What Are the Primary Responsibilities and Difference Between Orthopaedic And Orthodontics?

Orthopaedic and orthodontics have relation just like father and son. While Orthopaedic deals with the study of the musculoskeletal system, which includes tendons, muscles, joints, ligaments and bones, on the other hand, orthodontic is specialized in the field of dentistry. Their job is to improve disproportionate jaw, tooth or any other irregularity caused in or near the mouth region. To know more about the difference between Orthopaedic and orthodontics, let us first know about the primary responsibilities of each of them individually, which will in turn, help us clear out the differences between them.

The Primary Responsibilities of An Orthopaedic Surgeon

Orthopaedic Orthodontics

An Orthopaedic surgeon works on the musculoskeletal system. For example, fixing a limb that a child will be able to use without problems for the rest of the life, correcting a spine problem which literally can save a life whether opening up their chest to allow their lungs to develop or correcting a severe spine deformity, taking out a tumor, etc. It is all about having a positive impact on a young child which is going to last a lifetime or on an aged person who has suffered for a long time. Orthopaedic surgeons perform surgery to treat injuries, trauma, tumors, infections and other situations where surgical intervention is required. 

Spine disorders - dislocation, scoliosis and fractures, arthritis or any damage caused to muscles, tendons and ligaments are some of the specific areas where orthopaedic surgeons are required. Before surgery, medication and therapy, a patient needs to be examined thoroughly and diagnosed well. While during the process of diagnosis, the surgeon should inform him or her about all the diagnosis and treatment that is taking place, also all the queries that arise during the process should be cleared by the surgeon. It is very important to have transparency between the doctor and the patient.

The Primary Responsibility of The Orthodontic Surgeon

Orthopaedic Orthodontics

Orthodontics is the field of science that deals with the alignment of teeth and jaws as well as with the tooth movement. The position of our teeth within the job depends on many factors these include - the size of the jaw, the strength and shape of the periodontal musculature and the teeth themselves. An orthodontist should know the use of dental appliances such as braces, space maintainers and retainers. Based on the dental records of each patient, the orthodontist is responsible for the planning of custom treatment. They should also know how to supervise and instruct the orthodontic assistants and technicians to perform their routine procedures.

Orthopaedic orthodontics is also known as dento-facial orthopaedics. It is a method to help people in facial development and manipulate jaw by the use of special appliances. For instance, if a person breathes through his mouth then this could lead to crowded teeth and narrow arches. With the use of functional appliances this problem could be easily solved. People suffering from Down’s syndrome also suffer from dental anomalies, protruding tongue, etc.  In these types of cases, the orthopaedic orthodontics is mostly required as the child is not able to speak properly due to dislocation of the jawline.

While orthopaedic surgeons deal with the treatment of Osteotomy, joint replacement, soft tissue repair, welding of bones, and arthroscopy where micro cameras are used to navigate into the joint area and help in the treatment of injuries, orthodontic surgeons deal with comprehensive treatment such as malocclusions, interceptive treatment, treatment with braces, and treatment with functional orthodontic appliances. Orthopaedic orthodontics may be little different in their job role but both serve the same purpose - to bring back the happiness in every patient’s life.