Every year, a significant number of dental professionals complete orthodontic training courses. They leave with new knowledge, improved confidence, and renewed enthusiasm for orthodontic treatment. It’s after this, for many of them, that the real challenge begins.
The gap between learning a skill and applying it in an unsupervised environment is one of the more well-known challenges in healthcare. In dentistry, research has consistently shown that the transition from formal training to independent practice is where confidence and competency can diverge most sharply.[i] The classroom, however good, cannot replicate the full complexity of a patient sitting in the chair – occlusal nuances and other judgement calls that textbooks can describe but cannot fully prepare you for. This is particularly true in orthodontics, where treatment decisions made early in a case have consequences that unfold over months or even years.
Why orthodontics demands more
Orthodontics is not a field in which errors are immediately apparent. A poorly executed composite restoration reveals itself quickly. An ill-conceived orthodontic treatment plan may not show consequences for many months, by which point the case has already progressed in the wrong direction, and correction is significantly more complicated than prevention would have been.
The complexity is compounded by the fact that general dental practitioners (GDPs) entering orthodontics come with varying levels of baseline knowledge, different patient populations, and widely differing case mixes. A course, however comprehensive, cannot account for all of this variation. What it can do is build the foundation. Ensuring that foundation is built upon safely is what happens after the course ends.
This is the core argument for mentorship: an integral part of what a structured orthodontic education should deliver.
What the evidence says
The value of mentorship in dental education is well supported. A 2025 cross-sectional study of 550 dental students found that those receiving structured mentorship significantly outperformed their non-mentored peers across multiple domains – with clinical competency scores above 90% seen in 38% of mentored students compared to just 15% of those without mentorship.[ii] Professional confidence was rated as high or very high by 78% of the mentored group, compared to 31% of those without structured support.
In healthcare more broadly, research consistently identifies the absence of structured accompaniment as a factor that delays the development of clinical autonomy and increases the risk of error in early career practitioners.[iii] The corollary is straightforward: structured mentorship accelerates competency development, reduces risk, and produces clinicians who are not just trained but fully equipped to practise independently.
For orthodontics specifically, the implications are significant. Case selection is arguably the most important skill a GDP offering orthodontic treatment can build. It is also a skill that develops through experience, case discussion, and guided reflection rather than through didactic learning alone. A mentored clinician approaching a complex case has access to expertise that an unmentored colleague might not. That difference has direct consequences for patient outcomes.
The structure that makes the difference
Not all mentorship is equal. Ad hoc access to a more experienced colleague – while valuable – is not the same as a structured, case-specific mentorship programme in which a clinician’s live patients are reviewed, their decisions discussed, and their development tracked over time. The latter requires commitment from both the institution providing education and the clinician receiving it. It requires a culture in which not knowing the answer is not a failure, but a starting point.
For GDPs wanting to build their orthodontic skills, the IAS Advanced Diploma – a Level 7 programme leading to the CGDent Postgraduate Diploma in Primary Care Orthodontics – has structured, one-to-one specialist mentorship at the heart of its curriculum. Delegates bring their own active cases to course sessions, receive individual supervision across 10 treated cases, and engage in collaborative case discussion with both tutors and peers. The programme is designed not simply to expand knowledge, but to develop the kind of reflective, well-supported practice that produces consistently safe and effective outcomes for patients.
Orthodontic training without mentorship is like learning to drive and then being handed the keys without ever having sat in traffic. The knowledge is there. The judgement, and the confidence to apply it safely, takes time and the right support to develop.
For more information or to book the course, visit https://courses.iasortho.com/courses or call 01932 336470 (Press 1)
Author: Dr Tif Qureshi, founder and a clinical director of IAS Academy
[i] Elmanaseer WR, Al-Omoush SA, Alamoush RA, Abu Zaghlan R, Alsoleihat F. Dental Students’ Perception and Self-Perceived Confidence Level in Key Dental Procedures for General Practice and the Impact of Competency Implementation on Their Confidence Level, Part I (Prosthodontics and Conservative Dentistry). Int J Dent. 2023;2023:2015331. Published 2023 Oct 11. doi:10.1155/2023/2015331
[ii] Dr. Maryam, Prof. Dr. Uzma zareef, Dr. Kaneez Zehra, Dr. Jeetendar, Dr. Vishal Kumar, & Dr. Mayoor Kumar. (2025). INVESTIGATING THE ROLE OF MENTORSHIP IN DENTAL EDUCATION AND ITS IMPACT ON STUDENT OUTCOMES, A CROSS-SECTIONAL ANALYTICAL STUDY. Journal of Population Therapeutics and Clinical Pharmacology, 32(7), 282-289. https://doi.org/10.53555/p6tzse76
[iii] Cogent Marketing. Mentorship and Leadership Development: Nurturing the Next Generation of Clinicians. CWS Health. Published April 2025. https://www.cwshealth.com/post/mentorship-and-leadership-development-nurturing-the-next-generation-of-clinicians
