Wisdom teeth tend to be an “out-of-sight-out-of-mind” topic of dentistry in that while most people get them, few people ever talk about them. Many people don’t have a clear understanding of what wisdom teeth are or why most people end up having them removed.

When many people hear the word “orthodontics” the first image that usually comes to mind is a kid with braces. But did you know that about 30 percent of all orthodontic patients in the U.S. are adults, and that orthodontics involves more than just straightening crooked teeth? And this begs the further question of: what exactly is orthodontics and how does it differ from dentistry?

While most everyone understands what cavities are, and know how they are treated with fillings, people tend to know less about root canal infections and their related treatment. Of course, far more people have had a cavity filled than have had root canal therapy. While more than 170 million cavities are filled in the U.S. every year, dentists only perform about 15 million root canal procedures per year.