Orthodontist

A dentist who went back to school to straighten teeth. One of the longest roads in dentistry.

Typical pay: $110,000a year
Time to qualify: 9 to 11 yearsafter high school
Demand: Very high
Licence needed: Yesregulated job

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Quick answers

How much does an orthodontist make in Canada?

The median pay is about $110,000 a year. Across everyone in the job it runs from about $33,000 at the lower end to about $228,000 at the upper end. The source is listed under Sources at the end of this page.

How long does it take to become an orthodontist in Canada?

9 to 11 years after high school, on the usual route.

What does it cost to become an orthodontist?

$164,000 to $443,000 all in for tuition, fees, exams and kit. Living costs are not counted.

Do you need a licence to work as an orthodontist in Canada?

Yes. It is a regulated job, so you need a licence or registration before you can work.

What is the job outlook for an orthodontist in Canada?

Very high demand nationally, from government outlook data. Demand varies by region, so check your area.

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Orthodontist salary in Canada

What you earn and what it costs to get there.

What dentists make, all specialties together

Median

$110,000

Lower end

$33,000

Upper end

$228,000

These are Job Bank (the Government of Canada job site) figures for all dentists together, a year. General dentists and every dental specialist are in one group, so this is not an orthodontist figure. The numbers come from the 2021 Census (Statistics Canada). Job Bank notes that a large number of people in this group are self-employed. We could not find a public Canadian source that reports orthodontist pay on its own. Pay varies by province and by how many patients a clinic sees. Associates are paid a share of what they bill; owners keep what the clinic makes after staff, rent and equipment.

Where pay is highest

$120,000 a year

The median for all dentists in Alberta, from the Census

Quebec's median is $106,000 and Ontario's $104,000. Specialists such as orthodontists are counted in the same group.

What it costs to get there

University before dental school (2 to 4 years): $7,000 to $10,000 a year
Dental school (4 years): $25,000 to $60,000 a year
Orthodontic residency (2 to 3 years): $20,000 to $50,000 a year, usually unpaid
NDSE (National Dental Specialty Examination): $6,869.40 for the 2027 sitting
Provincial specialty licence and insurance: $3,000 to $6,000 a year

Roughly, all in

$164,000 to $443,000

Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel

The low end is two years of undergraduate study, a four year dental degree at the cheaper Canadian schools, a two year orthodontic residency at the cheaper end, the NDSE (National Dental Specialty Examination) and your first year of specialty licence and insurance. The high end is a full undergraduate degree, dental school at the priciest schools and a three year residency at the top rate. The residency is the part people do not expect: unlike medical residency it is usually unpaid and charges tuition, so you are spending for two or three more years rather than earning. Total debt of $300,000 to $500,000 by the end is common, and interest on that is not included in these numbers.

Debt of $300,000 to $500,000 by the end is common. Paying it off takes years.

Benefits

Ownership
Many orthodontists own a clinic. It is an asset you can sell when you retire.
Nothing automatic as an associate
Self-employed: you buy your own health plan and save for your own retirement.
Predictable schedule
Weekdays, no nights, almost no emergencies.
Teaching
Part-time posts at a dental school add a salary and a pension.

How to become an orthodontist in Canada

The exact path from high school to qualified.

The path to becoming an orthodontist, step by step

You become a dentist first. There is no shortcut.

1
High school
Grades 11 and 12
Biology, chemistry, physics, math and English with top marks.
2
University, then the DAT (dental aptitude test)
2 to 4 years
2 to 4 years of science courses, then the dental admission test.
3
Dental school
4 years
4 years for a DDS (doctor of dental surgery) or DMD (doctor of dental medicine). You graduate as a general dentist.
4
Orthodontic residency
2 to 3 years, plus any practice years
2 to 3 years at a dental school, usually with a master's degree attached. Only a handful of seats per program. Most programs prefer applicants with a year or two of dental practice first.
5
Specialty exam and licence
A few months
Pass the NDSE (National Dental Specialty Examination), then register as a specialist with your provincial dental college.

High school courses that help you become an orthodontist

Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Orthodontics is applied physics: forces on teeth over time.
Math
Calculus and functions.
Art or design
You will spend a career judging symmetry and shape.

Time and money, at a glance

Years after high school: 9 to 11
Residency seats in Canada: Very few each year across the whole country
Total tuition: About $155,000 to $430,000
Paid while training?: No, and residency usually charges tuition

A protected specialty title

Only a dentist who finished an accredited residency, passed the NDSE (National Dental Specialty Examination) and registered as a specialist with a provincial dental college can call themselves an orthodontist. General dentists may offer braces or clear aligners, but they cannot use the title. Specialty registration moves between provinces without re-examination.

Where people study

Residency programs are small. Some of the Canadian ones:

University of Toronto, Western University
Ontario
Université de Montréal
Quebec, in French
UBC (University of British Columbia), University of Alberta, University of Manitoba
Western Canada
US programs
Many Canadians train in the US, where there are far more seats, then return.

