Orthodontist vs Dentist – What’s the difference
People often get confused between an orthodontist and a dentist. Very few knew the difference between a dentist and an orthodontist. This is because both a dentist and an orthodontist care for your mouth and teeth health. However, there are clear differences in their roles and practices. This article describes how they are different and their purpose and importance.
What is a Dentist and their Role?
You may see a dentist twice a year. They clean your teeth and help keep your mouth as healthy as possible. Here are the prime roles of the dentist.
- Dentists help to improve overall oral health and oral hygiene
- Dentists treat decayed teeth by filling and removing failed teeth (extractions).
- Dentists provide crowns, veneers, or bonding services to improve the appearance and function of misshapen, broken, or decayed teeth.
- Dentists look for abnormalities in the mouth and help how to prevent dental disease.
- Dentists provide teeth whitening services to make your teeth look more pretty.
- Dentists can prescribe treatment, including prescription drugs, for oral health conditions.
- Dentists oversee the development of children’s teeth.
- Dentists perform oral surgery.
What is an Orthodontist And their Role?
Orthodontists are dental specialists who specialize in teeth alignment.
They focus on your bite and ensure the alignment of your teeth is correct. Their job is to ensure your smile looks great and prevent, diagnose, and treat dental and facial irregularities. They correct teeth alignment, bites, and jaws, including straightening teeth. Straightening teeth and aligning the bite are complex biological processes requiring more skill. Orthodontists usually provide most of the services that a general dentist practitioner offers. However, they treat patients with corrective devices and braces. Orthodontists solve specialist issues and provide services that relate to:
- Spaces between teeth
- Misaligned and crowded teeth
- Overbites
- Underbites
- Specialist jaw issues
- Trauma or accidents
- The treatment of temporomandibular disorders (TMD)
- Premature loss of the baby teeth
What are the Similarities Between an Orthodontist And a Dentist?
Orthodontists and dentists share many similarities. Both will take care of beautiful, healthy smiles and try means to achieve it. As mentioned above, dentists cover many oral health issues, including cavities, gum disease, and broken and missing teeth. And orthodontists focused only on tooth and jaw alignment. They are dentists who continued their training at a recognized university for three years. Orthodontists only do orthodontics, so they can provide the most comprehensive and efficient treatment options to straighten your teeth. For better overall dental health, dentists work with orthodontists.
What is the Difference Between an Orthodontist And a Dentist?
If you are trying to remember the differences between dentists and orthodontists. You only remember that dentists will help you with oral care, treat gum disease and tooth decay, and perform procedures such as tooth extraction, crowns, or root canals. Orthodontists will help you correct your overbite, underbite, tooth crowding, and teeth alignment.
But, there are a few key differences between orthodontists and dentists we share here:
Dentists
- A general dentist is similar to your family doctor or General Physician who looks after your body. They are experts in general dental care for children and adults of all ages.
- They look after your mouth and improve your overall dental health.
- Dentists can diagnose and treat common diseases affecting teeth, mouth, and gum health.
- They also provide various services, from dental cleanings to repairing teeth to make your smile beautiful.
- Dentists complete a General Dental Degree.
- Dentists do not put on braces or focus on tjaw’sw’s alignment.
- Most dentists will refer patients requiring orthodontic treatment to a certified orthodontic specialist.
Orthodontists
- Orthodontists are registered dental specialists who have completed a dental degree and an additional three years of specialist degree. This means university training in orthodontics (they hold a General Dental Degree + Specialist Orthodontic Degree).
- Orthodontists are experts in tooth and jaw alignment.
- Orthodontists are experts in facial growth and dental development. They are trained to diagnose and treat bad bites, crooked teeth, and poorly aligned jaws.
- Orthodontists are specialists and offer orthodontic treatment options for children and adults.
- Orthodontists offer many types of treatment, including traditional braces, retainers, and clear aligners. They will help you pick the right one for you. Meanwhile, dentists often only offer one brand or type of aligner or braces.
Both dentists and orthodontists have a significant role in keeping your teeth healthy and looking good. However, dentists work with specialists similarly to your family doctor, who works with a medical specialist for better outcomes.
Should You See an Orthodontist or Dentist?
This is one of the common questions most people have in their minds. Many still need clarification about where to seek help to get a beautiful smile. Your dentist is a general practitioner, and so is your orthodontist.
However, the cause of your trip to the dentist or orthodontist is different, which resolved this issue.
For instance, you will see the dentist if you have tooth pain, tooth decay, tooth extraction, and tooth repair. Your dentist can diagnose and treat gum disease, oral infections, and oral inflammation. However, your dentist may refer you to an orthodontist for some cases, such as putting on braces, tooth crowding, palate expansion, and jaw malocclusion. These conditions require an orthodontist who is teeth and jaw alignment expert.
It is a good idea for parents to take their child to see an orthodontist from the age of seven to eight to check how their adult teeth are progressing. Orthodontists can assess children and recommend braces if needed before age 7. But if you are an adult and suspect you have crooked teeth or jawline that need to be aligned. You must see orthodontists instead of going straight to the dentist.
Visit Mint Dental Care London for expert dental and orthodontic services in South London.