The AAO’s newest video educates consumers about the importance of receiving treatment from an orthodontist by highlighting the educational difference between a dentist and an orthodontist. Who will accept the Golden Aligner? Watch the decision play out in the third video in the Consumer Awareness Program Straight Talk series. In this video, Dr. Enrique Cruz is chosen to treat the patient because of his specialized education and training.
People often wonder what the difference is between an orthodontist and a dentist. Both dentists and orthodontists work on teeth, provide professional care that helps patients have good oral health, and both are dental school graduates. Your dentist may even offer orthodontic services, leading you to assume that they are an orthodontist. But the truth is that putting aligners or braces on teeth does not make a dentist an orthodontist.
Credit: American Association or Orthodontists