Orthodontists, who are best known for straightening teeth with braces, work in a subspecialty of dentistry. They diagnose, help prevent and treat problems related to poor dental development, missing teeth and other abnormalities. Pre-college students can prepare for an orthodontic career by taking biology, organic and inorganic chemistry, physics and mathematics, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says. Dental school and an orthodontics residency program are the remaining educational requirements.
Dental schools typically require incoming students to have a bachelor's degree that included completion of certain required science courses, such as biology and chemistry, according to the BLS. Other requirements, such as minimum grade point averages and recommendations, vary by school. Undergraduates generally take the Dental Acceptance Test, or DAT, during their junior year. The standardized test measures knowledge of the natural sciences, perceptual ability, reading comprehension and quantitative reasoning.
Dental school is a four-year commitment. In the first two years, students focus on classroom and lab work in anatomy, microbiology, biochemistry, physiology, clinical sciences and laboratory techniques, according to Midwestern University. Courses cover local anesthesia; periodontology, or the study of oral disease and health; and radiology, the BLS reports. During the last two years, students treat patients -- usually members of the local community -- under the supervision of licensed dentists to gain practice in treatment methods and surgery. Toward the end of dental school, students also take businesses courses to help them run their practices and pursue special interests, such as orthodontics. It is in their second year of dental school that students may begin to consider an orthodontics residency program.
Students need high National Board Dental Examination scores for residencies, and mastery of a foreign language can provide a boost for their application. Orthodontics residency programs are two or three years in length and offer a certificate. Some programs also provide a master's degree or a combined master's and Ph.D., according to the American Dental Association. Most residencies include equal proportions of classroom, clinical, and research elements. During residency, future orthodontists train in applied and radiographic anatomy, biomechanics, physics, biostatistics, research design, orthodontic technique, diagnosis, treatment planning and development, the ADA notes. States require all dentists to have a license, which typically means they must pass a written and practical exam. Besides gaining a certificate in their sub-specialty, orthodontists need to also have a license to practice their sub-specialty, which sometimes requires passing an additional state exam.
Certain personal qualities can help a dentist succeed as an orthodontist. These include good communication skills; dexterity with tools in tight places; patience to work with scared or difficult patients; and the ability to stand on your feet or bend over for long periods of time, according to the BLS.
2016 Salary Information for Dentists
Dentists earned a median annual salary of $158,390 in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On the low end, dentists earned a 25th percentile salary of $110,030, meaning 75 percent earned more than this amount. The 75th percentile salary is $201,830, meaning 25 percent earn more. In 2016, 153,500 people were employed in the U.S. as dentists.
- American Dental Association: 2011 Careers in Dentistry
- Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook: Dentists -- How to Become a Dentist
- American Dental Association: Dental Admission Test (DAT) -- 2012 Program Guide
- Midwestern University: Dental Medicine as a Career
- University of Louisville School of Dentistry: Curriculum
- University of California, San Francisco Office of Career and Professional Development: Orthodontics Residency -- Notes from the ADEA Residency Series
- American Dental Association: Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook: Dentists
- Career Trend: Dentists
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