Dental specialties, explained
What Is a Prosthodontist?
A prosthodontist is the dental specialist in restoring and replacing teeth. It is the branch of dentistry that other dentists refer to when a crown has to last, when several teeth are missing, when a bite has worn down over years, or when a full mouth has to be rebuilt.
The word itself tells you what it covers: prostho means replacement and dontist means teeth. Every prosthodontist first earns a general dental degree, then completes at least three additional years of training in a CODA-accredited prosthodontic residency, the way the American College of Prosthodontists defines the specialty. Those years go almost entirely to one thing: the diagnosis, planning, and rebuilding of teeth and the bite. Dr. Kathia Steel completed that residency at Baylor College of Dentistry, earning both her specialty certificate and a Master of Science.
What a prosthodontist actually does
The specialty covers two related jobs. Restoring means repairing or rebuilding teeth you still have: crowns, bridges, veneers, and the reconstruction of teeth worn down by grinding, acid, or age. Replacing means providing teeth where they are gone: dentures, partial dentures, and the crowns and bridges that sit on dental implants.
The common thread is that prosthodontists work on the cases where the answer is not obvious. A single small cavity is straightforward. A patient who has lost most of one arch, whose bite has collapsed, or who needs new front teeth that have to match the ones beside them is a planning problem before it is a drilling problem. That planning is what the specialty exists to do.
How much more training does a prosthodontist have?
A general dentist finishes dental school and begins practicing. A prosthodontist finishes dental school and then spends at least three more years in a full-time hospital or university residency doing nothing but restorative and reconstructive dentistry, under supervision, on progressively harder cases.
For Dr. Steel, that residency was at Baylor College of Dentistry and ended with a certificate in prosthodontics and a Master of Science degree. The years after that mattered just as much. From 2002 to 2012 she served on the full-time faculty of UT Southwestern Medical Center in the Oral Surgery department as an Assistant Professor and prosthodontist, restoring the region's major reconstruction cases at what is Dallas's trauma referral center.
That decade of complex, referred cases is the difference the training is meant to produce. It is why a prosthodontist tends to be comfortable with the situations a general practice sends onward.
What board certification means
Finishing a residency and becoming board-certified are two different things. Board certification is a separate, voluntary examination by the American Board of Prosthodontics, the body that certifies specialists in this field. A dentist can call themselves a prosthodontist after residency; a Diplomate of the American Board of Prosthodontics has also passed the board's examinations and holds its highest credential.
Dr. Steel became a Diplomate of the American Board of Prosthodontics in 2010. She is also a Fellow of the American College of Prosthodontists (FACP), a distinction that requires that board-certified status. When you are checking a specialist's credentials, those two lines — Diplomate of the American Board of Prosthodontics, and Fellow of the ACP — are the ones worth confirming.
For patients in Dallas, one more marker is easy to check independently: Dr. Steel has been named a D Magazine Best Dentist for ten consecutive years, 2017 through 2026. See her awards and recognition.
What prosthodontists treat
The specialty's range is wide because "restoring and replacing teeth" covers a lot of ground. In this practice, that work includes:
- Dental implants — where a prosthodontist plans the case and builds the final teeth. In our office the surgical placement is handled by trusted specialist partners, and Dr. Steel restores the result. Full-arch and All-on-4 cases follow the same model, and there is a plain-English page on what implants cost and what changes the number.
- Dentures — complete, partial, and implant-supported. A good denture depends on fit and bite far more than on price, which is squarely a prosthodontic strength.
- Full mouth rehabilitation — rebuilding a bite when teeth across both arches are worn, broken, or missing. This is the flagship of the specialty and the kind of case Dr. Steel handled for a decade at UT Southwestern.
- Crowns and bridges — the core of restoring teeth you still have.
- Cosmetic work with a foundation in function: cosmetic dentistry as a whole, porcelain veneers, teeth whitening, dental bonding, and smile makeovers planned as a single case rather than a list of procedures.
- TMJ evaluation, night guards, and oral appliances — because how the teeth meet is a prosthodontic question, jaw comfort and grinding fall inside this specialty's expertise.
- Sedation options for longer or more involved appointments, discussed and arranged ahead of time.
A prosthodontist also does ordinary dentistry. This practice provides general dentistry — cleanings, exams, fillings, and same-day visits for urgent problems — for patients 12 and up. Seeing a specialist does not mean giving up a regular dental home.
When is it worth seeing a prosthodontist?
