Posted on 12/30/2019 by Harry L. Dougherty DDS, MS
Oral health is one of the most undervalued aspects of our general health. People will focus a lot on the other parts of their bodies and ignore their mouths. However, we have come to see that when your oral health is on point, you can generally expect that you will be quite comfortable and have a lot of self-confidence.
Taking care of your mouth is often a team job. It requires that the members each play their role to perfection so that you can have an incredible smile and feel very confident when you speak to people or simply just smile at them.
Dentist vs. Orthodontists
Orthodontists are special doctors that deal with issues of alignment of the jaws and teeth. Regular dentists, however, deal with general tooth maters such as cleanings, fillings, toothaches, crowns and such issues. Orthodontists, such as the ones here at our office, are specialized to work on this particular area alone. While it is true that all orthodontists are dentists, not all dentists are orthodontists.
We can then provide braces, Invisalign, retainers and such tools to help fix the alignment of your teeth or gums. Since they are the ones that put them on, you also need to go to them whenever there is a problem or simply when a checkup is due. However, it's important to always keep in mind that even though an orthodontist is a dentist, it doesn't mean that you should cut off your regular dentist once you start seeing them.
Especially in cases where you have gotten additional support for your teeth through braces or aligners, it's crucial to see us for checkups. During this time, we'll look at the effectiveness of the tool and how the progress is coming along, and also make changes where necessary. However, you should also keep your appointments with your regular dentist. This will help you since the dentist will be able to perform a more in-depth checkup of your teeth and do things that the orthodontist will not such as cleaning the teeth.
Oral health is one of the most undervalued aspects of our general health. People will focus a lot on the other parts of their bodies and ignore their mouths. However, we have come to see that when your oral health is on point, you can generally expect that you will be quite comfortable and have a lot of self-confidence. 
