Set your practice up for success with orthodontics.
As more patients seek practices that provide both general dentistry and orthodontics under one roof, many dentists are turning to orthodontics training to expand their treatment options. The right course will prepare you to offer general dentistry orthodontics treatment, but only if you develop the knowledge and skills you need.
Choosing the Right Orthodontic Classes
Adding orthodontic treatment options to your practice can be a considerable asset, allowing you to provide more comprehensive care for patients and generate new revenue streams. However, you must make sure you’re choosing the right course.
Many of the dentists coming to Williams GP Orthodontic Seminars for continuing education have tried different orthodontics programs and found that they came up short. These other programs didn’t furnish them with enough practical knowledge to provide orthodontic care.
Many fast-track courses fail to cover all required areas or to go into those areas in enough depth. They often concentrate on clear aligners rather than focusing on straight wire orthodontics and the wider range of cases they can treat.
These programs might provide a broad overview of techniques, but they don’t provide the foundation that supports effective treatment. Dentists are left unable to determine which cases they should take on and how to approach them.
To avoid these outcomes (and wasting their time), dentists must choose their ortho continuing education courses carefully. Make sure that the course you choose covers the following important areas so that you can put what you learn into action and start offering both general dentistry and orthodontics at your practice.
Accurately Identifying Malocclusion
Accurate diagnosis is essential to providing quality care and securing positive patient outcomes. An effective course will provide you with the foundational knowledge necessary to identify and diagnose the various classes of malocclusion.
This knowledge includes distinguishing between Class I, II, and III malocclusions and the further subdivisions between them, such as overcrowding, open bite, overbite, and underbite.
Knowing Which Cases to Treat
The Basic Comprehensive Straight Wire Orthodontics course offered by Dr. Williams prepares dentists to treat 70% to 80% of orthodontic cases. This course helps dentists provide more comprehensive care for existing and new patients, but it doesn’t cover all cases.
You need to be able to accurately identify which cases you are able to treat and which should be referred to a specialist. Accurate diagnosis ensures proper care for your patients and avoids the legal ramifications of taking on a case you aren’t prepared for.
Developing a Treatment Plan
Typically, orthodontic treatment requires more planning than general dentistry procedures. Treatment takes place over a longer time frame, and it takes specific knowledge to plan accurately for a desired outcome.
Planning treatment also requires the correct care documentation. You will have to meet specific requirements that are different to those involved in general dentistry, and you need a course that covers these important topics.
Understanding Legal Documentation Requirements
As in general dentistry, orthodontic treatment has a variety of legal documentation requirements that practices must follow. As a general practitioner, you are already well versed in general dentistry requirements, but orthodontic treatment has its own requirements.
Choosing a fast-track course can leave you without this important, specific knowledge. This can significantly increase your liability when providing treatment and cause a wide range of complications when dealing with other doctors or insurance providers for specific cases.
Carrying Out Treatment from Start to Finish
After developing a treatment plan, you need the practical knowledge and skills to carry out treatment from start to finish.
Straight wire orthodontic treatment involves a variety of procedures carried out at different points in the treatment process. You will need specific knowledge and skills to carry out each of these steps.
Banding, bracketing, torquing, and other skills are all required, along with the use of orthodontic appliances for specific cases. Dentists need a comprehensive course that covers all of these topics in sufficient depth to allow for effective treatment.
How Can You Plan for Success?
If you want to provide both general dentistry and orthodontics in your practice, you need to start planning for success from the start. Williams GP Orthodontic Seminars offers a range of course options to prepare you and your staff to offer orthodontic treatment.
The Basic Comprehensive Straight Wire Orthodontics course provides the necessary foundation to carry out treatment and the planning and documentation surrounding it. You can confidently provide basic orthodontic care for your patients.
Dentists can further expand their capabilities with the Premier Comprehensive Orthodontics Clinical Program, an in-practice course that involves taking an orthodontic case from start to finish with supervision.
Our courses are offered on a cyclical schedule. If the course you’re interested in isn’t currently available for sign-up, you can reach out directly to secure your place for the next series start.
