Finally, An Answer To The Age Old Question: What is An Orthodontist?

If you’re like many people, at some point you have wondered, what is an orthodontist? What exactly do they do? What conditions can they treat? How are they different from a regular dentist? Keep reading to find the answers to all of these questions and more.

An orthodontist is a medical professional who specializes in preventing, diagnosing, and treating facial and dental irregularities. Most people think of crooked teeth and overbites as the orthodontist’s specialties, but orthodontists can treat a much wider array of problems. An orthodontist can realign a crooked jaw, which can alleviate problems with chewing, swallowing, speech, and even the face’s general appearance.

Each orthodontist starts out as a fully-certified dentist. Just like medical doctors choose a specialty such as cardiology, dentists may choose to pursue a specialty, like orthodontics. Becoming an orthodontist requires three additional years of university-based study. Admission to orthodontic programs is extremely selective. About 6% of dentists are orthodontists.

Experts recommend that children make their first visit to the orthodontist around age seven. This is too early to diagnose the need for braces, but it’s a prime opportunity to identify emerging malformations that can best be treated early on.

For adults with uncorrected dental misalignments, an orthodontist can make a huge difference in self-confidence. It’s easier than ever to achieve a beautiful smile at any age, because there are so many options available to straighten teeth and align the jaw. Just because you didn’t have braces as a teenager doesn’t mean you’re destined to have crooked teeth forever.

Serenity Orthodontics would love the opportunity to show you just what an orthodontist is capable of. You might be surprised at all of the conditions we can treat to improve your smile and your quality of life. If you would like to learn more about the importance of early orthodontic care and what is an orthodontist’s role in your family’s dental health, visit our Early Treatment page.