (“Dentistry”). This
allowed for the creation of dentistry as a profession, which enticed more and more people to join
this career. This opened up more time for people to find new ways to innovate old techniques
and find new discoveries related to dentistry. After the first specialized dentist came about, John
Hunter, a British surgeon wrote a book called “Natural History of Human Teeth” which allowed
for the foundation of all modern texts on the anatomy of the jaws and teeth to form (“Dentistry”).
New dentists in the olden days may read “Natural History of Human Teeth” to educate
themselves on dentistry if he or she had an interest in the field. This book would eventually lead
to more people knowing the basic anatomy of the jaw and teeth in the human body which would
open up the alleyway for dentistry teachers to come about. The foundation for all teeth and jaw
textbooks led to the first dental school, the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery in Baltimore
(“Dentistry”). This establishment allowed for anyone who had the urge to become a dentist and
the money to have the chance to become a dentist. This temple of dentists, dentistry professors,
and knowledge made strides in the field of dentistry. Without the Baltimore College of Dental
Surgery in Baltimore dentists might not have some of the dental discoveries they have today.
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A dentist's salary can range from below the average salary of a US citizen to as much as
the top 1% of American income makers. Dentists salaries range from $70,000 a year to over
$200,000 a year, with the median pay a year, around $150,000 a year (Bureau of Labor
Statistics). Dentists main supply of pay depends on how many patients they can acquire in a day.
Dentists will also tend to get paid more if they do specialty tasks like cap crowns or fill cavities.
Orthodontist and oral surgeons tend to make more money making about $208,000 a year or more
(Bureau of Labor Statistics). Orthodontists and oral surgeons have to perform more complex
tasks like shifting jaw alignment and removing teeth. These operations cost more than your
average cleaning which raises the pay orthodontist and oral surgeons make per year. An office
full of dentists makes $10,000 more than a government dentist and about $20,000 more than an
office full of physicians (Bureau of Labor Statistics). An office of dentists make more money
because a private company can assign their own prices which influence their pay. A government
worker has their pay set by the government which tends to mean they will earn less while getting
a salary, but after they retire they will receive social security checks which will help them later in
life.
Daily dentists perform many different procedures that protect and help patients teeth stay
healthy. The dentistry health profession prevents, diagnosis, and treats disorders of the teeth and
adjacent tissues of the head, neck, and mouth (“Dentistry”). Day to day dentists perform jobs that
help protect patients teeth and surrounding organs. Dentists take care of surrounding organs to
prevent head and neck problems. Dentistry, “includes cleaning, filling, and extracting teeth,
treating diseased gum tissues, correcting irregularities in tooth alignment, performing surgical
operations on the mouth or jaw, and constructing and fitting artificial teeth or dentures.”
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(“Dentistry”). Dentists perform tasks such as cleanings and extractions so that later down the line
patients don't have to come back with enormous amounts of pain. When the cleanings and dental
care does not work dentist have to perform surgical operations and or construct artificial teeth to
help fix previous problems in the patient's mouth. Dentists recommend periodic examinations of
teeth to help make sure patients do not develop disorders, plaque buildup, food residue buildup
or teeth that need to get extracted (“Dentistry”). Dentists have assistants below them called
dental hygienists that take care of the basic tasks like looking for and removing plaque buildup
To perform dentistry, a student has to go through many years of schooling before they
can operate on a live human. United States dental colleges require a minimum of four years of
course study (“Degree, Academic”). Even before dentistry students have to get admitted into a
college after high school. After receiving a bachelor of arts, a hopeful dentist can apply for a
dental course. The curriculum of a dentist scholar consists of basic science and clinical study
(“Degree, Academic”). All dental students have to complete basic classes before moving on to
their desired study. Dentists complete most of the basic science classes with all other majors
offered by the school. After completing the course study to become a dentist he or she will
receive a D.D.S. (doctor of dental surgery) or a D.D.M. (doctor of dental medicine) (“Degree,
Academic”). Depending on the degree a dentist gets he or she can go into different specialization
practices. A D.D.S. degree will focus more on surgically removing teeth, installing implants and
performing more in-depth surgeries. A D.D.M. degree will focus more on the medicine side of
dentistry where the dentist will prescribe and examine the use of medicine. Finally, after
completing college, and dental school a dentist has to undergo licensing examination in the state
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they choose to practice before he or she can enter the private practice of there preferred
profession (“Degree, Academic”). Obtaining your dentistry license completes the final step
before a dentist can practice on their own. Each state has their own laws on how long a medical
license lasts but depending where the dentist lives he or she may have to get his or her medical
Dentists begin to specialize in many different fields as they progress in their dentistry
career. Dentists can specialize in oral surgery, which deals with the diagnosis and surgical
treatment of any disease and or injury of teeth (“Dentistry”). General dentists may have a hard
time pulling teeth so dentists tend to pass the job off to oral surgeons. Dentists may refer or
assign an oral surgeon if he or she can not perform the procedure that needs to happen with the
patient. Orthodontics create another branch of dentistry, where the dentist deals with the
alignment and dental arch of teeth (“Dentistry”). Orthodontists have to remain at the top of there
dental class to have an opportunity to study orthodontics. Orthodontists see their patients more
regularly due to the high amount of care needed to align teeth properly. Periodontics makes up
another branch of dentistry, where they concentrate on the tissue surrounding the teeth rather
than the teeth themselves (“Dentistry”). Periodontics branches off from an oral surgery career.
