Quick Answer: A dentist provides general oral healthcare, including cleanings, fillings, gum care, crowns, and treatment for tooth pain or decay. An orthodontist is a dentist who completed additional specialty training focused on tooth movement, bite correction, and jaw relationships. Dentists help keep your teeth and gums healthy, while orthodontists use braces, clear aligners, retainers, and other appliances to improve alignment and how the upper and lower teeth fit together.
Is an Orthodontist Also a Dentist?
Yes. Every orthodontist first completes dental school and earns a Doctor of Dental Surgery or Doctor of Dental Medicine degree. After dental school, an orthodontist completes additional full-time education in an accredited orthodontic residency program.
That specialty training focuses on:
- How teeth move through the supporting bone
- How the upper and lower teeth fit together
- How to diagnose and correct bite problems
- How the jaws and dental arches develop
- How to plan and monitor braces and clear-aligner treatment
- How to manage complex tooth movement
Some general dentists also provide orthodontic services, including clear-aligner treatment. However, the title orthodontist is reserved for dentists who complete formal specialty training in orthodontics.
Dr. Sherwood Miler is a board-certified orthodontist and Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics. His training includes a three-year orthodontic specialty residency and additional fellowship training in clear-aligner therapy.
What Does a Dentist Do?
A general dentist provides preventive, diagnostic, and restorative care for the teeth, gums, and mouth. Most patients see a dentist for routine oral-health needs and treatment of dental disease or damage.
Depending on the practice, dental services may include:
- Routine examinations and cleanings
- Dental X-rays and oral-health screenings
- Fillings for cavities
- Gum-disease evaluation and care
- Crowns, bridges, and bonding
- Tooth extractions
- Teeth whitening
- Guidance on brushing, flossing, and disease prevention
Visit a dentist for tooth pain, sensitivity, cavities, bleeding gums, damaged teeth, or routine examinations and cleanings.
Your dentist may also notice crowding, unusual tooth eruption, or a bite problem during a regular examination and recommend an orthodontic evaluation.
What Does an Orthodontist Do?
An orthodontist specializes in diagnosing and treating problems involving tooth alignment and how the upper and lower teeth fit together.
Common orthodontic concerns include:
- Crowded or overlapping teeth
- Crooked or rotated teeth
- Gaps between teeth
- Overbites
- Underbites
- Crossbites
- Open bites
- Teeth that do not meet evenly
- Teeth that shifted after previous orthodontic treatment
- Developing bite or jaw-relationship concerns in children
Orthodontists may use braces, clear aligners, retainers, expanders, elastics, and other appliances to guide tooth movement and improve the bite.
During an orthodontic evaluation, the visible position of the front teeth is only one part of the examination. The orthodontist also considers tooth eruption, root position, available space, dental-arch development, jaw relationships, and how the teeth contact when the patient bites down.
For example, a dentist may repair a cavity in a crowded tooth, while an orthodontist evaluates why the teeth are crowded and whether changing their position could improve the bite or create better cleaning access.
Dentist vs. Orthodontist: Key Differences
| Dentist | Orthodontist |
|---|---|
| Provides general oral healthcare | Specializes in tooth movement and bite correction |
| Completes dental school | Completes dental school plus an accredited orthodontic residency |
| Treats cavities, gum problems, damaged teeth, and other general concerns | Treats crowding, spacing, crooked teeth, and bite problems |
| Provides cleanings, fillings, crowns, and preventive care | Provides braces, clear aligners, retainers, expanders, and related appliances |
| Focuses primarily on the health of the teeth and gums | Focuses on tooth position, bite function, and jaw relationships |
| May identify alignment concerns and recommend specialist care | Plans and monitors orthodontic tooth movement |
| Continues routine dental care during orthodontic treatment | Coordinates with the patient’s dentist when needed |
Dentists and orthodontists have different areas of training, but their roles often overlap as part of a complete oral-health plan.
Can a Dentist Provide Braces or Clear Aligners?
Some general dentists provide clear aligners, braces, or other orthodontic services. Whether a particular provider is appropriate depends on the patient’s needs, the complexity of the tooth movement, and the provider’s training and experience.
Orthodontists complete additional specialty education devoted to diagnosing bite problems, planning tooth movement, monitoring jaw relationships, and managing orthodontic treatment.
Before beginning braces or aligner treatment, consider asking:
- Is the provider a general dentist or an orthodontist?
- What training and experience do they have with orthodontic treatment?
- Who will monitor the position of the teeth and the bite?
- What happens if the treatment becomes more complex than expected?
These questions are not meant to suggest that every orthodontic case must be treated the same way. They help patients understand who is providing their care and how the treatment will be supervised.
Who Should You See?
See a dentist for:
- Routine cleanings and examinations
- Tooth pain or sensitivity
- Cavities
- Bleeding or swollen gums
- Broken or damaged teeth
- Fillings, crowns, or bridges
- General oral-health concerns
See an orthodontist for:
- Crooked or crowded teeth
- Gaps between teeth
- An overbite, underbite, crossbite, or open bite
- Teeth that do not meet properly
- Braces or clear-aligner treatment
- Teeth that shifted after previous orthodontic care
- Concerns about tooth eruption or bite development
- Questions about jaw or dental-arch relationships
At Miler Orthodontics, patients sometimes arrive focused on one visibly crooked tooth or a small gap. A complete orthodontic evaluation may show that the way the upper and lower teeth meet is equally important to the treatment decision.
When you are unsure where to begin, your general dentist can examine the concern and provide a referral. You may also contact an orthodontist directly for an alignment or bite evaluation.
Do You Still Need a Dentist During Orthodontic Treatment?
Yes. Orthodontic appointments do not replace routine dental care.
Your orthodontist monitors tooth movement, appliance condition, and bite correction. Your dentist continues checking for cavities, gum disease, enamel damage, infections, and other oral-health concerns.
Regular dental cleanings are especially important during braces or clear-aligner treatment. Plaque can collect around brackets and wires, while wearing aligners over unclean teeth can hold food residue against the enamel.
Dentists and orthodontists may coordinate care when treatment involves gum health, missing teeth, crowns, implants, or teeth that have not erupted properly.
When Should a Child See an Orthodontist?
Children should continue regular dental visits while their teeth and jaws develop. An orthodontic evaluation may also be appropriate when a parent or dentist notices crowding, crossbite, protruding teeth, unusual tooth eruption, early or late loss of baby teeth, or uneven jaw development.
An early evaluation does not automatically mean a child needs braces. The orthodontist may recommend monitoring tooth eruption and growth until treatment is necessary or most likely to provide a meaningful benefit.
Get the Right Care for Your Smile
Dentists and orthodontists provide different but complementary types of care. A dentist helps maintain the health of your teeth and gums, while an orthodontist focuses on tooth movement, bite alignment, and jaw relationships.
Miler Orthodontics provides orthodontic evaluations for children, teens, and adults in Bluffton and Beaufort, South Carolina. Contact our team if you have concerns about crowded teeth, spacing, bite alignment, braces, clear aligners, or developing jaw relationships.
