Werst 1

Jonathon Werst

English 1301 AY2

Dr. Schueth

3 Nov. 2019

Orthodontics: An Annotated Bibliography

American Association of Orthodontists​. American Association of Orthodontists, 2019,

www.aaoinfo.org

The American Association of Orthodontists was created in 1900 and is a

professional organization that represents 19,000 orthodontists in North America and

abroad. Their website contains a multitude of information about all kinds of things, such

as information about orthodontic treatment for adults and children and information about

why people should be cautious of online orthodontic companies. It also contains a FAQ

page that answers any questions one may have about orthodontic treatment and what it

entails. The site, however, is mainly tailored to inform the average person about why they

should get their orthodontic treatment and how it works instead of being tailored to

informing potential orthodontists about what the job entails.

In my opinion, I did not find this website helpful in my mission to find out more

about orthodontics. However, I did get a more in-depth description of what

Orthodontists do from this website compared to the description I got from the Bureau of

Labor Statistics, which was helpful. However, the Bureau of Labor Statistics gave me a

lot more information about the career of orthodontics then AAO did, and was overall a
 more helpful source. Anyhow, I personally can see myself being apart of this

organization in the future if I end up becoming an orthodontist because they already

represent most orthodontists in America. Also, this organization seems like it would

provide me with some help when I first start my career in orthodontics, which is another

reason why I will probably join it in the future. However, as a student, I’m not sure how

much this professional organization could help me. The website, at least from my

research, seems more tailored to letting future clients learn about orthodontics instead of

helping students learn about the field. Maybe the website has some useful information

hidden somewhere, but I didn't see it anywhere when I investigated the site. Finally,

judging by the professional tone of the organization, the professionals of this field

communicate in a way that is pretty understandable for non-professionals. None of the

language was super complex and the website was really easy to understand while still

sounding professional.

“Four Year Road Map-Biology Major.” ​Biology Major University of Wisconsin Madison​, Board

of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, 2019,

biologymajor.wisc.edu/resources/four-year-road-map-biology-major/

This four-year degree plan by the University of Wisconsin Madison is meant to

help guide students who want to major in Biology. The plan outlines some of the

suggested classes to take to achieve a biology major in four years, including classes like

Chemistry 103, Advanced Biology, and Math. It covers both semesters each year,

providing the student with a full and complete roadmap to their major. However, the plan

is not set in stone and is meant to be personalized by each student depending on their
 situation. Finally, it allows for students to easily move to other majors that have to do

with biology.

This degree plan has helped me learn more about what kind of schooling I will

have to go through to eventually become an orthodontist. I am most excited to take the

biology and chemistry courses in this degree plan because I have always loved most

science courses, especially biology, and I have always done pretty well in these types of

classes. I am least excited to take physics because it is by far my least favorite science,

and, out of all the sciences, it interests me the least. Finally, I think that the coursework

that will come out of this degree plan won't be overbearing and will allow for me time

have time to work and to visit family. I think this because as the classes get harder and

more advanced, the amount of classes I have to take decreases, which balances out the

amount of work the harder class will give to me.

Katyal, Vandana. “BOSS (Best Orthodontic Seminars & Sessions).” ​Player FM​, Best

Orthodontic Seminars & Sessions, 2018,

player.fm/series/boss-best-orthodontic-seminars-sessions

In this podcast, orthodontist Vandana Katyal lists five important tips that she

believes all orthodontists should consider incorporating into their practice. The tips, from

first to last, were; get to know your patients unmet and emotional needs before their chief

concern, go digital with your practice, give excellent service and care, start using clear

aligners (retainers) and virtual appointments and, finally, offer multiple choices of

appliances to patients when possible. With each one of these tips, Katyal explains why

they would improve how orthodontists conduct their practices. The reasons differ a bit
from tip to tip, but overall each tip is meant to improve the relationship between the

customer and the orthodontist, allow the customer to be more informed and happy with

their orthodontic treatment, and make the job of the orthodontist easier when it comes to

treating a patient.

