orthodontics

Started by norm2000
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norm2000

Can a licensed general dentist in California practice orthodontics?
Thanks!
 
yes but you can't say you're an orthodontist nor can you advertist yourself as one
 
From my understanding, a GP could do what ever they want.

Here is the catch, matters how much CE you have been doing. You might be able to do minor/simple ortho, but will need to refer out more complex cases.
 
If you are a general practitioner, you can do as much orthodontics as you feel comfortable with. The catch is that you will be held to the same standards as a specialist.

i.e. If something went wrong and you are taken to court, "But I'm not a specialist!" is NOT a valid defense.

HTH!
 
You can as a general dentist do ANY dental procedure that you want to. However, as mentioned before, if something goes wrong and you get sued, your work will be held upto the standard of care given be a specialist in that field.

So if you have a secret desire to be a "wire bender" go crazy, but make sure that your doing it upto the stnadard of care as someone whose shingle says "specialist in orthodontics"
 
DrJeff said:
You can as a general dentist do ANY dental procedure that you want to. However, as mentioned before, if something goes wrong and you get sued, your work will be held upto the standard of care given be a specialist in that field.

So if you have a secret desire to be a "wire bender" go crazy, but make sure that your doing it upto the stnadard of care as someone whose shingle says "specialist in orthodontics"
Click to expand...

For sure. Falls under the ADA Code of Ethics of 'Veracity' 5.H Announcement of Specialization and Limitation of Practice

Bottom of Pg 14: http://www.ada.org/sections/about/pdfs/ada_code.pdf
 
with the degree of saturation, a licensed general dentist cannot practice general dentistry in california.
 
Many think that invisalign is so great for GP b'c you just send the molds to them and they plan the entire treatment. Not true at all. It takes an orthodontist to oversee the treatment and make course corrections along the way to tell invisalign what to do, not not just deliver trays.

Many GP can get the hang of the sequence of wires to use, how to rotate teeth and close spaces but aren't trained to take into account all of the angles, curves of speed, etc... Those who don't know what theyre doing can cause periodontal problems, root resorption, TMJD?, etc...

It's great when GPs know how the brackets function so they can remove wires themselves for cleanings/restorations but we all need to know our limitations.
 
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