The difference between a dentist and an orthodontist is that a dentist focuses on the oral health of your gums, teeth, and mouth, while an orthodontist focuses more on the alignment of your teeth. In addition, an orthodontist has training in dentistry and orthodontics, while a dentist only has training in dentistry. Suppose you have crooked teeth or are considering braces to fix your smile, see an orthodontist for dental services Blackburn rather than a dentist because the qualifications differ slightly. An orthodontist will assist you with any issues regarding misalignment or overcrowding of the teeth.
ORTHODONTIST VS DENTIST
The difference between a dentist and an orthodontist is that a dentist focuses on the oral health of your gums, teeth, and mouth, while an orthodontist focuses more on the alignment of your teeth. The dental marketing efforts for both professions would be slightly different too. In addition, an orthodontist has training in both dentistry and orthodontics, while a dentist only has training in dentistry. Suppose you have crooked teeth or are considering braces to fix your smile, see an orthodontist for treatment rather than a dentist because the qualifications differ slightly. An orthodontist will assist you with any issues regarding misalignment or overcrowding of the teeth. Teeth are essential to talk about with either profession since they allow us to speak clearly and chew our food with ease.
You might have been told you need braces from a dentist, or a general dentist may have recommended your child orthodontic treatment. This doesn’t mean that the person who advised you isn’t a good dentist – it just means that they may not have enough training in orthodontics to provide the full range of treatment options available.
Many patients are confused about whether a dental or orthodontic specialist should treat them. The short answer is both! However, each professional has different areas of expertise, and dentists and orthodontists need to work together as part of an interdisciplinary team to optimize treatment for each patient.
Dentists and orthodontists provide oral health care, but dentistry and orthodontics are entirely different professions. Dentists diagnose and offer treatment for problems with patients’ teeth, gums, and bite; they can provide cosmetic services such as tooth-colored fillings; they perform simple procedures such as root canal treatments and dental crowns. Orthodontists diagnose and treat the teeth’s alignment, jaws, or bite; most orthodontic problems cannot be treated with traditional fillings or by shaving down teeth. Instead, they can provide full mouth rehabilitation with braces, retainers, and other appliances; they also do cosmetic work that involves reshaping the smile through tooth-colored porcelain treatments such as veneers and crowns. Orthodontists can do everything that a dentist does, and more: they can straighten out misaligned teeth and jaws with braces and other appliances; they also treat problems like impacted wisdom teeth and correct abnormal swallowing (or ‘dysphagia’).
Education of A Dentist VS Orthodontist
Both dentists and orthodontists need to complete a minimum of ten years of education, but this is where the resemblance stops. A dentist must have at least five years of further training after high school to practice. This includes three years doing clinical work under supervision (in Australia, all dental courses are undergraduate honors programs) followed by two years of specialized residency training, including one year working in an approved teaching hospital on the go. Another qualified specialist doctor (for example, an ophthalmologist).
Dentists can also choose to continue their postgraduate studies through Australia’s unique system of continuing professional development (CPD), which involves attending seminars and workshops on specific topics that help them stay up to date with the profession. CPD points are also awarded for attending approved courses run by dental colleges, universities, and other registered training organizations. Australia’s dentists have developed a reputation overseas for being at the forefront of dental techniques because of the high standard of continuing education required before becoming accredited to practice in Australia.
Orthodontics is a postgraduate specialty that requires two to three years’ university-level study after completing an undergraduate degree in dentistry. As new graduates, orthodontists then need to complete a further one to two years’ full-time work under supervision followed by several more years working towards higher degrees or diplomas, culminating in the fellowship of their college (by invitation only) before they can practice independently without supervision. As a result, Australia’s orthodontists are some of the most highly qualified globally, with almost all holding higher degrees or diplomas.
For example, an Australian dentist will have up to 13 years of formal education and several years of supervised clinical experience before being fully accredited to practice without supervision. On the other hand, an Australian orthodontist will need a minimum of three more years after dentistry training for both his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees/diplomas (or equivalent) before he can practice independently. Australia has one of the strictest standards for approving qualifications for entering independent practice – only allowing those who reach this high standard to call themselves ‘doctor’.
