Plantation Prosthodontics

What Is A Prosthodontist?

Most people know what a dentist is. Most of us know what an orthodontist is. But what is a prosthodontist? And why is it important?

A Specialist For Dental Prosthetics

A prosthetic is anything that’s intended to replace a part of the body with an artificial part. When somebody loses a leg, they can be given a prosthetic leg. When a person loses a tooth, they can be given a prosthetic tooth post, called a dental implant. A prosthodontist specializes in helping people restore their smiles with dental implants and other prosthetic, or replacement, parts.

What Do Prosthodontists Do?

There are several types of dentists who can perform dental implants, but a prosthodontist is a specialist in them. They see more cases of dental implants and bone grafts than any other type of dentist. They also do a lot of extra training on dental implants that general dentists might not get to do.

Because they see a lot of patients with the same problem, they become better at helping those patients than generalists (dentists who see lots of different types of problems). Where a general dentist might go to a conference to learn about a new tool for routine cleanings, a prosthodontist is doing continuing education only on dental implants and other prosthetic devices.

Why See A Prosthodontist?

Some patients may not need a prosthodontist to get good quality dental implants. If you need a single implant crown and you have no risk factors and your surgery is uncomplicated, you might be perfectly satisfied with a general dentist.

But the truth is that every patient and every surgery is different. Even if you look like a low-risk patient, you could encounter complications during the procedure that your dentist doesn’t expect. With a prosthodontist, you can rest assured that your dentist knows exactly what to do in almost every type of complication, even in those that were unexpected or unusual.