Periodontal dentists can do anything by surgically cutting the gums/tissue, using lasers to loosen
Periodontal disease and gingivitis cause tons of pain and looks unattractive in a patient’s
mouth. Gingivitis hides in the gums which makes it hard to spot by an untrained eye at the
beginning stages of infection (Pi et al.). Gingivitis signs start out very small, but, as time goes on,
the effects of unclean teeth stack up and make gingivitis very noticeable. Gingivitis can cause
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bad breath, painful chewing, enlarged gums, sensitive teeth, and bleeding gums. Periodontal
disease starts out as gingivitis at the base of uncleaned teeth (Pi et al.). Periodontitis has more
severity than gingivitis, gingivitis forms from plaque buildup and if not cared for will cause your
gums to bleed during teeth brushing. Gingivitis can keep growing until it reaches the stage of
Periodontitis. Periodontal disease becomes more costly in the long run with no special care (Pi et
al.). Periodontitis has similar effects to gingivitis, but it can cause the gums to separate from the
teeth. The separation of the gum and teeth can cause bone loss which holds the teeth in place.
After periodontal eats away at the bone, tooth loss will become more prevalent and more
Periodontal disease has multiple effects and consequences on the body. Periodontal
disease causes the second most extractions between people from the age of 41 to 70 years old
(Yasser). Most people do not even know they have periodontal disease. It causes teeth to rot and
become loose, which causes a need for extractions. The periodontal disease weakens the roots of
the teeth which makes them looser. After the age of 40, periodontal diseases become more and
more likely to cause tooth loss (Yasser). Due to older age, the gums become less resilient and
less able to fight periodontal disease. More than 53% of seniors have slight to very severe cases
of periodontal disease (Raphael). Periodontal disease grows more rapidly in people's gums and
soft tissue the older patients get. Periodontal disease does not only happen in elderly patients, but
also in younger children. Periodontal disease also causes early tooth loss in younger people
without proper care and attention. (Yasser). Periodontal disease does not commonly form in
young children, but without basic hygiene periodontal disease can also form in developing
countries.
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Periodontal disease can have different effects on the human body besides tooth and neck
pain. Periodontal disease can directly relate to causing heart disease, diabetes, and strokes
(Raphael). The gums indicate that other organs in the body have begun to fail, or not operate
properly. The gums that do not work properly can cause specific organs like the heart to not
work as well, leading to heart disease. Due to the lack of medical care and hygiene education,
disease (Dhadse et al.). In recent years doctors have made the assumption that periodontal
disease can foreshadow cardiovascular problems (Dhadse et al.). The gums in the human body
notice subtle changes to surrounding organs. When an infection or disease affects the body the
gums might sense negative effects due to the gums fragileness and there extremely permeable
surface.
Cosmetic dentistry makes up another branch of dentistry which helps people achieve the
perfect smile and jaw structure they want. Cosmetic dentists beautify a person's smile through
the use of dental esthetics (Smile Makeovers). People all over the world spend thousands of
dollars to make his or her smile as beautiful as possible. People go through many steps to get
there smiles the way they want. Most of the time people go through a few years of braces and
then if the patient is lucky then they have beautiful teeth. Some people go through steps of
implants and veneers to get their teeth as perfect as they desire. Teeth whitening makes up a big
part of cosmetic dentistry (Smile Makeovers). When people speak, people notice your smile and
yellow or stained teeth. Cosmetic dentists can help assign a bleaching routine to help whiten your
teeth and help you feel more confident. Cosmetic dentistry can also help implement functional
teeth into a patient's mouth (Smile Makeovers). Cosmetic dentists can put in implants to help
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people with missing teeth chew properly again. Orthodontics can help people set there jaw
properly and align the teeth so they overlap nicely creating a complete bite which helps teeth act
more efficient.
Cosmetic dentists have a major job of placing crowns, and veneers into a patient's mouth.
A veneer gets placed on the front of a tooth and face outward toward the lips and cheeks
(Haines). Placing veneers on the front of the teeth making them more aesthetic than functional
even though veneers can emulate functional teeth. A veneer can alter crowns either cap the tooth
three-fourths of the way or cap all of the existent tooth (Haines). Capping a tooth like this will
make them more stable for chewing and eating. Crowns tend to get placed on teeth further back
in the mouth to make the crowns stronger and more sturdy. Crowns and veneers will also change
the shape, size, and color of the patient's teeth (Haines). Veneers formulate from porcelain which
make them look better in the front of the mouth. The porcelain will not get stained as easily as
normal teeth which makes them very appealing cosmetically. Crowns, on the other hand, can get
constructed out of porcelain, a mix of metal and porcelain, or just metal (Haines). The porcelain
makes the teeth look as real as possible. The porcelain and metal mix gives the look of real teeth
but also gives more stability in needed areas. Pure metal crowns can cap teeth as well. Crowns
get crafted from precious metals like gold, and silver because those metals will last a very long
time due to gold and silver having a very stable chemical formula.
