Orthodontist

What is an Orthodontist?

The following job responsibilities are common for individuals in orthodontist roles:

• Evaluate new patients to recommend a treatment plan
• Measure patient mouths and teeth to create or order braces, retainers, or mouth guards
• Install braces and wires, and teach patients how to care for equipment
• Follow up with patients frequently to monitor progress, tighten braces, and make adjustments
• Manage office staff, including receptionists, technicians, and assistants

A Day in the Life of an Orthodontist

Orthodontists are dentists that specialize in straightening teeth. While the majority of the patients an orthodontist sees are pre-teens or teenagers, orthodontists may work with patients of all age groups—even adults sometimes get braces if they weren’t able to get their teeth straightened as children. Patients usually come to orthodontists through referrals from a general dentist. When new patients arrive, orthodontists evaluate the position of teeth to recommend a plan of action for treatment.

If patients need to be fitted for braces, retainers, mouth guards, or night guards, the orthodontist measures the patient’s mouth and teeth. This allows the orthodontist to order appropriately sized hardware from a dental laboratory. Once the equipment arrives from the laboratory, the orthodontist works to install the equipment in the patient’s mouth. This may include adhering braces to a patient’s teeth, installing wires, or simply ensuring that retainers, mouth guards, and night guards fit correctly.

While a patient is being treated by an orthodontist, he/she visits the orthodontist frequently for evaluations and adjustments. Over the course of wearing braces, the orthodontist works to tighten braces to straighten teeth little by little without causing the patient too much pain. Once teeth are straight, the orthodontist removes the braces and polishes the patient’s teeth. He/she may also recommend continued treatment, such as wearing a retainer or mouth guard after braces are removed.

Typical Work Schedule

Orthodontists usually follow the regular 40-50 hours working schedule whether in a private practice office, medical center or other care centers. Others will work on evenings and weekends to suit more the schedules of the patients. Accordingly, you should be flexible regarding the working schedule and set the best time that suits most of your patients. You may have to work for extended hours if you have a large network of clients or if you need to compensate for your partner in the clinic.

Projected Job Growth

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are currently around 10,600 orthodontists working in the country. The demand for this job is expected to increase by 2% from 2019 to 2029 which is less than the average for all other occupations. Recently, there has been more awareness for good oral hygiene as recent research shows its link to overall health. As the older populations age with more of them keeping their teeth unlike previous generations, more problems will arise that requires complicated dental services. Such problems include increased risk of oral cancer which requires advanced dental skills for reconstruction and other interventions. This increased demand however will also be matched with strong competition for the available opportunities as the number of graduates in this field increase. This competition is expected to be stronger in places where sufficient number of orthodontists already exist.

Typical Employers

Orthodontists can work in medical care centers, hospitals as well as other physicians’ offices. However, many prefer to work privately whether individually or with a partner, establishing their own offices where they can continue their practices with more flexibility. You can also work for the government who employ them to provide dental services to the public or to monitor the services provided in a certain area or district. Working in the academic field can also be a choice for some graduates to develop new techniques, tools or materials to be used in this field.