what is the type of dentist called who does fillings

<p>Hi, I have a couple of questions about dentistry:

  1. Is it the GP who does fillings, root canals, and all these other semi-complicated procedures? If not, what does a GP do besides generally check to make sure there is no sign of decay?</p>

<li><p>I’ve heard that endodontists do root canals primarily actually, but I’ve also heard that GPs are now starting to take over many of these procedures. Is there any truth to this? </p></li>
<li><p>Since my other post got side-tracked, what are some good premed/predent programs that I can actually get into :D? </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Here are my stats:
*I am an Asian Indian Male
*From a competitive public high school in Oregon, Beaverton High School, which was also rated the best AP school in Oregon, so yeah, its a smart school.
*student body at school = 500+</p>

<p>The Numbers/ECs
*Freshman year:
4.0 with honors in 2 classes for both semesters</p>

<p>*Sophomore Year:
3.8125 overall for both semesters
(Bs in AP Chem 1st sem, Precalc 2nd sem, Social Studies 1st sem)</p>

<p>*Junior Year (projected)
Human Anat/Phys-A,A
IB Bio HL 1-A,A
Spanish 3-A,A
IB Calculus-A, A (might be at worst 1 “B”)
IB Psychology-A,A
Team Sports-A
IB English-B,B (might get 1 A)
IB Tok 1-B</p>

<p>IN SUMMARY: I should finish high school with at the very very worst a 3.67 or 3.7 UW GPA, but I’ll do what ever I can to prevent that from happening.</p>

<p>*class rank UW right now = 38/515. Weighted = 30/515 (will go up because not many kids have taken hard classes yet)
*IB Diploma Candidate (to be)
*Varsity tennis 4 years (will have 4)
*Science Team 4 years (will have 4)
*World Quest Trivia 4 years (will have 4)
*Science Club Treasurer (1 year)
*Science Club VP (2 years)
*Math Club VP (2 years)
*Portland Youth Philharmonic (will have 3 years)
*Mathfest Algebra 2 1st place freshman year
*OIMT Participant Fresh Year
*Mathfest Participant (will have 4 years)
*Oregon Museum of Science and Industry Rising Star Program (will have 150-175 volunteer hours done)
*Mathcounts Tutor (about 50+ volunteer hours)
*Right now I get about a 1920-2050 on the SAT, 26-30 on ACT according to Practice Tests for SAT, and the PLAN (it’s like the PSAT for SAT except the ACT version) on ACT, but I’m shooting for at least a 2100 on the SAT and 32 on the ACT</p>

<p>yo, we’re actually in the same position. im pre med/ pre dent as well. dono which one yet to pursue… i just graduated from high school. 1st sem at community college though.</p>

<p>this is from the US Department of Labor website (<a href=“http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos072.htm[/url]”>http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos072.htm&lt;/a&gt;)</p>

<p>Dentists diagnose, prevent, and treat problems with teeth or mouth tissue. They remove decay, fill cavities, examine x rays, place protective plastic sealants on children’s teeth, straighten teeth, and repair fractured teeth. They also perform corrective surgery on gums and supporting bones to treat gum diseases. Dentists extract teeth and make models and measurements for dentures to replace missing teeth. They provide instruction on diet, brushing, flossing, the use of fluorides, and other aspects of dental care. They also administer anesthetics and write prescriptions for antibiotics and other medications.</p>

<p>Dentists use a variety of equipment, including x-ray machines; drills; and instruments such as mouth mirrors, probes, forceps, brushes, and scalpels. They wear masks, gloves, and safety glasses to protect themselves and their patients from infectious diseases.</p>

<p>Dentists in private practice oversee a variety of administrative tasks, including bookkeeping and buying equipment and supplies. They may employ and supervise dental hygienists, dental assistants, dental laboratory technicians, and receptionists. (These occupations are described elsewhere in the Handbook.)</p>

<p>Most dentists are general practitioners, handling a variety of dental needs. Other dentists practice in any of nine specialty areas. Orthodontists, the largest group of specialists, straighten teeth by applying pressure to the teeth with braces or retainers. The next largest group, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, operates on the mouth and jaws. The remainder may specialize as pediatric dentists (focusing on dentistry for children); periodontists (treating gums and bone supporting the teeth); prosthodontists (replacing missing teeth with permanent fixtures, such as crowns and bridges, or with removable fixtures such as dentures); endodontists (performing root canal therapy); public health dentists (promoting good dental health and preventing dental diseases within the community); oral pathologists (studying oral diseases); or oral and maxillofacial radiologists (diagnosing diseases in the head and neck through the use of imaging technologies).</p>

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<p>My mom is a GP and she handles a variety of procedures. She pretty much does the procedures ABOVE. A new technology that actually increased revenue is the Invisalign product. Invisalign is a small tray custom designed to the contours of your mouth that attempts to straighten your teeth much like braces would, but remain invisible and easy to remove. Not only does a Orthodontist administer this, but a GP can as well with the same results! Computer programs administer needed adjustments and the configurations are sent to labs which create the invisalign. crazy. If a dentist has their own practice, they usually have a team of dental assitants and hygienist(s) who handle most of the cleaning. But a downside of a GP is, LOTS of hours. My mom always works, she tells me that she wished she specialized. She is planning to one day after i graduate.</p>

<p>count me in too! although my stats arent as impressive as california_love (who doesnt even live in cali) lol whats up with that? oh and im east indian as well, that just caught my eye since there arent very many of us on CC. </p>

<p>as a cali girl wanting to go premed/predent im looking into the University of the Pacific b/c it has a 5,6 and 7 year dental program. its private so it’ll be crazy expensive but i guess it will be worth it. UCLA is another top choice b/c it’s a solid school for just about anything. and my back up is UCD…and i have a feeling i will end up there…</p>