What Is an Orthodontist?

An orthodontist is one who straightens teeth, and orthodontics is anything that pertains to teeth straightening. An orthodontic specialist is a specialist in malocclusion or teeth alignment problems. Some examples of common teeth alignment problems are crowding, over bites, underbites, crossbites, overjets, open bites, and spacing issues.

An orthodontic specialist has a large amount of training in general dentistry, but his specialties are dentofacial orthopedics and tooth movements. This person knows the best strategies to get teeth to move into specific positions in a certain amount of time. The orthodontic specialist is the tooth specialist that a person visits when he or she has any one of the aforementioned teeth problems.

Patients sometimes wonder what an orthodontist is, and they wonder what he or she does. The first duty of an orthodontist in Brentwood is to diagnose the problem that the patient has. For example, a patient could have a crooked tooth in the front of his or her mouth because of a baby tooth that never came out. The reluctant baby tooth may have deprived the adult tooth of adequate spacing, and the adult tooth may have come in crooked because of that.

An orthodontic specialist will usually run X-rays and conduct an oral examination before he or she can develop a diagnosis. In some cases, a general dentist will refer a patient to an orthodontist because the help that person needs is outside of the realm of general dentistry. In such a case, the dentist may send X-rays to the specialist.

After the orthodontist in Brentwood discovers the problem that the patient has, he or she will develop a strategy to get his or her teeth back to a straight and attractive structure as quickly as possible. Several remedies are available for fixing tooth malocclusion.

Orthodontic Solutions

An orthodontic specialist can choose from a wide variety of straightening plans for a student. The most common straightening technique is traditional metal braces. Dentists sometimes extract several teeth and then place metal brackets and braces in the patient’s mouth to pull the teeth together. Nowadays, the patient has a wide array of alternatives for teeth straightening. Many straightening experts have special training in alternative teeth straightening methods.

One example of an alternative straightening device is Invisalign. Invisalign is an invisible teeth straightening mechanism that has removable plastic aligners. People appreciate Invisalign because it provides them with a discreet way to get their teeth straightened. Damon Braces are another alternative straightening device. Damon Braces are popular because they are smaller than traditional braces, and they have self-ligating wires and brackets. The self-ligating wires and brackets decrease the amount of time that a patient has to spend visiting the dentist for tightening.

Call us at 615 269 5903 or you can also contact Gluck Orthodontics team through our website for more information.

Gluck Orthodontics – Nashville Orthodontist
2002 Richard Jones Road, Suite A-200 Nashville, TN 37215
Phone: 615 269 5903
Fax: 615 269 5604

What Is an Orthodontist?

joelgluck

Dr. Joel Gluck has practiced orthodontics since 1983 when he opened his own office in Nashville. He earned his undergraduate degree at Washington University in St. Louis, and his dental degree at the University of Tennessee. Dr. Gluck then completed an orthodontic specialty residency at the University of Michigan, one of the top five orthodontic training residencies in the country. He also wrote an original thesis and received a Master of Science degree.