Orthodontist Education – The Basics You Need To Know
Dentistry is a field of medicine which offers a large variety of career opportunities, depending largely on the ambitions and personal preferences of the student. Many people assume that dentistry is a somewhat of a cut-and-dry field of medicine, mostly because it deals with one single area of the human body. The various fields of dental medicine include oral medicine and oral radiology, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Pedodontics, Endodontics, Periodontics, Orthodontics, Prostodontics, Oral Pathology, Implantology and a few others. Orthodontics is becoming an increasingly popular career path for many dental students as it enables a crossover between cosmetic and oral dentistry, providing a valuable service to patients with crooked, crowded or misplaced teeth.
Orthodontist Education Req’s
Orthodontist education requires a high level of commitment to a study program that can be challenging at times. Because orthodontics is a specialized field of dentistry, students are required to complete their basic dental training before moving on to what can be described as an “extension” of the original degree.
In order to be accepted into an undergraduate dental program, this is also known as a Bachelor’s Degree, one needs to be vigilant with a few key high school subjects. Mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics and health are the subjects requiring the most focus for any student wishing to be accepted into dental school. A minimum of two years in an undergraduate program is required for a student to be accepted into a school offering a degree in dentistry.
After completing the required amount of time in an oral dentistry program, students can specialize in a field of their choice. Orthodontist education begins at this point. Armed with in-depth knowledge of the maxilla-facial region, students are able to apply their knowledge to a more advanced field of study. Some of the courses covered in Orthodontist Education include research methodology and biology of tooth movement, as well as roentgenographic cephalometry. Of course, the orthodontics curriculum is more extensive and includes many other complex subjects.
Length of Time
Orthodontist education in general takes approximately four years to complete. The first two years are spent in a lecture hall environment where students are taught all the theoretical knowledge they will be expected to know in the future. During the remaining two years, students are expected to take a more “hands-on” approach by working alongside qualified professionals. In this way orthodontics students are able to gain the valuable skills, knowledge and work experience which will ensure their success in the future.
Licensing is the final step in orthodontist education. All orthodontists are required to complete both a written and practical examination to ensure that they have absorbed all the necessary teachings during the course of their degree. In general, these licenses allow orthodontists to practice general dentistry as well as their chosen specialization.
Orthodontics is a branch of dentistry which requires high quality patient care as well as the ability to work well with one’s patients. Qualified orthodontists are highly sought after and specializing in this particular field would be an intelligent career move for any dental student wishing to improve the quality of life for many patients.
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