Oregon Careers in Healthcare

Dentistry offers a wide variety of career opportunities. But let us focus on how to become an orthodontist and the requirements that you would need for this profession. Orthodontists specialize in general dentistry as well, but not all general dentists can perform orthodontic treatments. A dentist experienced in orthodontics describes the profession as a very fulfilling career to have.

 

How To Become An Orthodontist

Many people want to become a dentist, specifically, an orthodontist. But it’s important to ask yourself, is it the right career for me? In choosing any kind of career, the most important thing to consider is the willingness to learn and grow in the chosen field. Becoming an orthodontist requires years of education, you would not want to waste your time doing something you’re not passionate about.

If it is in your heart to serve people and promote oral health care, then this might be just the right path for you.

 

Educational Attainment

High School

One of the best ways to prepare for dental school is by equipping yourself with the right knowledge. According to dental associations, if a high school student is considering a career as a dentist or orthodontist, they must attend special classes for biology, organic chemistry, anatomy, math, and physics. These subjects will prepare them for the demands of dental school.

Bachelor’s Degree

Before entering the orthodontics program, a candidate would need to have a bachelor’s degree.  Their training to become an orthodontist will begin if they have submitted the pre-dental requirements. Some orthodontics program accepts two-year dental education or undergraduate degree, but a bachelor’s degree is most preferred.

The students will mostly focus on science subjects in preparation for the Dental Acceptance Test. Their education is a combined laboratory and classroom setting for better learning. Most of the subjects are focused on biology, chemistry, and physics. Orthodontic students may also opt to strengthen their credibility by taking courses like social sciences and foreign languages.

 

Dental Admission Test

Passing the dental admission test is a prerequisite for aspiring students, together with passing GPA and transcript information. Each school has its own minimum passing score requirement. The DAT is composed of 4 categories which are:

• Survey of natural sciences. This section is composed of questions about biology, general, and organic chemistry.
• Perceptual ability. Perceptual ability tests are composed of six different scenarios to test the student’s three-dimensional manipulation and structural reasoning.
• Reading comprehension. Reading comprehension begins with three different essays which are followed by questions pertaining to the passages.
• Quantitative test. This includes basic mathematic tests.

 

Test Preparation

Usually, there is nothing to worry about in passing the admission test as there are many ways to prepare for it. You may opt to use several tools such as prep books, test guides, review materials, and online resources. These things will equip you for the exam so you will be more prepared for the possible questions.

 

Entering Dental School

Moving on, if you want to know how to become an orthodontist, you will first need to become a dentist. Orthodontic dentistry is just a sub-portion of general dentistry, so it’s important for you to know the basics of dentistry.

Incoming students often submit their applications right after having their bachelor’s degree and after they receive their passing DAT scores. The school admission committee takes the following matters into consideration in choosing the perfect candidate for dental medicine:

1. Final admission test scores.
2. Grade point average
3. Recommendation letters
4. Students statement
5. The outcome of the interview
6. Experience in a dental clinic (internship, staff, clerical works)

It’s important to note that dentistry is a complex major and that a student would need to dedicate time and effort to his studies. This is essential to prepare them for the clinical modules once they’re out as licensed dentists.

The science course for the first two years in dental school focuses on anatomy and how each body part plays a role in dental health.

In the last two years in dental school, they will be learning about the clinical methods in dentistry. This is the part where they will be closely supervised by a professional instructor. The dental procedures that they will perform would also be watched over by a licensed dentist. Afterwhich, they will need to answer several questions and accept feedbacks respectively.

Those who graduated from dental school typically receive the following:

• DDS – Doctor of Dental Surgery
• DMD – Doctor of Dental Medicine

 

License

Furthermore, the road to becoming an orthodontist does not end there. After graduating from a CODA-accredited dental school, the new graduate must pass the licensure exam. This is administered by the National Board Dental Examination.

NBDE I:

400 questions with choices of answer pertaining to the following:

• Physiology and Biochemistry
• Occlusion and Dental Anatomy
• Pathology and Microbiology
• Histology, Human Anatomy, and Embryology

NBDE II:

The board gives the examinees at least two days to finish this test:

• Oral diagnosis
• Prosthodontics
• Patient management
• Periodontics
• Endodontics
• Oral surgery
• Maxillofacial surgery
• Operative dentistry
• Pharmacology

 

Orthodontics Program

There are a lot of things to accomplish if someone wishes to become an orthodontist. The next step is to complete an orthodontics residency. Inside orthodontics residency, you will need to stay for two to three years as a practicing orthodontist. Here, you will learn the depth of tooth movements and the development of the face.

Additionally, the orthodontics program is using two different systems in allowing applicants to apply for various dental programs. These are the Postdoctoral Application Support Service and the other one is Postdoctoral Dental Matching Program.

Licensure

To become a professional orthodontist, you will need to attain another license. In some states, a license for general dentists is enough to practice orthodontics as well. In other areas, a license for an orthodontist is needed.

Certification

Ideally, while being a certified orthodontist is purely optional, it is a great way to boost your career and jumpstart to many opportunities. Many dentists prefer to get certified.

 

Important Characteristics

Moreover, it may seem quite out of the topic but the character is an important factor to become a successful orthodontist. Here are some of the characteristics that make a good orthodontist:

• trustworthy and honest
• friendly and approachable
• expertise in the field
• can listen attentively
• compassionate
• sensitive
• humble
• great communication skills