When the teeth do not come out through the correct spot, one is asked to consult an orthodontist. An orthodontist is a dentist with further training and has specialized in straightening ones teeth.
Anybody who is responsible for ones dentistry problems is qualified with a Bachelor of Dental surgery (BDSc) that takes five years to cover in a University and an additional year for Vocational Training when they are under supervision of an experienced dentist. But before the Vocational Training, one is at liberty to set out as a private dentist for they are qualified. After the training, one can apply for a postgraduate course to study in a specialized field such as the orthodontics. One has to take a Degree in Masters of Dental Surgery (MDSc) then go ahead to completing the Master of Orthodontist Qualification (MOrth). After all that, it is a common thing to find many of them completing the Doctorate degree in Orthodontics (DOrth). After all these it is common to find them putting all these initials before their names to demonstrate their qualifications in the fields. The whole process is estimated to take 10- 15 years. That’s not enough because one can take another course after a certain period of experience so as to qualify as a hospital consultant.
After the Orthodontist completes all these, they do not look at the teeth’s health but check their position, the health part is covered by the regular dentist.

The teeth’s location is described according to their malocclusion class, distance in between the teeth, and the manner in which the teeth meet. The malocclusion classes are found in four types; class I (straight), class II div I, class II div II and class III (misaligned). Each person is in one of the classes and the work of the orthodontist is to make sure that one is close to the class I occlusion. The distance between the top teeth and the bottom teeth is referred to as the bite. One might have the an increased overbite which is the posture the jaws sit, an overjet describing how far the front teeth protrude out, or even a reverse overjet of how the teeth at the bottom are in front. In other cases, there is the open bite where the teeth do not meet. The orthodontist scrutinizes all these and decides of the best way to align them.

The orthodontist can also help in other problems, hypodontia, impacted or ectopic. Hypodontia is when teeth miss from birth, impacted or ectopic is when the teeth are too crowded and may need surgery or braces to solve the problem.