A Career in Dentistry

Parker Mizelle

Ms. Davis

English III Honors

22 February 2018
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Parker Mizelle

Ms.Davis

English III Honors

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

and examining if issues begin to develop in the patient's mouth.

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

license renewed every so often.

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

the frenulum, or removing tissue to surgically remove teeth.

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

problems will spiral out of control.

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,

periodontal disease becomes more prominent in developing countries as well as cardiovascular

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

many different fields within the category of dentistry.

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Works Cited

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“Dentists - Pay.” Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Jan. 2018,

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Library of Medicine, July 2010,

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3100856/

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"Smile Makeovers: The Marvels of Cosmetic Dentistry." Brampton Guardian (ON), 28 Mar.

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