Orthodontists are basically dentists who specialise in the aesthetic part of dentistry. Orthodontics work includes the realignment of unevenly spaced or crooked teeth, the realignment of jaws and gums when they are misaligned and other aspects of dentistry that have aesthetic value. Due to the aesthetic aspect of orthodontics work, an orthodontist salary is amongst the highest salaries paid to dentists having different specialisations.
Orthodontist Salary
Orthodontists generally have different stages of work to accomplish, that include the following:
The first stage of work that an orthodontist does is to examine his patients’ teeth to see if the patient requires braces to be fixed in his teeth, or whether the patient has any missing teeth. This stage is mandatory for all orthodontists and does not affect the salary.
The second stage of work that an orthodontist does is to check how the patient has maintained their own teeth over the years. The orthodontist must do a thorough review of the dental history of the patient in order to decide what treatment to administer
The third stage of work that an orthodontist does is to come up with different devices such as braces and retainers in order to treat the patients’ specific dental problem. Here, based on the cost of the device that the orthodontist has to construct, the salary will vary.
The fourth stage of work that an orthodontist must do is to administer the treatment by fitting the constructed dental device in the patients’ mouth and then meeting the patient regularly for maintenance and for following up on the treatment
An additional stage of work that an orthodontist may have to do, that directly impacts the salary is to coordinate with other doctors in special circumstances, in order to make sure that a patient’s dental situation rides well with the patient’s medical situation. For example, when a patient who has braces is getting surgery done, it is important that before the surgery takes place, that patient is given a clean bill of dental health. Therefore, the orthodontist has to coordinate with other doctors to give the patient clearance to proceed with the surgery.
An orthodontist who is involved in all five stages of work is likely to get paid a higher dentist salary than an orthodontist who merely participates in the first and second stage of work.
The salary for an orthodontist varies greatly depending upon different factors such as the place where the orthodontist works, the orthodontist’s educational qualifications, and level of work experience. An orthodontist does not necessarily need to be employed by a hospital or a clinic to earn well as even orthodontists who start their own clinics end up earning a high salary. An orthodontist salary in the United Kingdom varies greatly and ranges from GBP 30,000 per year for an associate orthodontist to more than GBP 150,000 per year for an orthodontist who operates his own clinic. Their average salary is about GBP 90,000.