What’s the difference between a Dentist and an Orthodontist?

Dentists and Orthodontists both help their patients for improving their oral health, in different manner. Dentistry is carried out more on broad medical specialization dealing with the patients teeth, gums, jaw and nerves whereas orthodontics focus specially within dentistry, focusing on correction of the bites, occlusion and straitening of the teeth. One major difference between the two professions is that all orthodontists are dentists, but not all dentists are certified orthodontists.

One similarity between both the professions is that both focuses on oral care, both are known as doctors and deal with the gums and the teeth. An orthodontist in pune too works in a dental office providing similar care as that of a dentist. However, there are many differences than their similarities as well.

An orthodontist needs to attend three years course for achieving dental specialty. It is similar course, like that of a doctor who gets additional course studies for becoming a licensed surgeon. Also, They specialize in helping the patients with their teeth alignment, bite improvements and fitting of the corrective devices and braces. Dentists generally encourage patients to good oral health and hygiene.

A Dentist is a person carrying out general dentistry on his patients. This includes checking the patient’s teeth, any fillings and such extractions. Most of the dentists have specific specialized area which they focus upon like braces or cosmetic dentistry. The brace treatments are legally carried out in simple and small treatments. Products used during such treatments are Six Month Smiles, Inman Aligner and Invisalign. The braces are made for the patients and specific movements are also programmed in by a professional lab technician. However, the dentist needs to be extra careful that all is planned well, as any wrong plan can mean bad results. Not all dentists have the perfect knowledge and skills to correct such plans. Dentists offer services which are connected to tooth decay, gum disease, bridges, teeth whitening, root canals, crowns and veneers.

Orthodontics is a specialized division of dentistry which entirely focuses on the developing of the teeth and the jaws of a patient for getting the best function and aesthetics. Accident cases patients are more focused patients of an orthodontist who is licensed and professional. They are qualified dentists. Some go ahead and specialize in special areas of treatment. This requires them to undergo an extra three years of course to become a professional Specialist. After passing out the as Masters in Orthodontics or MOrth, they are professionally qualified to become an Orthodontist. As a Specialist, many choose to concentrate on straightening the teeth than practicing general dentistry. With specialist training, an Orthodontist in pune can actually carry out complex treatments offering wider range of options in braces. Also, He has the needed skill to plan and to even adapt the treatment as per the patients needs. They use orthodontic appliances like clear removable aligners or fixed braces. They offer services in alignment of the teeth more focused on misaligned teeth, overbite, crowded teeth and underbite.

The patients having crooked teeth can refer orthodontists other than those who have issues of overbites, crossbites, underbites, spaces between teeth and overcrowding of the teeth. He even treat TMD (temporomandibular disorder). They even treat problems associated with the jaws, due to an injury or an accident of the patient. A dentist on the other hand though is trained to offer orthodontist pune care too in addition to his usual treatments. But it is better to see a professional who can balance the different procedure one wants.

There are many plus points on choosing this career of a Specialist Orthodontist, with right to the treatment of braces. They are as follows:

* A patient can rely completely on them as they are needed to carry many cases which are a part of their training.

* The patient can actually get to choose the right kind of brace which can suit him and his smile. The Orthodontist pune can offer many choices which are not limited to only one system.

* They can correct any issues that are related with the patient’s bites like crossbite, overjet or overbite and ensure that the bites are functional as well as comfortable at the end of the treatment.

* Moneywise, the cost of applying braces are similar to what a general dentist would charge and at the end of the treatment it makes sense as the patient gets the best expertise for his money.

Yes, there are general dentists who also offer orthodontic treatments to their patients. But they don’t have similar experience as that of an orthodontist who has been through more training programs during their three years of degree. An orthodontist is more of a qualified specialist. He got trained first for becoming a professional dentist and later on gone forward to complete the three year course for getting himself qualified as a specialist.

To be a specialized orthodontist, one has to go through a lot of training and gain experience in maxillofacial surgery, paediatric dentistry and in restorative dentistry as well.