Just as the medical field has specialists and primary care physicians, so too does dentistry. Most people receive all of their dental treatment from a general dentist. A general dentist may perform any type of dental services, but may refer patients to a specialist for more complex procedures. If you have children, you may decide to have them receive all of their dental care from a pedodontist or a pediatric dentist who specializes in treating children.

To be a specialist, a dentist must have additional training. This training consists of post-graduate classes and hands-on experience and often includes a formal residency program in a dental teaching clinic.

When you or your children need a root canal, you would go to an endodontist.

When you or your children need complex extractions and surgery related to your mouth and jaw, you would go to an oral surgeon.

When you or your children need braces or other devices such as retainers, you would go to an orthodontist.

When you or your children need treatment and surgery of the gums due to gum disease, you would go to a periodontist.

When you or your children need missing teeth replaced in complex cases, you would go to a prosthodontist.