Quebec routeIn Quebec? The route is different. 2 more cards.

The path in Quebec

In Quebec you start dental school straight from CEGEP (public college), with no bachelor's degree first.

1
Finish Secondary V
Age 16 or 17
With Secondary V math (Technical and Scientific, or Science option), chemistry and physics. These are the entry courses for the CEGEP (public college) science program.
2
Science DEC (Diploma of College Studies)
2 years
A 2 year CEGEP (public college) program (200.B1), offered in English at Dawson and the other English colleges. Take the biology and chemistry courses dental schools ask for.
3
Dental school, straight from CEGEP
4 to 5 years
McGill starts with a 1 year Dent-P preparatory year, then a 4 year DMD (Doctor of Dental Medicine). Montréal's DMD is 5 years, Laval's 4. Laval uses the TAED (dental aptitude test), Casper and interviews.
4
NDEB exams and ODQ (Ordre des dentistes du Québec) permit
After graduating
Pass the NDEB (National Dental Examining Board) exams, as everywhere in Canada. The ODQ, the Quebec order of dentists, then issues your permit once you show French.
5
Orthodontic residency
3 years
Université de Montréal runs a 3 year program in French, taken together with a master's in dental medicine. Places are limited, and there is an interview and a dexterity test.
6
Specialty exam and ODQ specialist certificate
End of residency
Pass the NDSE (National Dental Specialty Examination). In Quebec only a dentist holding an ODQ (Quebec order of dentists) specialist certificate can call themselves an orthodontist.

Dental schools in Quebec

McGill University: Dent-P year plus a 4 year DMD (Doctor of Dental Medicine), in English
Université de Montréal: 5 year DMD, 219 credits, in French
Université Laval: 4 year DMD, 219 credits, in French, in Quebec City

McGill's Dent-P year is only for Quebec residents coming straight from CEGEP (public college). From fall 2027, Montréal drops the TAED (dental aptitude test) and Casper and uses a motivation questionnaire instead.

What helps you get ahead as an orthodontist

Things you don't need, but that help.

Ways to stand out

Owning more than one clinic
Multi-location practices are common in cities.
Clear aligners
Invisalign and similar systems are a big part of modern practice. The extra certification is quick.
Surgical cases
Working with oral surgeons on jaw cases. Rarer work.
Teaching and research
A part-time faculty post at a dental school.

Nice-to-haves

Shadow an orthodontist
Do it in high school or university, and again in dental school.
Be a strong general dentist first
Residency programs weigh your dental school marks and hand skills heavily.
Research during dental school
A published paper helps a residency application a lot.
Comfort with running a business
You will be an employer within a few years.

A side path: aligners without the residency

Many general dentists now offer clear aligners without doing an orthodontic residency. They cannot call themselves orthodontists and should not take complex cases, but it is a way to do some of this work after dental school alone.

What being an orthodontist is really like

Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.

What an orthodontist does day to day

Orthodontists see a lot of patients: 40 to 80 in a day is normal, most for a 10 to 20 minute adjustment. Assistants do much of the hands-on work; you check, plan and make the key changes. New patient consults and treatment planning fit between adjustments. Days end around 5. Many clinics close Fridays.

The honest pros and cons of being an orthodontist

The good

Job Bank's median for the dentists group is $110,000 a year
Daytime hours, no nights or on-call
Patients are mostly healthy kids and teens
You watch a smile change over 2 years

The hard parts

10 to 11 years of school, and residency charges tuition
Residency seats are extremely scarce
Repetitive: the same adjustments hundreds of times a week
Aligner companies and general dentists compete for your patients

Work life

Typical hours: 32 to 40 a week, 4 days is common
Remote work: No
Physical demand: Moderate, bending over patients
Unionized: No, self-employed

Similar paths

Like the field but not this exact job?

Things nobody tells you about being an orthodontist

Things people don't tell you.

A $6,869 exam at the end

The national dental specialty exam that every new orthodontist must pass costs $6,869.40 for the 2027 sitting, application included.

Dentist first, always

Every orthodontist in Canada is a fully licensed dentist who went back to school. You can fall back on general dentistry at any point, which is a safety net most long training paths do not have.

Counted with all dentists

Job Bank has no separate count for orthodontists. They sit in the dentists group: about 21,400 people in 2023, and 42% of them were 50 or older.

How an orthodontist compares

Every list is built from the same numbers shown above, so you can see where this career sits next to the others.

More health careers in Canada

Dental and eye care first, then the rest of the field. See every career in health.

Where these numbers come from

Last checked October 2026. Pay figures are typical full-time annual amounts in Canadian dollars, based on Government of Canada Job Bank wage data and published salary grids. They vary by province, employer and experience. Tuition is for domestic students. How every figure on this site is sourced and checked.