Programs in advanced dentistry and oral surgery teach dentists how to do surgery and restore teeth. Students learn to repair injuries, research dental problems, and promote dental health. They also study how the materials used in dentistry affect people.
Several years ago, a research study was done that showed evidence of a link between dental disease and heart disease. Many research studies were conducted after that first study and confirmed its findings.
Surprised? You have good reason to be. Who would have guessed that what goes on with your teeth might be related to what goes on with your heart? Clinical research is based on careful laboratory techniques and a keen sense for connections. In essence, research scientists are like detectives sniffing around for interesting and informative scientific developments.
As a dentist with advanced training, you can conduct research and discover exciting dental developments, such as the one mentioned above. Part of advanced dental training involves realizing that dentistry extends beyond just the teeth.
Oral surgery is just one of these extensions. In fact, when you study oral surgery, you often study it together with maxillofacial surgery, which involves the bones and soft tissues of the upper jaw and face. This is because many of the structures in your upper jaw and face are related to your teeth and gums.
Another common specialty is orthodontics. Chances are good you've visited an orthodontist, perhaps to get braces or another appliance to straighten your teeth or "bite." Orthodontics programs teach people to evaluate and correct dental problems. You learn about the structure of the mouth, jaw, teeth, and facial bones and how these parts are related to one another. You also study the conditions that are needed for teeth to move properly. This way, you can diagnose problems in the alignment and formation of a patient's teeth and jaws. You also study the various methods of correcting these problems.
In addition to oral surgery and orthodontics, you can also study the gums and learn how to diagnose, treat, and prevent gum diseases. This field is called periodontics.
If you like working with kids, you can study pediatric dentistry. You learn about the development and growth of teeth and other oral structures in children and also how to promote oral health.
You could also learn ways to restore properly functioning dental structures to patients, using artificial substitutes such as dentures. This is called prosthodontics.
If you're passionate about health advocacy and educating the public, you could study public dental health. You might learn how to run public dental clinics and to design research studies exploring how to prevent dental diseases.
By studying the layout and movement of teeth and their related structures, you learn how to diagnose problems in the alignment and formation of a patient's teeth and jaws. You also study the various methods of correcting these problems.
Graduating from dental school qualifies you to study one or more of these dental specializations. There are about 50 schools that offer programs in advanced dentistry and oral surgery. You can earn a postdoctoral certificate, a master's degree, a Ph.D., or even an M.D., in the case of oral surgery.
The length of these programs varies depending on the specialization and the type of degree you want to get. However, you can expect to spend at least two to three years in addition to the eight years total you need for both a doctoral degree from dental school and a bachelor's degree from college.