What is a Periodontist?
What is a periodontist? Most of the public is familiar with an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, but unfamiliar with what a periodontist is or what we do. Periodontics and implant surgery is a specialty within dentistry. This is one of the ten dental specialties recognized by the ADA.
The definition for a periodontist that the ADA provides is as follows: “Periodontics is that specialty of dentistry which encompasses the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the supporting and surrounding tissues of the teeth or their substitutes and the maintenance of the health, function and esthetics of these structures and tissues.” (Adopted May 2018) (1)
47.2% —or 64.7 million of the population in the United States suffer from periodontal disease (2). Periodontitis is a bacterial infection that causes the destruction of the gums and bone surrounding teeth.
I decided to pursue a career in periodontics because it was a field in dentistry that I was constantly OBSESSED with. When I was in dental school most of my classmates were less than thrilled to learn about the specialty that often gets dubbed “glorified gum gardeners.” At least where I went to school, we spent a lot of time covering periodontal disease etiology and pathophysiology, but little time on how periodontist conquer treatment. I spent time shadowing a periodontist and fell in love with the surgical aspect. It all made sense and just clicked for me. The surgeries were planned, methodical, and clean in a way that soothed my OCD.
After my four-year doctorate of dental surgery degree which consisted of successfully pasting two national board exams and one regional exam…I then entered a three-year graduate program where I received a certificate in periodontics, and defended a thesis to get my master’s in science degree. While in residency, I began to learn about all the systemic implications that the bacteria induced inflammatory cascade had on our over-all health. We’re finding links between periodontal disease and diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and others (I can talk about this in a later post). The master’s degree is optional in periodontics, as is the next step, achieving diplomate status. The last and final step was to get board certification, which unlike in medicine is not required in dentistry. This consisted of a written qualifying exam and an oral exam 8 months later.
Professionally, I wanted to take the extra steps in getting the accolades, because as a patient myself, I would want my surgeon not only to be well trained, but also know that they put lots of time and effort into knowing the science, literature and research studies in their field.
A periodontist deals with not only the health of the gums, teeth, and supporting structures, but the over all systemic health of the patient as well. As a periodontist and implant surgeon, I feel beyond lucky to have found something that makes me so happy. I hope The Perio Pocket can become an expression of that enjoyment.
1. https://www.ada.org/en/ncrdscb/dental-specialties/specialty-definitions