What is the Difference Between a Dentist and a Cosmetic Dentist? 

Dentistry as a field has moved forward in leaps and bounds, in fact, there exist so many disciplines within it today — out of which general dentistry and cosmetic dentistry are perhaps two of the most popular branches. In order to understand the basic difference, consider this scenario — a patient with cavities will want to go to a general dentist at Richmond dental to make sure that the cavities are taken care of and any other preventative treatments, that need to be done are completed therein. Now coming to patients that need aesthetic work done — which means that they are not happy with the physical appearance of their teeth, which may be crooked, might have stains or even might have been chipped off due to some trauma. Such patients will have to make an appointment with a dentist who specialises in cosmetic dentistry, as they are well-versed with the treatments that are needed to make your teeth look much better.

Now a pertinent question that comes to the mind of a lot of people is that are either of the dentists at Richmond dental, capable of doing dental cleaning as well as examining the patient’s oral health? The answer to this query is yes they are, since both the dentists have had the same basic training, the difference is the additional training that they have had in their respective fields, which makes their field of specialisation different. For example, you go to as cosmetic dentistry in order to get teeth whitening done, the first thing that he will have to do is teeth cleaning, which will prepare your teeth for further treatment.

Now coming to how the price variations for their services are — you will notice that there is a price variation between general dentistry and cosmetic dentistry, of course from one dentist to another, even though both of them may be providing the same kind of procedures. You can take the example of going to a doctor for a filling at Richmond dental. Now both the general dentist and the cosmetic dentist are more than capable of taking care of the procedure, the difference arises in their concerns, the cosmetic dentist would be more concerned about your filling looking as close to the tooth as possible and for that he may use a composite filling. But your general dentist will not be considering that, and he would be fine with giving you an amalgam filling which is sturdy but grey in colour. Since the composite filling is priced higher than amalgam filling, the cosmetic dentist will end up charging you more than the general dentist probably would.

Apart from this, other treatment procedures such as missing teeth, etc, can be taken care of by both the dentists — while a general dentist would probably suggest an implant for the missing tooth so that you do not have a supra eruption, a cosmetic dentist can also give you the option of creating dental bridges, just in case you do not want to take the surgical option of getting a dental implant done. Thus, when it comes to how your teeth really look when you smile and all the aesthetic concerns that you might have regarding your teeth, a cosmetic dentist is your best bet. They can help you in designing the most beautiful smile for your face. On the other hand, a general dentist at Richmond dental is who you want to visit when you have any kind of dental diseases that you need taken care of, invasive procedures such as surgeries, extractions are all taken care of by general dentists.

Thus, you can see what the basic difference between the two kinds of dentists is — it mainly depends on the kind of treatment you are searching for, in order to asses which dentist should you go to. Having said that, however, many a time when you visit a dental clinic either of the two can have a consultation with you and then based on the assessment of your case, it can be decided up which kind of dentist will be taking your case and treating you. Rest be assured that when you visit Richmond dental you are in the best of hands, regardless of the treatment required by you.