Orthodontists
Examine, diagnose, and treat dental malocclusions and oral cavity anomalies. Design and fabricate appliances to realign teeth and jaws to produce and maintain normal function and to improve appearance.
6,210 people do this job in the US. $289,140 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 39%
- 16%
- 45%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 39%. Today's estimate: 39%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 11 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design and fabricate appliances, such as space maintainers, retainers, and labial and lingual arch wires.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 16% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Fit dental appliances in patients' mouths to alter the position and relationship of teeth and jaws or to realign teeth.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 15% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Instruct dental officers and technical assistants in orthodontic procedures and techniques.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 13% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Study diagnostic records, such as medical or dental histories, plaster models of the teeth, photos of a patient's face and teeth, and X-rays, to develop patient treatment plans.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 13% | 50 min25 min to 1.3 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Diagnose teeth and jaw or other dental-facial abnormalities.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 9% | 25 min13 min to 38 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Adjust dental appliances to produce and maintain normal function.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 7% | 21 min13 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Examine patients to assess abnormalities of jaw development, tooth position, and other dental-facial structures.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 7% | 21 min13 min to 33 min | Stays with people | |
| Prepare diagnostic and treatment records.Done several times a day by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 7% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Provide patients with proposed treatment plans and cost estimates.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 7% | 29 min17 min to 42 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Coordinate orthodontic services with other dental and medical services.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Advise patients to comply with treatment plans.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 3% | 8 min4 min to 17 min | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).