Most people do not need a prosthodontist for most of their dental care, and this page will say so plainly. It is worth seeking one out when the situation is bigger than a single tooth or when the stakes of getting it right are high. In practice, that usually looks like one of these:
- You are missing several teeth, or a whole arch, and need to decide honestly among dentures, bridges, and implants.
- Your bite has changed — teeth have worn short, chipped, or shifted — and ordinary fixes have stopped holding.
- You need front teeth rebuilt or matched, where color, shape, and how they meet the opposing teeth all have to work together.
- You have had dental work that keeps failing — crowns that come off, dentures that never fit, a bite that never feels right — and you want someone to look at the whole picture, not just the last thing that broke.
- You are planning implants and want the restoring dentist involved in the plan from the start, not brought in at the end.
If none of that describes you, a good general dentist is very likely all you need.
How is a prosthodontist different from a general dentist?
Here is the version that saves patients money. A skilled general dentist handles the great majority of dental needs well — checkups, cleanings, most fillings, many crowns, straightforward extractions and referrals. There is no advantage in paying specialist attention for care that a general practice does routinely and does well.
The difference shows up at the hard end. Prosthodontists spend at least three additional years, and in Dr. Steel's case a further decade of faculty practice, on exactly the cases where the plan is complicated and the margin for error is small: full-mouth reconstruction, multiple missing teeth, worn and collapsed bites, and the restorative half of implant treatment. Think of it the way you would any specialty. You see a general physician for most things and a specialist when the problem calls for one. The judgment worth having is knowing which situation you are in — and a good prosthodontist will tell you when the general-dentist answer is the right one for you.
Dr. Steel's path
The credentials behind the specialty, in order:
- Prosthodontic residency at Baylor College of Dentistry — specialty certificate plus a Master of Science.
- 2002–2012 — Full-time faculty at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Oral Surgery department, as Assistant Professor and prosthodontist, restoring the region's major reconstruction cases.
- 2008–2012 — Consultant to Biomet 3i, an implant manufacturer.
- 2010 — Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics (board certification).
- 2016 — Chairman, Dallas County Dental Society; Secretary, North Texas Dental Association.
- 2017–2026 — D Magazine Best Dentists, ten consecutive years.
- 2018–present — Co-founder, Dallas Women Dentist Study Club.
She is a Fellow of the American College of Prosthodontists and a member of the ADA, the Texas Dental Association, the Dallas County Dental Society, the ITI, and the Academy of Osseointegration, and she lectures nationally and internationally on dental implants. She is trained in the full arc of implant care, including surgical placement, and chooses to entrust the surgical step to specialist partners while she plans and restores the case. Read more about Dr. Steel.
Dr. Steel's practice holds a 4.9-star rating across 110 Google reviews.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a prosthodontist and a general dentist?
A prosthodontist is a dentist with at least three additional years of training in a CODA-accredited residency focused on restoring and replacing teeth. General dentists handle most everyday care well; prosthodontists focus on complex cases: multiple missing teeth, worn bites, full-mouth reconstruction, and the restorative side of implants.
Is a prosthodontist the same as a cosmetic dentist?
They overlap, but they are not the same thing. "Cosmetic dentist" is not a recognized specialty; any dentist can use the term. Prosthodontics is a recognized dental specialty with formal residency training, and it treats how teeth look and how they function together.
Do I need a referral to see a prosthodontist?
You can come to us directly. Many patients arrive by referral from a general dentist for a specific problem, but you are welcome to request an appointment yourself, and we accept new patients.
Does Dr. Steel place dental implants herself?
Dr. Steel plans the implant case and restores it — she builds and fits the final teeth. A partner surgeon in the immediate area places the implant. She is trained in the full arc of implant care and keeps a dedicated surgeon on the placement, so the specialist restoring your teeth is guiding the plan from the start.
How do I confirm a prosthodontist is board-certified?
Look for two credentials: Diplomate of the American Board of Prosthodontics, and Fellow of the American College of Prosthodontists (FACP). Dr. Steel has held board certification since 2010 and is an ACP Fellow.
Ready to talk it through?
If you are weighing a bigger dental decision and want a specialist's read, call (214) 369-9000 or request an appointment. We'll call you within one business day to find the right appointment.
Kathia Steel, D.D.S., M.S., P.A. · 8117 Preston Rd #170, Dallas, TX 75225 (Preston Center) · (214) 369-9000