Dentists take care of many general oral health issues, including x-raying and examining teeth to assess their soundness and health, cleaning teeth, and filling cavities caused by tooth decay. In this way, they’re similar to your primary care doctor, except their focus is on your overall oral health. But even though a dentist can diagnose many different oral issues, that doesn’t mean she’s qualified to treat all of them. Orthodontist versus dentist, what’s the difference.
Just as your primary care physician will refer you to a specialist when a more complex health issue is detected, most dentists will also refer their patients to specialists when an oral health issue is beyond the scope of their expertise and training. Dr. Lindsay Grosso is such a specialist.
Extended Training
To become a dentist, an individual must complete four years of dental school to earn a degree as a DDS (doctor of dental surgery) or DDM (doctor of dental medicine) and must be licensed in the state where they practice their craft.
An orthodontist also completes a four-year general dentistry program but then continues their training for an additional minimum of two years of specialized study in orthodontics. (To be clear, dental school is a postgraduate course of study, so the total time spent in college is eight years for dentists and ten years for orthodontists.)
The extra training enables an orthodontist to extend her abilities beyond that of general dentistry into the highly specialized area of jaw and teeth alignment, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of facial and dental irregularities, and the ability to recognize and prescribe the best course of treatment for problems like overcrowding, gaps, overbites, underbites, crossbites and more.
After ten years of secondary education, an orthodontist is qualified to practice but may choose to obtain board certification through the American Board of Orthodontics. If board certification is pursued, the orthodontist is required to complete and pass both a written and a clinical examination to prove their competency.
Treatment Options
Most people are familiar with the traditional metal braces that you typically see on middle-school-aged children. They’re still in use and still effective for orthodontic problems, but today there are many more options available. Traditional braces are now available in clear styles, as are tooth aligners such as Invisalign. Different treatments apply in different cases, so even though you may prefer the idea of removable aligners, for example, they may not be suited to your particular orthodontic issues.
What if Your Dentist Offers to Tackle Your Orthodontic Problems?
Some dentists will attend seminars to be certified to offer rudimentary orthodontic services in their general practices. However, these seminars are a far cry from the years of extra training received by an orthodontist, so the seminar-trained dentist’s knowledge about straightening teeth and dealing with other orthodontic problems will be far less extensive. Think of it this way: A medic in a battle setting may be able to provide basic medical care, but there are times when this care simply won’t be enough to “fix” a soldier’s wounds. The best solution is to send the soldier to a facility with trained surgeons and the proper equipment to treat his issues properly. The same is true when it comes to orthodontic care. Unless the problem is extremely minor, it’s best to request a referral to a certified orthodontist for treatment!
Orthodontist versus dentist. Consider this interesting fact pointed out by the American Association of Orthodontists: All orthodontists are dentists, but only about 6 percent of dentists also possess a degree in orthodontics!
If you are looking for an orthodontist, contact Grosso Orthodontics online or CALL: 843-970-3202 | TEXT: 888-751-7224 to request a complimentary consultation. Our team of orthodontists will guide you every step of the way to your new beautiful smile!
