Future of Dentistry

[gingernrum]

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I have been dicussing this issue with many colleagues of mine have ponder what the real future of dentistry holds. With drastically improved oral hygeine, fluoride in water, etc.. how much dentistry work is going to be required in the futurehere in north america? I am sure there wil always be a need for braces, cleanings, whitenings, and other cosmetic stuff, and the odd filling but in the future will there be as much demand for caps, rootcanals and the other 'bread n butter' procedures that allow dentists to make such a good living?

😀

 

[grtuck]

I would have give a resounding YES to that.

Although there may be less prevalence of caries now with the advent of flouridated water, and better access to care, there has always been a disproprotionate amount of carious lesions found in certain populations.

Also, along with the average age increasing in the United States there will also be more retention in the number of teeth, which means more root canals, more crowns, and more veneers being placed.

Malocclusion, which has been termed a disease of civilization, will likely continue to increase, which will continue to increase the demand for orthodontic treatment (many simple cases are done by GP's).

To be honest, I am very excited about the direction that dentistry is headed. Not so much drill and fill, but more focused on prevention, and esthetics. It makes for a much better situation for the patient, the doctor, and the staff.

Of course these are just my opinions, so take them for what they are worth.

grtuck

🙂

 

[DDSSlave]

I don't know what dentistry was really like in the pre-fluoride era, but I can assure you that even with fluoride there are plenty of "bread n butter" procedures to go around. I treat patients that for the past 30+ yrs haven't touched their teeth (and now they care) and patients that are fanatics about brushing and flossing, but nevertheless still have severe periodontitis or are in need of crowns and operative/fillings. All I can say is Don't Worry! Dentistry is at it's very best right now. Most dentists I know are booked solid for weeks in advance. And with the advances in cosmetic dentistry it is indeed excited and amazing what can be done.

[As a side note (don't want to derail your thread), I wouldn't categorize malocclusion cases as simple, nor do the majority of gp's treat them. Simple misalignment cases perhaps, but even then most dentists will only treat a handful with less average success as an orthodontist. As always, if braces are your thing, make life easier for yourself and your patients and do the residency.]

 

[grtuck]

[As a side note (don't want to derail your thread), I wouldn't categorize malocclusion cases as simple, nor do the majority of gp's treat them. Simple misalignment cases perhaps, but even then most dentists will only treat a handful with less average success as an orthodontist. As always, if braces are your thing, make life easier for yourself and your patients and do the residency.]

Malocclusion according to Stedman's
1. ANY deviation from a physiologically acceptable contact of opposing dentitions.
2. ANY deviation from a normal occlusion.

I do agree that a lot of orthodontic treatment should be referred to a specialist, but a lot of simple tooth movement can be done by a GP if they have the training for it. Also, I do plan on applying to a residency to be able to do more than just simple cases. I don't know (nor did I say) that the majority of GP's treat malocclusion.

Sorry to be ambiguous (I tend to do that a lot). 😳

grtuck

 

[DDSSlave]

[No problem. Seems like we pretty much see things eye to eye. I do think if someone's occlusion is off that a gp is not as likely to correctly fix it as an orthodontist. Not that I'm personally interested in ortho (not now at least) but I do think I have a vague idea of how complicated ortho actually is. Good luck in your apps.]

Getting back on track, I've spoken with a few specialists that say even in spite of how successful those areas are, had they to do it over again, they'd strong consider GP because of all the new cosmetic work that can be done today.

 

[grtuck]

Ya, we do seem to be on the same page it sounds like. And I definitely agree that orthodontics is much more complex than most people think it is. I have a couple of patients that I am starting complex treatment on (including one that needs bone anchors to get everything straight) and one that should be done in the next couple of months. Making sure everything is lined up in all 3 axis of rotation takes some practice.

Anyway's enough of our digression (as fun as it is to talk about ortho 😀 ), your right let's get back to gingernrum's question. Does anyone else have any input?

grtuck