How Do Dentists and Orthodontists Differ in Their Professions?

Orthodontists and dentists are both dental professionals helping patients to improve their oral health, but their professions differ. The term dentistry is a comprehensive medical specialty dealing with the teeth, gums, nerves, and jaw. Orthodontic services focus on correcting bites, malocclusion, and straightening the teeth. The orthodontist sunset Hill, MO, is also a dentist, but the cosmetic dentist in Sunset Hill, MO, isn’t a licensed orthodontist.

What Are the Similarities between Both Professionals?

Orthodontists and dentists both focus on oral care, which is their primary responsibility. An orthodontist may practice in a dental office to provide the same care as dentists. Orthodontic professionals continue educating themselves after completing four years of dental school in an accredited university, focusing only on tooth and jaw alignment. Both professionals strive to achieve beautiful smiles for their patients with dentists focusing on covering a wide range of dental issues, including cavities, gum disease, missing and broken teeth.

Both professionals play an invaluable role in keeping your teeth healthy and appearing great. However, patients must understand that a general dentist offering orthodontic treatment is not qualified in the field of orthodontics as an orthodontist. The profession of dentistry has different divisions for professionals that want to specialize in a particular area.

Both professionals play an invaluable role in keeping your teeth healthy and appearing great. However, patients must understand that a general dentist offering orthodontic treatment is not qualified in the field of orthodontics as an orthodontist. The profession of dentistry has different divisions for professionals that want to specialize in a particular area.

How Do These Professionals Differ from Each Other?

More differences exist between the two than similarities. As mentioned earlier, an orthodontist requires additional education in the chosen dental specialty, and the situation is the same as a doctor who strives to attain further knowledge to become a surgeon. Orthodontists specialize in helping patients who have alignment issues with their teeth. Their treatments help patients to improve their bite by fitting them with corrective braces or other appliances. When patients approach dentists with overbites, they are referred to an orthodontist for correcting the issue.

Dentists are focusing on encouraging excellent oral hygiene and provide services related to tooth decay, gum disease, root canals, dental crowns, bridges, teeth whitening, and dental veneers. Orthodontists are dentists as well, but they specialize in aligning the teeth and providing services related to crowded teeth, underbites, overbites, and misaligned teeth.

What Helped Can an Orthodontist Offer?

The orthodontist near 63127 can help with crooked teeth, but they can also assist patients with other issues. Orthodontists can help patients with crossbites, gaps between their teeth, overcrowding, and temporomandibular disorders, or other problems of the jaw.

Dentists receive training to provide orthodontic care besides extractions, TMJ treatments, and fillings, but entrusting your smile to an orthodontist can balance the different procedures you have. Orthodontists are specialists in facial growth and dental development, and with the proper intervention at an early age reduces the need for orthodontic treatments by providing better results.

As specialists in tooth and jaw, alignment orthodontists offer different types of treatment, including traditional braces, retainers, clear aligners, and also help you to make a choice appropriately. Dentists generally only provide one type or brand of aligners or braces.

All patients must understand the differences between both professionals because it helps them to choose an appropriate professional whenever they are affected by a dental issue of any kind. Misconceptions existed earlier that orthodontists can only offer treatments with braces for children and teenagers. With the passage of time and the realization that a smile has a significant role to play even during adulthood, more people now prefer to undergo orthodontic treatment for medical or cosmetic reasons. Their sole aim is to improve their appearance and smile by correcting the problems with the teeth for which the orthodontist is a qualified professional.

This blog is not to deride dentists who are also offering orthodontic treatments to children and adults but is to clarify that differences exist between the two professions. People with dental issues like discoloration chipped and broken teeth, or toothaches will do better to visit a dentist who handles these issues frequently. Similarly, people that want to correct the imperfections with their teeth for purposes of appearance or cosmetic reasons will improve their chances of succeeding with the treatment when they approach an orthodontist. Dental professionals specializing as orthodontists can also perform extractions and other routine dental procedures but often stick to their chosen field preferring instead to concentrate on orthodontics.