Overall, this podcast gave me a very good view of how professional orthodontists

talk about their career. What stood out to me was the fact that professionals in this field

speak in a way that is easily understood by normal people who are not a part of this

career field. The language used in this podcast is not simple, but it is at a level that most

people could understand. Anyways, there weren't any stories or moments in this podcast

that caught my attention; all of it was relatively of the same importance. I would say that

the main audience for this podcast is orthodontics, for Dr. Katyal states it in the

beginning of the podcast and all of the information in the podcast is directed towards

orthodontists. However, like I said before, I was still able to understand the discussion

with minimal expertise in the field. Next, some of the tips provided by Dr. Katyal match

some of the tips given to me by Dr. Lofgren in my interview with him. Mainly, both Dr.

Katyal and Dr. Lofgren emphasise the fact that orthodontists should look at their patients

as more than just a set of teeth, and should get to know their patients and their

wants/needs. Finally, I am a little bit motivated to listen to another podcast about my

career field. While this podcast was not exactly the most interesting, it provided me with

some good information about how to conduct my orthodontic practice so I will probably

see what other podcasts about this field have to offer.

Klages, Ulrich, et al. “Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetics in Adolescence: Validity and

Reliability of a Questionnaire across Age-Groups.” ​Quality of Life Research​, vol. 24, no.

2, 2015, pp. 379–390. ​JSTOR​, ​www.jstor.org/stable/44849035​.

This article by Ulrich Klages is mainly about how he and other researchers

decided to test if an assessment called the PIDAQ test, which was created for adults,

could be used to test children as well. The PIDAQ test is a test that was developed for

people undergoing orthodontic treatment and people who have finished their treatment,

and it evaluates how satisfied these groups of people are with their orthodontic treatment.

The test asks questions that fall into four main topics; Dental Confidence, Social Impact,

Psychological Impact, and Aesthetic concern. In this article, a group of researchers took

the PIDAQ, which was made for adults, and decided to test and see if it would work for

all age groups, mainly kids from age 11-17. The researchers took the test, changed some

of the wording to better fit the intended audience, and got a bunch of kids from multiple

different sources and in multiple stages of treatment to take the test. The kids were split

up by age group; 11-12 in one group, 13-14 in the next and 15-17 year olds in the final

one. Finally, when the test was conducted and the data received, it was analyzed and

measured which led the research team to conclude that the PIDAQ could accurately be

used to test present and past orthodontic patients of all ages and genders equally.

I found that this article did match my expectations for what scholarly articles in

the field of orthodontics should look like. Overall, it did a very good job of walking the

reader through the process of their study and explaining to them what the results were

and what they meant. The article is very professional when it comes to its academic
 conventions and all its information is well put together and thoroughly explained,

including all important data and statistics. I'm not sure if I could see myself doing this

type of research in the future, but I can definitely see myself reading this kind of research

to keep up to date with new discoveries in my field of study. However, one difficult part

with reading this article was the fact that this study uses a lot of very complicated

mathematical formulas and theorems to get its results, which made the article a bit

difficult to read because of the fact that my math knowledge is not currently that

advanced. Besides that, I don't really have any big and important questions about this

article; I understand everything it's trying to say and I get what it proves. The only thing

that this article brings up that I would like to do more research on is the fact that out of all

of the kids they tested, kids on sports clubs had the lowest amount of dental awareness. I

would like to do a study on this to see if it is in fact true, and if it is true, why is this the

case.

Lofgren, Trent. Personal interview. 31 Oct. 2019

In order to learn more about my selected career, I decided to interview one of my

orthodontists, Dr.Trent Lofgren. Dr.Lofgren and his partner Dr.Gosh own their own

orthodontic practice, Creekview Orthodontics, and serve a wide variety of patients of all

ages. In the interview, Dr.Lofgren answered a couple important questions that I thought

would give me a deeper understanding of the career of orthodontics and what the job

entails. The interview questions covered a wide range of topics, from what his school

experience was like after high school to the pros and cons of being an orthodontist. He
 also provided me with some tips on how to be a good orthodontist, like seeing the patient

as more than just a set of teeth and as a whole person instead.

