The field of family dentistry is very broad. People will typically work with a family dentist at one point during their lives. A family dentist will typically help children, teenagers, adults, and elderly people care for their teeth. As such, the parents who see family dentists typically will not have to find new dentists for their children. If these people are caring for their own aging parents, their parents will usually also be able to go to that same dental office.
A family dentist is similar to a general practitioner in the medical field. Of course, people will typically see different doctors at different points throughout their lives. A person who lived in one area for an extended period of time could end up going to the same dentist the whole time.
It is true that some dental offices will say that they specialize in family dentistry, and yet they might not offer every exact service that every single member of a given family will need. However, the professionals who specialize in family dentistry certainly have a lot to offer.
Seeing a Family Dentist for Various Dental Procedures
Some people get nervous about their dental appointments in general. However, the people who take care of their teeth will typically only need to see family dentists twice a year. Getting dental cleanings every six months will usually help people ward off a wide range of different dental health concerns.
There are people who will develop dental problems for other reasons, of course. Some dental issues are genetic. It’s also possible to develop dental problems as a result of an injury or an underlying condition. Still, people will usually only see their family dentists when it’s time for a simple checkup, which is largely performed for the sake of maintenance.
There are situations where people will have to go to a family dentist in order to address a specific dental health concern. They might need to get their cavities filled. Lots of family dentistry offices will offer root canal services. It’s common for patients to need dental implants, especially as they get older. Some older patients will get dental implants, and others will get fitted for dentures. It’s more or less the norm for adolescents to get braces for a while, and a lot of adults are getting them these days.
The experience of actually going to a family dentist still won’t vary all that much. Dentists will spend some time talking to patients about their dental health and habits. Patients will wait while their teeth are cleaned, whitened, straightened, extracted, or otherwise maintained or modified in some way. It might take some time for patients to recover after certain dental procedures. They typically won’t have to spend time recovering if they’re just getting their teeth cleaned or whitened.
Dental procedures themselves might vary. However, almost all dental appointments will feel familiar to many patients. Going to a family dentist for the first time might be scary. After that point, there usually won’t be a lot of surprises, even for the adults who are getting certain dental procedures for the first time.
Dental Appointment Preparation
Patients usually don’t have to do all that much in order to get ready for appointments at family dental offices. They should make sure that their teeth have been cleaned thoroughly beforehand, but this is more or less good advice in general. People who take care of their teeth with proper oral hygiene will manage to prevent a lot of different dental problems throughout their lives, and this is important to keep in mind. Following a standard oral hygiene routine before a family dentistry appointment should suffice in a lot of cases.
It is important for patients to make sure that a given family dentist is right for them, of course. Some family dentistry offices will offer emergency dentistry services. It’s also important for people to confirm that they won’t need to see a specialist. Some cosmetic dentistry procedures are available through family dentistry offices. In other cases, people will need to make sure that they see a cosmetic dentist.
When patients are going to family dentists in order to report specific issues, they should try to make sure that they give their dentists as much information as possible. They should know when the pain started, if they’re experiencing dental or gum pain. Dentists will have an easier time treating patients when those people are able to communicate with them effectively, offering them as much evidence as they can. Some people might need to reread their journals in order to get this information, especially if they’re dealing with a very long-term dental problem.
The Benefits of Family Dentistry
Many of the advantages associated with family dentistry are self-explanatory. People who go to these dentists throughout their entire lives will be able to hold onto their teeth for a longer period of time. Older people used to lose their teeth as a matter of course. This is less common today, and it’s partly due to the fact that people will see family dentists now. Kids who get the right dental treatments earlier in life will manage to have fewer dental health problems down the line.
Young adults who care for their teeth will be able to avoid painful and difficult dental health problems as they get older. Dental issues can become very difficult to manage when they’re neglected for a long period of time. The people who regularly make appointments with family dentists can basically count on having healthy teeth for life, and it’s difficult to overstate how valuable that is.
Maintaining the teeth of patients is a process. People can keep their teeth comparatively healthy by making a few wise decisions early in life. However, they will ultimately have to make a lot of little decisions every day in order to truly preserve their teeth. Family dentists can help preserve and restore the teeth of patients.
Call us today at (916) 395-1900 to get your family started at Greenhaven Dental Care! We are located in the Sacramento, Pocket, Land Park, and Florin area.