what do i need to do to become an orthodontist

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Walkonthesun

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hi.. im a young student right now and i dont know anything yet, but my dream one day is to become an orthodontist. i want to get ready now and know everything about it.

How do you become an orthodontist. Do you need to take a 4-year dental university and then a 2 year graduate school to earn doctorate degree?

and what kind of level do you need to become an orthodontist?
GPA:
SAT score:
Average DAT score:
and all those other test you need to take ( i dont know what they are called )

my last question is what does it take to get a scholarship..

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How do you become an orthodontist. Do you need to take a 4-year dental university and then a 2 year graduate school to earn doctorate degree?

and what kind of level do you need to become an orthodontist?

First, you need to make sure your willing to be a DENTIST. Plus, dental school is a doctorate degree. So basically, you need to meet the reqs in your undergrad, then get into and go to dental school, and then after you are in about the top 10% of your dental school class, apply for, pray some more, and hope you get into an orthodontic residency.

You also need to do more research on this topic. Do a search and I'm sure you'll find a lot of ifo in the old forums.
 
search the threads
 
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Make sure you want to be a dentist first please. Everyone and their mom wants to be an ortho and only a fraction of students actually make it that far.
 
Here's a link from the ADA that should tell you everything that you need to know about how to be a dentist.....at least it's a good start....

http://www.ada.org/public/careers/beadentist/index.asp

Long story short... after high school graduation, you will need a minimum of 11 years of education and training to be an orthodontist (4 yrs undergrad, 4 yrs dental school, 3 years ortho residency). Orthodontics is the most competitive dental speciallty to get into. Selection is mostly based on your class ranking in dental school. You basically need to be in the 10% of your dental class, but I've heard that you really need to be the top 2% of your class.

Still want to be an orthodontist?
 
Oh your SAT score matters for getting into college and that's about as good as it will do you for the rest of your life.
 
If you are aiming to become an ortho than you are going to work so hard in D school that you will lose years off your life from the stress! I think it is worth it though :D.
 
It's nice to see that you are eager to start life but the best advice I can give is enjoy every step of the way and just take it easy. Do well on all your pre-reqs and get involved as much as you can. Oh yeah, one more thing, you'll never need your SAT score again after getting accepted into undergrad. Good luck.
 
Why do you want to be an orthodontist? Do you find the work interesting? Does the thought of tinkering with little metal braces and glue make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? Did you have a life altering event at the hands of an orthodontist? Do you want to share those experiences with others? Perhaps you enjoy treatment planning or maybe you just want to see those perfect smiles on kids as you remove their braces.

With all of the work ahead of you, I certainly hope that your motivation is derived from something I have mentioned and/or something similar, certainly not because someone told you that they make a lot of money and don't work a whole lot. If you really want to do orthodontics, what you need to do is your absolute best at all levels. If that is good enough, then you will get it. A very high percentage of dental students enter the profession planning on ortho and a very small percentage of students actually get it. Good luck to you.
 
Why do you want to be an orthodontist? Do you find the work interesting? Does the thought of tinkering with little metal braces and glue make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? Did you have a life altering event at the hands of an orthodontist? Do you want to share those experiences with others? Perhaps you enjoy treatment planning or maybe you just want to see those perfect smiles on kids as you remove their braces.

With all of the work ahead of you, I certainly hope that your motivation is derived from something I have mentioned and/or something similar, certainly not because someone told you that they make a lot of money and don't work a whole lot. If you really want to do orthodontics, what you need to do is your absolute best at all levels. If that is good enough, then you will get it. A very high percentage of dental students enter the profession planning on ortho and a very small percentage of students actually get it. Good luck to you.

Do oral surgeons make more than orthodonists? I know I'm probably going to get GRILLED for asking this question, but I mean...I'm just asking....;)
 
Do oral surgeons make more than orthodonists? I know I'm probably going to get GRILLED for asking this question, but I mean...I'm just asking....;)

I think so. ...but then you have to remember that it kinda takes forever to become an OMFS. So you are missing out earning on those years while you are in school. They are pretty comparable though as far as income... That should not really be close to the top of the list though as far as choosing a specialty/if you will do so. If you're a fairly competent dentist, you will be fine financially imo.



Oh and to the OP: don't get your heart set on becoming an orthodontist quite yet. You have to become a dentist - orthodontics is a specialty; as such, it's postdoctoral training. You need to learn a LOT more... as others have said, try searching this forum. My suggestion (rather than looking on SDN) would be to go start shadowing immediately. The more the better (variety, not number of hours) If you can visit a practitioner of each specialty and several general dentists, you will get a much better idea of what's involved and whether you want to do it.
 
Oral surgeons should make more than orthodontists, but not always. How you set up your practice be the true determinant of your earning potential.
 
i think some schools have combined degress BS/DMD degrees. I think NYU maybe.

you need to be a good student, likable, willing to commit to a life time of learning and know you want to be a dentist.

You need to follow the pre-health track and plan accordingly with classes and planning when you will take the DAT. If you want some more advice on that feel free to message me. :D
 
Do oral surgeons make more than orthodonists? I know I'm probably going to get GRILLED for asking this question, but I mean...I'm just asking....;)

The beauty of dentistry is there is no right answer to this question. There are GPs making tons more that some oral surgeons, some orthodontists making tons more than aforementioned GP, and some also struggling (this is the less-beautiful part).
 
ur SAT, GPA.. etc now doesnt matter. it is how you do when you are in d-school. i suggest you shadow at an orthodontic office.
 
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