Are Dentists and Orthodontists the Same?

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When it comes to getting your teeth straightened, you need to know the difference between dentists and orthodontists. It’s important to know that all orthodontists are dentists, but not all dentists are orthodontists. This is because the dentistry profession, like medicine, is divided into primary care dentists and specialists. All dentists attend college, usually for four years, then attend another four years of dental school. In dental school, they are taught the basics of several procedures, and learn to clean teeth, diagnose cavities and oral diseases, and do crowns, bridges, root canals, and silver and tooth-colored fillings. They also learn to perform a number of surgical procedures, make complete and partial removable dentures, and much more. Once they graduate from dental school and pass their clinical exams, they earn their licenses to practice as dentists. At this time, these dentists are called general dentists, general practitioners, GPs, or primary care…

A Comfortable Growth Change

        Young children that are rapidly growing and developing are tremendously flexible.  Bony sutures are still open and not fully fused at early elementary school ages.  This is how our Press-on Incremental Expanders (PIE’s) are able to accomplish palatal expansion so comfortable.         The PIE’s gently guide palatal growth day by day as our 6-10 year old patients wear them.  Parents just have to help remove the smooth appliances from their children’s molar teeth, and their child can brush/floss and press on the next slightly wider appliance before bed time. For most young children we can avoid cemented expanders.  Parents who formerly had to activate a jack-screw appliance are thus able to keep the process more pain-free for their children.  Our appliances are made entirely of plastic- a more forgiving substance than the heavier metal jack-screw appliances. Thus, through palatal growth, we are able to create enough room for tooth…