Orthodontics/Orthodontology

Types of Degrees Orthodontics/Orthodontology Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many orthodontics/orthodontology graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Graduate Certificate	172
Master’s Degree	127
Doctor’s Degree	1

What Orthodontics/Orthodontology Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, orthodontics/orthodontology majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Orthodontics/Orthodontology Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in orthodontics/orthodontology should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

Skills for Orthodontics/Orthodontology Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to orthodontics/orthodontology:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Abilities for Orthodontics/Orthodontology Majors

As you progress with your orthodontics/orthodontology degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness - The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

What Can You Do With a Orthodontics/Orthodontology Major?

People with a orthodontics/orthodontology degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Orthodontists	18.2%	$208,000

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Orthodontics/Orthodontology

Some careers associated with orthodontics/orthodontology require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to orthodontics/orthodontology have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	0.1%
Doctoral Degree	7.7%
Post-Doctoral Training	93.4%

Online Orthodontics/Orthodontology Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	5	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	23	0
Post-Master’s	31	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Orthodontics/Orthodontology

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to orthodontics/orthodontology.

Major	Number of Grads
General Dental Clinical Sciences	386
Advanced General Dentistry	224
Oral Biology & Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology	167
Pediatric Dentistry/Pedodontics	156
Endodontics/Endodontology	137
Other Advanced/Graduate Dentistry & Oral Sciences	130
Periodontics/Periodontology	119
Prosthodontics/Prosthodontology	97
Dental Public Health & Education	88
Oral/Maxillofacial Surgery	39
Implantology/Implant Dentistry	2
Dental Materials	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.