A dentist is a specialist who has been trained to diagnose, treat and prevent oral health conditions problems. Dr. Holsteen has completed many years of medical schooling in order to practice dentistry. After schooling, a dentist can receive either a DDS or DMD degree. DDS stands for Doctor of Dental Surgery degree and DMD stands for Doctor of Dental Medicine. Some doctors specialize in pediatric dentistry as well, which means that he or she works with children from infancy up through teenage years. There are other specializations that a dentist may go to school for:
- Oral and maxillofacial (includes pathology, radiology and surgery)
- Orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics
- Endodontics (specialization in root canals)
- Periodontics (specialization in gum disease)
- Prosthodontics (specialization in dental implants)