Crowns and veneers both take surgical measures to place on the teeth and take care and
dental guidance to keep healthy and strong. For both crowns and veneers, a section of the real
tooth must get removed so that a veneer and crown can fit (Haines). The dentists have to shave
off the existing tooth so that the rest of the teeth will look similar sizes when veneered or capped
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with a crown. Depending on if a dentist has decided to put metal or porcelain on a tooth will
depend on how much existing tooth has to get removed before attaching the crown or veneer.
The next step after removing unneeded parts of the tooth the dentist has to secure the veneer or
crown with a cement (Haines). Cementing the crown or veneer seems easy but if done in the
wrong way the crown or veneer will become loose and not act as effective. Both veneers and
crowns need a solid preparation and stable tooth structure for the veneer or crown to last as long
as possible (Haines). Dentists will have to prep the patients teeth properly by clearing the
unneeded teeth and making sure the roots of the teeth have a strong base. Making sure the teeth
have a strong base before the surgery will make a better chance of not needing a root canal later.
Daily dental care such as cleaning and flossing will protect veneers and crowns but also not
chewing hard or chewy foods will also help (J. Tomalty and S. Tomalty). Crowns and veneers
get designed to last up to 15 years but with good everyday routine crowns and veneers can last
much longer. Crowns and veneers can get easily replaced if damaged or broken during everyday
life.
Dentists from time to time insert implants into patient’s mouths. Titanium screws makeup
implants that get screwed in the bone which act as tooth roots (Haines). The screws have to get
anchored into the bone that the previous tooth left over from the existing tooth. If the patient
does not have existing bone and needs implants an oral surgeon has to implant bone from a
cadaver into the patient's mouth. The implanted bone will latch on to other bone in the mouth
which will allow for the screw to get implanted by the cosmetic dentist. It will take a few months
for the bone to set and then the implant can get screwed in. After months of preparation, the
abutment or porcelain that resembles the tooth can get anchored to the implant (Haines). The
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abutment has to get sculpted by the dentist after the implant feels secure to assure that the fake
tooth looks just like all of the patients' other teeth. For extra support, strength, or improved
appearance a crown can get added to the implant and abutment. Adding a crown will also protect
the tooth from chips and have the ability to make the tooth whiter.
Implants require basic dental care to remain sustainable, but the cosmetic dentists have to
do most of the work up front to produce a sustainable implant. Dentists have to properly
manufacture, then drill into the perfect depth and then shaped to the right size to last as long as
possible (Haines). Eating hard or gooey foods can crack or chip not properly manufacture
implants. The screw for the implant must drill into the gums far enough or the abutment will get
hit by the top row of teeth unevenly and cause more chips to occur. Also, the tooth must have the
same width, or the teeth around the implant will move closer together or get pushed farther apart
depending on the teeth around it. Strong gums help to support the implants (Haines). Hard gums
will make it easier for the implant to stay steady while the bone grows around the metal implant
screw. The screw attached to the abutment will last longer if hard gums are present in the
patient's mouth.
A dentist has a very complex job which includes many different fields. Dentistry includes
cosmetic dentistry, where dentists fix broken teeth through veneers, implant new teeth that miss
from the mouth or rotted out, and place crowns on teeth to cap and protect them. Dentists use
oral hygiene methods the help fix and prevent periodontitis. Periodontal dentists protect their
patient's gums so that the rest of the body does not get infected. Also, dentists have to know
many different fields within dentistry. All in all, dentistry remains a very complex field with
Works Cited
"Degree, Academic." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, 2017, p. 1p. 1. EBSCOhost,
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"Dentistry." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, 2017, p. 1p. 1. EBSCOhost,
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,custuid&custid=s8455
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https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/dentists.htm#tab-5
Dhadse, Prasad, Deepti Gattani, and Rohit Mishra. “The Link between Periodontal Disease and
Cardiovascular Disease: How Far We Have Come in Last Two Decades ?” US National
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3100856/
Pi Eke, Dye B, Wei L, and Thornton-Evans G, Genco R “Periodontal Disease.” Centers for
https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/periodontal_disease/index.htm
Raphael, Carol. "Oral Health and Aging." American Journal of Public Health, vol. 107, 2017
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"Smile Makeovers: The Marvels of Cosmetic Dentistry." Brampton Guardian (ON), 28 Mar.
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Tomalty, Jordan, and Sean Tomalty. “Patient Home Care Following Crown or Bridge
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http://www.tomaltydentalcare.net/pdf/doc-crownsandbridges-1399332906.pdf
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CMH Lahore Medical College." Pakistan Journal of Surgery, vol. 32, no. 3, Jul-Sep2016,
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