What is the difference between a dentist and a dental specialist?

All dentists in the UK graduate as general dentists and that means that they are legally entitled to carry out all procedures for which they (the dentist) deem themselves competent. As you can see, it is the dentist certifying himself or herself as competent and I am sure you know that it is impossible for you (the patient) to verify this.

What if you are able to verify that, in addition to being a lovely person (extremely important), the dentist carrying out the procedure is the best person to carry out the procedure you require. Well, in UK law, only people with independently verified (by the various royal colleges of surgeons) after completing clearly defined training are allowed to call themselves specialists in their area. This means that after 5 years of dental school, specialist dentists have completed an extra 3-5 years of supervised training in a specific area. As a result of the rigorous training, only about 7% of UK registered dentists are recognised as specialists. Examples in our practice are braces/clear aligners (orthodontics), root canal treatments (endodontics), gums and dental implants (periodontics).

Specialists in these fields do nothing else but work in these fields and you can therefore be confident that you are getting people with verified experience to carry out the work you require.

Most patients require more than one specialist if the result is going to be perfect and that is why we have different specialists under the same roof. So why not click on this link to request a call back or call us on 02075897792.