Becoming an orthodontist means first becoming a dentist, then completing a competitive two-to-three-year orthodontics residency and, usually, earning board certification from the American Board of Orthodontics (ABO).
It's about ten to eleven years of education after high school, with residency admission the most competitive step.
Here's the path.
The short answer
The path is dental school plus an orthodontics residency.
You become a dentist first, then complete an accredited two-to-three-year residency dedicated to orthodontics, and typically pursue board certification afterward.
The hardest part isn't the coursework — it's earning one of the limited, competitive residency spots.
For how specialty training works in general — CODA accreditation, the match, and boards — see dental residency & board certification.
The step-by-step path
Five steps take you from pre-dental student to practicing orthodontist:
Earn a bachelor's degree with prerequisites
Complete undergrad with the science coursework dental schools require, and a strong GPA — you'll want to be a competitive applicant not just for dental school but for residency later.Complete dental school (DDS or DMD)
Four years of dental school earns a DDS or DMD. Grades, class rank, board scores, and research matter here, because orthodontics residency is one of the more competitive to enter.Get licensed as a dentist
Pass the national board exam (the INBDE) and obtain a state license, the same licensure any dentist earns. Some applicants practice briefly before or during the residency application process.Match into an orthodontics residency
Apply to accredited orthodontics programs, typically through a formal match. Programs are selective and admit small classes, so a strong record throughout dental school is what opens this door — see how competitive that match actually is for the real applicant-vs-position numbers. The residency itself must run at least 24 months and 3,700 scheduled hours under CODA's accreditation minimum — see the 3,700-hour requirement for what that standard actually covers.Consider ABO board certification
After residency, many orthodontists earn certification from the American Board of Orthodontics — voluntary, but a widely recognized mark of expertise that employers and patients value.
What it takes — and what it pays
The commitment is real: roughly a decade of education after high school and a competitive climb into residency.
The payoff is a focused, in-demand specialty and strong pay — orthodontists post a BLS median around $289,140 a year (SOC 29-1023, May 2025), among the highest in dentistry, though it varies widely with ownership and market.
Because much of orthodontics is elective and consumer-facing, business and marketing sense pays off alongside the clinical training.
For the full role, see what an orthodontist does.
This article is general career information; pay figures are national BLS averages and vary by source, ownership, and location.