What's the difference between orthodontics certifications & orthodontics postgraduate MS?

[fantasticflossophy]

My own orthodontist did not do a traditional 2 yr MS program in orthodontics. Instead, they received certifications from seminars with over 600 hours of continuing education in orthodontics. Other orthodontists in my town did the 2 yr MS. My own orthodontist is highly talented and gets more people and rave reviews in comparison to the other orthodontists. So I was just curious what were the differences between orthodontics certifications & orthodontics traditional postgraduate MS?

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[0Mik3cho]

My understanding is that, orthodontics programs come in two flavors: Certificate only and Masters+Certificte programs. The masters programs require residents to perform research and defend a thesis.

 

[charlestweed]

Does your orthodontist also do other procedures like cleanings, fillings, root canal treatments, crowns bridges, veneers, dentures etc in his office? If he does, he’s probably not an orthodontist. To become an orthodontist, one has to do at least 2 years of residency. 0mike3cho was correct: some orthodontic programs offer a certificate only and some programs offer both MS degree and ortho certificate. These degree/certificate are just a piece of paper and they don't really tell how good of an orthodontist he is. The doctor's skills depend on his experience....the number of cases that he starts per year.....the long track record of doing excellent work that he has.

 

[Ryxndek]

Isn't is also that if he's an actual orthodontist he can only practice ortho since they are considered a specialist and can only practice within their specialty scope (If I understand that correctly)? If not, they are just more so a "super GP" that can do more than a typical general dentist since they have more CE training?

 

[fantasticflossophy]

My understanding is that, orthodontics programs come in two flavors: Certificate only and Masters+Certificte programs. The masters programs require residents to perform research and defend a thesis.

Ah okay! That makes a lot of sense & great to know that! 😳

 

[fantasticflossophy]

Does your orthodontist also do other procedures like cleanings, fillings, root canal treatments, crowns bridges, veneers, dentures etc in his office? If he does, he’s probably not an orthodontist. To become an orthodontist, one has to do at least 2 years of residency. 0mike3cho was correct: some orthodontic programs offer a certificate only and some programs offer both MS degree and ortho certificate. These degree/certificate are just a piece of paper and they don't really tell how good of an orthodontist he is. The doctor's skills depend on his experience....the number of cases that he starts per year.....the long track record of doing excellent work that he has.

Isn't is also that if he's an actual orthodontist he can only practice ortho since they are considered a specialist and can only practice within their specialty scope (If I understand that correctly)? If not, they are just more so a "super GP" that can do more than a typical general dentist since they have more CE training?

Yep, my ortho does all of those I think! I think before, he was just doing ortho for a while. But then when he opened his own private practice in our town, he started doing general dentistry as well again. For some reason, he gets reputed as an orthodontist -- probably because he's just awesome with braces. I mean, this guy does amazing work and I call him my orthodontist personally too. But it would make sense he that he is technically a general dentist if he does all those things and doesn't exclusively do ortho. So yeah, thanks for clarifying that you both!

 

[Gustavo dos Santos]

Yep, my ortho does all of those I think! I think before, he was just doing ortho for a while. But then when he opened his own private practice in our town, he started doing general dentistry as well again. For some reason, he gets reputed as an orthodontist -- probably because he's just awesome with braces. I mean, this guy does amazing work and I call him my orthodontist personally too. But it would make sense he that he is technically a general dentist if he does all those things and doesn't exclusively do ortho. So yeah, thanks for clarifying that you both!

Your orthodontist likely isn’t a true orthodontist in the sense that they’ve limited their practice and completed a formal CODA accredited orthodontics residency by the sound of it. These programs offer a certificate in orthodontics and some offer a masters.

They likely enjoyed ortho, took a lot of continuing education courses on the weekends or a week long seminar here and there (600+ hours worth), got a ‘certification of completion’ from those courses and whichever org put them on (different from an ortho certificate from a formal residency) and then tried to practice exclusively ortho. They likely didn’t get enough referrals or ortho volume (most other general dentists probably wouldn’t refer patients to them), so they went back to practicing full scope while continuing to do ortho for their patients.

All of that is legal and within their rights as a general dentist as long as their ortho work is up to the quality of a specialist.

 

[fantasticflossophy]

Your orthodontist likely isn’t a true orthodontist in the sense that they’ve limited their practice and completed a formal CODA accredited orthodontics residency by the sound of it. These programs offer a certificate in orthodontics and some offer a masters.

They likely enjoyed ortho, took a lot of continuing education courses on the weekends or a week long seminar here and there (600+ hours worth), got a ‘certification of completion’ from those courses and whichever org put them on (different from an ortho certificate from a formal residency) and then tried to practice exclusively ortho. They likely didn’t get enough referrals or ortho volume (most other general dentists probably wouldn’t refer patients to them), so they went back to practicing full scope while continuing to do ortho for their patients.

All of that is legal and within their rights as a general dentist as long as their ortho work is up to the quality of a specialist.

Ah, okay! That sounds like what the probably did. So, is the 'certification of completion' from the continuing education enough to accredit you as an orthodontist? Or not really?

 

[AONLINE]

Ah, okay! That sounds like what the probably did. So, is the 'certification of completion' from the continuing education enough to accredit you as an orthodontist? Or not really?

No, in America people can’t call themselves orthodontists and advertise as such if they only do ortho continuing education courses and not an accredited ortho residency. That’s against the law and you risk getting your license revoked.

On the other hand, I’m originally from a developing country and a lot of dentists there go to America (or Europe) to do a short ortho continuing education course, then they go back to their home country advertising as “orthodontists with training from the US.”

 

[fantasticflossophy]

No, in America people can’t call themselves orthodontists and advertise as such if they only do ortho continuing education courses and not an accredited ortho residency. That’s against the law and you risk getting your license revoked.

On the other hand, I’m originally from a developing country and a lot of dentists there go to America (or Europe) to do a short ortho continuing education course, then they go back to their home country advertising as “orthodontists with training from the US.”

Gotcha! Thanks for clarifying!

 

[toofache32]

Your "orthodontist" is not an orthodontist. It's a general dentist with a drawer full of wires and brackets.