{"id":1720,"date":"2020-03-12T22:02:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-13T02:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bordentownbraces.com\/?p=1720"},"modified":"2023-10-25T04:09:39","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T08:09:39","slug":"difference-betweenorthodontist-dentist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bordentownbraces.com\/teeth\/difference-betweenorthodontist-dentist\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is the Difference Between an Orthodontist and a Dentist?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When you are interested in maintaining your oral health, it\u2019s important to know the difference between an orthodontist<\/a> and a dentist. Both are essential for helping you keep your smile healthy and strong. However, the main difference is a dentist focuses on the maintenance and restoration of the teeth and gums, while an orthodontist specializes in realigning the teeth, improving a patient\u2019s bite, and working with dental appliances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both professionals are required to undergo thorough education and training and are required to go to an accredited school and complete their program. An orthodontist undergoes extra schooling to become a specialist in alignment and correcting how well the teeth and jaws sit. In fact, an orthodontist is required to attend an additional three years of school and will complete a different type of residency than a general dentist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means that while all orthodontists are dentists, not all dentists are orthodontists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both professionals are essential to helping you maintain proper oral health<\/strong> and wellness<\/strong>. Although the two professions sound similar on paper, there are actually far more differences than similarities. For example, a general dentist<\/strong> is one of the only professionals who will completely clean and scrape your teeth<\/strong>, while an orthodontist <\/strong>possesses the unique skills to create oral appliances<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n