Top 12 Orthodontist Skills to Put on Your Resume
In the competitive field of orthodontics, crafting a standout resume is key to opening doors to new opportunities. Highlighting a well-rounded set of top orthodontist skills on your resume not only demonstrates your expertise and commitment to the profession but also positions you as a prime candidate for any role.
Orthodontist Skills
- Invisalign Certification
- 3D Imaging
- iTero Scanner
- Damon System
- OrthoCAD
- SureSmile Technology
- Digital X-rays
- Interceptive Orthodontics
- Lingual Braces
- OrthoTrac Software
- Temporary Anchorage Devices (TADs)
- Laser Dentistry
1. Invisalign Certification
Invisalign Certification is a professional training and accreditation process that orthodontists complete to become qualified in prescribing and administering the Invisalign clear aligner system for teeth straightening.
Why It's Important
Invisalign Certification matters because it verifies proficiency with the Invisalign system and its planning software, supports consistent outcomes, and expands the range of cases you can treat confidently.
How to Improve Invisalign Certification Skills
Build depth and speed with a deliberate plan:
Finish the fundamentals: Complete the core certification and begin with straightforward cases to cement workflows.
Level up with advanced courses: Add training on complex movements, attachments, elastics, and refinements.
Join study clubs: Review cases with peers, trade tips, and benchmark your outcomes.
Master ClinCheck: Spend focused time on staging, anchorage, IPR planning, and overcorrections. Iterate relentlessly.
Increase case variety: Gradually take on more complex malocclusions; track results and adjust protocols.
Combine education, repetition, and rigorous case reviews. Your planning acuity sharpens fast.
How to Display Invisalign Certification Skills on Your Resume
2. 3D Imaging
3D imaging in orthodontics creates volumetric views of teeth, jaws, and craniofacial structures (often via CBCT and intraoral scans). You see anatomy in detail, plan precisely, and forecast outcomes with far greater confidence.
Why It's Important
Clear anatomy. Accurate diagnoses. Smarter plans. With 3D data, airway assessments, impacted teeth, asymmetries, and TMJ considerations become far easier to evaluate and monitor.
How to Improve 3D Imaging Skills
Dial in the system and the habits around it:
1. Upgrade hardware
Use CBCT units with adjustable fields of view, low-dose protocols, and brisk scan times. Pair with high-quality intraoral scanners for clean surface meshes.
2. Enhance software capabilities
Adopt software that supports segmentation, superimposition, airway volume analysis, and treatment simulations. Streamline exports to aligner and lab workflows.
3. Staff training
Train everyone on positioning, artifact reduction, and consistent protocols. Create quick-reference checklists. Refresh skills regularly.
4. Patient education
Use visuals to explain findings and expected changes. When patients see their anatomy, acceptance rises.
5. Quality and maintenance
Calibrate routinely, document QA checks, and service equipment on schedule. Choose ALARA-focused protocols every time.
Sharper images plus consistent workflows fuel better decisions and smoother treatment.
How to Display 3D Imaging Skills on Your Resume
3. iTero Scanner
The iTero Scanner captures high-resolution, 3D digital impressions for accurate planning, appliance fabrication, and progress tracking—without goop or gag.
Why It's Important
Digital scans increase precision and comfort, speed up starts, and play nicely with aligner planning, indirect bonding, and custom appliance workflows.
How to Improve iTero Scanner Skills
Stay current: Keep software updated to unlock faster scanning, better stitching, and new tools.
Train to proficiency: Standardize scanning paths, retraction, and moisture control. Practice produces clean meshes and fewer rescans.
Maintain religiously: Clean the wand correctly, calibrate as recommended, and log maintenance.
Prep patients: Dry fields, good cheek/tongue control, and clear instructions reduce artifacts and scan time.
Use the ecosystem: Leverage outcome simulators and time-lapse tools to plan and to communicate value.
Better inputs mean better everything—plans, appliances, and appointment flow.
How to Display iTero Scanner Skills on Your Resume
4. Damon System
The Damon System uses self-ligating brackets that hold the wire with a sliding mechanism. Reduced friction can help teeth move efficiently and comfortably, often with fewer visits.
