Unlike other dental healthcare providers, such as orthodontists, paediatric dentists, prosthodontists and oral pathologists, general dentists are there to provide much of the day-to-day oral health care needs of the population. In short, you can think of general dentistry as the equivalent of general practice among doctors. As such, most people's contact with a dentist will be in their capacity of providing general dentistry work. What tasks will the average general dentist be carrying out every working day in Australia? 

Preventative Healthcare

As a primary oral health care provider, a general dental professional will spend much of his or her time carrying out straightforward check-ups. For most patients in the country, an inspection of their teeth is carried out every six months or so. Dental health care providers tend to recommend this length of time even if your teeth are perfectly healthy in order to make sure that any potential problems are picked up early enough stage should an issue arise. Oral health issues that are not related directly to tooth care, such as certain types of mouth cancer, are often first spotted during a general check-up.

Tips and Guidance

As well as inspecting teeth, an important part of general dentistry is to provide education. This is something that is directed towards both adults and children. Often, a general dentist will offer information on the best way of brushing, for example. Another aspect of education might be to inform a patient of an area of the mouth that they are missing and provide guidance on how to pay particular attention to it in the future. 

Fillings and Repairs

People to take a career in general dentistry will also be expected to undertake basic repair work. For the most part, this tends to be things like filling decayed teeth. However, more complex work is also undertaken as a general dentist, such as providing caps, crowns and even bridges in some cases.

Cosmetic Dentistry

Many general dentists also undertake so-called cosmetic dental work these days, as well. These sorts of services range from anything like teeth whitening procedures to providing dental veneers which are glued onto the front of incisors in order to even out their appearance. Another aspect of this field of dentistry is tooth shaping which can alter the appearance of one or more teeth. Cosmetic dentistry is a growing part of the industry which some general dentists choose to specialise in after a while.

Share