Becoming an orthodontist requires a significant amount of education and training. To become a qualified orthodontist, you must have a bachelor's degree, complete a four-year dental school program, and receive three years of specialized orthodontic training after graduating from dental school. Additionally, you must obtain a license from a state licensing board. The minimum educational requirement to become an orthodontist is a doctorate in dentistry, with specialized training in orthodontics. On average, it takes 10 to 11 years after graduating from high school to become an orthodontist.
This includes four years of undergraduate studies, four years of dental school, and two to three years of a graduate program in orthodontics. It is possible that when you attend your ten-year high school reunion, you have just graduated from your orthodontic graduate program and are seeing your first patients in your office.
