Ohio Health Insurance Practice Exam

Orthodontics is a specialized field of dentistry focused on the diagnosis, prevention, and correction of misaligned teeth and jaws. This area of practice primarily utilizes braces, retainers, and other orthodontic appliances to move teeth into the proper position over time, addressing issues such as crowding, spacing, and bite discrepancies.

The primary concern of orthodontics is not about replacing missing teeth, which is the role of prosthodontics, nor about preventing dental diseases, which falls under preventive dentistry. Additionally, while some orthodontic cases may involve surgical considerations, surgical procedures on teeth are more closely related to oral surgery and not the primary function of orthodontics itself. Hence, the emphasis of orthodontics on treating dental anomalies specifically with braces or appliances makes this choice the most accurate.