There are many dentists that offer orthodontic services to their patients. However, they don’t offer the same expertise as orthodontists. While a dentist may focus on your overall oral health, orthodontists focus solely on correcting bites and aligning teeth.

In this blog post, we will be going over the 4 reasons why you should choose an orthodontist over a dentist who offers orthodontic treatment. While general dentists can offer cosmetic dentistry services like dental crowns or veneers, you’ll need an orthodontist for when teeth need to be moved.



Orthodontists can fix:

*Misaligned teeth

*Crowded teeth

*Spaces between teeth

*Overbite

*Underbite

*Crossbites

*Tooth and jaw pain caused by improper bite

Specialization in Orthodontics

Compared to dentists, orthodontists complete an extra 2 years of study in orthodontics before offering treatment to patients. The extra two years of study make an orthodontist qualified to move your teeth into optimal alignment. Dental school programs don’t offer training for how to straighten teeth, which makes general dentists unqualified to offer orthodontic treatment.

Save Time and Money

A general dentist doesn’t have the same training as an orthodontist, which means they could easily make costly mistakes. Teeth that have been moved improperly could also introduce issues you didn’t have prior to treatment, such as an overbite or jaw pain. It’s not uncommon for orthodontists to have to fix mistakes made by general dentists who thought they could straighten teeth. Unfortunately, this means that you have to spend more time and money to repair damage done by general dentists.

More Experience

Orthodontists correct bites and straighten teeth for a living. This means that they have more experience than general dentists at improving the appearance and function of your smile. General dentists are better for maintaining overall oral health because they look for signs of tooth decay, gum disease, and more. If you would like to straighten your teeth or are having pain in your teeth and jaw from improper bite, your dentist should refer you to a trusted orthodontist.

More Options

Many general dentists only offer Invisalign treatment to patients with misaligned teeth. However, not all patients are ideal candidates for Invisalign and may benefit more from traditional braces. Orthodontists offer a wide variety of orthodontic treatments and different types of braces like Invisalign, ceramic braces, and metal braces. This way, you can be sure that you are getting the most effective orthodontic treatment for your smile. You don’t want to waste money on a method that won’t move teeth safely and effectively.