Dentist and Orthodontist: Spot the Difference
People often wonder what the difference is between an orthodontist and a dentist. A dentist and an orthodontist are responsible for caring for your mouth and teeth, but their practices have clear differences. We’ve outlined the difference between the two professionals to help you better understand the purpose and importance of each.
Is My Dentist Also an Orthodontist?
Your confusion is understandable. After all, both dentists and orthodontists work on teeth. Both provide professional care that helps patients have good oral health, and both are dental school graduates.
Your dentist may even offer orthodontic services, leading you to assume they are an orthodontist. Despite these similarities, a dentist is not an orthodontist. Even if your dentist can put appliances such as aligners or braces on teeth, that does not make them an orthodontist.
Read on to learn more about the role of an orthodontist vs. a dentist.
The Role of Your Dentist
Dentists, also known as general (or family) dentists, are concerned with overall oral health. Dentists treat decayed teeth (fillings) and remove failed teeth (extractions). They usually provide services such as crowns, veneers or bonding to improve the appearance and function of teeth that have extensive decay or are misshapen or broken. Dentists look for abnormalities in the mouth and teach patients how to prevent dental disease.
As knowledgeable as general dentists are, there are some dental problems whose treatment requires additional training beyond dental school. Dental specialists get to be specialists by completing four years of general dental education in dental school and then continuing in an accredited program where they study their specific specialty full-time for two or more years. When dentists studying a specialty area successfully complete their formal specialty education, they can use a title that denotes their area of specialization.
Orthodontics and dentofacial orthodontics is one of those fields. Your orthodontist has invested an additional 24 to 36 months into learning everything there is to know about the bite – how teeth meet and function, how they are aligned, how they are set in the jaws, and the positioning and sizes of the upper and lower jaws.
Orthodontist vs. Dentist Education & Scope of Practice
General dentists are licensed to practice dentistry. Some states allow them to provide specialty care, even if they do not have formal post-dental school training in the specialty services.
For example, a dentist may be able to perform a root canal, but that does not mean they are an endodontist. A dentist may be able to extract a tooth, but that does not mean they are an oral surgeon. Likewise, a dentist may be able to provide braces or aligners to move teeth, but that does not mean the dentist is an orthodontist.
In addition to dental school, orthodontists must complete a program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation. This program provides special training focused exclusively on the movement of teeth, jawbones, facial bones, and soft tissue–3,700 hours of training to be exact. This results in a deeper understanding of growth and development (also called dentofacial orthopedics).
To help you distinguish between an orthodontist and a general dentist, be aware of the doctor’s:
The Role of Your Orthodontist
Orthodontists are specialists who focus on your bite and alignment of your teeth. Their job is to ensure that your smile looks great and that your bite feels good and functions properly.
When it comes to your health, you don’t want to cut any corners. Straightening teeth and aligning the bite are both complex biological processes requiring more than a quick fix. Orthodontists are experts in both and are equipped to provide a custom treatment plan that is right for you.
Only appropriately trained orthodontists are members of the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO). If you’re looking for a trusted specialist to start your orthodontic journey with, consider finding an AAO orthodontist near you.
Frequently Asked Questions About Dentists vs Orthodontists
Do I have to wait for a dentist to refer my child to an orthodontist?
You do not have to wait for a dentist to refer your child to an orthodontist. Parents are often the first to recognize that something is not quite right about their child’s teeth or their jaws. A parent may notice that the front teeth don’t come together when the back teeth are closed or that the upper teeth are sitting inside the lower teeth. They may assume that their dentist is aware of the anomaly and that the dentist will make a referral to an orthodontist when the time is right. A referral might not happen if the dentist isn’t evaluating the bite.
How do I know it’s time to send my child to an orthodontist?
Parents should look for signs that their child’s bite isn’t quite right, including early or late, loss of baby teeth, difficulty in chewing or biting, mouth breathing, jaws that shift or make sounds, speech difficulties, biting the cheek or the roof of the mouth, facial imbalances, and grinding or clenching of the teeth.
The AAO recommends children get their first check-up with an AAO orthodontist no later than age 7.