Dentists with specific abilities and preferences may elect to pursue an advanced program of studies in one of the ten specialties recognized by the Ordre des dentistes du Québec:
- Dental public health: preventive care through detection of dental diseases and patient education.
- Endodontics: a branch of dentistry concerned with the pulp chamber and root canals.
- Oral and maxillofacial pathology: the study of the nature of diseases, the clinical and microscopic diagnosis, the management and primarily non-surgical treatment of diseases, systemic disorders and lesions affecting the oral cavity and maxillofacial region.
- Oral and maxillofacial radiology: the interpretation of diagnostic imaging obtained by diverse technologies in order to establish a radiographic diagnosis of diseases and conditions affecting the oral cavity and maxillofacial region.
- Oral and maxillofacial surgery: surgery that is more specialized than general dental surgery.
- Oral medicine: the diagnosis of oral diseases and disorders.
- Orthodontics: the development, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of anomalies in the positioning of the teeth and of dental malocclusions, for functional and esthetic purposes.
- Pediatric dentistry: oral care for children.
- Periodontics: the prevention and treatment of diseases of the tissues that surround and support the teeth.
- Prosthodontics: the fashioning and fitting of dental prostheses or artificial substitutes to replace missing teeth and contiguous tissues.
Quebec's three dental faculties offer programs of advanced studies (residency certificates, graduate programs, and so forth). For more information on the content and structure of these programs, visit the following Websites:
Université de Montréal : www.medent.umontreal.ca
McGill University : www.mcgill.ca/dentistry
Université Laval : www.fmd.ulaval.ca