Public Listing of
Dentists in St. Louis, Missouri | Saint
Louis County and Metropolitan Area
According to the American
Dental Association,
about 20% of all dentists practice a
dental specialty, while the rest remain
general dentists. Orthodontics and dentofacial
orthopedics and oral and maxillofacial
surgery make up nearly half of all specialties.
Dental
public health specialists view
the community, rather than the individual,
as their patient. Their roles are to
educate the public, using applied dental
research, and initiate community-wide
dental care and preventive programs.
Endodontics encompasses
basic and clinical sciences of normal
pulp biology and the causes, diagnosis,
prevention, and treatment of diseases
and injuries to the pulp and associated
periradicular conditions. Endodontists
specialize in root canal treatments to
remove damaged tissue from inside tooth
root canals. Root canal treatment, a
nonsurgical endodontic treatment, treats
the soft inner tissue of the tooth, called
the pulp, when it becomes inflamed or
infected. During a root canal, endodontists
remove the damaged pulp, clean the area
and fill and seal it to preserve the
tooth. Surgical procedures performed
by endodontists include apicoectomy,
which removes infection or inflammation of the bony area
surrounding the tooth's end.
Oral
and maxillofacial pathologists research
the causes, processes, and effects
of diseases that affect the oral and
maxillofacial regions, which include
the head, face, mouth, teeth, gums, jaws,
and neck. These specialists use clinical,
radiographic, microscopic, biochemical,
and other examinations to research and
diagnose disease. The practice of oral
and maxillofacial pathology includes
research; clinical, radiographic, microscopic,
biochemical or other disease diagnosis;
and patient management.
Oral
and maxillofacial surgeons treat
patients who have problems with wisdom
teeth, facial pain> and misaligned
jaws. They treat accident victims with
facial injuries, perform reconstructive
and dental implant surgery, offer treatments
for tumors and cysts of the jaws, and specialize in functional
and cosmetic conditions of the head,
face, mouth, teeth, gums, jaws, and neck.
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons also
offer preventive care of the teeth, mouth,
jaws, and facial structures.
These specialists offer a wide variety
of surgical procedures performed in the
office and hospital, including dentoalveolar
surgery to treat impacted teeth and reconstructive surgery to address
inadequate bone structure of the upper
or lower jaws, which can result from
injury, some types of surgery, and dentures.
They place dental implants, which are
an option for replacing missing teeth,
and treat facial infections, which can
develop into life-threatening conditions
if not addressed. Oral and maxillofacial
surgeons are often called in to treat
trauma of the face, jaws, mouth, and
teeth, often from injuries such as falls, as well as facial pain from such things
as temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders.
Other conditions treated by oral and
maxillofacial surgeons include deformities
in skeletal growth between the upper
and lower jaws, which can affect chewing
and swallowing, and snoring or obstructive sleep apnea, a condition that can lead to excessive daytime sleepiness. Not all procedures performed by oral
and maxillofacial surgeons are covered
by dental or health insurance because they also offer
some cosmetic procedures of the face,
mouth, and neck.
Orthodontists
and dentofacial orthopedic specialists specialize
in diagnosing, preventing, and treating
dental and facial irregularities, known
as malocclusions. Orthodontists represent about
6% of all dentists. Orthodontists treat
children and adults. The American Association
of Orthodontists recommend that all children
have an orthodontic screening no later than age seven.
Malocclusions are often inherited but
can be caused by trauma, pacifier sucking,
airway obstruction, dental disease, or
premature loss of primary or permanent
teeth. Orthodontists most commonly treat
crowding of the teeth, overbites, open
bites (when upper and lower incisor teeth
do not touch when biting down), spacing
problems, crossbite and underbites, or
lower jaw protrusion. Orthodontic treatment,
often involving the placement of braces,
helps not only cosmetically, but also
functionally.
Pediatric dentists provide primary and
specialty oral care for healthy, normal
children, as well as those with special
needs.
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