Most of us know dentistry as the study of teeth and treatment of tooth decay. Well, there’s more to it than this limited view. Also known as Dental Medicine, dentistry is a branch of medicine that focuses on the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of conditions or disorders in the oral cavity and nearby structures such as head, face, jaw, salivary glands, tongue, and the neck.
Dentistry plays quite an important role in ensuring not just good tooth health, but also the individual’s general health.
Dental check-ups and treatments are done by professionals known as dentists, specialized in the specific field of dentistry. There are currently so many specialists in the dental field nowadays. Therefore, it’s hard to distinguish which type of a dentist is right for you.
The average dentist may not be good enough for families. This is why most families see the need for family dentistry to ensure the entire family has healthy teeth. Unlike the average dentist, a family dentist cares for oral health at every stage of life, considering that children have different dental needs from adults.
Family dentistry is a branch of dental care that provides services to people of all ages. Family dentistry allows you to continue seeing the same dentist for a lifetime, thus, builds a high level of trust between you and your dentist, and therefore reducing dental fears and anxiety.
Family dentists are more convenient for people who have children in their homes. This is because they understand how children’s teeth develop or change with every age. They are also able to identify early problems before they become too serious. They also understand that children may fear to go to the dentist, and hence have a gentle approach to help kids develop a positive attitude towards regular dental check-ups.
As kids grow into adulthood down to the time they age, they are taught how to take care of their teeth and establish healthy habits. The days when every aged person had dentures are long gone.
There are several other benefits of family dentistry that you can’t find in an average dental center. These include:
- Preventative Oral Health Care
Family dentists offer preventive oral health care services, such as comprehensive exams that can detect any affected areas in your mouth as early as they occur. A family dentist may also pick up on other issues, such as night-time grinding of teeth.
- Helping You Improve Your Oral Hygiene
A family dentist chooses to help both you and your family avoid the most serious dental problems by helping you learn oral hygiene methods, such as brushing and flossing correctly. Flossing can be quite challenging if you have braces or tightly-fit-together teeth. A family dentist can come up with ways to make it easy for people with such cases.
- Restoring Damaged or Lost Teeth
Bridges, dentures, and dental implants are some of the options a family dentist can offer for restoring lost or damaged teeth. Your family dentist assesses your mouth structure, gum health, and the condition of your teeth to come up with a personalized plan for tooth replacement.
How to Find a Good Family Dentist
It’s essential to do a little research first before choosing the correct family dentist. There are a few things you might want to consider, such as
the reason as to why you’re looking. You should think about your needs first. Do you want a dentist for your kids only or yourself as well? Or does anyone in your family got any dental issues?
Find out the things that are going to matter when you choose a dentist. These include distance, price, atmosphere, etc.
Get referrals from friends and family around the area. You might even look online. A good example is the Shallowford Family Dental Group.
Schedule an initial visit. Of course, this is after you’ve narrowed down a list of potential choices.
We took our 4 year old to the dentist as her gum was hurting and the dentist said she couldn’t see anything wrong but did recommend flossing. So it’s probably a good idea to take them at least once a year.
I like that you mention how family dentists can help you learn the proper oral hygiene methods to help you care for your teeth. When choosing one, it might help to research local family dentists online to check their availability and services. Working with a local one would be important so you can go to them regularly for the necessary dental care.
Thank you for explaining that family dentistry helps address the dental needs of all ages. I have been curious about what my family can do about finding a dentist to serve everyone, including the kids. It seems like this would be a great place to have all of our dental needs addressed in one place.
Thanks for explaining how family dentists can provide care for both children and adults. This would be useful to be able to schedule everyone’s appointments on the same day so you don’t have to visit different offices at different times. I’d imagine that when choosing one, it could help to visit the local offices that specialize in family dentistry
My brother is worried about the oral health of his family because they like eating sweets. It was explained here that dental checkups and treatments should be done by professionals and specialists. Moreover, it’s recommended to go to a trusted family dentist for quality oral care.
This is some really good information about family dentistry. It is good to know that having the right family dentist can help prevent your kids from being scared of going to the dentist. So, it seems like it would be a good idea to do some research before picking one.
I thought it was interesting how you said that a dentist will be able to pick up on any established habits such as night-time teeth grinding. My family just moved into a new city, and my son has been complaining about pain around his back teeth. It might be time for us to go to a family dentist and find out what is causing the pain in his mouth.
We recently took my 9-year-old to the dentist, and we found out she had three cavities. As I was reading your article, you state that family dentists are more convenient for people who have children. I agree with you as I have three kids and it’s easier to see a family dentist.
I didn’t know that family dentistry allowed you to see the same dentist over a life time, thereby building a high level of trust. Personally, I get a lot of anxiety when I am in new situations, or meeting new people, so this seems like a great idea! I will have to look for a family dentist!
I like how you mentioned that a family dentist can assess your mouth structure, gum health, and condition of your current teeth so they can come up with a personalized plan for replacing your teeth. This is great to know, especially since my teenage boy just got his teeth knocked out! He did this by roughhousing with friends on the trampoline. I am
It makes sense how you said that family dentistry provides you with an opportunity to use preventative oral care. This would be really great for my family because we have a couple of kids who don’t brush their teeth well and could use a bit of extra help. Having a dentist that we know will help them take care of their teeth would be really great!
That is nice that family dentists can help improve your oral hygiene. Maybe it would be good to find a family dentist. This is something I am going to have to look into finding soon.
Excellent explanation, it’s simple & focus
I think you are right on the money when you said to get referrals from friends and family when looking for a good family dental practice. I’ve had some pretty bad dentists in my time and I only want the best for my family. I’m gonna have to get in contact with some good friends and ask around for some good referrals.
I liked that you explained that having a family dentist is important because it allows you to see the same dentist throughout your entire life. I would imagine that feeling comfortable with your dentist would help you to feel good about getting regular check-ups. I will consider getting a family dentist so that I can go to the same dentist as my ch
I never knew that a family dentist could help us learn oral hygiene methods like flossing! My family recently moved to a new area, and we’ve been trying to stay on top of finding new services and businesses in our local area. Hopefully we can find a good dentist nearby so we can stay up on our dental health and teach our children the importance of
It’s good to know that family dentists can help with preventative oral health care. My sister is paranoid about contracting gum disease, or some other oral disease. I’ll pass this information along to her so that she can look into family dentists and preventative care for oral diseases.
Thanks for explaining that dental check-ups are important because dentistry has an important influence on both tooth and overall health. I haven’t been to the dentist in a long time because I haven’t noticed any obvious problems with my teeth. I’m glad I read your article because now I can see why finding a general dentist to visit for regular chec