Orthodontist Schools – How to become an Orthodontist?

How to become an Orthodontist? If you are looking to fix people’s smiles, then you must apply for one of the numerous orthodontist schools out there and become an orthodontist. These professionals specialize in how teeth, gums and jaws align. Through medical training, they can help you remove any “extra” teeth. So, if your teeth are misaligned or you suffer from malocclusion, your dentists will most likely refer you to an orthodontist that can help you with your problem.  People who deal with teeth alignment problems are usually recommended to wear braces.

How to become an orthodontist?

Students who want to become orthodontists must first own a bachelor degree and then sign up for a 4-year dental school. Many orthodontist schools require their students to major in pre-dental and to take classes such as biology, chemistry, physics, nutrition and other science courses. While you get to choose what you major in, many students who want to follow this path choose to major in chemistry, biology or other sciences. This way, they will not be clueless and have at least the basic knowledge necessary for the job.

After you get your bachelor’s degree, you will have to apply to an orthodontist school and give an admission test, known under the name of DAT. If you have passed this, you are pretty much in. Some schools also have an interviewing step, which students need to pass before they are accepted.

How to become an orthodontistThroughout the 4 years of dental school, you will learn about microbiology, anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, but you will also put the things you have learned in practice. In your final two years, you will be exposed to different dental specializations, such as orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics, maxillofacial surgery and prosthodontics.

After you have completed your 4 years of dental school, you will have to apply for orthodontist schools. The easiest way to do that is to use the Post-Doctoral Application Support Service, which allows you to apply to many programs with one application form.

After you have been accepted, you will spend 3 years learning about orthodontics (tooth movement), dentofacial orthopedics and surgical orthodontics. You can also learn about research methods and teaching, attend conferences, prepare case reports and complete a research project. After you have completed these courses as well, you will be granted a diploma which will qualify you as a dental specialist in orthodontics. From this step on you will be able to put everything you learned into practice on your own.

Recommends – Before and After Braces

What skills do you need to become an orthodontist?

First of all, you need to be dental-oriented, meaning that you must have a passion for oral and dental issues and correcting them.

Second of all, you must have communication and listening skills, because you will work with patients. Being able to listen gets you one step closer to identifying the health issues.

Third of all, you need to be a detail-oriented person. In other words you must see past the big picture and be able to identify the small, but important details. This is very important, especially when treating a patient.

Other skills include being organized, being able to empathize and being a hard worker. Going to a dental school and then specializing in orthodontics is no easy job and can’t be done by a student that is only part-time committed to the job.

What does an orthodontist do?

What does an orthodontist doMany orthodontist schools will teach you that an orthodontist executes the following actions:

  • S/he meets with their patients and examines them
  • S/he identifies the problems
  • S/he offers a solution (treatment)
  • S/he does surgery when necessary
  • S/he is responsible for keeping track of the patient’s medical record
  • S/he applies, modifies and removes the braces

Where can you find orthodontist schools and how do you apply?

Orthodontist schools can be found in many states, such as California, Michigan, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania and so many more. You need to go online and look for the complete list of orthodontist schools. The way you apply to one of these schools varies from state to state and from school to school. In order to see what the process is and what their requirements are, you need to contact the dental school and ask for this kind of information or you could simply go online and look.

So, as you can see, orthodontist schools will get you where you want, but only if you are willing to learn and work hard.

Updated: Nov 27, 2016 — 2:03 pm
Dentgap © 2017 Frontier Theme