What is Orthodontics–Significance and Brief History

A straight set of clean teeth gives you a beautiful smile, there is a famous saying, “You are never fully dressed without a smile” and to protect this smile we have Orthodontics. These special kinds of dentists specialise in aligning and correcting crooked teeth. Teeth aligning may sound like a new-age trend but it goes beyond centuries with evidence of first teeth alignment going back to the ancient civilisation. There are traces of braces found in old mummies and human fossils, back at that time gold and other metals were used as braces for aligning teeth.

The word Orthodontics is made from two Greek words “Orthos” which means straight or correct and the other word is “Dontics” which means teeth, the specialist who performs this treatment is called an orthodontist. The most common services provided by orthodontists are teeth straightening and bite alignment. Teeth alignment is generally done by Braces or Invisalign, with braces being in the market since the 1800s and Invisalign introducing itself in the late 90s, both have their advantages and disadvantages.

In short, teeth alignment has been here for ages and continues to grow in popularity. Metal braces have now evolved into plastic Invisalign which are more comfortable and convenient. These Invisalign are made in labs under the constant supervision of an Orthodontist making them quite expensive. Whether you want to use Braces or Invisalign it depends on you and what kind of treatment you prefer.

How to Become an Orthodontist–Roadmap and Duration

An orthodontist is a special dentist who deals with the alignment of bites and teeth straightening. To become an orthodontist first, you need to be a qualified dentist and only after that, you can become an orthodontist. 

The roadmap to becoming a licenced Orthodontist is given below:

1. Complete your high school and college education to get a Bachelor’s degree.
2. Then Complete a 4-year dental school program, you can choose from two options, DDS or DMD, and you can complete the program in any of these.
3. Then take a specialized Orthodontic course for 2-3 years to get a speciality degree.
4. In some areas, there can be additional exams but that varies from place to place.

And after completing these steps you will finally become a licensed Orthodontist practitioner. Now to answer the most common question, How long does it take to become an Orthodontist? We can say it takes approximately 4 years of college, 4 years of dental school program and 2-3 years of speciality courses making it a total of 10-11 years to finally become a licensed Orthodontist. The difference between a normal and a best orthodontist lies in what they learn after becoming an Orthodontist, experience with different patients and their problems can teach you more than any college or course. The dental health of your patients will be your responsibility. Treat your patients with care and respect and when attending to a patient always give them your full attention.

Services provided by an Orthodontist

An orthodontist is a specialized dentist responsible for teeth and jaw alignment, they make sure that your smile looks great and your jaws work well when biting. They provide services like checking crooked, misaligned teeth and diagnosing any misalignment in your jaw that may affect your bite. Orthodontists also perform surgeries on the skull and jaw to deal with misalignment. Orthodontics is a specialized field that deals with a specific part of dental treatments, It takes an extra 2-3 years to become an orthodontist after completing your dental program.

Braces vs Invisalign

People mainly visit an orthodontist for teeth alignment, the reasons can be look enhancement or problems in chewing food due to misaligning jaw and teeth. Teeth are aligned mainly by using two methods:

1. Metal Braces
2. Invisalign

Modern braces were first introduced in the 1800s and are the most popular way for alignments but Invisalign treatment is now in trend, as they are more convenient, comfortable and easy to pain. Dental Pain in treatments with braces is significantly higher than in Invisalign but the braces are much cheaper than Invisalign and braces are generally used in more complex cases.

Braces and Invisalign both have their advantages and disadvantages, choosing what is best for you depends on the circumstances and the condition of your teeth. Treatment with Invisalign requires a skilled Orthodontist and should be done under constant medical supervision, having an experienced orthodontist can significantly reduce the treatment pain with the help of precision. 

So before starting your alignment ensure that the Invisalign orthodontist is licenced and has experience in the field. In case the pain is persistent and is not bearable, you may ask the Orthodontist to prescribe some pain-relief medication. Tramadol combined with Acetaminophen is one such medication that can help in relieving dental pain but these are strong medicines so you can only buy Tramadol online with a prescription from a licenced doctor.

Skills required to become the Best Orthodontist

Orthodontics is a specialized field and to be best in this field you would need the following skills:

• Dental knowledge: First become a good dentist, every orthodontist is first a dentist then with specialized skills they become an Orthodontist. If you want to be the best Orthodontist learn the basic knowledge of Dental work, and study everything about teeth, jaws and gums then translate that knowledge into your work gaining the trust of your patients.

• Experience: This is something that no course or degree can teach you. Handling different cases over time helps you develop the necessary skills that are required for complex cases. It is said that an experienced doctor can complete the procedures with less pain, and the risks of dental injuries are significantly low.

• Communication skills: People are generally scared of dentists because of the scary-looking equipment in their clinic and are always anxious about the treatment. It is the responsibility of an Orthodontist to calm the patients down and help them relax before the treatment and during the treatment. If you want to become the best Orthodontist, you must learn to communicate with the patients and be friendly with them throughout the treatment so that they can trust your judgement and listen to your advice.

• Some other skills that can make you the best Orthodontist are Complex problem-solving, steady hands, and precise hand-eye coordination.

Conclusion

Orthodontists help align our teeth to give us a beautiful smile but their work is not limited to that, Orthodontists also perform surgeries on the jaw to fix misaligning bite issues. To pursue this career you will need time, to be a licenced Orthodontist you would need at least 10 years.

You don’t have to be someone special to become the best Orthodontist. You just need to work on the basics for some time, never compromise your work ethic and do not take shortcuts to earn money. People trust Orthodontists with their smile and they have the responsibility to protect it.