WHAT IS A SPECIALIST ORTHODONTIST?

A qualified specialist in Orthodontics will have a dental degree and has chosen to apply and return to a full-time study at an university centre, in a treatment teaching and research centre or, where appropriate, in a health establishment approved for that purpose by the competent authorities for a further three to four years after their dental graduation. This is to undergo a rigorous training programme with a curriculum, carrying out orthodontic treatment under supervision. At the end of their programme they will sit their membership in orthodontics examination; to be recognised as a specialist. This applies in most European countries.

Modern orthodontics is almost two centuries old, with the biggest breakthrough within the last 20 - 30 years. This is due to modern advances in technology with 3D X-ray techniques, intra-oral scanning technologies, and the advent of different brace systems, which have dramatically improved treatment results. Above all, orthodontics has become much more accessible to most patients in recent years. Until recently there were only specialized orthodontists in the major cities, and there is currently an orthodontic practice in almost every large municipality. You can access orthodontics with dentists and dentists with a special interest in orthodontics, however, it is important to note that orthodontic specialists have undergone a formal full-time training programme (3-4 years long) in the specialty of orthodontics. 

There is currently now a high demand for orthodontics; many adults and children want well-functioning teeth that are healthy, leading to a beautiful smile. Comprehensive orthodontic treatment makes an effort to give the patient facial and dental harmony. In children, the teeth can be moved with the help of braces, but the growth of the jaws can also be directed in the right direction, if necessary. Correcting an abnormal jaw position and tooth position contributes greatly to providing dental and facial harmony to these patients. 

In recent years, more and more adults are undergoing orthodontic treatment. Correction of teeth alignment can be done in the same way for an adult patient as for growing children or adolescents. However, there are limits; one of them is that the jawbones no longer grow in an adult and can therefore no longer be influenced by braces alone. If this is necessary, because the jaw abnormality is too large to correct with braces alone, then the help of an oral surgeon will often need to be called upon to carry out jaw surgery to correct the jaw positions, as braces will only correct teeth alignment.

Whatever the orthodontic technique used, treatment needs to be maintained with removable retainers, bonded wire retainers or a combination of both. Retention is the key to preserving the new position of the teeth and evidence states retainers are now required to be worn lifelong at nighttime, or for as long as a patient wishes to keep their teeth straight.

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Bibliography 

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1. Contemporary Orthodontics, WR Proffit, 6th Edition, Elsevier, 2019.

2. Begg Orthodontic Theory and Technique, P.R. Begg and P.C. Kesling, W.B. Saunders Company, 1977.

3. Angle E.H.: Treatment of malocclusion of the Teeth, 7th edition, Philidelphia, The S.S. White Dental Manufacturing Co.,1907.