Why It's Important
It offers an efficient option for many cases. Patients like the comfort and shorter appointments. You may see streamlined mechanics and tidy arch forms.
How to Improve Damon System Skills
Advance your education: Seek courses on torque control, wire sequencing, and finishing with self-ligation.
Show, don’t tell: Use case photos and chairside visuals to set expectations and explain mechanics.
Blend tech: Combine self-ligation with digital scans and 3D imaging for precise planning and progress checks.
Well-chosen wires, disciplined sequencing, and clear communication make the system hum.
How to Display Damon System Skills on Your Resume
5. OrthoCAD
OrthoCAD provided digital models and treatment visualization and has largely been folded into modern iTero and aligner planning ecosystems. Many practices still interact with legacy files and workflows, so fluency remains useful.
Why It's Important
Understanding OrthoCAD’s approach to models, occlusion setup, and data transfer helps when handling older cases and integrating historical records with current digital systems.
How to Improve OrthoCAD Skills
Refresh knowledge: Review import/export steps, articulation tools, and model cleanup workflows.
Integrate smartly: Ensure smooth handoffs between scanners, planning tools, and labs. Document your pipeline.
Leverage 3D printing: Print models or guides to bridge digital plans to physical appliances quickly.
Educate patients: Use visualizations to clarify goals and timelines.
Share and learn: Compare protocols with colleagues to streamline tricky steps and reduce rework.
Legacy-savvy clinicians keep cases moving, even when old and new tech meet.
How to Display OrthoCAD Skills on Your Resume
6. SureSmile Technology
SureSmile uses digital planning and robotic customization to produce precise archwires (and also supports aligners), aiming for efficient tooth movement and crisp finishes.
Why It's Important
It tightens planning control, may shorten treatment times, and helps standardize outcomes across varied cases and providers.
How to Improve SureSmile Technology Skills
Train deeply: Dive into advanced planning modules and case reviews to sharpen setup decisions.
Keep software current: New features often refine accuracy and simplify approvals.
Customize relentlessly: Use detailed objectives, root control, and staging finesse tailored to each patient.
Compare cases: Discuss results with peers, track metrics, and tweak protocols based on data.
Educate patients: Explain the planning process and the “why” behind wire or aligner designs to boost buy-in.
Planning discipline turns the tech into a quiet superpower.
How to Display SureSmile Technology Skills on Your Resume
7. Digital X-rays
Digital radiography captures detailed images of teeth and jaws with swift acquisition and reduced dose compared with film, supporting diagnosis, growth tracking, and treatment planning.
Why It's Important
Immediate, high-resolution images enable precise decisions, clear patient discussions, and efficient workflows.
How to Improve Digital X-rays Skills
Upgrade thoughtfully: High-quality sensors and panoramic/CBCT units with low-dose options improve clarity while honoring ALARA.
Use smart software: Employ tools for image enhancement, measurements, annotations, and DICOM compatibility.
Calibrate and QA: Schedule maintenance, perform consistency checks, and document results.
Perfect positioning: Standardize head posture and bite registration. Small tweaks, big gains in comparability.
Harden security: Store via DICOM/PACS, encrypt backups, and control access. Cloud solutions can add resilience.
Educate the team: Routine refreshers keep technique crisp and errors rare.
Cleaner images, safer protocols, better care—simple as that.
How to Display Digital X-rays Skills on Your Resume
8. Interceptive Orthodontics
Interceptive Orthodontics targets early identification and correction of developing problems—often between ages 7 and 10—guiding growth and reducing future complexity.
Why It's Important
Early action can simplify Phase II, protect airway and function, break harmful habits, and support healthier skeletal relationships during growth spurts.
How to Improve Interceptive Orthodontics Skills
Refine diagnosis: Use panoramic films, cephs or CBCT when indicated, and growth indicators to time interventions well.
Expand your toolbox: Master expanders, habit appliances, space management, and early Class II/Class III strategies.
Collaborate: Coordinate with pediatric dentists, ENTs, myofunctional therapists, and speech professionals when needed.
Educate families: Clear, simple explanations—and pictures—boost compliance and follow-through.
Monitor systematically: Set recall intervals and document changes to pivot swiftly as growth unfolds.
