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Healthcare · Helping & Teaching

Orthodontist: what the job actually is

A dental specialist who moves teeth and jaws into better positions, one small adjustment at a time, over months and years.

Published Last reviewed How we research and correct this

Orthodontist: quick facts

Orthodontist salary in Ontario: Job Bank reports one figure for the whole group of dentists, not for orthodontist alone. For that group the median pay is $104,000 a year (reference period 2021). The group's three-year outlook in Ontario is good. The job usually needs a university degree.

Median pay in Ontario
$104,000 a year
Pay range (low to high)
$38,308 to $210,000 a year
Job outlook, 2025-2027
Good
People working in it in Ontario
10,150
Usually needs
Usually a university degree

Source: Job Bank wages (updated 19 November 2025) and job prospects (updated 10 December 2025), NOC 31110. Pay varies by region and experience.

The work

What this job actually is

  • A dentist who has done further training to specialise in teeth and jaws that are out of line. Most of the work is moving them, slowly, with braces, aligners and other appliances.
  • Job Bank counts orthodontists in the same group as dentists, group 31110, and reports one pay figure and one outlook for the whole group, not for orthodontists alone. Our page for the general job is at /careers/jobs/dentist.
  • It is slow work. A patient is seen again and again for small adjustments, and the result comes from many small changes rather than one big one.
  • A lot of your patients are young. That means a day with many teenagers and children, and parents in the waiting room, and it means being someone a nervous teenager is willing to talk to.
  • Job Bank says the majority of dentists are self-employed in dental offices, and notes that the popularity of cosmetic, aesthetic and orthodontic procedures may support employment. For many orthodontists the job also means running a practice.

A Tuesday

What a normal day looks like

Not a good day or a bad one. The ordinary version, which is what you would actually be living.

  1. 8:00 — Team huddle. Who is coming in, who has a broken bracket, who is due to finish.
  2. 8:15 — A routine adjustment. Change the wire, check the fit, a short chat. The visit is fifteen minutes and the change is small.
  3. 8:45 — A teenager who has not worn their elastics. You explain why it matters without making them feel told off.
  4. 9:30 — A new consultation. You examine, look at records and explain the plan, how long it might take and what it asks of the patient.
  5. 11:00 — Placing braces on a new patient. It is careful, exact and takes patience from both of you.
  6. 12:30 — Lunch, then paperwork: treatment plans, letters to the patient's own dentist.
  7. 13:30 — Afternoon of quick adjustments. The schedule is a steady stream of similar visits, each a different mouth.
  8. 15:30 — A patient finishing treatment. Removing the braces is the best moment of the job.
  9. 16:30 — Review of records and photographs for next week's new cases.
  10. 17:30 — Practice business: staff, supplies, the appointment book. Most days end with something that is not teeth.

Honestly

Who loves this, and who should not do it

The second list is the useful one. Nearly every careers page leaves it out, which is why nearly every careers page reads like an advert.

You may like this if
  • You like slow, careful change and are happy to wait months to see a result.
  • You like fine hand work and the geometry of how things fit together.
  • You get on well with teenagers and children, and with their parents.
  • You like seeing the same patients again and again and watching them change.
  • You like the idea of running a specialist practice of your own.
You may hate this if
  • You want a short route. Job Bank says two to four years of pre-dentistry university study and a recognised dental degree come first, then a three-year accredited orthodontics programme.
  • You dislike repetition. Many visits are alike, and a full day can feel like the same adjustment on a different mouth.
  • You get frustrated when patients do not follow instructions. A lot of the outcome depends on a teenager wearing something they would rather not.
  • You do not want a small business. Job Bank says the majority of dentists are self-employed, and a practice has staff, rent and equipment.
  • You dislike the physical strain. Years of working bent over a small space is hard on the neck and back.
  • You want to be a general dentist, with variety, emergencies and the whole mouth. A specialist sees only one part of it.

The route in

How you actually get there in Ontario

  1. Do university studies and earn a dental degree

    Job Bank says two to four years of pre-dentistry university studies, then a degree from a recognised dental programme. Each dental school sets its own entry rules, so read them. Our dentist page covers this first part of the route.

  2. Complete an accredited orthodontics specialty programme

    Job Bank says a three-year advanced orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics programme accredited by the Canadian Dental Association is required. The RCDSO's page lists orthodontics among its recognised specialties, gives 22 months of full-time instruction as the minimum programme length and says programmes must be in Canada or the United States and accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada. Check the programme you aim for, because the figures differ.

  3. Pass the National Dental Specialty Examination

    The RCDSO says applicants must pass the National Dental Specialty Examination for their specialty. It says the Royal College of Dentists of Canada has administered that examination since 2024. We did not read the examination content or fees.

  4. Register with the RCDSO as a specialist

    Job Bank says licensing by the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario is required. The RCDSO's page for specialty certificates adds that you must not have gone three years without working in your specialty after the examination. Check the page for current requirements.

Where this comes from: Job Bank — Dentist requirements in Ontario · RCDSO — Requirements by certificate type

The money

Orthodontist salary in Ontario

Job Bank's own figures, quoted rather than summarised, with the period they describe — so you can tell how old they are and go and check them.