Overall, this interview was very helpful to me, and the information Dr.Lofgren

gave to me has elevated my knowledge of the career of orthodontics. Some of the

information that Dr.Lofgren provided me in this interview was completely new to me,

like the fact that a lot of orthodontic practices owned by orthodontists are being bought

by large corporations, which is getting rid of orthodontist-owned practices. This shows

that the field of orthodontics is beginning to become more corporate, which might make

it harder for me to start my own practice in the future. Anyways, like the American

Association of Orthodontists, Dr.Lofgren would likely agree that online orthodontic

treatments are not a good choice for consumers and should be approached with extreme

caution. I believe this because Dr. Lofgren stated that the biggest misconception about

the field of orthodontics is that a person can just order a retainer online and fix their bite.

Also, Dr. Lofgren told me about new digital scanners that are a big current trend in

orthodontics which can model a person’s bite without having to use a mold. This

information matches the information provided to me in the article ​What’s New in

Orthodontic Treatment: 5 current trends to watch​, in which the author mentions new

digital 3D scanners that are currently being used in the field of orthodontics.

Pai, Satish. “What’s New in Orthodontic Treatment: 5 current trends to watch.” ​Clinician Today,​

Barton Associates, June 20th 2018,

cliniciantoday.com/whats-new-in-orthodontic-treatment-5-current-trends-to-watch/
 In this article, author Dr.Satish Pai lists of 5 new trends/innovations in

orthodontics that are currently on the rise. The first new technology discussed in this

article is CBCT Scanning, a new form of 3d scanning that gives orthodontists a 3d,

interactive view of a patient's mouth instead of a 2d view. The next new technology is

Temporary Anchorage Devices, which are titanium “miniscrews” that can be used to

anchor a patient's jaw painlessly to prevent movement. Another new technology that has

been introduced into the field of orthodontics is invisible braces like invisalign that not

only don't require wires to tighten but also are basically invisible in the mouth. Also, a

new 3d Smile Design Systems allows orthodontists to digitally create the best smile for a

patient based on their facial and oral features. Finally, the last new innovation discussed

in this article is a new treatment option called PROPEL, which stimulates teeth to shift

more quickly into their intended position, greatly reducing the time of orthodontic

treatment.

Overall, this article was very informative and taught me more about my desired

profession by giving me a look into the possible future of orthodontics. I would say that

the media image that I selected does match the image of orthodontics presented to me in

other sources. I think that in general, the developments presented by this article will not

have a big impact on the forecast of job availability in the future. I think that if there is

any impact, though, it would be positive, and lead to more jobs being available. I do

think, though, that these new innovations will definitely change the way I will work in

the future if I end up choosing this career. With these new innovations, I believe that my
 job will not only be easier, but I will also be able to more precisely fix people's teeth in

less time but with better, more accurate results.

United States, Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Dentists.” ​Occupational

Outlook Handbook​, 4 Sept. 2019, www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/dentists.htm

The Bureau of Labor Statistic’s Occupational Outlook Handbook provides an

extensive summary of the carrier of orthodontics. The website contains a lot of

information about this specific career field, like their estimated salary, work environment

and job outlook. It also includes a page of links to other websites that can teach people

more about this occupation. Overall, the website gives enough information for the reader

to gain a basic, surface-level understanding of the occupation of orthodontics, which is

good for anyone who wants a basic overview of the occupation. However, the website

fails to provide enough detail in some sections for the reader to gain a more in-depth

knowledge of the occupation.

In all, the information provided by the Bauru of Labor Statistics has enabled me

to gain more information on my future career. I would say, however, that the portrayal of

my career by the Bureau did not match my expectations, for instead of having its own

separate Occupational Outlook Handbook; my career was grouped in with the Dentist

career. This meant that some of the information provided to me about my career was kind

of lacking and left me with questions like “How many years will it take for me to become

an orthodontist?” and “what specifically does an orthodontist do?” I believe that to fix

this, BLS should add in more information about the specific education needed to become

an orthodontist and what orthodontists do specifically, since these were the two areas that
were the least informative. Besides the fact that it was lacking in some areas, the

information given was easy to understand. While I was left with some questions due to

lack of detail, I was not really confused by the information the website provides. Also,

other areas of the website like the job outlook and pay section were more detailed and left

me with no big questions. Finally, under the “How to Become one” tab, the website lists

a couple important qualities needed to become a dentist/orthodontist. Overall, I match the

important qualities really well. I am patient, I have good finger/hand dexterity, I am a

good leader and communicator, I’m very detail oriented and I am a good problem solver.

