Last Updated on August 11, 2026 by Dr. Adam Veit
Orthodontist or Dentist for Braces? Why Families Choose Bright Orthodontics
You can go straight to an orthodontist. No referral is needed, and no dentist has to send you. An orthodontist is a dental specialist who trains for years past dental school in one thing: moving teeth and guiding jaw growth. At Bright Orthodontics, that specialist is Dr. Adam Veit, and he is board certified by the American Board of Orthodontics.
Most families start with a simple question. Should we see our family dentist about braces, or go to an orthodontist? It is a fair question, and the honest answer has more than one part. Here is how we would explain it if you were sitting across the desk from us.
Can You Go Straight to an Orthodontist?
Yes. You can call our office and book, today, without speaking to anyone else first.
Many patients are referred by their family dentist, and we are glad when that happens. It usually means somebody is paying attention. But a referral is not required to be seen, and in most cases it is not required for insurance to apply either. If you think something looks off, or your child’s dentist has mentioned crowding, you can come straight to us and find out.
Request an appointment at whichever of our four offices is closest to you.
What Is the Difference Between an Orthodontist and a Dentist?
Every orthodontist is a dentist. Not every dentist is an orthodontist.
Both finish four years of dental school. After that the paths split. An orthodontist goes on to a full-time residency in orthodontics, which takes another two to three years and admits only a small number of applicants each year. That residency is spent doing one thing: diagnosing bites and moving teeth. Dr. Veit did his through the Tri-Service Orthodontic Residency Program, and added a master’s degree at the Uniformed Services University on top of it.
A general dentist looks after your whole mouth. Cleanings, fillings, crowns, gum health, emergencies. It is broad, demanding work and a good general dentist is worth keeping for life. Some also offer braces or clear aligners alongside all of that.
The difference is not effort or intent. It is repetition and depth. An orthodontist has seen the unusual version of your case many times, because the unusual version is all they do.
What an orthodontist handles that a general practice often refers out
- Bites that need the jaw guided, not just the teeth lined up
- Crossbites, deep bites, open bites and underbites
- Early treatment in a growing child, where timing changes the outcome
- Cases needing surgery planned alongside an oral surgeon, such as surgical orthodontics
- Airway concerns related to jaw shape, covered on our airway orthodontics page
- Aligner cases that stall or do not track as planned
When a General Dentist Might Be Enough
We will say the part most orthodontic websites leave out. If your case is genuinely simple, a general dentist who does orthodontics may serve you perfectly well. Minor crowding in an adult, or a small amount of movement before a cosmetic case, is real dentistry and plenty of dentists do it carefully.
The trouble is that you cannot always tell which kind of case you have from the outside. Cases that look simple sometimes are not. That is the argument for at least having a specialist look before you decide. The exam costs you an hour and it settles the question.
What You Get at Bright Orthodontics
A board-certified specialist. Dr. Adam Veit is board certified by the American Board of Orthodontics, a voluntary step that involves submitting finished cases for review by a panel of other board-certified orthodontists. Our board certification page explains what that process asks of a doctor.
One doctor, start to finish. Bright Orthodontics is owner operated. Dr. Veit is the doctor at every appointment, at every office. Nobody reads your chart fresh each visit. Read his full background on the Dr. Adam Veit page.
Unusual depth of experience. Dr. Veit has practiced orthodontics in the United States, Japan and Italy, and served nine years as a Naval Officer. He has seen how orthodontics is done in very different systems, which is a useful filter for telling a genuine advance from a passing trend.
A team families stay with. Our team is the reason most of our reviews read the way they do. Many of them have been here for years, several were patients here first, and they know your family by name. Meet them on our team page.
A 5.0 star rating, four times over. All four Bright Orthodontics offices hold a 5.0 star Google rating, across 272 reviews.
Four offices, one set of records. We treat patients in Oshkosh, Fond du Lac, Ripon and Berlin. If your week changes, your office can change with it.
Straight answers about money. We explain the fee, the payment options and the likely insurance coverage before treatment starts. Family discounts apply when more than one person in a household is treated. See orthodontic financing.
Meet Dr. Veit and Our Team
The best way to judge a practice is to sit in it for an hour. Come in, ask hard questions, and see what kind of answers you get.
Request an appointment at our Oshkosh, Fond du Lac, Ripon or Berlin office. We treat children, teens and adults, and we would be glad to meet your family.
Reviewed by Dr. Adam J. Veit, DDS, MS, a board-certified orthodontist and the treating doctor at all four Bright Orthodontics offices.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is an orthodontist more expensive than a dentist for braces?
Not necessarily, and the gap is usually smaller than people expect. Orthodontic fees depend on what the case actually needs and how long it takes, not on the sign over the door. What a specialist practice does add is a plan built for the whole case, including the parts that show up later. We quote the full fee before treatment starts. See orthodontic financing.
What can an orthodontist do that a general dentist cannot?
The clearest example is growth. In a child who is still growing, an orthodontist can guide how the jaws develop, and that window closes. The other is complexity: cases involving surgery, airway concerns, or bites that need to be rebuilt rather than tidied. Read about early orthodontic treatment if your child is around seven.
Is Bright Orthodontics part of a dental chain?
No. It is an independent, owner-operated specialty practice with four offices in east-central Wisconsin. That is why the doctor at your appointment is the same one who will be there at the end.