AOS Education Positively Impacts Local Communities
Every smile deserves a local starting point. The American Orthodontic Society (AOS) empowers General and Pediatric Dentists with advanced training to evaluate orthodontic needs, provide safe, foundational care, and seamlessly guide patients to specialists when complex care is required.
Of AOS Dentists Serve Underserved Communities*
Our data shows that 209 out of 252 active AOS General and Pediatric Dentist locations are practicing directly within geographic areas facing an orthodontic shortage. By bringing advanced education to community practitioners, AOS places vital orthodontic resources right where they are needed most.
Defining the Need for Local Care
Local practitioner knowledge matters because every community deserves accessible, individualized care paths without undue travel barriers.
What is an Underserved Orthodontic Area?
In this AOS impact measure, an underserved area represents a community where estimated local patient demand heavily outweighs the recorded capacity of nearby dedicated orthodontic specialists within a reasonable 30-minute drive.
By treating appropriately scoped cases locally, general and pediatric practitioners help relieve this pressure on families and specialist networks alike.
Of Youth (Ages 5-17)
About 58 in 100 children and teenagers may have a potential orthodontic treatment or evaluation need.
Of Adults (Ages 18+)
Clinical indicators suggest a high prevalence of untreated potential alignment or alignment-monitoring needs among adults.
The AOS Member Footprint
This map illustrates where AOS General and Pediatric Dentist members have brought orthodontic evaluation and treatment into communities across the country.
A Nationwide Network of Care
AOS orthodontic education spans 46 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico - forming a widespread learning network carried back into local communities.
West
From the Pacific Coast to the Rocky Mountains
Heartland
Across communities in the center of the country
East
From the Great Lakes to the Atlantic
Advanced Training. Trusted Local Results.
AOS education ensures that clinicians approaches orthodontics with rigorous clinical standards built on three core pillars:
Comprehensive Exams Over Quick Scans
A digital scan alone is not an orthodontic diagnosis. AOS dentists are trained to evaluate the complete biological picture - including teeth, bite, gums, bone structure, and comprehensive medical histories - to ensure treatment is safe, timely, and effective.
Purposeful Planning (Training Before Tech)
Modern tools like clear aligners are highly effective, but only when guided by careful diagnostic expertise. AOS teaches clinicians how to customize treatment timelines, rigorously monitor progress, and firmly understand the limits of technology.
Coordinated Care & Trusted Referrals
Providing care closer to home means knowing exactly when to treat locally and when to guide a patient forward. If a complex case falls outside their scope of training, AOS dentists act as a reliable, collaborative bridge to regional specialists.
View Study Methodology, Data Sources & Planning Details
*Working estimate: 209 of 252 (82.9%) is an interim ages-5-and-older orthodontic access-pressure sensitivity based on a 30-minute road-travel and 24-month capacity-conversion scenario. It compares an estimated potential-need signal with recorded reachable specialist NPI capacity. It does not establish adequacy, appointment availability, insurance participation, patient choice, or patient-level underserved status.
*Age inputs: Youth ages 5-17 use a 58% national potential-need indicator. Adults are tracked in four bands: 18-24, 25-44, 45-64, and 65+. The working adult input carries forward a 67% clinical-finding indicator from untreated U.S. adults ages 17-46; its use in older adult bands is an explicit interim extrapolation, not a prevalence finding for those ages. Alternative adult sensitivities are retained in the technical materials.
Sources: Proffit, Fields & Moray, NHANES III (1998); Asiri, Tadlock & Buschang (2019); U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 5-year; CMS NPPES July 2026 recorded orthodontic-specialist locations; AAO 2024 member-survey benchmark.
AOS Orthodontic Access Impact Study - Interim public-facing visual narrative