$38,308
Low (a year)
$104,000
Median (a year)
$210,000
High (a year)

Ontario, NOC 31110. Reference period 2021, last updated by Job Bank on 19 November 2025. Wages vary a lot by region inside Ontario and by how long you have been doing it — the low figure is roughly where you start, not what the job is worth. Job Bank reports this one by the year rather than by the hour, because the income is commission and the hours behind it are nothing like fixed.

Source: Job Bank — Orthodontist wages in Ontario

Where it is heading

The outlook for the next three years

Job Bank publishes a three-year outlook for every job in every province. It is the closest thing to an honest forecast, and it moves, so read it as a weather report rather than a verdict.

Ontario, 2025-2027

Good4 out of 5 stars

  • Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions.
  • Several positions will become available due to retirements.
  • There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

What that rating means: how many openings Job Bank expects in Ontario for this kind of work against how many people are likely to be looking — not whether it is a good job. A “limited” rating means more competition for each opening; it does not close the door, and it can change before you are ready to walk through it.

What is changing in this work

  • Increased popularity of cosmetic, aesthetic and orthodontic procedures may support employment opportunities in this occupation
  • The aging population is expected to increase the demand for geriatric dentistry including restorative and more complex dental work
  • Access to private insurance and workplace insurance plans, which cover the majority of spending on dental services, may support more routine dental visits
  • Public-sector investments in affordable dental care should support job prospects

Who hires for it

  • The majority of dentists are self-employed in dental offices
10,150
people work in this job in Ontario
43%
are women (48% across all jobs)
83%
are self-employed (15% across all jobs)

Source: Job Bank — Dentists job prospects in Ontario (NOC 31110). Outlook updated by Job Bank on 10 December 2025; read by us on 5 October 2026.

Before you leave school

Things you can do now

  • Take senior biology and chemistry and keep your marks strong. The first stage of this route is competitive and starts with your university grades.
  • Notice small, patient hand work you enjoy: model building, fine drawing, sewing, an instrument. Orthodontics is a lot of this.
  • Ask your guidance office whether a local orthodontic or dental office takes a student for a job-shadow. Say you are researching the career, which is true.
  • Read the RCDSO's specialty page so you know the route is a dental degree first and a specialty second.

Test it

Do this before you decide anything

Reading about a job tells you almost nothing. This is designed to be done alone, this week, for free.

Shape a wire into a smooth arch, one tiny bend at a time

About 60 minutes
  1. Print or draw a smooth curve, like a half oval, on paper. Take a long piece of soft craft wire or a straightened paperclip, with the ends bent safely so nothing sharp is exposed.
  2. Bend the wire to match the curve using only small adjustments. After each bend, hold it against the paper and check. Make no change bigger than you can justify.
  3. Do it a second time. Notice whether you got better at small corrections, or kept overshooting and starting again.
  4. Read the RCDSO's page for specialty certificates and the Job Bank requirements page for dentists, and write the route in order.

What it tells you. If you liked the patient, fiddly correcting and the long route looked acceptable, orthodontics suits the way you work, and the university sciences and grades are the next step. If the small adjustments bored you, general dentistry or dental hygiene on this site gives more variety in a different amount of training.

Better than any article

Questions for somebody who does this job

Most people say yes to a teenager who asks good questions. These are the ones that get real answers rather than encouragement.

  1. “How much of your day is adjustments, and how much is new patients and planning?”
  2. “How do you get a teenager to follow the plan?”
  3. “How hard was it to get into a specialty programme, and what helped?”
  4. “How much of your week is the business rather than patients?”
  5. “What made you choose orthodontics over general dentistry?”
  6. “What do your neck and back feel like after years of this?”

Could you own one of these?

The part other career sites never mention

Yes, and it is the usual way. Job Bank says the majority of dentists are self-employed in dental offices, and an orthodontic practice is a specialist version of the same thing, with staff, equipment, rent and regulation. Ask an orthodontist what it cost to start and what it asks of you each week.

Business 101 is free and teaches that part

Quick answers

Questions people ask about this job

How much does an orthodontist make in Ontario?

Job Bank reports one figure for the whole group of dentists, not for an orthodontist alone. For that group the median pay is $104,000 a year (reference period 2021, updated 19 November 2025). The range Job Bank publishes runs from $38,308 to $210,000 a year. Pay varies by region, employer and experience.

What is the job outlook for an orthodontist in Ontario?

Job Bank rates the employment outlook for this work in Ontario as good for 2025-2027 (updated 10 December 2025). Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions. Several positions will become available due to retirements. There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation. A lower rating means more competition for each opening, not that no one is hiring.

What do you need to become an orthodontist in Ontario?

Job Bank says this work usually needs a university degree. The usual route in Ontario, in order: Do university studies and earn a dental degree; Complete an accredited orthodontics specialty programme; Pass the National Dental Specialty Examination.

Where does an orthodontist work in Ontario?

The majority of dentists are self-employed in dental offices. (Job Bank.)

How many people work as an orthodontist in Ontario, and how many are women?

Job Bank counts about 10,150 people working in this job in Ontario. 43% of them are women, compared with 48% across all jobs. That describes who does the work today, not who can.

Where people come from

Which programs lead here?

In the 2021 Census, this job is one of the 12 most common for graduates of these programs. Each page shows what else they do, and which of those jobs have openings.

Health careers in Ontario: outlook and pay What can you do with your degree?

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Wages and training requirements change. Every figure on this page is linked to the body that publishes it, and the review date above says when we last checked. If you find something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.