Dental Specialties

Deciding where a case belongs

The recognised dental specialties divide the work by tissue and by problem rather than by procedure, which is why a single tooth can belong to two of them at different stages. A cracked molar with irreversible pulpitis is endodontic; the same tooth, once it is unrestorable, is an extraction and then a prosthodontic or implant plan. Sending it to the wrong one usually costs a visit rather than a diagnosis, but it costs the patient time either way.

The list of recognised specialties is maintained by the American Dental Association, and each has its own professional college that publishes referral guidance — linked from each specialty page below.

Where a case genuinely spans two specialties, the sequencing matters more than the choice: whoever is going to restore the tooth should agree the plan before anyone starts, because the restorative endpoint determines what the earlier steps need to preserve.

When each specialty gets involved

Endodontics

Typically involved for calcified, curved or otherwise complex canal anatomy; retreatment of a previously completed root canal; suspected root fracture or resorption requiring cbct assessment.

Oral Surgery

Typically involved for impacted or deeply positioned third molars; extractions with proximity to the inferior alveolar nerve or maxillary sinus; implant placement requiring bone grafting or sinus augmentation.

Periodontics

Typically involved for periodontitis that has not stabilised after non-surgical therapy; deep pocketing or furcation involvement requiring surgical access; recession needing soft-tissue grafting.

Orthodontics

Typically involved for skeletal discrepancies and malocclusion requiring appliance therapy; interceptive assessment in the mixed dentition; space management before restorative or implant work.

Pediatric Dentistry

Typically involved for very young children, or those needing behaviour guidance beyond the practice’s setting; patients with special health care needs; early childhood caries requiring comprehensive treatment.

Prosthodontics

Typically involved for full-mouth rehabilitation and complex treatment sequencing; implant-supported fixed and removable prostheses; severe tooth wear or occlusal instability.

What happens after you send one

The referral is a shared record rather than a message. The specialist opens the same case you created, with the radiographs and history attached, and the report is written back against it — so the referring practice can see which cases are still open without telephoning to ask. That is the difference from a fax, where the report returns as a separate page somebody has to match up by hand.

Patient information moves under HIPAA safeguards; how that is implemented is set out on the security and HIPAA pages. To find a specific practice, use the search or browse the full directory.