Meet your continuing education requirements by choosing courses that move your practice ahead.

There are an estimated 108,680 dentists working in the United States. With so much competition, how do you make your practice stand out and gain new business? One way you can help boost your practice is by using your continuing education requirements to add orthodontic services to your offerings.

In this post, we’ll go over why adding orthodontics to your general or pediatric dental practice is beneficial and tips for how to choose the best continuing education courses to meet that goal.

Keep reading to learn more!

Why add orthodontics to your practice?

Adding orthodontics to your general or pediatric dental practice will not only improve your career and business but also help make you a better dentist.

Learning about orthodontics will make you a more well-rounded dentist—one who is better able to see the bigger picture of their patients’ overall health. For example, you will learn about misalignment and malocclusions, which can have a significant impact on someone’s oral health as well as their general health.

When you learn in depth about these things, you are able to treat the causes of your patients’ issues, not just their symptoms.

Better Patient Experience

In addition, you will be able to provide a better overall experience for your patients. Patients will be happier that they don’t have to go to a specialist to handle their orthodontic issues. And if they do still need a specialist, you will be able to better comfort them, explain the issue, and tell them what is likely to happen because you have a solid understanding yourself.

It will also be a smoother process for the patient because you already know them and their history. That extra layer of trust is helpful for the patients, especially considering how anxiety inducing many find dental-related visits to be.

Financial Benefits

That extra trust also benefits you as it can translate to greater profits for your business. Patients who are happy and comfortable with your practice are less likely to leave for a new dentist. Additionally, they are more likely to refer you to their friends and family.

Not to mention, orthodontic services are fairly lucrative on their own. Use the following tips to find the best orthodontic courses for you.

Evaluate your goals.

Your first step should be to evaluate your strengths and goals. If you struggle in a certain area, see how you can use continuing dental education to boost your expertise in that space.

When considering your goals, you should ask yourself the following questions:

• Are you only trying to increase your knowledge of oral health?
• Are you looking to add new orthodontic dental treatments to your practice?
• Who is your typical patient?
• Is there a specific orthodontic subject you’re interested in?

You may be interested in learning specifically about using lip bumpers, basic straight wire, or diagnostic tools like cephalometric tracing. If so, look for courses that focus on these things.

If you’re not as interested in learning about specific subjects like that, you can find a more general introductory course. Alternatively, if you’re looking for a bit of everything, consider a more in-depth, comprehensive course.

Once you are clear on what your end goals are, it will be much easier to choose.

Look into the quality of the courses.

Now that you have a good idea of your goals and what subjects you may be interested in, you can move on to evaluating the different courses that fit.

A good way to evaluate a course is by seeing if it is accredited by CODA. But you can also check for additional approvals attached, such as ADA CERP or AGD PACE.

Instructor

Next, a course is only as good as its instructor. When you’re considering a course, you should talk to anyone you know who has taken it or search for reviews. Be sure to pay attention to what people say about the instructor.

Were they easy to understand and engaging? Did they answer questions thoroughly? What is their reputation in the dental field? A bad instructor can make even the most valuable content useless.

Course Structure

After the quality of the instructor, the next most important thing to consider is the structure of the course. This depends a bit on you and your learning style, so keep that in mind.

Does the course offer hands-on opportunities? Learning by doing is proven to be a highly effective way of learning. This way you can see certain techniques and replicate them with real-time feedback from an expert, which is especially beneficial in dentistry.

Class size can affect this as well. Even if the course is hands-on, will you have to compete for the instructor’s attention?

Does the course come with follow-up support? Having lifetime access to course materials and the ability to contact the instructor after the course is over can be helpful. You might not fully understand everything right there in class, so being able to ask questions later is a valuable resource.

Finally, make sure to check that the courses you choose will meet the continuing education requirements of your state.

Timing and Location

A final, though not insignificant, aspect of choosing the right course for you is the course time and location. There are some online or prerecorded orthodontic courses if you need something with greater flexibility than traditional in-person seminars. But many courses require significant time commitment as well as travel.

If the course does require travel, make sure to look into how the course providers help you with that aspect. Dr. Williams offers both in-person and virtual courses. And whichever you take, he walks you through the steps to recognize and diagnose Class I and II malocclusions, treat cases, and master retention techniques.

It is up to you to determine which setup is the most beneficial for you.

Choose the best continuing education courses for dentists today.

Adding orthodontics to your dental practice is a great way to increase business and take even better care of your patients. It can be difficult to choose the best continuing education course for your career development, but the tips outlined above will make it much easier. If you’re looking for a comprehensive orthodontic course for general dentists, register for our Premier Orthodontics Course today!