North Carolina Dentistry: Advances in Sedation Dentistry and Other Fields

North Carolina dentistry practices are monitored by the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners. The NC State Board of Dental Examiners exists to ensure that the dental profession merits and receives the confidence of the public. They also confirm that only qualified persons are permitted to practice dentistry and dental hygiene in the state of North Carolina. A dentist in NC goes through several years of required schooling; a four year undergraduate study followed by another four years of dental school. A growing trend in North Carolina dentistry involves the practice of sedation in order to minimize stress, trauma and pain experienced by patients. Only properly licensed and permitted dentists may practice sedation dentistry in North Carolina.

North Carolina, like most states, has robust practices that take care of cavities and periodontal diseases. Every licensed dentist in NC is qualified to treat the majority of common dental ailments. These common dental procedures include fillings teeth cleaning, and teeth whitening, as well as many others.

A sedation dentist is a professional well versed in prescribing sedatives like Triazolam or other Valium derivatives to calm patients. A sedation dentist is able to prescribe medications that have anesthetic, sedative or even a slight amnesiac effect depending on the request or needs of the patient. Patients with dental anxiety may benefit greatly from the use of sedation dentistry. North Carolina regulates the practice of sedation dentistry so a patient can verify a dentist’s credentials by checking with the NC Board of Dental Examiners.

In many cases teeth can be restored to be completely functional as well as aesthetically pleasing. Restoration means the application of certain procedures to fix cavities as well as treating filling failures. Gone are the days when a dentist has to poke, scrape and tinker with every tooth in order to locate cavities. Most dentistry practices now have DIAGNOdent, a laser guided tooth decay locator. This means a routine dental visit is less painful than years ago. Other options for restorative dentistry include veneers for teeth and crowns for teeth, as well as other dental implant options.

Gone are the days when a patient has only one choice, to have the tooth extracted and then replaced with a false tooth or false set of teeth. Bridges and dentures are still available, and are more comfortable than previous versions. However, dental implants like veneers for teeth and crowns for teeth have made it possible for individuals to forget that they have false teeth. Veneers for teeth are a thin layer of material to protect a tooth or to improve its aesthetics while crowns for teeth cover the entire tooth in order to cover up more extensive damage.

These procedures provide a glimpse of the advances in dental technology that North Carolina has undergone in the past couple of years. For more information, it would be best to contact a friendly North Carolina dental practitioner and specific questions related to your individual case.