can a general dentist practice orthodontics??

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docpun

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can a general dentist practice orthodontics?? i know about invisalign but braces

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It is my only opinion that a GP should be very careful with the extent they travel into certain specialties.

For ortho, I think a GP should only deal with a class I malocclusion. Beyond that you need some good training and I'm not sure its worth the time to take a ton of CE to learn how to correct a skeletal Class II or III

Same for the rest. Sure you can do implants and some grafts, molar endo and surgical extractions, but there will be cases you should just simply refer out.
 
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pretend you're an orthodontist and you've been practicing for like 30 years, and you grow tired of it, can you go back to general dentistry?
 
pretend you're an orthodontist and you've been practicing for like 30 years, and you grow tired of it, can you go back to general dentistry?

Many on SDN have said that once you go specialist, you shouldn't back. It also might be difficult to pick up a high speed and use it effectively after only using it for 4 (or less) years of dental school and then 30 years without. And by then I could only image all the new dental materials and techniques out that all current GPs would be using.
 
It is my only opinion that a GP should be very careful with the extent they travel into certain specialties.

For ortho, I think a GP should only deal with a class I malocclusion. Beyond that you need some good training and I'm not sure its worth the time to take a ton of CE to learn how to correct a skeletal Class II or III

Same for the rest. Sure you can do implants and some grafts, molar endo and surgical extractions, but there will be cases you should just simply refer out.
It is my opinion that no individual dentist should attempt to impose his opinions and personal comfort zone upon the rest of the profession. ;) Who are you and I to arbitrarily decide which areas of practice are "worth the time" for a given individual?
 
i work in an office that does orthodontics by a general dentist. he does type I and type II cases just fine. hell of a good deal for a few weekends of CE courses in miami instead of 2 years of residency. his business is roughly 50% orthodontics too.
 
Many on SDN have said that once you go specialist, you shouldn't back. It also might be difficult to pick up a high speed and use it effectively after only using it for 4 (or less) years of dental school and then 30 years without. And by then I could only image all the new dental materials and techniques out that all current GPs would be using.

There are days in residency when I have picked up the high speed on every single one of my patients. Removing composite is the #1 procedure I use the high speed for, but I also use it for enameloplasty and severing attachments on metal appliances.
 
There are days in residency when I have picked up the high speed on every single one of my patients. Removing composite is the #1 procedure I use the high speed for, but I also use it for enameloplasty and severing attachments on metal appliances.

yea even assisting on our ortho days i use the high speed daily to remove bands from appliances. maybe thats why some ortho's dont ever pick on up anymore....cause they have assistants to do their b**** work
 
There are days in residency when I have picked up the high speed on every single one of my patients. Removing composite is the #1 procedure I use the high speed for, but I also use it for enameloplasty and severing attachments on metal appliances.

yea even assisting on our ortho days i use the high speed daily to remove bands from appliances. maybe thats why some ortho's dont ever pick on up anymore....cause they have assistants to do their b**** work

Well, I'll retract my earlier statement. But I would still think being 30 years removed from doing any operative, endo, etc. (especially with how far they would advance within that time frame) would not make for an easy transition at all back to being a GP.
 
Well, I'll retract my earlier statement. But I would still think being 30 years removed from doing any operative, endo, etc. (especially with how far they would advance within that time frame) would not make for an easy transition at all back to being a GP.

i'm not asking if it's possible. i'm asking if its LEGAL? someone told me once you go specialist it's illegal to go back and do general dentistry (but what happens after a fews years you realized you hated being a specialist?)
 
i'm not asking if it's possible. i'm asking if its LEGAL? someone told me once you go specialist it's illegal to go back and do general dentistry (but what happens after a fews years you realized you hated being a specialist?)

Yup, sure is legal. Just remember though that if any malpractice issues come up, then your work will be held upto the standard of care that a board certified orthodontist could complete the case to (same goes for endo/oral surgery/perio/etc). Other than that, the only thing that you can't do as a GP that does ortho is advertise yourself/practice as an orthodontist/ortho specialty practice.

Also, if a specialist decides that they no longer want to be a specialist in that one particular area and branch bac out to other aspects of dentistry, they just need to stop calling themselves/advertsing the practice as a "specialty" practice.

Plain and simple, EVERY dental specialist out there was trained as a GP 1st, but not every GP is trained as a "specialist" (even though many of us do a large amount of excellent quality "specialty" work on daily basis)
 
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Yup, sure is legal. Just remember though that if any malpractice issues come up, then your work will be held upto the standard of care that a board certified orthodontist could complete the case to (same goes for endo/oral surgery/perio/etc). Other than that, the only thing that you can't do as a GP that does ortho is advertise yourself/practice as an orthodontist/ortho specialty practice.

Also, if a specialist decides that they no longer want to be a specialist in that one particular area and branch bac out to other aspects of dentistry, they just need to stop calling themselves/advertsing the practice as a "specialty" practice.

Plain and simple, EVERY dental specialist out there was trained as a GP 1st, but not every GP is trained as a "specialist" (even though many of us do a large amount of excellent quality "specialty" work on daily basis)


That is absolutely correct.

EG: I am a GP, but I do endo, exodontia, fixed pros, the same way as an endodontist, oral surgeon or prosthodontist does. Those GPs who are brave and competent enough can also place implants, do orthodontics, do LANAP surgery, etc. But if something should not work out as planned, and a patient sues, the court will look at the work done to see if it is up to the standard of a board certified specialist.

There is a local GP here under pressure from the local dental association to remove "Orthodontist" from his yellow page ad. He is invisalign certified, but not a board certified orthodonist.
 
It is my opinion that no individual dentist should attempt to impose his opinions and personal comfort zone upon the rest of the profession. ;) Who are you and I to arbitrarily decide which areas of practice are "worth the time" for a given individual?

Man, a MOD yelled at me. I guess that is a warning. That's okay, this will probably be my last post anyway.

It has been a great time on your site, but its time to focus on my last few interviews and some really cool CE's

Best of luck to all future Dentist and current dentist!

Remember, never stop learning, otherwise dentistry gets boring :laugh:
 
Man, a MOD yelled at me. I guess that is a warning. That's okay, this will probably be my last post anyway.

It has been a great time on your site, but its time to focus on my last few interviews and some really cool CE's

Best of luck to all future Dentist and current dentist!

Remember, never stop learning, otherwise dentistry gets boring :laugh:
No, no. I'm certainly not yelling. I just wanted to point out the observation that no two dentists are going to practice exactly the same way, and so (in my opinion) it's not very fair or just for any one individual to take his/her personal preferences and generalize them to the entire profession. Stick around for a while longer. You'll learn some things, you'll teach some things, and maybe you'll hear me yell for real at some point. ;)
 
I believe the original question was if you were a specialist, can you go back to GP.:)

Yup, sure is legal. Just remember though that if any malpractice issues come up, then your work will be held upto the standard of care that a board certified orthodontist could complete the case to (same goes for endo/oral surgery/perio/etc). Other than that, the only thing that you can't do as a GP that does ortho is advertise yourself/practice as an orthodontist/ortho specialty practice.

Also, if a specialist decides that they no longer want to be a specialist in that one particular area and branch bac out to other aspects of dentistry, they just need to stop calling themselves/advertsing the practice as a "specialty" practice.

Plain and simple, EVERY dental specialist out there was trained as a GP 1st, but not every GP is trained as a "specialist" (even though many of us do a large amount of excellent quality "specialty" work on daily basis)
 
...especially in Texas. Texas dental board has very strict rules and regulations. I don't even allow my assistants using low/high speed, surigal blade, lab knife or torch extraorally ... for liability reason.
 
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