Whether you’re experiencing a slight discomfort in your mouth or are in the need of a major oral surgery to correct the very arrangement of your teeth, your oral health is very important and is the gateway to your overall health – did you know that periodontal diseases have been found to be linked to heart diseases? Your mouth is perhaps the most important part of your body since it’s where you can supply your body with nourishment, and as such it follows that your dental wellbeing is taken very seriously; this is what we have dentists and orthodontists for.

Dentists and Orthodontists both have the same kind of educational background and training; they both complete the same four-year doctoral program; after which, a dentist would start practicing dentistry and earn a DDS (doctor of dental surgery). An Orthodontist, however, must serve a further 2-3 year residency in an American Dental Association approved program before they can start their practice. Overall, a dentist would have an experience of 8 years before they open up their own clinic, while an orthodontist might have to undergo up to 11 years before they’re ready to set up office.

Dr. Lisa Gao DDS, is an orthodontist in West Wood and she specialises in advanced medical procedures such as realigning teeth and correcting the bite parameters of the mouth. To most of us, Orthodontists and Dentists are one and the same thing, however, this isn’t completely true; as mentioned earlier, both undergo the same training, the orthodontist just specialises further. This makes an orthodontist a specialised dentist who’s capable of performing more advanced dental techniques including using wire and braces to influence and regulate the way a person’s teeth are arranged.