Orthodontist job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

11

O*NET task statements

Preparation

Job Zone 5 of 5

extensive preparation

Typical entry education

Doctoral or professional degree

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$289,140

BLS May 2025

1. Diagnose teeth and jaw or other dental-facial abnormalities. importance 4.9 of 5
2. Examine patients to assess abnormalities of jaw development, tooth position, and other dental-facial structures. importance 4.9 of 5
3. Study diagnostic records, such as medical or dental histories, plaster models of the teeth, photos of a patient's face and teeth, and X-rays, to develop patient treatment plans. importance 4.9 of 5
4. Fit dental appliances in patients' mouths to alter the position and relationship of teeth and jaws or to realign teeth. importance 4.9 of 5
5. Adjust dental appliances to produce and maintain normal function. importance 4.9 of 5
6. Provide patients with proposed treatment plans and cost estimates. importance 4.8 of 5
7. Advise patients to comply with treatment plans. importance 4.8 of 5
8. Prepare diagnostic and treatment records. importance 4.8 of 5
9. Instruct dental officers and technical assistants in orthodontic procedures and techniques. importance 4.8 of 5
10. Coordinate orthodontic services with other dental and medical services. importance 4.6 of 5
11. Design and fabricate appliances, such as space maintainers, retainers, and labial and lingual arch wires. importance 4.5 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Developing and Building Teams and Documenting/Recording Information.

Knowledge areas: Medicine and Dentistry, Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Biology and Computers and Electronics.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Facebook, Microsoft Office software, Adstra Systems ADSTRA Management, Advance Ortho Systems Program Director, Algorithm Compu-Ceph, American Orthodontics Compu-Ceph. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a doctoral or professional degree as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists no work experience in a related occupation as typical to enter.
• Training on the job: BLS lists internship/residency as typical once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 5 of 5 (extensive preparation). Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board and see how to become an orthodontist.

Most orthodontists surveyed by O*NET (69%) name post-doctoral training as the education the job requires.

Job title: Orthodontist
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring an Orthodontist to examine, diagnose, and treat dental malocclusions and oral cavity anomalies.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- Diagnose teeth and jaw or other dental-facial abnormalities.
- Examine patients to assess abnormalities of jaw development, tooth position, and other dental-facial structures.
- Study diagnostic records, such as medical or dental histories, plaster models of the teeth, photos of a patient's face and teeth, and X-rays, to develop patient treatment plans.
- Fit dental appliances in patients' mouths to alter the position and relationship of teeth and jaws or to realign teeth.
- Adjust dental appliances to produce and maintain normal function.
- Provide patients with proposed treatment plans and cost estimates.
- Advise patients to comply with treatment plans.
- Prepare diagnostic and treatment records.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a doctoral or professional degree as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists no related work experience as typical to enter; set what this role needs]
- Strength in complex problem solving, active listening and speaking
- Working knowledge of Medicine and Dentistry and Customer and Personal Service
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Facebook or Microsoft Office software]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

The median annual wage was $289,140 in May 2025. The median hourly wage was $139.01. BLS estimates about 6,210 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of orthodontists to grow 6.0% from 2025 to 2035, with about 200 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

See the full orthodontist salary breakdown by percentile, state and metro.

• Read a real orthodontist posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Diagnose teeth and jaw or other dental-facial abnormalities”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only orthodontist work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (complex problem solving and active listening); orthodontist interview questions turns them into practice questions.