Catch issues early, steer growth gently, and future you will thank you.
How to Display Interceptive Orthodontics Skills on Your Resume
9. Lingual Braces
Lingual braces sit on the tongue side of teeth, out of sight. They are customized to a patient’s arch form and anatomy, offering a discreet path to alignment.
Why It's Important
Some patients want orthodontics without visible brackets. Lingual systems answer that call while delivering comprehensive control.
How to Improve Lingual Braces Skills
Prioritize precision: Use accurate scans and CAD/CAM customization for bracket positioning and archwire design.
Choose comfort-forward designs: Lower-profile brackets and polished features reduce tongue irritation.
Adopt robotic wire bending: Custom wire bends enhance efficiency and reduce chair time.
Train continuously: Case selection, bonding protocols, and finishing nuances improve with ongoing education.
Coach hygiene: Provide specific brushing, flossing, and speech tips to curb irritation and decalcification.
Meticulous setups and patient coaching make lingual treatment shine.
How to Display Lingual Braces Skills on Your Resume
10. OrthoTrac Software
OrthoTrac is an orthodontic practice management platform that handles scheduling, billing, treatment tracking, and records—helping teams orchestrate care and operations.
Why It's Important
Reliable scheduling, clean ledgers, and organized clinical data reduce friction for patients and staff. That means smoother days and clearer decisions.
How to Improve OrthoTrac Software Skills
Tailor dashboards: Surface your most-used modules, KPIs, and tasks to cut clicks.
Enable mobility: Secure mobile access for schedules, messages, and quick lookups when you’re away from the desk.
Fortify security: Enforce strong passwords, role-based permissions, and two-factor authentication; audit routinely.
Leverage the cloud: Use cloud backup or cloud hosting for resilience, easier updates, and remote continuity.
Automate communication: Deploy reminders, recare prompts, and payment notices via SMS and email with sensible timing.
Invest in training: New-hire onboarding plus periodic refreshers keep the team fast and accurate.
When the software hums, your front desk and clinic flow follow suit.
How to Display OrthoTrac Software Skills on Your Resume
11. Temporary Anchorage Devices (TADs)
TADs are small titanium anchors that provide skeletal anchorage so you can move teeth in ways not easily possible with traditional mechanics alone.
Why It's Important
TADs enable precise biomechanics, reduce reliance on compliance, and open doors to treat challenging malocclusions efficiently.
How to Improve Temporary Anchorage Devices (TADs) Skills
Pick the right design: Choose diameter, length, and thread design based on cortical thickness and site anatomy.
Plan with imaging: Use CBCT or robust 2D assessments to select safe insertion sites and angulations.
Refine placement: Practice sterile technique, soft-tissue management, and insertion torque targets. Create a step-by-step protocol.
Protect stability: Avoid mobile mucosa when possible, minimize early loading, and manage inflammation quickly.
Teach aftercare: Give crystal-clear hygiene instructions and schedule short-term follow-ups to catch issues early.
Track outcomes: Record success rates by site and design, then iterate your selection criteria.
Good planning and gentle hands make TADs predictable. Data makes them even better.
How to Display Temporary Anchorage Devices (TADs) Skills on Your Resume
12. Laser Dentistry
Laser dentistry brings focused light to soft-tissue procedures—gingivectomies, frenectomies, exposure of impacted teeth—often with minimal bleeding and swift healing.
Why It's Important
Precision cuts, less discomfort, fewer sutures, faster recovery. In orthodontics, it can streamline bracket bonding, aligner attachments, and esthetic finishing.
How to Improve Laser Dentistry Skills
Train on device specifics: Learn wavelength indications, power settings, fiber handling, and safety protocols.
Choose the right cases: Create clear criteria for exposures, gingival recontouring, and soft-tissue reshaping during alignment.
Standardize settings: Build procedure templates for predictable tissue response and healing timelines.
Educate patients: Explain benefits and aftercare simply; provide written instructions and quick check-ins.
Audit results: Photograph before/after, track comfort and healing, and fine-tune parameters over time.
With thoughtful protocols, lasers become quiet helpers that elevate the patient experience.
How to Display Laser Dentistry Skills on Your Resume