The only quality that I am a bit lacking in is organizational skills, but with some practice

I could improve this quality.

Overall, creating this annotated bibliography has given me a lot of important new

information about my future career. I now understand the specifics of my career, like the

work hours, work environment, full job description and average salary. I also now

understand the current trends, misconceptions, and problems that are currently affecting

my career field. Finally, I now have a more in-depth knowledge of the specific schooling

I will have to go through after college to become an orthodontist, like the four years of

dental school I will have to go through and the 2-3 years of orthodontic residency that I

need to complete. Anyways, the two sources that I feel were the most useful were the

Bureau of Labor Statistics and the personal interview. I found these the most useful

because they provided me with the best and most thorough information about my career,

and because these two sources were the only two sources that really answered the

questions I had about my future career going into this project. After going through all of
the sources, though, I am definitely eager to learn more about two main things. I want to

learn more about this new digital wave that orthodontic practices are going through and I

want to learn more about how and why corporations are buying up orthodontic practices

and the effect it will have on the future of the career field. I am eager to learn more about

these two things because I think that both of these topics will affect the future of

orthodontics, which will affect me if I decide to continue with this career path. To learn

more about these topics, I could utilize online resources like google and Collin College’s

databases, and I could go and talk to more orthodontists in my area. Next, the classes I

am most looking forward to taking in the future are classes that have to do with biology

and chemistry because these two subjects interest me the most and connect with my love

of nature. Finally, the one part of future career that I am still unsure about is the amount

of schooling I will have to go through to become an orthodontist. After high school, I will

have to take 11 extra years of school, including college, dentistry school, and orthodontic

residency. Not only that, but dentistry school and orthodontic residency programs are

very difficult to get into and are very competitive. For these reasons, I may keep

researching other options, mainly because I might not want to be in school for 11 more

years after high school and if I don't make it into dentistry school, I’ll have another career

plan that I can fall back on.

 Author’s Note

Overall, I had a good experience while doing this project. The only difficult part was

retrieving some sources, mainly the scholarly article and the podcast, but other than that there

was nothing too hard about this project. The challenging part of finding some of the sources was

the fact that, in a majority of the sources I found, the information the source provided was not

thorough or the source didn't cover the information I wanted them to. In the end, though, I was

able to find seven suitable sources for my bibliography. Anyways, the only notable moment that

happened when I was writing/revising this document was when I realized that I had already

engaged in a bit of crosstalk in my professional organization analysis paragraph without even

noticing it. Next, there weren't many challenges that I faced while writing the analysis

paragraphs for the sources. However, sometimes the summary paragraphs for sources were hard

to write because I didn't know what information from the sources to include and what

information to not include in the summary. Finally, a question that I have for you for another

round of revision is: should I add more information in my summaries? In general, im not sure if I

added enough detail in my summaries to accurately represent all of my sources.

I found a four-year degree plan for a biology major at the college I want to attend in the

future, Oklahoma University. The degree plan outlines all of the specific classes that I will have

to take in order to earn my major. The classes all fall into one of six subjects: Biology,

Chemistry, Physics, History of Science, Statistics, and Math. Also, there are elective courses that

I will have to take, which have to include two upper division lab courses. Overall, this degree

plan seems fine to me. It is very similar to the degree plan from the University of Wisconsin that

I used as a source for my bibliography. The only classes that I am not looking forward to taking
are the classes that fall into the subjects of Physics and Statistics just because these two subjects

interest me the least. However, I like Biology, Chemistry, and Math and History of Science

sounds interesting to me, so in general this degree plan seems not that bad. Finally, I can't really

tell the workload that this plan will give me just by looking at the plan so I have no idea if I will

be able to balance my time between work, school, and family.