The Difference Between a Dentist and an Orthodontist

Accessing the best dental care can be a bit of a challenge sometimes. There are many dentists around and each of them claims to be providing the best of services. There are also some other dental health practitioners called orthodontists. You probably think that everyone who deals with teeth is a dentist. Quite on the contrary, you probably do not need the services of a dentist but rather an orthodontist. Not everybody knows what orthodontists do anyway.

Generally, orthodontists and dentists have the same agenda as far as your health is concerned. This is to enhance your oral health. However, the ways that they do this are the difference. As you might know, dentistry is not a small field but one with a whole lot of branches within it. It is also worth mentioning that a dentist can also be an orthodontist but you need not be told that not all dentists are licensed as orthodontists as well.

The similarities

The major comparison between a dentist and an orthodontist is that they both focus on your dental healthcare. An orthodontist may work in a dental office and provide the same care as a dentist. In this case, they perform the same duties. In short, they are both doctors who deal with teeth and gums.

The world of differences

For starters, orthodontists spend a lot of more time in school as a dentist specialty. It is the same thing with surgeons as they go through some few more years in school. Orthodontists normally concentrate on helping patients with teeth alignment. They fix the bite and alignment of the teeth. This might be through the use of tools such as braces and Invisalign.

Dentists mainly promote good oral hygiene and provide services relating to tooth decay, root canals, gum disease, crowns, veneers, tooth whitening, and bridges. On the other hand, orthodontists are dentists who mostly focus on the alignment of teeth and give services such as fixing misaligned teeth, crowded teeth and overbite or underbite.

Which specialist to visit

Getting to know the differences between the two profession helps you save a lot of time when you are looking for a specific procedure to be done on your teeth. So if your teeth are to be aligned, you know you have to go to an orthodontist and if you just want a dental checkup, you go to a dentist who will be able to take care of your daily dental needs. Dentists are able to treat just about any kind of dental issue and that is why they are the more popular of the two. However, you might also benefit greatly from the specialized care provided by orthodontists.