Best Braces Dentist: A Family Dentist or an Orthodontist?

Is the best braces dentist a GP or a specialist? It all depends on who you ask.

Three out of four general dentists think it’s appropriate for GPs to do orthodontics, but a mere 4% of orthodontists surveyed agree. In fact, 41% of orthodontists say they’re the ones who should be doing virtually all ortho work.

“The training is often minimal and results often are not retained,” said one dentist. “I just think it is better to leave the specialties to the specialists.” Should general dentists do ortho?

Here are some dentist comments on general dentists and orthodontics.

“Case selection is critical and should be based upon the knowledge and skill of the GP.” (Florida dentist)
“Some orthodontists resent GPs doing their own ortho. Why is that? I have never met a single oral surgeon, endodontist, or prosthodontist that had a problem with my practice desires. It could be a matter of greed or pride. You make the call.” (Georgia dentist)
“Those who are doing it hopefully have a good lawyer on their side.” (Kentucky dental implant dentist)
“Invisalign is becoming the latest malpractice issue. Too many GPs are doing it and getting into trouble!” (Florida dentist)
“General dentists don’t have the proper knowledge to perform orthodontics. ‘Little knowledge is dangerous.’” (New York dentist)
“Would you send your wife to a family physician for her brain surgery?” (Orthodontist)
“As long as they stay within their level of training and they refer when appropriate.” (Texas pediatric dentist)
“The quality of GP ortho is directly related to the quality and quantity of the dental CE. Most GP ortho CE courses are cursory and superficial. Only one or two are a true continuum that mimics an ortho residency.” (Alaska dentist)
“Diagnosis is the most difficult part. Once you have the background, the rest is easy.” (New York dentist)
“With proper training, any GP should be able to perform any procedure, whether it is endo, ortho, dental implants, etc.” (Prosthodontist)
“Every orthodontist is being asked to help or bail out GP cases as they often underestimate the complexity of cases and or are tackling more complex cases than they should due to economic pressures.” (California orthodontist)
“GPs see relapse on a regular basis after ‘specialist’ treatment.” (Maryland dentist)
“No different than a GP doing endodontics, prosthodontics, pedodontics, oral surgery or perio.” (Florida pediatric dentist)
“Bad ortho can ruin a patient’s dentition.” (Georgia periodontist)
“It’s not rocket science.” (Australia dentist)

http://www.eatbrushfloss.com Alaskan dentist

A well trained GP has many treatment modalities available. We can plan for veneers or implants to augment the orthodontic case. The orthodontics is often only one part of a complex treatment plan. To answer the question, yes I do implants, ortho, endo, and bone grafting on my own family. We expect repeatable excellence and strive for perfection on a daily basis.
http://kimhenrydental.com Kim Henry

I am a GP who has been doing full fixed ortho for 23 years. Even surgically uncovered a canine in the palate and pulled it into the arch last year.

Who do you think does more predictable ortho? Me, or an orthodontist fresh out of his residency?

I can time treatment perfectly on prophy recall, and finish most cases in 14 months maximum. And do it cheaper than the real orthodontists.
http://dentistinbristolct.com Dentist in Southington Ct

I think there are a lot of factors at play here. Although an orthodontist is more specialized you also have to consider the comfort factor that you develop with your family dentist.

So I think it varies from person to person. I’d personally go with an orthodontist, but I could understand why somebody would go with their local and more familiar family dentist.
http://aol.com FL Orthodontist

Kim, you are playing on a very slippery slope. In an attempt to pad your bottom line you are most likely setting a precedence for orthodontists to do their own cosmetic work.
The orthodontist is the best place to go because: 1.) they and their office staff have more training in orthodontics. Orthodontics is all about managing the things that can go wrong. 2.) they are faster since that is all they do. No matter what a GP says, they are not a master at endo, pros, perio, surgery, and ortho. Jack of all trades, master of none. They do their patients a disservice when they try to do everything because the best person for the job is not doing the procedure. I could extract my own teeth (I did it as a GP for years), but the oral surgeon is faster and his office is set up to be more efficient. I could do my own veneers, but the guy next door is more efficient, since that is what he and his office do all day.
Dr B

I have been doing ortho for five years. I also do endo, perio, and oral surgery. I refer what I am not confident I will get an acceptable results. I only think of my patients. Jealous orthodontists need to reevaluate themselves. If you want to get the cases that general dentists are not comforable doing then don’t treat them as if they did not go to school. If all of the specialties treated us this way, GP’s would be doing resin fillings on everyone 18 and older and nothing else. My heck comparing a 2 year orthodontic residency to 10 years of Brain surgery residency is ludacrous. This is not even remotely similar. There are alot of GP’s that do bad crowns and fillings and alot of orthodontists that take out teeth and leave bad facial esthetics or finish with bad occlusion and cause joint problems. I have retreated a few of my patients that got out of ortho from a specialist and it was not up to par. So lets all be responsible and stop bad mouthing eachother. It does no good for our profession to do this to eachother.
http://www.medicalnegligenceie.com/orthodontic-negligence-compensation-claim/ Orthodontic Negligence

An orthodontist is a specialized type of dentist. In order to practice orthodontics, an orthodontist must complete a doctorate program & be licensed in the state where the orthodontist practices. Despite these qualifications some orthodontists, like all dentists, commit malpractice on individual patients.
it is important to hire a medical malpractice lawyer whether you are a plaintiff or a defendant in an ortho malpractice case.
http://www.dentalgroupct.com dentists in Southington

An ortho might be a better option but a family dentist is much nice because of the comfort that you feel if you are having your check up.