Orthodontist vs Dentist
Becoming an orthodontist takes years of dedicated training. It begins with five years of general dentistry, followed by a further three years focused entirely on orthodontics. This demanding period of study and hands-on experience — treating a wide range of cases every year — gives an orthodontist a deep understanding of how teeth and jaws grow and develop.
While general dentists can offer orthodontic treatment, the depth of knowledge and skill a specialist orthodontist brings is hard to match. That expertise comes from focused training and a genuine, ongoing commitment to the field — reflected in the following:
- Registration as a specialist with the Irish Dental Council, which sets orthodontists apart from general dentists. You can verify any specialist on the Irish Dental Council's register.
- Dr O'Connor is registered under number 9DS23
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- Three years of intensive, full-time training on a programme recognised by the Irish Dental Council. These carefully regulated programmes are what distinguish a registered specialist from a dentist with a "special interest" in orthodontics or a part-time master's — worthwhile qualifications, but not the same as full specialist status.
- A singular focus on orthodontics. Because our specialists dedicate their practice entirely to this one field, treating hundreds of cases a year, they continually refine their skills and deliver a level of experience that's hard to find elsewhere.
When it comes to your smile — or your child's — choosing a registered specialist orthodontist means you're receiving the highest standard of expert care.
FAQs
A dentist provides a wide range of oral health care services, while an orthodontist is a dentist with additional training focused on diagnosing, preventing, and treating dental and facial irregularities.
Diagnoses and corrects the position of teeth and jaws. That covers straightening crowded or crooked teeth, closing gaps, and correcting bites that do not meet properly, using fixed braces, clear aligners and growth-guiding appliances in children.
It also covers knowing when not to treat, which matters more than people expect. A good deal of what we do at our Dundrum clinic is monitoring children and telling parents that nothing is needed yet.
Some do, and for straightforward cases many do it well. There is nothing stopping a general dentist providing aligners or braces.
The difference is training and volume. A specialist orthodontist has spent years on this alone and handles complex cases every week: severe crowding, bite correction, growth in children, cases needing extractions or surgery.
If your case is simple, either route can work. If it involves the bite rather than just the look of the front teeth, that is where specialist training earns its keep. Ask anyone treating you whether they are on the specialist register.
You do not need to see a dentist first to book with us, and you do not need a referral.
You do need your teeth and gums to be healthy before treatment starts. Untreated decay and active gum disease both have to be dealt with by your dentist beforehand, because moving teeth in an unhealthy mouth makes things worse.
If you are overdue a check-up, it is worth getting one either way.
No. Braces are the best known part of it, but the specialty covers clear aligners, retainers, palatal expanders and functional appliances that guide jaw growth in children, along with planning the orthodontic side of jaw surgery with a maxillofacial surgeon.
A large part of the work is diagnosis: reading how a child's bite is developing and deciding when, or whether, to intervene.
We may well spot one, and we will tell you if we do. We examine your teeth at every visit and decay around brackets is something we watch for closely.
What we will not do is treat it. Fillings are your dentist's work, and that is exactly why you keep seeing them throughout your orthodontic treatment.
If we find something, we will let you know so you can get it dealt with before it affects the treatment.
Yes, and more importantly than usual. Keep your normal check-ups and hygiene appointments right through treatment.
Braces make teeth harder to clean, so the risk of decay and gum problems is higher than it would otherwise be. Your dentist is the one who catches that early. We look at how the teeth are moving, they look after the teeth themselves.
Our hygienist can help with cleaning technique alongside that, but it does not replace your own dentist.
Begin Your Journey
Thinking about it? Book your first consultation and come see us — we'll take it from there.
