What is the difference between a prosthodontist and a general dentist?
Both are licensed dentists. A general dentist provides a broad range of care for the whole mouth. A prosthodontist has completed additional accredited specialty training that concentrates on restoring and replacing teeth: crowns, bridges, implants, dentures, bite reconstruction and the planning behind large restorative cases.
The same license, different depth
A prosthodontist and a general dentist hold the same underlying dental license and can legally perform most of the same procedures. The difference is training time and concentration. A general dentist is trained across the whole of dentistry: prevention, fillings, extractions, root canals, gum treatment, crowns, dentures and the day to day care of a family. A prosthodontist has spent roughly three further years doing very little except restoring and replacing teeth.
Neither is a rank. A well-planned single crown from a general dentist is better care than an over-scoped reconstruction from anyone.
Where the two overlap
Crowns, bridges, veneers and dentures are provided by both. Many general dentists place and restore implants, and many have taken substantial continuing education in exactly the areas a prosthodontist trained in. The overlap is genuine, and it is usually the reason a patient stays with their own dentist for the work.
What tends to separate the two is scale and sequencing. A case with fifteen units, a changed bite height and two extraction sites needs a written plan with a defined order. Prosthodontic training is largely about producing that plan and then executing it.
Questions that suggest a prosthodontic opinion
- Are several teeth being treated at the same time, in both arches?
- Has previous dentistry in the same area failed more than once?
- Is the bite height or the appearance of the lower face going to change?
- Are implants being combined with natural teeth in the same arch?
- Have two dentists proposed plans that differ substantially?
A yes to more than one of those does not mean a specialist is required. It means the reasoning behind the plan is worth hearing twice.
What changes in the appointment
A prosthodontic consultation is usually longer and more diagnostic than a routine visit. It normally involves photographs, scans or impressions, often 3D imaging, and a discussion of options rather than a single recommendation. The output is a plan and an explanation of the trade-offs, which the patient is free to take back to their own dentist.