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Can I get what I need from fast-track orthodontic courses?

Choosing orthodontic treatment is not like choosing your next toothpaste flavor. It takes a lot of time and finances to commit to orthodontics, so patients have high expectations when it comes to treatment. Therefore, you should carefully choose your orthodontic education to avoid the dangers of fast-track orthodontics courses. There are many ways that opting for a quicker, cheaper course can cause you more damage than good. Here are a few important ways that a fast-track orthodontic course can leave you without the necessary skills and support you need to safely offer this service to your patients.

1. You need hands-on coursework.

There are hundreds of orthodontic seminars for general dentists out there that make promises that you will learn orthodontics in a single weekend or that you can learn orthodontics from home without any hands-on practice. But the truth is that orthodontics requires both the knowledge of how to develop a comprehensive treatment plan and the hands-on skills of bracketing and banding.

Without hands-on experience, you won’t know how to properly cement brackets or strategically place them for the best cosmetic result. Orthodontics involves brackets, wire bending, and auxiliary appliances like expanders and space maintainers that require a certain finesse. A quick course won’t teach you these strategies like a comprehensive orthodontic course with Williams GP Orthodontic Seminars will.

2. Quick courses don’t cover the challenging parts.

A quick orthodontic course may teach you the basics, but it won’t teach you the fundamentals of practice management and how to handle difficult clinical or administrative issues. Why? Because quick courses don’t have to invest the time into their sessions to teach the challenging issues. They deliver basic information, but if you run into a problem, you’re on your own because a day or weekend course is not enough to learn an entire speciality.

Think about other specialities like implant dentistry. You cannot possibly learn all you need to know and be able to clinically treat implants after one quick course. It takes time and practice to master a difficult speciality like implants or orthodontics.

3. You won’t learn how to properly identify cases.

Is a dentist who takes a fast-track orthodontic course likely to identify the proper cases to treat like a dentist who has taken a comprehensive orthodontic course over several months? It is just natural that a course that offers education over five long sessions will prepare a dentist better than a single-day lecture will.

A fast-track course can leave you trying to handle cases that are not appropriate for your skill level, like impacted canines or implant-involved scenarios. In order to treat more challenging cases, you first must identify a patient’s needs. Only a comprehensive orthodontic course can teach you every step to take so you feel fully prepared once you’re back in the operatory.

4. It could cause legal trouble.

Unfortunately, like in any health care field there is room for human error. When a patient puts their trust, health, and finances in a dentist providing orthodontics, they expect an excellent result. If you cannot deliver that, you may find yourself in the middle of a lawsuit or, at the very least, some bad public reviews online.

Consider how highly you value your career, practice, and patients before just signing up for a quick orthodontic course. It is important to invest your time into courses that are reputable and have the foundation to teach you a speciality that can literally alter a patient’s life.

If a patient is unhappy with their orthodontic result, it can leave you stressed, place you in a possible lawsuit, and cost you more time and money than it would to simply have signed up for a comprehensive course. Think long and hard when you are putting your money into specialty education. Just like you wanted a good college and dental education, continuing education courses that offer tangible results and equip you to successfully add orthodontics to your practice are equally important.

5. You’ll lack a support system.

One of the best parts about taking a comprehensive course with Williams GP Orthodontic Seminars is meeting other dentists with the same goals and aspirations. The goal of the course is obviously to create competent orthodontic providers, but it is also to create meaningful relationships. There is a strong support system that dentists rave about because the proof is in the pudding. Dr. Williams is incredibly dedicated to supporting his students and is always available to answer concerns by phone and email, even after the course is completed. You just can’t get that kind of network from shorter course settings.

Setting Yourself Up for Success

A fast-track orthodontic course is not guaranteed to create competent and confident providers. If there is a course featuring shortcuts, take a hint and run in the opposite direction. It’ll cost you less initially to take a quick course, but it is not the kind of orthodontic seminar for general dentists that will give you the success you are looking for. Instead, look for courses that have an outstanding reputation and are designed to give you proper training and deliver professional growth.