The salary of an orthodontist is governed by a few factors which are
1) Experience.
2) Type of employment.
3) Geographical location.

If an Orthodontist is well qualified with a degree from a well known college the Orthodontist will earn well. Experience counts and is as important as having a degree from a reputed college. The more experience, the more people trust the Orthodontist’s skills and so they would get good amount of customers.
If an Orthodontist is employed under somebody else they does not earn as much as they would if they run their own clinic.
If an Orthodontist is working in a place like New York they would definitely earn more than an Orthodontist working in a small town as the incomes and standard of life in bigger cities is more so people can afford to pay more to Orthodontist. In smaller cities people would not be willing to pay an exorbitant fee to visit an Orthodontist.
The average salary of an Orthodontist who has just got a little or no experience would start with a salary of $80000 to $90000 a year.
As experience increases and as skills get enhanced, an Orthodontist can earn much more. An Orthodontist with 15-20 years of experience could earn between $200000 and $300000 a year.

Working in a firm and working in a privately owned clinic makes a huge difference.
A self employed Orthodontist could earn $100000 -$200000 a year whereas an Orthodontist working in a hospital would earn $25000 to $100000, an Orthodontist working with a private company would reward the Orthodontist anywhere between $100000 and $170000 a year so it is evident that a self employed Orthodontist earns the most.

There are quite a few career options for Orthodontists

1)Orthodontists can open a private clinic in which they run the clinic solely or they could collaborate with another Orthodontist and run a joint clinic .

2 Orthodontists can apply for a job in a government or a private hospital.

3) Teaching in a dental college as an orthodontics professor can be taken up. American Dental Association has many colleges under its banner.

4) Public health promotion is another option in which dental hygiene and good dental health is promoted .The importance of well aligned teeth is promoted and awareness is spread.

5) Research and development of newer methods and easier techniques to align teeth is also an important option. After research is done this information can be supplied to the manufacturers who produce braces, retainers etc so that they can improve upon their products too.

A three step procedure is required for becoming an Orthodontist.

1) College
Recommended subjects at the high school level are sciences like physics, chemistry, biology and math’s. An undergraduate degree is required. In USA before joining a dental school it is necessary to have gone to college for two years.

2) Dental school
Before pursuing the course for being an Orthodontist, it is a requirement to be licensed dentist. Taking admission into a dental school in USA is very tough. The marks scored in the dental admissions test (DAT) and the grade point average forms the basis for admission into a dental school.

While in dental schools, students have to lay emphasis on subjects like biochemistry, microbiology and anatomy. A lot of time is spent in the laboratories so that student learns processes and methods. Also in the last two years out of the 4 years, they work on patients while being invigilated by an experienced dentist.
After 4 years of dental school students attain a DDS or a DMD degree i.e., Doctor of Dental Surgery or Doctor of Dental Medicine. After this starts the real training for being an Orthodontist.

3) Approved Orthodontic Residency Program
The residency program is a two to three year program which teaches the students all about orthodontics. The basic skills required to be an Orthodontist are learnt in this program. Knowledge about managing tooth movement and facial growth is imparted to students in this program.
The residency program should be approved by American Dental Association. It is quite difficult to get admission into an orthodontic residency program. After graduating from the residency program students have to take an exam which is held by the state and after the exam they would get their license to be an Orthodontist. In some States of USA it is required that students take up two more years of the residency program so it can take prospective orthodontics’ students 8 -12 years to complete the course to become an Orthodontist.

OTHER SKILLS
Along with the subject knowledge there are a few other skills which Orthodontist must possess to be successful.
1) Orthodontists have to constantly deal with children and old people as both could be very impatient and uncooperative. But the Orthodontist has to be patient and deal with them effectively so that he or she can treat them properly.
2) Many times Orthodontist have to work with other people like anesthesiologist or an assistant or surgeon so it is important to have team spirit and the ability to work with other members.

4) Good memory, the ability to use both the hands and a good understanding of shape, depth and size are other skills which help in becoming an able Orthodontist

Like any other doctor the most important duty of an Orthodontist is curing the patients’ problem with his magical powers of healing. Giving the patient utmost care and the best guidance possible with respect to his or her particular problem is the prime responsibility of an Orthodontist.

1) The first step that an Orthodontist takes is to understand thoroughly what the patient is complaining of .After that he or she performs a number of x-rays   in order to know what the problem exactly is. Once the problem is understood it is the duty of the Orthodontist to explain in detail to the patient what the possible treatment methods are and the cost and time involved in each. While informing the patient of various methods and costs it is the moral duty of the Orthodontist to be very honest about expenses with the patient.

2) A detailed enquiry of the patient’s medical history is done so that the doctor can jot down points, if any, which have to be kept in mind with respect to the treatment of the patient.

3) Keeping in mind the medical history, a very systematic plan of treatment is made.

4) Treatment is started once the proper braces or retainers or invisalign are custom- made according to the patients needs. Proper guidelines are provided on the precautions to be taken while eating and how to maintain oral hygiene as these are very important for the results to be effective.

5) Orthodontists make sure their patients visit them for regular checkups to keep track of progress and to check for any damage to braces or retainers.

6) Till the end of the treatment of a patient it is vital for the Orthodontist to give his best treatment to the patient and that would give excellent results to the patient.

Apart from treating patients Orthodontists also invigilate other junior doctors who perform procedures to correct tooth alignment.

Orthodontists are dentists who deal with straightening of teeth with inaccurate growth. Orthodontics is a Greek word which can be split into two parts, ortho means straight and odous means teeth.  Orthodontists   treat wrong alignment of teeth which happens due to improper arrangement of teeth in the upper and lower jaw or could be due to wrong methods of biting food. Out of the nine specializations in dentistry in USA the first one of them is Orthodontics.

Orthodontists treat wrongly aligned teeth by introducing metal wires into braces or brackets and when the wires come in contact with the metallic or ceramic braces, teeth are moved into the accurate positions continuous pressure is applied on the teeth in the direction they are to be straightened. Another device used for this is called head gear. Braces, head gear or retainers are used to change positions of teeth and  increase or decrease the growth of the jaw depending on the requirement of the patient .Orthodontist may also remove teeth if there is excessive crowding and there is dire need for space to be able to straighten  the teeth. A modern method used by Orthodontists now-a-days is called invisalign which consists of invisible plastic which helps in lining up teeth properly.
Orthodontists take a number of x-rays of the teeth to determine which treatment would be the best for the particular facial structure and alignment of teeth. Since Orthodontists are proficient in understanding the process of development of teeth and the rest of facial growth they can judge exactly what treatment would be most effective.

Orthodontists help in increasing self esteem of their patients because the straightened teeth help in improving the looks of the patient and give them a better smile.