The Family Dentist

The role of the family dentist is directly analogous to that of your primary care physician. As a primary care physician is usually a General Practicioner whose responsibility is primarily the maintenance of your family's overall health, treatment of minor injuries and ailments and diagnosis of more serious conditions. When warranted, the GP family physician can and will refer a patient to the appropriate specialist.

This is also the job of the family dentist. Ideally, you and your family can receive an dental examination once (or preferably twice) a year at which s/he will look for potential or extant dental problems, perform a thorough cleaning and administer any preventive treatment deemed necessary or desirable. The family dentist can usually also perform minor procedures such as filling a cavity and offer teeth whitening as well.

When it comes to more serious issues such as gum disease, dental injury, alignment issues, the family dentist will refer the patient to a dental specialist. The most common dental specialties are orthodontics and periodontics. If such a referral is warranted, it is the rersponsibility of the family dentist to make certain all up-to-date patient records and other pertitnent information is forwarded to the specialist. In addition, the family dentist will usually work in close collaboration with the specialist, as s/he is far more familiar with the patient's dental and medical history.

If you are new to a community, finding a nearby family dentist is usually not difficult. You may wish to visit the American Dental Association online (http://www.ADA.org), which will have links to the chapter in your state. This professional organization can be of great assistance in finding a suitable practicioner of general dentistry who can best serve your needs as well as those of your family members. (Incidentally, the family dog or cat is not exempt from the need for dental care - ask your vet about veterinary dentistry.)