What Every Patient Should Know About Orthodontist and Orthodontics

There is a huge difference between a dentist and an orthodontist.

When a student graduates from four years of dental school, he/she is a dentist.  After dental school, if selected through a rigors selection board, a dentist can continue for an additional 3 years to become an orthodontist. An orthodontist has dedicated his/her life to solely concentrate on moving teeth and jaws.  There is no dentist capable concentrating on every part of dentistry.  That is the reason for having an orthodontist.

One question will tell you if your dentist is an orthodontist. Ask if he/she can do a veneer on your teeth at the end of braces.  A dentist will say yes, “I can do it all”, an orthodontist will say “no”, I will send you to someone that is an expert on veneers.

An orthodontist is a dentist but a dentist is not an orthodontist.