Path To Finding An Orthodontist Gets Straighter (NAPSA)—Americans and Canadians can go straight to the source when they need to locate an orthodontic specialist. The American Association of Orthodontists’ (AAO) Orthodontist Locator service has been improved. The service is easier to use, contains more information and can locate AAO members in the U.S., Canada and worldwide. The site is easy to navigate and there are multiple ways to search. This is the only site to search exclusively for AAO member orthodontists. About 95 percent of all educationally eligible orthodontists are members of the AAO. Here are someotherfacts: * All orthodontists are dentists, but only about 6 percent of dentists are orthodontists. * Orthodontists are specialists in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of dental and facial irregularities. * Orthodontists limit their practices to orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics (the official nameof the specialty). * In order to be an orthodontist, one must complete college requirements, graduate from dental school and successfully complete a minimum of two years of training in an American Dental Association (ADA)-aceredited orthodontic residency program. The program includes advanced education in biomedical, behavioral and basic sciences. The orthodontic student learns the complex skills required to manage tooth movement (orthodontics) and guide facial development (dentofacial orthopedics). * The beauty of the AAO’s Orthodontist Locator service is that the public is assured that the doctor is an orthodontist. That’s because only orthodontic special- stone Seine to epSects ( benorpnzaton www.braces.org Orthodontist Locator NEED BRACES? It’s easy to find an orthodontist by visiting the Web site of the American Association of Orthodontists. ists may be membersof the AAO. There are two ways to search: With the first search option, enter an address and receive up to 20 orthodontists nearest the address entered. If a street address is not entered, the search will be done from the center of the zip code. Users get a helpful map. New information has been addedto this first search option. Users can now see the dental school attended and degree earned (either DDS or DMD, which are equivalent degrees, per the ADA), the orthodontic residency program attended and the orthodontic degree earned,if any. With the second search option, the user can enter a city/state or province; or city/state/zip code (U.S. only); enter a state or province only; enter a doctor’s last name; enter a country; or enter a city/country. To visit the AAO’s Orthodontist Locator service, visit www.braces. org. Those without Internet access maycall 1-800-STRAIGHTfor list of AAO memberorthodontists near them.
