What Is Orthodontics in Dentistry?

Dentists and orthodontists are both involved in helping patients improve their oral health differently. The medical specialty of dentistry is broad, dealing with the teeth, gums, nerves, and jaw. Orthodontics is a specialty within dentistry focusing on correcting bites, malocclusion, and straightening the teeth. An essential difference between the two professionals is that all orthodontists are dentists but not every dentist is a licensed orthodontist.

What Is the Difference Between an Orthodontist and a Dentist?

The Similarities

The primary similarity between dentists and orthodontists is their focus on oral care. Orthodontists work in a dental office and provide similar care like dentists. Therefore both professionals are identical in this respect. They are both considered professionals dealing with teeth and gums.

The Differences

More differences than similarities exist between the two professionals. Orthodontists require additional education in a dental specialty, similar to doctors who obtain additional schooling when becoming surgeons. Another difference is the specialty of orthodontists, who help patients with their teeth alignment and help improve their bites. Orthodontists use corrective braces and other appliances to achieve their goals. Patients with overbites are referred to orthodontists by dentists.

The dentist in spring, TX, encourages good oral hygiene and provides services related to tooth decay, root canals, gum disease, dental crowns, bridges, dental veneers, and teeth whitening.

Orthodontists are dentists specializing in teeth alignment and providing services related to misaligned teeth, crowding, overbites, and underbites.

What Are the Benefits of Orthodontics?

Orthodontic treatment in spring, TX, can help if you have crooked teeth, but the professionals also assist patients with other issues. The problems orthodontists can help you with include underbites, overbites, crossbites, open bites, overcrowding, gaps between your teeth, and temporomandibular joint disorders. Additional problems with the jaw also need treatments from orthodontists.

While dentists receive training to provide orthodontic care besides extractions, TMJ treatments, and fillings, entrusting your smile to an orthodontist better balances the various procedures you require. Therefore orthodontics is a specialty in dentistry dealing with proper alignment of your teeth that prevent you from maintaining proper dental hygiene, making you susceptible to dental infections because of crooked and misaligned teeth.

Do Orthodontists Accept Patients Needing General Dentistry Treatments?

As specialists in the business of treating teeth malformations, orthodontists generally do not accept patients needing general dentistry treatments. Instead, when approached by any patient, they refer them to a general dentist located nearby to receive the required therapy.

Orthodontists are busy professionals treating patients of all ages, starting from children and even adults. However, unlike earlier, when the belief existed that orthodontic treatments were exclusively for children, newer orthodontic appliances now encourage adults to seek orthodontic treatments to have straighter teeth and a beautiful smile besides acquiring freedom from the dental infections that constantly concern them.

Crooked and misaligned teeth don’t merely affect your smile but also make it challenging for you to clean your teeth appropriately and prevent infections from developing. Therefore you become prone to issues like tooth decay, gum disease, and other problems that require frequent treatments from the spring dentist. However, if you decide to put an end to your concerns, you can visit an orthodontist to receive a treatment that provides multiple benefits.

Orthodontists utilize different appliances when straightening teeth. Generally, the treatments require three years or more, depending on the complexity of your situation. You might receive traditional orthodontic braces with metal brackets and wires that you might not find appealing. However, they are considered the gold standard for straightening teeth and deliver exceptional results.

If you want a discreet option for straightening teeth, orthodontists can offer you ceramic braces that appear tooth-colored but are equally effective for straightening teeth. Lingual braces attached to the lingual surfaces of your teeth are also available with orthodontists to deal with this problem.

As an adult, if you don’t prefer the appliances described, orthodontists can even provide clear aligners made from dental-grade plastic to straighten your teeth faster than traditional braces. However, you might find clear aligners unsuitable if you have a complicated situation best treated using conventional orthodontic appliances.

Orthodontics in dentistry is a specialty that helps with straightening your teeth to help you avoid dental infections and have a beautiful smile. Orthodontists are dentists specializing in a particular field and not concentrating on general dental care.

If you need treatments for correcting dental imperfections, The Smile Designer of Spring provides orthodontic treatments to help you. Please do not hesitate to contact them if you wish to improve your oral health and have a beautiful smile.