As anyone who has ever had braces can attest to, there’s nothing that can compare to the feeling you have when your braces first come off. As you run your tongue over your smooth, braces-free teeth, you get to bask in the feeling of confidence that comes with a post-braces life. Gone are the days of close-lipped smiles and covering your face when you laugh; instead, enter each and every social interaction with comfort and ease.
Now imagine being the person who was able to give that gift to someone. As an orthodontist, you have the extraordinary pleasure of seeing your hard work pay off in ways that truly matter. You get to see people of all ages transform before your very eyes, bit by bit, until the braces come off, all positioning concerns eliminated. Orthodontics is an incredibly rewarding field to enter into, as the dedicated professionals at impactortho.com can attest to.
If being an orthodontist sounds like the dream job for you, you’re likely wondering what it takes to become one! Let’s explore the educational journey you’ll need to take to fulfill your goal of becoming an orthodontist.
Undergraduate Degree
The first step you will need to take is to receive your undergraduate degree. While it doesn’t technically matter what you major in, many students who are interested in the world of dentistry and orthodontics focus their attention on sciences, thus gaining them a Bachelor of Science. On average, undergrad degrees take four years to complete, but there is no time limit. Ultimately, you want to take on a course load that allows you to achieve the highest grades possible, as the competition is quite high moving forward in your academic career.
Dental School
Once you’ve graduated with an undergraduate degree, you can now apply to dental school. This is another four-year program, during which you will learn the fundamentals of dentistry. While this may not be where you want to end up in your career, the lessons you learn here will be invaluable moving forward.
In Canada, there are ten dental schools:
- University of Alberta
- University of British Columbia
- University of Manitoba
- Dalhousie University
- University of Toronto
- Western University
- McGill University
- Université de Montréal
- Université Laval
- University of Saskatchewan
Master of Science Degree
After these eight years of schooling are complete, you will now be a general dentist! But for those with their sights set on becoming an orthodontist, get ready for some more school. You will need to complete an additional three-year master’s program in science, plus a residency program. However, most schools require that you have at least a couple of years of work experience in the field of dentistry before you apply, thus ensuring you are adequately prepared before moving forward in the field.
Being accepted into a graduate program for orthodontics is incredibly competitive; if you thought dental school was a challenge, this is a whole other level. There are only a handful of schools in Canada that offer an MSc in Orthodontics, and only three to five residents are accepted by each one every year. Therefore, having work experience in dentistry can be quite beneficial.
The Canadian schools that offer graduate studies in orthodontics are:
- University of Alberta
- University of British Columbia
- University of Toronto
- Western University
- University of Manitoba
Board Certification
Once you have successfully completed your residency program, you will need to write the National Dental Specialty Board certification examination, which is governed by the Royal College of Dentists of Canada. Once you pass this, your scholastic career is over and you are officially a certified specialist in orthodontics.