Both orthodontists and also dentists help their patients to recover their oral health, however, their methods can be different.

Dentistry is a very broad medical specialty, which deals with our gum, teeth, nerves, and jaw, whereas orthodontics is another specialty within dentistry, which focuses on correcting our bites, occlusion, and also the straightness of our teeth.

Orthodontists and dentists may share many similarities. They both will strive to achieve your healthy and beautiful smile. Dentists will mainly cover most of the issues related to our oral health including gum disease, cavities, broken or missing teeth.

Also, orthodontists are dentists, but they continued their further training for an extra 3 years in a certain accredited university, which is only focused on the alignment of our tooth and jaw.

Orthodontists will only do orthodontics that makes them qualified for providing the most inclusive and efficient options for treatment when it is related to straightening our teeth.

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Orthodontist versus dentist training

Initially, both orthodontists and dentists will undergo the same training, but orthodontists will continue their further studies after completing their graduation from dental school. A dentist will undergo 4 years of education in a certain dental school, as per the American Dental Association (AAO).

These dentists after completing their basic dental course studies have to pass a very rigorous written examination and also a clinical licensing examination and then they will be qualified to practice. Those qualified dentists will get any of the following degrees, which they can include with their name:

• Doctor of Dental Surgery i.e. DDS
• Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry/Doctor of Dental Medicine i.e. DDM.

After obtaining the above degree he can choose to do dental practice as a dentist. However, if he wishes to pursue any specialty course like orthodontics, then he has to undergo additional training.

Approximately 6% of dentists prefer to go for orthodontic courses to be an orthodontist. The additional education will include a 2 or in some cases 3-year residency course and about 4,800 hours of training on orthodontics.

When you will ever visit the dental office available in Rancho Bernardo, then you can consult an orthodontist 4S Ranch orthodontist for restoring your smile. You will get quality care from the team of professionals available in the clinic.

What will dentists do?

A dentist will treat the overall oral health of his patients through regular checkup. He can spot and also treat cavities, oral hygiene issues, and mild gum diseases and can also extract any teeth that cannot be saved.

Dentists can also improve your teeth’ function and appearance by applying bonding, crowns, or veneers to teeth that got broken, chipped, or severely decayed. Also, your dentist can check inside the mouth for any signs of certain oral diseases and offers advice for maintaining your oral health.

In case your dentistsever detect any problem that they are not qualified to treat, then they will try to refer your case to a certain dental specialist or any physician.

What will orthodontists do?

According to the AAO, orthodontists will be specialized in aligning your jaws and also moving the teeth. This will mean that orthodontists will offer treatments for correcting crowded teeth, any gaps between your teeth, any teeth that may stick out, and if your jaws do not align properly.

All these orthodontists have got many different tools with them to help them move the jaw and teeth into proper alignment, which also includes traditional braces 4S Ranch, clear aligners,lingual braces are a few other orthodontic appliances.

Since the alignment problems are often very unique to each and every patient,orthodontists will use photographs and X-rays of the teeth for creating individualized treatment plans.

Let us, therefore, summarize the role of dentists and orthodontists.

Role of dentists

A dentist will be engaged in practice after completing their General Dental Degree course and undergoing training in a few dental clinics.

• A general dentist will be similar to any of your family doctors, who will be very important for taking care of your overall dental health. Also, they will provide various services like dental cleaning and repairing your teeth, etc.
• Dentists did not get any training on how to put on braces or even work with any clear aligners.
• Dentists will refer all those patients needing orthodontic treatment to any certified orthodontic specialist available in his knowledge.

Role of orthodontists

Orthodontists after completing their dental degree course then go for a 3-year specialist degree in orthodontics.

• Orthodontists are considered specialists in dental development and facial growth. Proper timely intervention can help in reducing the need for any orthodontic treatment.
• They are specialists in jaw and tooth alignment.
• An orthodontist can offer different types of treatment like traditional braces, retainers, clear aligners that will help you to select the right treatment for you.

So, now you know when you should visit a dentist and when you must choose to visit an orthodontist.